Maybe it's a silly question, but what is an ERP system anyway? An ERP system, ERP package or ERP software: they all mean the same thing. Enterprise Resource Planning is software that aims to digitize all business processes in your organization.

Where an accounting package, for example, benefits only the financial administration: an ERP system digitally connects the finance department with production, sales, service and support and management.

ERP software replaces all the small separate software packages in your organization and allows all departments to work together optimally by looking at the same data.

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The main benefits of an ERP system are:

1. One software package for your entire organization: all employees draw from the same data.
2. Better cooperation between different departments.
3. Get a grip on your business processes through total overview and real-time display.
4. Ability to make predictions based on historical data
5. Ability to make business processes more efficient through improved cross-departmental planning processes.
6. Higher customer satisfaction through better planning, insight into current statuses and more efficient service and support.
7. Higher quality of direction and management through better insight.

Five advantages of SAP Business One

1. When choosing an ERP system, the following five points are very important:
2. If you are looking for a (new) ERP system, it is important to have the question and the scope clear. You can achieve this if you properly record and describe all the business processes in your organization beforehand.
3. Take this document to several ERP vendors and ask them to give you a demo showing how they can tackle these business processes with their ERP software.
4. Preferably choose parties that have experience in your industry, so you can be sure they understand your business processes and stakeholder interests.
5. Also, choose a proven ERP package that has everything you need, or that can be customized to your business without extreme customization.
6. Finally, look at the long term: can the ERP system of your choice grow with your company?

How do you choose an ERP system?

The duration of the implementation process depends on several factors:

1. The size of your organization and the number of employees who will be using the ERP software.
2. The number of business processes that need to be digitized.
3. Is customization required or not?
4. The qualities and experience of the implementation partner and the business consultants being used.
5. How much time can you spare yourself to manage the ERP implementation?
6. Do external software systems need to be linked?
7. How much data needs to be transferred and can this be done manually or not?

As a rule, an ERP implementation process for SMEs takes several months to 1.5 years.

How we do it

An ERP system normally provides functionalities for accounting, quoting and billing, sales, customer management, planning and project management, service and purchasing. Depending on your choice, the ERP system will offer additional functionalities for production, warehouse management and logistics.

Functionalities for other business processes, such as assembly, quality control, traceability, intercompany, PIM, WMS etc can often be added additionally. This does not necessarily mean that these functionalities look like they are external. Usually they can be fully integrated into the existing system, making the transition seamless.

All ERP functionalities

For an ERP system, you pay a one-time implementation fee to the implementation partner. These costs depend on the duration of the implementation (see question 4). Added to this are the costs for using the software.

• If you choose an on-premise system (the data is stored and hosted from your own server in your company), then the purchase cost for the server is added, plus a one-time fee for setting it up. After that, you incur costs for maintenance and energy costs for running the server. You also pay a one-time fee per user.
• If you choose an ERP system in the cloud, you don't need your own server; you simply pay a per-user monthly fee.

Of course, you must also take into account the internal hours required to roll out the ERP package. In total, the implementation of an ERP system will cost several tens of thousands of dollars.

The ROI of ERP systems

The answer to this question is almost in all cases: yes. However: adding customization to an ERP system is not easy in all cases. The core of the system will not be allowed to change.

So when you want to add customization, it often involves adding additional functionality or linking external software. Many ERP systems have an API or integration module for this purpose. Adding customization is then relatively easy. If these things are not present, then customization becomes a lot more complex.

Keep in mind that customizations can be error-prone and the cause is often not easy to find. Customizations that have been developed must also be updated regularly to keep up with new ERP system or browser requirements.

About links

Because ERP systems go deep into the core of your organization, security and privacy are well thought out. In all cases, your ERP system houses sensitive information, for example, revenue, profit, customer data and competitive information.

If security is even more important in your company than in other companies (for example, because you have NEN certification for information security or are a government organization), choose an on-premise installation (rather than an ERP system in the cloud) and proven ERP system with enough clout to tackle problems in no time.

Ensure regular backups of the ERP system and choose an implementation partner with experience and clout. Make clear written agreements about your organization's requirements for data security and privacy.

About security and backups

We frequently encounter the following challenges when implementing ERP systems:

1. Obviously, the main challenge in implementing an ERP system is keeping the project within hours and within the deadline. Precisely because business processes are sometimes complex, this can be difficult. The solution is a solid plan (a blueprint) and good project management, both internally and with the implementation partner. An experienced business consultant is worth his weight in gold here!
2. Adapt to your business processes or adapt to the system? Switching to a (new) ERP system is the perfect time to review your business processes. After all, an ERP system is more than just digitizing existing processes. Are they really that efficient? In many cases it is wise to adapt the processes to the system, rather than the other way around. Making good, sensible choices in this is important.
3. Acceptance in the organization. An ERP system is worth as much as the people who work with it. If people keep doing things "their own way" and refuse to start using the new system, the project fails. So people management is important, as is good training. It is also important to demonstrate the added value of the software precisely in small subtle improvements that directly save time for the users.

How do I get my people to join me?

As mentioned earlier, an ERP system stands or falls with its use. If the system is not "fed" with current data, its added value will be disappointing. Often, employees have been used to a certain way of working or familiar (software) systems for years. Switching then takes energy. Some tips to get your employees on board are:

1. Involve influential employees from all departments in the implementation. Map their business processes, ask about their needs and invite them to provide feedback on intermediate steps. When they feel ownership of the system, they will become enthusiastic users and bring others along with them in their enthusiasm.
2. Make sure the system is properly tested before going live. Going live can only be done once. If there are all kinds of errors in the system, you lose a lot of goodwill in the first few days.
3. Train your staff in its use before the system goes live. Have enough manpower available on the first few days of use to tackle start-up problems and help with usage.
4. Build in some simple functionalities that provide immediate visible gains for users.
5. In the first few months of use, keep making sure your employees are using the system so that routine is established and everyone can get the most out of it.