Defining your software needs as an organization and setting clearly defined goals and objectives will drive ERP success. A common pitfall in ERP implementations is choosing an application without understanding your needs. During a Needs Analysis project, we go through and look closely at your current situation to objectively identify the pain points you are experiencing with your software. Then we evaluate the benefits, costs and risk of changing software, and we recommend practical solutions where the benefits will outweigh costs while mitigating any substantial risks.
Problem: A multi-national, industry-leading services firm had reached the limits of their existing software solutions. They knew they had outgrown their existing ERP and thought it may be time to make a change. But they were not sure if switching out their software would create enough value to outweigh the risk of changing applications during a period of high growth.
Solution: ERP Advisors Group performed a detailed analysis of Coalfire’s entire application ecosystem, including all 13 applications they utilized and the integrations between them. We identified the actual pain points and limitations to growth within their ecosystem and provided objective recommendations on the types of software solutions that could resolve the issues. We provided costs as well as the benefits for making a change, and we assessed the change management risks inherent in the conversion as well as related mitigations. In the end, our analysis led the executive team to decide to make the software change, which laid the foundation for significant organic and M&A growth.
Understanding your ERP success factors is a critical part of the ERP process. If you don’t know what would make an ERP succeed in your business, then whatever software you choose will fail to meet your expectations. Assessing your needs and situations will help drive the ERP selection and will guide the implementation process as well.
