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.
Most people have heard of a mission statement, but a vision statement is typically less well known. While there is some overlap, there is a distinct difference between the two. To put it simply, a mission statement describes what a company is doing to achieve its goals today, and a vision statement describes what a company wants to achieve in the future.
Visual South has implemented countless companies on a new ERP. If we look through the lens of an ERP implementation—meaning a company is leaving a legacy system or systems, and migrating to a completely new ERP—testing is when we make sure we are comfortable with how everything has been set up. Testing in ERP implementation reduces the risk of discovering misalignment or problems AFTER go live. We want to unearth and solve as many problems as possible BEFORE go live. If testing reveals the ERP has been set up correctly, then it will be able to support the new procedures and processes once it is live.
A KPI (key performance indicator) is a measurement of value that can be quantitative or qualitative in nature. Manufacturing companies typically use and track KPIs to determine how a particular area of operations is performing. KPIs are ideally presented in dashboard format, giving decision makers the ability to quickly answer the questions like, “How are we are doing?” and “What is causing performance issues?” Think of KPIs as a company or department’s scoreboard for how the team is playing the game.
If your company is evaluating ERP solutions, you already know that choosing the right system is a big decision. The evaluation process is not straightforward, or something that companies do on a regular basis. Selecting a new ERP is typically a “once in a (business) lifetime” decision, because if you land on the right solution, your company will extract value from it for decades.
If your company is thinking about getting or actively evaluating new ERP software, then you’re probably in a quandary about how to balance priorities and needs. Selecting the right ERP system for your company means finding one that’s not the most basic, not the most complex, not the cheapest, not the most expensive…. you get the picture. It can be tough to determine which one is a perfect fit. And to complicate matters, an ERP solution is typically a generational decision. Ideally, your company will use it for decades to come, so choosing the best ERP means being able to extract benefits from it now and way down the road.
SAP is a technology company that has been around a long time and offers what is often regarded as the top ERP software in the world. SAP ERP is built primarily for large companies in a variety of industries. Companies that are household names (e.g. BP, Coca-Cola, BASF, Audi, Burger King, and Citrix) very likely use SAP’s ERP software somewhere in their operations.
Manufacturing ERP solutions and manufacturing processes go hand-in-hand. Your manufacturing process is typically defined by how you make what you make: the materials needed, the operations required, and the sequence of those steps. An ERP digitally supports any given manufacturing process by giving users a tool to help them execute, track, and analyze results of that process. When the tool used to support manufacturing process planning changes (like replacing Excel sheets with a new ERP), the processes typically change, too.
A mixed mode manufacturer is a company that does not have a single manufacturing process. It is typically a combination of one or more of the following modes of manufacturing:
If you are a small to medium-sized business (SMB), then you know you have unique needs when compared to a large company. This is especially true when it comes to evaluating ERP solutions for SMBs.
