We found ERP Advisors Group through my coworkers who knew about them through the circles they ran in. Initially one of our previous team members started working with Shawn on this process and then about a year ago, I was able to get things moving again. We have been working on this for a couple years now.
Overall, we were looking to switch to a new software platform because our current system lacks efficiency and speed, as well as lacking the ability to dig into the data to do things efficiently. Right now, we have a bunch of systems cobbled together and when people need to do things, especially in operations and finance, they must go to multiple sources. It is a system that takes hours to do and something that an ERP system could likely do in five minutes. Also, we had several disjointed systems that required a large amount of knowledge to go from working with one system to the next and understanding the steps in which to do so. When an employee that has this knowledge leaves, there is no written manual for them to share the processes with the next employee, causing further disruptions for the business. We needed a more efficient and cohesive system.
We began a needs analysis back in 2020 that lasted a few months. Shawn and his team did a lot of interviews with our team to get a sense of where we were and what we needed and then came back to us with a final assessment report. The assessment was well done because it laid out pros and cons, and things that we were also seeing needed to be changed. I think the assessment was pretty spot on.
ERP Advisors Group did a great job from the meetings to the deep dives, the orchestrations, and narrowing down of the work needing to be done. I have no negatives, only positives, and I have no recommendations for improvement. I thought how ERP Advisors Group handled everything was very well done. I talked with my team, and they agree. The feedback from everyone that worked on the project was that Shawn and Carly and their team did a great job.
It was helpful working with an advisor because we would not have had the bandwidth to do this on our own. In terms of the vendors that were brought in, that would have taken us a long time to do on our own. The fact that Shawn and Carly, and others working on the project, were able to pull them together, vet them, talk to them, as well as get them down to a reasonable number after looking at the needs statement was impressive. Having them help also meant it was done much faster than it would have had we taken it on ourselves. We relied on Shawn and Carly to know who the good vendors are and who has the recommendations. Based on our needs assessment, they helped us narrow the list to some good vendors with good solutions that were appropriate. We were very pleased with that process.
They also help through the process of setting up multiple meetings with the various vendors. After going through the deep dives, we still had a number of people sitting on the fence. These meetings answered multiple questions they had which helped lead them to being comfortable with the final choice. I would say the people who were involved in this process at the time were very pleased. Those in operations and financing, and those that would be using the application, were pleased with it. The software we selected also fit a lot better for the work we are doing on the operation side.
I’d say the process they followed with the weekly updates, pulling the teams together from the vendors and the people from our side was great. It was a good use of time and Carly did a great job orchestrating everything. The process was very thorough and part of that was driven by our folks wanting answers and I know Shawn and Carly were always willing to get deep dives set up, and I think that was helpful for all. Again, I don't have anything negative on that.
Shawn and Carly were always available and always responsive when needing to have a meeting to explain to various leaders where we're at and what we're doing. I know of a specific time that we had a call right before Thanksgiving. Shawn was in another state, I was on the rode driving to another state, and another on our executive team joined in on the call. That 30-minute call was very productive in that it allowed our leadership to share their thoughts and ideas and be involved. The availability and communication was very helpful and the feedback was always good. We appreciated the willingness to talk at various times to go through information. We also appreciated their patience because I know this process can be hard. Just a very good job all around.
Whichever direction the company decides to go, we will need help with getting the data ready and we will definitely look to working with ERP Advisors Group on that. Overall, it has been a very positive experience. I would absolutely be comfortable recommending ERP Advisors Group.
