For small to medium sized manufacturers who do not necessarily have the IT staff to implement and maintain a traditional manufacturing ERP system there are many compelling arguments in favor of cloud computing, especially the variant known as Software as a Service (SaaS). SaaS-based manufacturing ERP systems conserve capital, dramatically cut costs of ownership and are significantly easier to launch and to live with.

ERP Manufacturing

Cloud Computing and Crowd Sourcing for SMB Manufacturing ERP.

There’s another significant advantage to the SaaS approach that definitely belongs among the Top Five arguments for this approach: It provides a unique source of continuous improvement that harnesses the collective wisdom of the entire universe of users. Before we explain that in detail, let’s revisit the upgrade path provided by traditional manufacturing ERP systems.

Does your business change just once a year, or more like once a week? ERP system fixes, improvements and extensions are typically issued once a year by software vendors. Which leaves users caught between waiting impatiently for new features and functionality and dreading the costly, time-consuming task of implementing the  whole bundle of version upgrades. No wonder so many manufacturers fall one, two, three or more versions behind the latest and greatest. Problem is, at that point your manufacturing ERP system is borderline obsolete. You are relying on outdated features and functionality while your competitors are enjoying the very latest efficiencies and business process improvements.

SaaS offers a dramatically different approach that in and of itself could be a compelling reason to make the switch to cloud-based ERP.  First, cloud-based vendors have largely abandoned the annual event of releasing “service packs” full of a long menu of items. Instead, they focus on one new feature or function at a time, perfect it and release it in real time as part of an ongoing process of continuous improvement. Users have a choice to accept or decline the change, but since there is no implementation pain or cost, the barrier to acceptance is exceedingly low.

The other big difference is in how feature and process improvements are prioritized. Since SaaS vendors and their users are part of a collaborative, online community, dialog flows instantly and effortlessly. Customers drive the upgrade process and participate in getting the feature set just right. Call it crowd sourcing of product improvement. The only upgrades that see the light of day are the ones the users have already green lighted. And they arrive one at a time, throughout the year, without any IT effort. Now, doesn’t that just make infinite sense?

Written by :

Don Cooper