Planning is the key to any successful endeavor, be it a strategy for winning a game of soccer, building a house, or implementing a new ERP system.
This is especially true when it comes to implementing a manufacturing ERP solution, because there are so many moving parts that have to fit together in order for it to work properly. A slap dash approach is sure to fail while a strategic, step-by-step plan is sure to succeed. And while this is nothing more than common sense, it’s surprising how many companies don’t have a detailed plan in place before embarking on an ERP selection, migration and integration journey.
Selection
Choosing the optimal ERP system for your manufacturing company is the first step. Really, it’s the foundation for everything to come. If you rush into it you could easily end up with an ERP solution that falls short of meeting your requirements. And then you’ll find yourself adding pieces and parts to make up for the system’s shortcomings, resulting in kludgy fixes that won’t survive the test of time.
So how do you make sure that your choice of an ERP manufacturing solution is the right one? The answer is simpler than you might think. The answer lies in choosing the right partner to work with. As you search for the right partner, you will discover that there are essentially two categories of providers: the generalist and the specialist. The generalist may list manufacturing as one area of their expertise, but their practice may also serve retailers and nonprofits and law firms and government agencies.
Hmm…
There aren’t many ERP software providers out there who specialize exclusively in manufacturing. We do. Strategic Systems Group (SSG) has been helping our clients choose the right ERP manufacturing solution for going on 30 years.
Migration
Having selected the right partner and the right ERP manufacturing software, the remaining steps will fall neatly into place. SSG will work with you to determine the best migration strategy so that your move from one system to another will be smooth and painless. It comes down to asking the right questions.
Which manufacturing processes are working well in your current system and should be mirrored in your new system? Which processes are currently falling short of your needs and should be better tailored to your needs in your new system? Does all of your data need to be migrated? Let’s think about that carefully because you don’t want extraneous data clogging or slowly down the performance of your newly selected solution.
These are just a few of the questions that we’ll explore with you to ensure a successful migration.
Integration
Integration is another critical piece of the software implementation puzzle. First, your new ERP manufacturing solution may already cover some or even many of applications that currently reside outside of your core solution, thereby obviating the need for extensive integrations. This is especially true if you’re migrating from a “legacy” solution to a more modern one. But let’s assume that some integrations will be required. That would be a valid assumption. We’ll then provide answers to key questions. What are the integration touch points? What are the best of breed integration tools to use?
Once again, there will be strategic decisions to be made and SSG understands the ramifications better than anyone because these are the decisions we help our manufacturing clients make every day. Integrations can be tricky, but we’ve seen them all as we’ve worked with manufacturers of all stripes, big and small, since 1991.
Don’t sweat it. We’ll sweat it for you.
Using a strategic approach adds value and provides other benefits as well. It means that before any step is taken it is scrutinized. It means that critical decisions are made before the implementation process begins, not while you’re in the thick of it, pressed for time, and forced to make hasty decisions. There’s a plan that has survived the test of time. Therefore, when SSG provides a quote and an implementation schedule, you can rest assured that the project will be completed on time and on budget.
That’s called peace of mind.
Here is a complete list of SSG-supported manufacturing applications.
Let’s talk about where you’re at today and where you’d like to be tomorrow.
Visit us at www.ssgnet.com. Call us at 310.539.3635 or email us at info@ssgnet.com.
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