Avoiding all things digital sounds like commercial suicide but it’s not as rare as you might think. Sometimes being told to get digital is enough to provoke the opposite reaction.

Overcoming the Digital Fear

But there is no need to bury your head in the sand. Small steps in the right direction are all you need. Maybe a toe dipped into digital marketing, a foray into social media or a decision to automate some of your basic functions is all it takes to set you on the path. If you would like to know about how to get started with digital business software we would be delighted to help. In the meantime…

Avoiding digital failure with ERP

We rececntly published this article in computer magazine ReaditQuik to re-assure readers who were about to embark on a process of digital transformation and we wanted to share that advice with you here. So here is a digest of the top 10 points…

1.    Choosing a partner

Work with the right people.  Trust is vital. Shop around for the implementation partner who has the best reputation for delivering. That may mean stepping out of your comfort zone to go with a smaller company or paying a bit more to get what you want, but it’ll be worth it.

2.    Choosing a system

Know what your requirements are before you start and don’t fall for features and gimmicks then pick something that does what you need it to do.

3.    Plan Ahead

Let your software partner in on your long term plans so that they can configure a system that grows with you and meets your expansion needs eg. multi currency, multi tax regime.

4.    Managing Change

Get your people on baord at all levels. When an organization is made up of people who understand the WHY of what is being done, then they are more likely to come on board with the HOW.

5.    Bureaucracy

Is overcomplex bureaucracy slowing things down? Make sure that decision makers are involved from the beginning otherwise decisions can take forever. Hold-ups lead to bottlenecks and everyone’s valuable time is wasted.

6.    Good Governance

Establish a good governance structure from the start in which each person knows their role and responsibilities.

7.    Business Processes

Don’t be tempted to automate bad practices. Implementing ERP is a chance to go back to basics and ask searching questions about the way things are done. A lot of “out-of-the-box” software these days is based on the best practice of thousands and thousands of businesses that have gone before.

8.    Don’t forget the data

Overruns and missed deadlines can be avoided by making sure data is ship shape early on. Find out what you need to do and get on with it.

9.    Training

Many people are taken unawares by the amount of training required. Super users have to know what they are doing before they can cascade the knowledge and training downwards so that everyone knows what to do.

10.   Aftercare

One of the most common pain points isn’t the implementation, but the time when the company is left to run things on their own. With so much effort put into the initial implementation project itself, the potential for problems afterward can be overlooked.

The best partners offer a good package of support and aftercare including a certain amount of hand-holding as standard. The very best vendors offer ongoing support packages that support customers throughout the journey. 

Contact us for more on choosing a system, implementation and aftercare packages [email protected] Or go back to basics with this great blog – What is Cloud ERP?