When to implement ERP in your company? Seven signals and conditions for a good decision

The ERP system can combine data and rules of many areas of the company, for example sales, warehouse, finance, human resources or production. However, it does not eliminate the chaos with the installation itself. If processes, data owners and exceptions are not described, the new system may only migrate old problems to a more expensive tool.

What ERP is in practice

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a class of systems supporting the planning and management of enterprise resources. Individual modules can use common data, thanks to which a change made in one process is available in other authorized areas.

Actual coverage varies by product, licence, configuration and integration. Not every ERP will automatically handle the entire process, and a "real-time" report is only up-to-date when the source data is complete and fed at the right frequency.

Seven signals that it is worth conducting an ERP analysis

1. The same data is transferred between tools

Manually moving customers, orders, documents or states increases the number of points where an error can occur. First, you need to establish a parent source for each type of data.

2. Users work with different versions of information

If departments have different price lists, statuses or definitions, the problem is not only with the tool. Implementation requires agreeing on common vocabularies, rules and data owners.

3. Reports are mainly created by manually combining files

ERP or a separate analytics layer may reduce manual steps, but does not guarantee correct reporting. Indicator definitions, quality control and information about the time of the last update are needed.

4. The increase in the number of transactions causes more and more exceptions

A process that worked for a few orders may become difficult to control on a larger scale. What matters is the number and complexity of operations, not the size of employment itself.

5. It is difficult to determine liability and the stage of the case

If the handling of an order, complaint or purchase depends on employees' private messages and memories, the workflow system can organise statuses, tasks and change history.

6. Legal or industry integrations are handled separately

KSeF, banking, EDI, online store and manufacturing system may require data exchange. Each integration must be assessed separately: scope, authorization, error handling, monitoring and liability after changing the interface.

7. The company cannot safely delegate operations

Authorizations, approvals and limits can be saved in the system. But first you need to decide who approves exceptions and how the organisation handles the decision-maker's unavailability.

When ERP may be premature

ERP may not be the right first step when:

• business model and processes change so frequently that a stable scope cannot be defined;
• the company does not have a project owner on its side;
• the problem can be solved by tidying up one tool or simple integration;
• benefits do not justify the cost of migration, training and maintenance;
• does not have time for data cleansing and user participation in testing.

There is no minimum number of employees to determine the need for ERP. A small company may have complex production or trading, while a larger organisation may perform a simple, repeatable process across a few well-selected services.

What does implementation preparation look like?

1. Goals and metrics. Define the problem, the expected outcome and how it will be measured.
2. Process map. Describe the typical flow and exceptions, roles, and decisions.
3. Data range. Indicate sources, owners, quality, history and migration rules.
4. Requirements. Separate essential requirements from optional and future requirements.
5. Solution Analysis. Check standard features, needed extensions, integrations and licence restrictions.
6. Test plan. Prepare user, integration, reporting, permissions and error scenarios.
7. Startup. Select staged or simultaneous transition, contingency plan and decision criteria.
8. Stabilization. Establish ticket handling, fixes, results measurement and further development.

Implementation time should not be promised before analysis. It depends on modules, number of processes, data quality, integration, availability of the client team, scope of modifications and method of launch.

How to rate enova365

enova365 is a Polish, modular ERP system developed by Sonet. The manufacturer describes areas including finance and accounting, human resources and payroll, trade, CRM, production, processes and Business Intelligence. Module list shows that individual functions are separate elements of the offer.

The manufacturer declares support for KSeF as standard and for over 22,000 enterprises using the system. This is the manufacturer's information current on the date of the inspection; Before making a decision, you need to confirm the current licence terms, version, scope of a specific module and technical requirements.

The Business Intelligence module provides reports, indicators and visualizations, but the availability of some functions depends on licences and permissions. Don't assume that every user will receive any analysis without data modeling and configuration.

NexaIT is an Authorized enova365 Partner and carries out the implementation of this system, from pre-implementation analysis to care to start-up. The detailed division of roles should be included in the project offer.

Costs that are easy to forget

In addition to the licence and configuration, you must take into account:

• pre-implementation analysis;
• data preparation and cleaning;
• integrations and modifications;
• employee participation in workshops and tests;
• training and manuals;
• test environments and infrastructure;
• post-boot support;
• updates, development and maintenance of extensions.

The cheapest initial offer may not be the cheapest solution throughout the life cycle. Offers must be compared according to the same scope and assumptions.

Questions before you decide

1. What specific problem is the system designed to solve?
2. Who owns the project and individual processes?
3. Which features are standard and which require addition or modification?
4. What data will be migrated and who will approve its accuracy?
5. How will integrations, permissions and error scenarios be tested?
6. What will happen to extensions after a system update?
7. What does data export and implementation partner change look like?
8. What maintenance costs will occur after the first year?

Conclusion

The signals described in the article do not automatically mean that a company should buy ERP. They mean that it is worth analysing processes and data. Only its result allows you to compare ERP with a simpler integration, industry application or arrangement of current tools.

Schedule a call to implement enova365to define the scope of the analysis and check whether the system meets the actual needs of the company.