Close your doors
Perhaps your largest concern with the decision to either install or upgrade your ERP system — other than the considerable investment of money and time — is security. Your data will not likely be susceptible to external hackers, even if you opt for cloud computing and store your data on a server outside of your offices, but there is always the concern that your own employees might attempt to tamper with the system.
“If you have an on-premise solution that you keep within the walls of your business, your security concerns are more internal in terms of access for your employees,” says Prasad Akella, vice president of SME Solution Marketing, SAP. “You don’t want the guy running your supply system to be able to cross over to your HR system.”
In other words, assign each user a unique access name and password, much as you or your IT staff would for any office system of considerable size and importance, and allow each user access to only the parts of the system that he or she needs to use for his or her assignments. There are always concerns, but if you set up the security in advance, you will better protect your data and your business.
The other concern, especially after hearing the relatively sudden successes of Company A, the Arkansas manufacturing company that trimmed its stored inventory by about 40 percent and reaped a full return on its investment within a year of implementation, is when you will earn back the money you put into the system. Depending on the speed of the installation and how quickly you and your employees implement the full range of process automation, you could see a full return within two years, and perhaps even just one year. But the consensus is that ERP has evolved so much during the last couple of decades that it is a sound investment, no matter your industry, business size or needs.
“There has been a maturation process that businesses have gone through,” Akella says. “ERP is a commodity now, and businesses recognize that they need it and that they need to invest in it.”
It can, after all, help you improve the processes and efficiencies of your business. And it can change the way you do business.