I like to take big, complicated topics and break them down to their simplest form. This gives me the clarity to evaluate new ideas, propose changes, identify problems, and such. For example, this is how I explain what Visual South does: “We work with SMB manufacturers to help them become the best company they can be. The tools we use to do that are ERP, consulting, and change management (usually involving processes and procedures).”
A modern ERP system is an amazing thing to behold. A materials manager can look at a screen and know what to buy, and when. This can be achieved with confidence, without a spreadsheet and without a meeting. Someone in order entry can check on a realistic promise date for a product that hasn’t begun to be built yet. Again, there’s no spreadsheet and no meeting needed to accomplish this.
There is an old saying in purchasing: You get yelled at for having too much inventory; you get fired for not having what you need. I think this perfectly describes the situation the purchasing department finds themselves in when they don’t have good data on what to buy. They do what any of us do when we must make a decision without having enough information – we guess. It may be an educated guess, but it is a guess nonetheless.
When a company decides to start an ERP search, the people involved can articulate why they are looking for ERP because it’s their reality. But finding the right solution is more difficult because looking for a new ERP system isn’t something they do every day. In many cases, people involved in the search have never looked for a new ERP system. In other words, it’s a lot easier to identify why you need an ERP rather than what ERP you need.
Looking for ERP can appear to be a daunting task. This is not surprising because chances are it is not something you do every day. Plus, there are plenty of stories of failed ERP implementations going around. Unfortunately, failure is an option. The risk is real.
If you are in the market for a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, don’t just focus on the software’s functionality. Limiting your search criteria to just the ERP is like shopping for a new house and not factoring in the location. Not paying attention to, or discounting the importance of other critical factors can narrow your choices, but increase your chance of being unhappy with what you ultimately choose – whether that’s a nice house in a bad location or new ERP that isn’t working for your company. The good news is this can be avoided. In the case of ERP, it comes down to closely evaluating the ERP implementation consultants you’ll be working with just as much as evaluating the ERP itself.
Listing all the benefits of VISUAL ERP would be a book, not a blog post. But you didn’t come here to read a book, so I’ve chosen what I think are the most significant benefits that manufacturing companies will get out of using VISUAL ERP.
Video transcript
Hi, I'm Jack Shannon. Are you thinking you're not getting as much out of your ERP as you should be? Perhaps you've even thought about reimplementing. Well, let's talk about that.
Video transcript
Hi, I'm Jack Shannon. If you're looking for ERP software, you're probably wondering how are you going to get the data that you need out of that ERP software.
Infor understands this. So, this is what Infor has to offer:
Video transcript
Hi, I'm Jack Shannon. If you're looking for ERP, you might be wondering how you're going to integrate your other programs into that ERP.
The good news is Infor ERP will communicate with other applications. There is no bad news. I'll get into a little more detail in just a moment, but first let's talk about if you even need to communicate with other applications. Infor ERP provides a complete, fully integrated software solution. Many times, this complete solution eliminates the need for the band-aid solutions that have been created over the years because the ERP provides the functionality needed. So, keep that in mind.
