I have been in the ERP world for over 25 years—primarily in sales, but I’ve implemented ERP software for companies as well. My experience is largely in manufacturing environments, so that is the point of view from which I write this blog.
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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:
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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.
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Hi, I'm Jack Shannon. If you're looking for ERP, there's a lot to choose from, but is it affordable?
Affordability is a subjective topic without any defined boundaries; but it's an important topic. You don't want to waste your time looking for software you can't afford, but how do you know that you can't afford it if you haven't figured out what you can afford?
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Hi, I'm Jack Shannon. If you're looking for ERP software, you want a complete solution, not a partial solution.
A partial solution by definition is not going to handle all of your business needs. You'll have gaps and you'll need to fill those gaps with something. Chances are, you'd be filling those gaps with spreadsheets. That's probably the environment you have today. It's probably the environment you're trying to get away from now.
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Hi, I'm Jack Shannon. If you're looking for ERP software, it's important that that software fits your company and has the functionality you need.
I know I stated the obvious, but sometimes you get so wrapped up in looking at what vendors have, you forget to evaluate them on what you need. So, let's talk about what Infor ERP has.
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Hi, I'm Jack Shannon. If you're looking for ERP, I know that user experience is going to be important to you.
The user experience can be explained this way. How easy is it to use the software? I know this is an important issue not because of a survey that I read. I've been working with ERP and ERP users for over 30 years. It's reasonable that you want to have a better experience with your new ERP as compared to the experience you're having today. We understand this, Infor understands this, and this is what they've done:
If you are looking for software to manage your small to medium-sized discrete manufacturing business and don’t know if you need MRP (material requirements planning) or ERP (enterprise resource planning), let me make this easy for you. You should look for an ERP system. Read on to learn why.
If you search the term “manufacturing erp,” the results show many articles that tout the best, or the top [insert number here] manufacturing ERP packages. I understand that this is advertising and there is only so much space to proclaim, “Look at us!” However, I see this “software first” mentality live through the sales cycle and even drive manufacturing ERP selection decisions. A software’s functionality should not be the first criteria when selecting a manufacturing solution. At best, it’s the second criteria. (In fact, I will make a case it’s actually tied for second.) I’ve spent over 35 years using, implementing, or selling manufacturing ERP, so I’ve learned a few things along the way. Read on and I’ll share them with you.
I work with all sorts of companies and many of them already use an ERP, but many more do not and are evaluating solutions. You may think a lot of my conversations revolve around the software itself, explaining its functionality, the technology, how it’s licensed, etc. While I do have many detailed conversations about those things, most of my discussions center on what challenges businesses are having and how an ERP might benefit them. There are all sorts of reasons to implement and use an ERP, which vary from company to company. But one of the main benefits of ERP that is close to being universal for all companies is being able to control overhead costs.
