Tag: 10 Million

What To Look For In An ERP Solution

Browsing the web we ran across this article that is a good guide in helping in your ERP Selection process. Normally we are careful about vendor provided articles, but this one seemed to be on track. It clearly points out the issues that you need to be aware of when looking at an ERP solution. This is important today as even small companies are looking at larger tier vendors. Keeping an eye on the specific points made in this article will help you avoid choosing a software that just doesn’t fit.

What To Look For In An ERP Solution
Michael Panosh, Marketing Manager

Enterprise Resource Planning ERP describes software that integrates departments and functions across your business onto a single computer system. The intended outcome is a system that improves operational visibility, streamlines decision making, reduces costs and generally allows you to manage your business to better profitability.

Whilst there has been considerable hype – and horror stories – about ERP systems, up until recently only large corporations have implemented comprehensive ERP solutions, mainly because they have been perceived as cost prohibitive for smaller companies.

In recent years however, many small and medium sized enterprises SMEs have begun to see the value of ERP solutions as a way to respond to both legislative compliance and industry mandates for electronic trading. The reality now is that companies with a turnover of more than $10 million should be considering implementing an ERP solution, if not actively planning for one.

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ERP for the little guy

Chris Shaul

Most of the news and information you hear on the web or read in print about ERP relates to SAP, Oracle and other large systems. There is a derth of information on ERP for the small shop or for the under 10 million dollar manufacturer. What then do people do when they have graduated from Peachtree or Quickbooks? Is it possible to get a complete integrated system that manages their entire operations and finance areas?

Well fortunately, there are a few solutions that will not break the bank and will provide end-to-end functionality for a small manufacturer or distributor. These softwares are surprisingly complete. In fact, there are often features and functionality that beat the main-stream big systems.

One such system is called IntegrateIT This system provides a well rounded set of features that allow the small manufacturer the ability to run the company with a complete understanding of what is in inventory, what am I making today, what should I buy today, where is my cash position and am I profitable? Surprisingly, this software has modules that many larger ERP systems do not have, such as Field Service. It is amazing the amount of power that these smaller systems have. This link is one such example of how this system saved a company thousands of dollars.

Another solution is DBA Software. Having gone through a major rewrite of their core solution, they are both complete in functionality and have a very current underpinning of technology. This solution provides a very easy to use system for the smaller firm.

What makes these systems perfect for the smaller enterprise? The fact that they get more done with fewer screens. On a mid-tier solution, there maybe 2 to 5 screens needed to process a transaction such as entering a voucher or creating a work order. These smaller solutions tend to do it in one to two screens with all the information you need at your fingertips. The idea is that in larger companies, there is a delegation of work. In the smaller company, you may have one person wearing many hats and they need efficiency in transaction processing.

So the when you are thinking of integrated software solutions, remember that big isn’t necessarily an answer. Amazing things often come in small packages.

Chris Shaul is a Sr. IT Consultant and specializes about ERP selections and implementations.