Page 52 - MetalForming August 2014

Guidelines for
Navigating
the ERPTerrain
In terms of the feature-function landscape, vendors continue to offer a steady stream of enhancements, including robust business intelligence (BI), dashboard reporting, mobile access, intuitive look and feel, collaboration/social tools and real-time data access.
BY JEFF CARR
Navigating today’s ERP terrain can be a challenge for mid- market manufacturing com- panies. From on-premise solutions to the cloud delivery model, vendors are introducing a steady stream of new product enhancements and tech- nology platforms, increasingly sophis- ticated levels of integration and col- laboration and simplified user interfaces.
The vendor landscape also is in flux due to acquisitions, market consolida- tion, new version releases and the development of products that share a common data, code and customiza- tion model. Given this dynamic mar- ketplace, organizations saddled with legacy solutions often don’t know where to begin when it comes to an ERP-selection project.
Jeff Carr is principal and founding part- ner of Ultra Consultants, Chicago, IL: 847/692-6485; www.ultraconsul- tants.com
Factors Driving Selection
It’s been our observation that ERP selection is driven by a common set of conditions, including poor access to information, core systems that prove difficult to use and an over-reliance on standalone systems that function as islands of information.
In general, we see the following groups of ERP-selection challenges:
• Uncertainty: The company can’t get a clear handle on what’s available with modern ERP in terms of BI, report- ing, features, integration, mobile access, security and more.
• Resource and time challenges: The manufacturer lacks the necessary internal IT expertise, resources or time to effec- tively take on an ERP project. Nor can the company spare internal staff for this effort.
• Lack of insight: The company is challenged to understand current processes, including where the oppor- tunities are to improve with new tech- nology, and which ERP system best fits requirements.
BUSINESS
INTELLIGENCE
• Future growth: Many organiza- tions are not exactly sure of their tech- nology needs in the face of growth from expanded markets or facilities, or as their operations are acquired, merged or consolidated.
• ROI concerns: Many teams are wary of making a significant investment in
50 MetalForming/August 2014
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