The salient considerations in the selection of an appropriate team for selecting the ERP system are fitment of standard ERP product with least customization requirement, licensing and total ownership cost, fitment of manufacturing aspects in the standard ERP, fitment of ordering and fulfilment process flows in ERP system, and fitment of accounting and financial process flows in the ERP system.
It is necessary to have a lot of importance on the demos stage because the product will need to be built around all of the needs and the wants of the buyer. It is very important that the seller remembers that the customer is the most important aspect of the sell. There are a couple of benefits that happen during the demos stage. The first benefit is that it shows what the product can actually do. The second benefit is that the key features of the product will be revealed.
The one thing that Abhay Kishore could have done differently to ensure that the process of selection was more efficient and smooth is to make sure that the IT departments were linked together. When the IT departments are linked together, it will be a lot easier to figure out any issues with the product and to come up with any solutions to these issues.
There are a few predominant factors to deciding the type of ERP like the Homegrown or standard packages. The first factor is acquisition. Acquisition are the consulting, hardware, infrastructure, and software license costs of ERP. The second factor is implementation. Implementation is the consulting and integration, training, and back fill jobs costs of ERP. The third factor is maintenance. Maintenance is the system reconfiguration, system adaptation, system upgrade, and continuous learning of ERP.
The cost of Abhay Kishore and his team in the ERP selection process, it is important to focus on the efficiency of the product. Efficiency is one of the potential sources of saving money on the production of a product. But something else that the company will need to consider is human errors. The cost of the mistakes that can be made by humans can be a lot of money for a company. Therefore, the company might need to raise the prices of their products if there are a lot of errors. Another thing that can reduce the costs of the ERP selection process is to make sure that the right person is handling the finances of the company.
There are two main steps in determining the return on investment for ERP selection process. The first step is to determine all of the costs of the components of the product. These components include consulting, license, modification and implementation, and hardware costs. The second step is to estimate all of the benefits over a short period of time. In order to do this, the statistics from a variety of reports should be looked at. The benefits will include the reducing the inventory level, cost of operations and labor, and improving the production.
There are four things that need to be considered when it comes to justifying the need for the ERP selection process. The first thing is the different quantifiable benefits of the ERP process. The second thing is the intangible effects of the ERP process. The third thing is all of the costs of the implementation of the ERP system. The fourth thing is deciding if the ERP system needs to be replace or implemented again in a different way.
There are a few aspects that need to be considered in the ERP selection process. The first aspect is that customizations of the ERP selection process is going to have its limitations. The second aspect is that it takes a lot of time to implement this process so it is probably not going to be done when you think that it will. The third aspect is converting the data will need to be planned very carefully before it is implemented and tested. The fourth aspect is that people will need to be trained on how to use the system. The fifth aspect is that the system will always need to be evaluated so all problems can be avoided.
A company will need to do three things in order to negotiate the costs of the ERP process. The first thing is to consider the scope the selection process very carefully. The second thing is to understand that during negotiations, there are a lot of things that might not be discussed. The third thing is to know what activities will go on between the client and the vendor. It is very important that a person be prepared when it comes to the negotiation process. Therefore, questions will need to be ready in order to obtain the most information.
During the ERP selection process, there are some decision-making components that are owned by the group. The first component is financial management. Financial management includes the accounts receivable, accounts payable, and general ledger. The second component is the business intelligence. Business intelligence is where the group can analyze all of the data that is collected. The third component is the supply chain management. The supply chain management is the planning and scheduling involved in maximizing the profits of the company.
There are a few milestones for steering committee meetings of the ERP selection process. The first milestone is making sure that all of the information is verified. The second milestone is verifying all of the users of the process. The third milestone is making sure that all of the information is correctly processed. The third milestone is making sure all of the information is accurate and in the proper format for everyone to understand.
There are different types of risks that are involved in the ERP selection process. The first risk is the project management and executive sponsorship. The second risk is the realistic development of the project schedule and plan. The third risk is a change in management within the organization. The fourth risk is how much the business is involved in the process. The fifth risk is the tests that are done to make sure that the processes are correct. The sixth risk is the improper managing of the data within the process.
References:
Harwood, Stephen. (2003). ERP: The Implementation Cycle. MPG Books Ltd., Burlington, MA.