ERP System

Know Your Upgrade or Else!

All too often a company with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems sail along with a functionally sound system that enables all necessary business processes to work as planned.  The company also has very productive employees that know how to use the ERP system.   The company is in fairyland because everything is so hunky dory.  Then all of a sudden…dun..dun..dun…dun…dun…an upgrade comes along.  And, just like Jaws (the shark) your Enterprise Resource Planning vendor bites.  They expect you to take the upgrade and you take it not really knowing what kind of functionality it provides or how it will change your existing system.

I have a friend who decided to upgrade his snow skies.  My friend went into a store and said, “I want the most expensive skies”.  I asked my friend why he wanted the most expensive skies and he said, “because the most expensive skies must be the very best skies”.  Hogwash!  Don’t get trapped with this kind of thinking.  This is the kind of thinking that puts more money in ERP vendor’s pockets and takes it right out of yours.  Spending more money doesn’t necessarily make something better.  If you have a fully functional Enterprise Resource Planning system that automates all of your necessary business processes, why not stick with it?  Why upgrade to add software functionality that you don’t need. 

Keep in mind that upgrades can be very expensive.  Enterprise Resource Planning upgrades generally cost companies .005% of their annual budget.  Consider that the ERP upgrade may cost more if you run into extensive road blocks or if you decide to hire unplanned consulting services.  Another expense to consider is employee training.  Your employees may not understand the new functionality provided in the ERP upgrade. You also need to think about integration costs and potential hardware costs.

Know exactly what is in an Enterprise Resource Planning upgrade before you decide to take it on.  Analyze the upgrade and determine is functionality you don’t need and never will.  If that’s the case, why waste time, money, and valuable resources on the ERP upgrade.  However, if you think your company might grow and the new functionality is a necessity to handle that growth, then upgrade.  But be prepared.  Create an ERP upgrade project plan.

Enterprise Resource Planning upgrades are specific to each and every business.  Evaluate your business and proceed with caution before upgrading.

Written by :

johnziegler