ERP systems have been around long enough that it is no longer necessary to explain their importance in running a business. While ERPs still is the favorite system that most users like to complain about, the problems faced are largely dependent on the size of the company (number of users) and the number of people that are actually knowledgeable about ERPs.

I notice that small and mid-sized companies that have bought any one of the JBOPS (JDEdw/Baan/Oracle/Peoplesoft/SAP) software often struggle the most utilizing their ERPs. That is mainly because they implemented ERP in a hurry and never took the time to explain the workings of the software to their users. Saving consulting costs play a major role in this but that is not the only reason. The pace of business and the workload per employee does not offer too much free time to explore and learn in small-mid sized companies. Users are generally not motivated to learn a software in their free time unless they plan to use it on their resume. Additionally, IT departments get (strapped with) the honor of having to manage a system that seriously impacts the business. This become a serious problem when the IT group and its management has only a fuzzy idea of how the business actually works. It is no use having an “business liaison”, unless this person has the executive backing to be a change agent (I am assuming the person understands both ERP and business processes). The organizational silos in such companies stifles communication even further where business units often fail to learn from each other despite having so-called “collaboration” tools.

So what is the solution for improving the utilization of the Enterprise Application Suite? While it is true that certain applications are stronger than others and they may have strengths in different functions, all of them are basically capable of supporting 80% of the business needs. Some customization will be needed to get a better fit. If you notice the problems really revolve around people, company culture and management. These things are difficult to fix unless there is communication across departments and championed by non-IT executive leadership. Selecting a competent set of people from the various departments and getting them trained in the theory of ERP helps. Once they have the basics, reinforce it with ongoing application training. This is a relatively small effort compared to what is gained. Rotate people in these groups till a majority of the users are now on board with the program. The improved awareness will lead to process improvements. Some staff may need to be replaced but you will end up as a markedly efficient and a better aligned business than before.

There are a lot of solutions to this problem. If you have faced this problem, feel free share your opinion on the subject via a comment. If you would like to discuss this directly with us for the sake of confidentiality, use the “contact us” link for our site.