Seven Mistakes You Should NOT Make When Choosing An ERP

Implementing ERP software is an essential decision from an economical, productive and functional point of view since it will affect all workers and departments of your company.

The most important thing is that your ERP meets the needs of your business. Otherwise, the tool will not offer you what you need, something that can cause a significant loss of money and time in the long term.

Here are some of the mistakes you should NOT make when choosing an ERP.

How To Choose The Best ERP: Mistakes To Avoid

You Are Not Taking Into Account Your Business’s Present And Future Needs

Usually, small and medium-sized companies tend to opt for integrated ERP to optimize their processes and increase productivity. And it is that digitization in SMEs is essential.

However, to avoid making mistakes when choosing your ERP, you must consider both your present and future needs. After all, the objective of any business is to grow in resources, services, products, personnel, facilities, etc.

So our first tip is to choose a scalable ERP management software that can be customized when your business needs change.

Choose A Program That Is Too Simple, Too Complex, Or Unspecialized

Although the general recommendation is to choose an intuitive and simple ERP, sometimes a business may require functions that only some more complete and specialized software offers.

If you go for management software that is too simple, you may not have the options to automate and simplify your operations and daily tasks.

In the same way, software that is too complex, with many features that you will not use or that are difficult to handle, will make it challenging to implement, and it will be challenging to get the most out of it.

In this same sense, one of the most common mistakes when choosing an ERP is not to bet on specialized management software, on whether you dedicate yourself to the industrial, chemical, or agri-food sector.

Our advice? Consult with a professional company before making a decision.

Get Carried Away Solely By The Price

Another mistake you should not make when choosing an ERP is to get carried away solely by the price.

We know that implementing an ERP in the company entails a significant expense. Still, it would help if you did not forget that this tool will be essential to improve your production processes, optimize the work of your employees, and manage the most relevant information of your company (data from your customers, accounting figures, etc.), so the investment is worth it.

In addition, if you opt for an ERP looking only at a price, you may find yourself with obsolescence problems, with complicated updates, or with no scalability that, in the end, will force you to spend more money to achieve the results you are looking for.

Before choosing an ERP, we advise you to make a budget and consider certain aspects such as the technical support service, how often the program is updated or if you can work in the cloud. All of these will increase the cost of the software but will save you problems in the long run.

Don’t Train Your Employees

Implementing an ERP in the company is a transversal process, and that is, it affects all the departments of your organization and, therefore, all your workers.

Another mistake you should avoid when choosing an ERP is not investing the necessary resources in training.

Having a person who takes control of the training on this tool is essential: the tutorials can be helpful in other, more straightforward programs, but in this case, it is advisable to invest all possible efforts. The sooner you inform your employees of the changes, and the sooner you train them, the sooner they will start using ERP, and the sooner the good results will arrive .

I Am Not Spending Enough Time On Implementation

If you implement an ERP system in your business, you must give it the relevance and time it deserves.

It is also convenient that all decisions related to their functions are consensual, significantly affecting the administration department.

On the other hand, it is advisable to give the chosen provider enough time to customize the program, train employees, or import the data from the previous system.

I Am Not Informing You About The Specifications, Adaptations, Or Compatibility Of The ERP

When you contract an ERP, it is advisable to consult with the provider about the conditions regarding the use of data in the event of cessation of activity or permanence contracts. Sometimes clients want to change their management system and are unaware of the process for doing so.

We also advise you to check that your ERP is compatible with other programs that you regularly use, such as accounting modules, integration with ecommerce, and some MarketPlace such as Amazon or eBay. Without this support, future integrations can be costly, complicated, and even impossible.

Finally, when hiring an ERP, please find out about the modifications that the system can or cannot make so that you know in advance to what extent it will adapt to the characteristics of your business. You must select a provider that can develop and adapt the tool to your business needs.

I Have Not Defined Project Milestones

When starting the implementation of an ERP, it is essential to be clear about the project’s milestones. You must establish from the basic beginning concepts that will be crucial for the proper functioning of the ERP.

The implementation plan, the interlocutors both by the client and the software company, the implementation times of each milestone, and what is included within the project (data transfer, customization of forms/modules, user training).

Take into account all these concepts and avoid these errors when choosing your management software. The implementation of ERP in your company will be entirely satisfactory, and you will be able to benefit from all its advantages without any inconvenience or setback.

Also Read: CMS And ERP: How They Differ