The rationale for bringing ERP consulting into an organization is varied but the benefits of ERP consulting are often worth the price. ERP (enterprise resource planning) issues and strategies often beg the advice and require the expertise of specialized consultants who have proven skills and expert knowledge of the ERP system that they service.

ERP Consulting

What Good is ERP Consulting?

In one sense, consultants can be viewed as temps – highly skilled but temporary employees, nonetheless. Consultants are often brought in for a specific project and a finite period of time. Though per hour rates are considerably higher when broken down, the client company is freed of the expenses associated with regular employees like health care, training and other benefits. And while the hourly rate is higher it is for a set amount of time.

Often, ERP consulting is used for a specific project, upgrade or configuration change. In one company running SAP consultants were brought in to create an internal customer service application for use by an in-house Help Desk and support staff. This proprietary system accessed personnel records and needed an interface created between the two modules.

Creating this proprietary help desk application was necessary but the lean IT staff did not have the bandwidth available to do it. ERP consulting was the tool of choice in getting the help desk utility created and up and running. This took someone with high-level expertise to make it happen. This project would have taking the time of basis administrators, ABAP programmers, network and systems administrators to accomplish. Instead, the consultant and help desk personnel were able to see the project through and the impact on day-to-day operations was minimal.

ERP consulting is also used in lieu of business analysis personnel. Many smaller and even mid-size companies do not have business analysts on staff. Filling that void, ERP consultants often bring with them best practices and lean manufacturing experience that is used to streamline business processes and make them more efficient.

Experienced consultants can be a virtual godsend for management and for the budget. Hiring managers and departmental execs also use ERP consulting and other consulting firms as a recruiter. Bringing a consultant onboard is an excellent way of trying out a prospective employee for an extended period of time. There is no better way to get a look at a potential hire than to have him or her work in the actual environment. Capabilities and skill sets get tested under real world circumstances as well as the over all fit of an individual into an organization.

Besides specialized projects and test driving prospective employees, ERP consulting is used to build upgrade strategies and to plan and test changes in software or hardware infrastructure. If a company is planning to adopt a new asset management system or create one of its own, for instance, the advice of a consultant, an expert on the ERP system, is necessary. Again, tying up regular personnel and placing them on a learning curve less related to everyday operations can be counter productive. Bringing an expert in can be the answer and ultimately more cost effective. ERP consulting has become a valuable tool for most organizations.

Written by :

Don Cooper