Visual South Insights

You need a plan that outlines how to choose an ERP vendor and system

It may seem relatively easy to choose an ERP vendor—just pick the one that offers the best technology and customer support, right? But it’s often not that straightforward because many companies do not have a plan when evaluating vendors. I’ve been involved in enterprise application sales for over 25 years and there is little consistency on how organizations evaluate vendors like Visual South. What I can tell you is that organizations are happiest with their choice of ERP vendor when the evaluation team has a logical process in place to assess the ERP system’s functionality and the vendor’s services.

What is a data migration and why is it important?

ERP data migration is a big step in the implementation process that is critical to get right. The ERP system will not function at optimal levels otherwise. Smaller start-up companies typically have less data to convert than larger businesses that have been around for decades, but data migration takes place in all implementations. So, what is it? In simple terms, it is getting the information out of the old system and putting it in the new system.

API defined

One of the most common questions we hear during implementations lead by Visual South is, “Can we connect our current solution to your ERP system?”  The answer is YES.  The Infor API (Application Programming Interface) Toolkit  was built with the different manufacturing verticals in mind to manage all connected applications. In other words, it connects different applications across internal platforms or third-party platforms to share information.

There is a process

Implementations are not something a business does all the time, so most tend to look for a consulting group like Visual South to guide them. We have been implementing companies across the country since the early 90s to help them address multiple business needs. Over the decades, we have developed an implementation process that is methodical, thorough, and has consistently proven to be successful. Here are some of the ERP implementation services we offer and why we think they play a big role in the overarching plan.

Measure what you want to improve

There are many opinions as to what key performance indicators (KPIs) should be monitored at a small to medium-sized manufacturing company, but the on-time delivery (OTD) KPI is on everyone’s list. It doesn’t matter if the company is build-to-stock, a job shop, or something in-between; there are many steps in coordinating the production of a product and OTD is a nice summation of manufacturing performance.

Setting a baseline for ERP Security

The term ERP security generally refers to two different things. The first is the security at the ERP user level inside the system itself. The second is the security of the ERP data as it relates to external threats (i.e., hackers) that want to access the system. I am going to focus on the second item in this blog.

The good, the bad

I’ve been involved with manufacturing and ERP for over 30 years. During that time, I’ve learned a lot about the interaction between a manufacturing organization, their goals, and their ERP (or lack thereof). I’ve seen companies who have a good plan for choosing ERP; I’ve seen companies that don’t. I’ve seen companies that use ERP well; I’ve seen companies that don’t. I’ve seen companies admit they weren’t using ERP well and then work towards fixing that problem. I’ve seen companies admit they weren’t using ERP well and then lose interest in using it better. I’ve also seen a common thread between the companies who excel in selecting/using ERP, and those that don’t. The ones who excel have the expertise to develop a good strategy and execute it, or they admit they don’t have the expertise and they get help. They view the cost of getting help as an investment that has a payback. The ones who don’t excel aren’t aware they don’t have the expertise, so they never get the help they need. They view the cost of getting help as an expense.

Overview

Formal research indicates that companies with a strategic plan perform better and generate better results than those who do not. Per the ASPA (American Society for Public Administration), “There is a direct and positive relationship between strategic planning and performance… It is concluded that strategic planning is a beneficial activity for all firms.” But you need not look to research studies to come to that conclusion. Companies like Dell, Southwest Airlines, IKEA, Cisco, Starbucks, and Proctor & Gamble have all excelled in the marketplace, and returned better than average profits as a result of their robust strategic planning programs.

Planning for success

Capacity planning in manufacturing is a big job and sometimes an even bigger headache. The methods we’ve seen used to perform this task include spreadsheets, whiteboards, pencils and paper, a big stick, and ERP software. In many cases, it’s a combination of any of the above.

In this article, we will explain how to structure your manufacturing capacity planning to work in any software. Our goal is to eliminate the need for using the “non-software” options listed above (although the big stick can usually be reassigned elsewhere effectively).

Everyone needs a plan

Every organization should have an ongoing plan for continuous improvement. In a competitive environment, any chance to improve upon a process can provide the edge a company needs to survive—and ultimately thrive.  A good Business Process Review (BPR) template is a valuable first step in that plan.

What is a Business Process Review?

A business process review, which we refer to as an application process review in our services, is a project that aims to identify areas in your operations that can be enhanced and provide practical solutions to improve your use of software or procedures.