Working with ten panels of 21 scientists each, the EFSA provides guidelines on all food safety issues, from additives andmeat inspectionto food container materials. These scientists volunteer their time in what can sometimes prove to be a high-pressure role, but there is more to it than another boost on their CV. 

As well as increasing collaboration across a whole spectrum of scientific disciplines, scientists are able to advise and liaise with the food and beverage industry on a partnership level. In working with manufacturers, they develop guidelines to protect the consumer while also helping food and beverage production managers assess risks in their supply chain. This means that manufacturers can plan ahead for future guidelines, assess potential gaps in their supply chain planning as well as provide increased transparency of the entire food and beverage production process for both consumers and authorities.

Whilst the European Food Safety Agency Scientific Committee does deal with risk assessment and quality control to ensure transparency in the food supply chain, they have been criticised in other areas.

December 2012 saw the EFSA permit 222 motions against what it deemed to be ‘false’ health benefit claims made by food and beverage companies under Article 13.1 of the Nutrition Health Claims Regulation. This movement has been met with derision by many in the food and beverage industry as just another example in many of how floppy, generic descriptions lead to disaster. Food and beverage companies are consistently failing on three key areas of the new health claim descriptors outline by the EFSA health claims panel.

But shouldn’t consumers be able to trust their food and drink without an army of altruistic scientists?

Absolutely, which is why it is essential that food and beverage manufacturers use scientists’ guidelines to establish transparency for the consumer at a systematic level. The most efficient and effective way of doing this is through a custom enterprise resource planning (ERP) software platform. Using this software, manufacturers can plan their entire manufacturing process, automate the workflows and gain a comprehensive overview of the process from an integrated dashboard.

So how can food manufacturers keep in-line with these new, and somewhat blurred, standards? Again, by employing an enabling software solution that allows them to carry out two key functions:

-      Make quick changes to key business workflows, or ‘business process reengineering’ of workflows

-      Pull an immediate and reliable overview of any part of the supply chain at any time

The increased media attention on the transparency and traceability of the production of consumables has only highlighted the need for manufacturers to have a robust planning system in place. Implementing comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can help, by delivering customisable modules specific to the food and beverage industry.

>>> Download our free and impartial guide: ERP resource planning in the food and beverage industry <<<

Technorati Tags: EFSA, food and beverage software guide, food industry software, Food safety

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In 2011, it was recorded that the food and drink industry spent £1 billion on research and development. Producing 8,500 new products – and it’s down to the huge surge of interest in food software process reengineering and innovation.

Over 55% of food and drink manufacturers consistently place product development as the number one priority for innovation, leaving ‘health and wellness’ trailing behind. This is an interesting turn in industry priorities, where health used to be a core issue and selling point.

Why?

How can we explain this shift? Firstly, health has now become a mainstream consideration – every supermarket range now has a ‘healthy’, ‘light’, ‘live well’ or ‘organic’ range. The health message has become exhausted, pushing product development increasingly into the spotlight.

Boost commercial opportunities

Equally, it is the huge commercial opportunities available that have pushed the use of emerging technologies higher up the agenda. Products which have a longer shelf life, enhanced taste and multiple functions means that the industry – and its consumers – can do more with their food. New technologies mean that manufacturers can play around with taste, texture and appearance – and customers like to play along too. Rather than promoting healthy living, the food industry is returning to its core focus on flavour and sensation; product development has put taste back on the menu.

Increase manufacturing efficiency

Innovation in products inevitably requires innovation in technology. From new factory equipment through to new IT software, the process of updating production techniques has a cumulative effect on a manufacturer’s demands. Smoothing processes means production can be more effective, and developing the MRP system for production chain management is a good place to start.

>>Download Lakeview’s guide on food and beverage industry software innovation and best practices<<

Just one example of how innovating your existing food software delivers cost-savings is by minimising waste in the food manufacturing process. This simple reengineered business processs hows that food software reengineering doesn’t cost the world but certainly goes a long way to reduce overhead costs – which other trends in software innovation do you see becoming a priority this year? Add to the discussion in the comment box below…

Technorati Tags: business process reengineering, food and beverage software guide, food industry software

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If you are looking at implementing a new ERP system, or further the use of your current application, don’t assume that your existing business processes are the best way to get the job done. Even worse, don’t insist on modifying the system to do what was done before.

When looking to re-engineer and enhance your business processes, first, ensure there is a good understanding of existing business processes. This may entail conducting a Business Process Review (BPR). A recent (Panorama Consulting) article highlighted: ‘The Importance of Mapping Current State Business Processes‘.

How can your software provider facilitate this process?

Ultimately the aim of a Business Process Review and, or a detailed process mapping exercise is to make the process more efficient and wherever possible, leverage the system’s functionality. Typically the BPR will be initiated by someone in the organisation who sees a need to review processes to improve productivity, get products to market faster, accommodate impending change, or simply re-assert and document how things should be done.

Once the areas to review are defined, desired outcomes and specific metrics that can assist with measuring the results are agreed. The next stage is to map and review the existing process with management and employees to define:

• The operations within the process
• The activity within each operation
• Who conducts each activity and through what means
• The workflow that links all operations together

What is the output from this exercise?

Through the review and mapping process company staff and your consultant will identify:

• Duplicated efforts
• Actions that can be eliminated by changing the workflow
• Opportunities to reduce the participants in the process
• Opportunities to reduce the time by conducting operations simultaneously
• Inclusion of control points to ensure that what needs to be done is done
• Inclusions of checks and exception procedure

This results in a new business process, which with the help of your consultant is aligned with a system process that makes an effective use of the system. The BPR can highlight a need to further integrate business processes with IT systems, or invest in new technologies. When also taking the time to forecast for business projections and roadmaps the issue of tech scalability comes in to question. Although this may appear to be a partisan view, research shows that IT savvy companies tend to perform better that less savvy counterparts.

“IT-savvy companies are 21% more profitable than non-IT-savvy companies.” Source: Dr. Weill, MIT Sloane School.

Author: Luc Belaiche, Consulting Services Manager at Lakeview Computers

Technorati Tags: business process re-engineering, business process reengineering, business process review, Enterprise resource planning

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In fact, while manufacturing has declined in relative terms, in real terms it is still a growing industry. According to a 2009 UK manufacturing report by PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC), British manufacturing reached it’s all-time peak in 2007 but even today it still holds a top worldwide manufacturing status for niche industries such as aerospace and precision engineering.

However, it would be naïve to think that the UK’s manufacturing sector isn’t facing some difficult challenges. Here are three of the top challenges faced by the manufacturing industry and how they could be solved, at least in part, with the implementation of a tailored and integrated MRP solution…

Challenge 1: Access to  materials

Whilst not a unique challenge to UK industries, the UK trade deficit together with our growing isolation & weak currency within Europe and dependence on supply from the Far East makes sourcing materials on time and within budget particularly challenging.

Importing raw materials extends the lead-in time for orders, meaning any slight fluctuation or difficulty arising in your usual source country could set back your manufacturing days, if not weeks. Any  manufacturer, for example, importing material from Asia in the last decade may well  have been severely affected by natural disasters  like the devastating tsunami and floods or by increasing labour costs in the rapidly emerging nations such as India and China. A new supplier is difficult to establish quickly, leading to delays and additional costs – eating into the manufacturers already tight profit margin.

How might a tailored MRP solution help overcome this challenge?

With an MRP solution tailored to your specific business you always have an up to date executive overview of your supply and demand, allowing you to ensure peak production continues with material and component  supply available on time. When problems arise with your supply, an integrated MRP solution will be invaluable in highlighting the issue in advance enabling you to take corrective action in time.

As part of integrated business software solution there is increased visibility and tracking of supplier consignments, including fully loaded costs, wherever they are sourced in the world.

>>> Choose the right MRP solution for your business with our free MRP software guide <<<

Challenge 2: Managing costs

There are a number of reasons that costs for manufacturers have been creeping up in the last decade or so: a lack of skilled labour, the increasing cost of imports and the inflation of property values to name just a few. Keeping control of these costs has been particularly challenging for the manufacturing industry, where competition with developing countries means even tighter margins.

Ensuring profitability is, of course, essential to the survival of manufacturing – but it remains a very fine balance for business owners and operational managers to find.

How might an MRP solution help overcome this challenge?

An MRP solution specifically tailored to your manufacturing organisation will allow operations managers and planners to identify inefficiencies and poor performance within the supply chain. This will help improve supplier fulfilment levels, production throughput and ultimately customer service levels..

By analysing costs, volumes and performance through the system, the planner or buyer can leverage best price and performance from suppliers including the companies own production facilities!

With these finely tuned levers, business owners, planners and operating managers can keep a better hold of the entire manufacturing process, help create even greater efficiencies and minimise financial shocks and costs in order to ensure profitability for the future.

>>> Choose the right MRP solution for your business with our free MRP software guide <<<

Challenge 3: Dealing with the supply chain as a whole

There are a number of reasons the manufacturing industry is drowning in their own data – a greater distribution of suppliers and customers, multiple manufacturing bases, greater levels of subcontracting and complex distribution networks, to name but a few. The more departments and businesses communicate across multiple geographic locations, time zones and systems, the more data there is and the greater the chance of errors and delays.

An operations manager or planner will be expected to collate this data into a single meaningful stream in order to analyse and use it for material and distribution planning. A single error in this process could leave you overstocked, tying up significant amounts of cash, or under stocked and having to deal with irate customers and order cancellations.

How might a software  solution help overcome this challenge?

A business software solution that has been tailored to your business will allow for quick and easy data flow between departments, manufacturing bases, suppliers, distributors and subcontractors. This integrated system provides operations managers and planners with a clear overview of all the data essential to a smooth manufacturing process and helps to avoid overstocking, late deliveries or missed orders.

The supply suggestions output from the MRP system, once confirmed, can be updated immediately in the system and so visible to all in the business.  Where appropriate the changes are sent electronically over the Internet to suppliers, subcontractors and customers linking your supply chain tightly together.

>>> Choose the right MRP solution for your business with our free MRP guide <<<

As a manufacturing industry professional, what do you consider the greatest challenges in the current global market? Do you see the sector “bouncing-back’ in the near-term?

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below…

Technorati Tags: DRP, manufacturing process, manufacturing software, MRP guide, MRP solution, Supply Chain planning, tailored MRP solution

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For any modern business, getting your ERP implementation right first time is an absolute necessity. If all goes well then you have a solution that will improve productivity, increase staff efficiency, reduce costs, increase sales and provide your customers with up-to-the-minute information and services. If all goes wrong…well, let’s take a look at some in famous cases of ERP errors…

Sweet gone sour

Back in 1999, Hershey’s Foods, a popular US sweet manufacturer, switched to an SAP ERP solution for their North American office. Unfortunately for Hershey’s they were inexperienced in ERP implementation yet had tried to go directly through the vendor. Unprepared for the adjustment period following the $112m ERP and CRM package implementation, they suddenly suffered a mysterious problem with their ordering system. The result: Hershey’s were unable to deliver some key sweet lines to shops in time for Halloween, a pivotal date in the American confectionary calendar. The cost to the company was $100m in lost revenue and an 8% drop in stock price.

How to avoid the same mistake:

Get some experience on your side. A seasoned IT team, well versed in the best practices of ERP implementation would have accounted for some teething issues and ensured that the system wasn’t rolled out before it was ready and in any event not just prior to the most important festive date in  Hershey’s trading calendar.

If you don’t have the experience in-house then make sure you select an ERP provider with the experience and support team to manage these avoidable pitfalls.

Read more: A foolproof checklist for screening ERP software providers

‘Just do it’ – not always the best advice

A year later and at the turn of the millennium, global sportswear company Nike shelled-out over $400m for a new ERP system. What did this huge sum of money buy Nike? A total of $100m in lost sales, a 20% drop in share price and class action lawsuits coming out of their ears. So what went wrong?

Combining an ERP module with CRM and supply chain management software, Nike had tried to create a best of breed super-system. These multiple-vendor business systems are popular in the US but (perhaps because of the Nike multiple vendor ERP example) have not really caught on in the UK yet.  On such a huge scale, and as we see in the case of Nike, it only takes one key decision to go awry for the whole project to go downhill fast.

How to avoid the same mistake:

Consider very carefully the pros and cons of selecting one integrated ERP solution vs a best of breed approach. It maybe worth foregoing some advanced features that add minimal business value to ensure that you are working closely and effectively with one trusted software supplier.

“just doing it’ with a collection of so called best of breed software suppliers is not the best approach. ’ There was clear evidence of a lack of planning and testing in the Nike implementation so be sure that there is real focus and time allowed for these key activities.

“For the people who follow this sort of thing, we became a poster child [for failed implementations].”— Roland Wolfram, Nike’s vice president of global operations and technology

The perfect storm

Sometimes it’s not just one thing that causes problems, it’s loads of little things. When Hewlett Packard implemented a new ERP software solution in 2004, unlike Hershey’s, they had left teething time, and, unlike Nike, had planned the implementation to the nth degree. Instead, what hit HP was the perfect storm of issues:  a fifth of orders not going through, a subsequent server bottleneck occurred, and the backlog of orders to be processed.

The company lost a whopping $160m in lost revenues and seriously damaged their reputation.  Customers and corporate clients alike began switching to competitors.

“We had a series of small problems, none of which individually would have been too much to handle. But together they created the perfect storm.”— Gilles Bouchard, then-CIO and executive vice president of global operations, Hewlett-Packard

How to avoid the same mistake:

How can you avoid a similar tornado of problems? The HP ERP disaster came down to insufficient software testing and also their aftercare team not being prepared to tackle multiple problems at once. Some may even argue that they obviously chose the wrong vendor given the number of problems that seemed built into their ERP system.

When choosing an ERP software supplier, make sure they have a good track record both at building the initial system and dealing with the post-implementation care. An ERP provider who is not equipped to deal with problems of their own making will leave the door wide open to a perfect storm of problems.

Make sure you are fully up-to-speed with the latest ERP implementation advice by downloading our no nonsense guide to ERP solutions.

Technorati Tags: accounting software, ERP implementation mistakes, ERP software, ERP software guide, ERP software implementation, ERP solution

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Whether you are a wholesaler, a manufacturer, or both, optimising inventory is key to achieving and sustaining profitable business growth. To that extent supply chain management professionals need to ensure that their stock control and planning software is working for them – and not the other way around. Digitising and automating your processes is supposed to help, not hinder. If your existing systems do not help shorten planning cycles, provide end to end visibility of demand and supply, your organisation might be compromising unnecessarily.

So if your existing solution isn’t quite matching your requirements, it could be time to consider changing or upgrading your supply chain planning system.

>>> How to build a robust and responsive supply chain download this FREE supply chain planning sheet <<<

What should the outputs of an MRP/DRP system be?

Your MRP system should provide a comprehensive time-phased view of your, production, procurement and distribution requirements & challenges. These in turn should translate into correlated plans. The first should be a recommended purchasing schedule, and the second a recommended production schedule. Your MRP system should suggest what materials need to be at your plant(s), in what quantity and when. Likewise it should suggest what finished products should be made, procured, or simply transferred to your distribution centres. If the MRP system is seamlessly integrated to your main back-office software, these plans should require no, or minimal input. Once the plans have been reviewed and adjusted, you should have the ability to automatically turn them into procurement and production orders without any need for further manual input.

Discover your requirements

There are two key points you should consider when purchasing or upgrading an MRP system. The first is what are your current processes, which ones should the system support and to what extent.  The second is to understand where current limitations and issues lie.  These may directly be linked to the software’s functionality (or lack of), your knowledge of it, or your existing business processes.

These vital considerations should help you identify and prioritise your organisation’s present requirements. It may however not be sufficient. The supply chain is an area where the company’s strategy and requirements may rapidly change, as a supply chain professional you need to respond to these shifts, efficiently. Selecting the appropriate solution therefore also requires you to…

Think ahead

Three primary things any manufacturing and/or distribution company should consider when looking at MRP solutions are; the size and predicted growth of its client base, the size and growth of the product catalogue and the possible changes in supply model. The new software you select  must offer scalable and adaptable solutions.

The reasons for having an MRP system are to make life easier and drive more effective planning: a slow, inflexible system, that can’t cope with the load, or hardware that does not support the new powerful software are costly in time and money.

Standard, industry specific or bespoke – what are the options?

There are many software solutions out there. It might be that you require an add-on to your existing software, or an entirely bespoke program – or perhaps an off-the-shelf system would do the job just fine.

You must first consider your own requirements and then take a look at what is on offer. Make sure to shop around, and don’t be afraid of asking to visit potential MRP solution providers to meet them face-to-face.

>>> Have your burning supply chain management questions answered at our MRP software webinar <<<

Understanding the variety of MRP solutions and what they can offer can be confusing: if you want to know more, download our free guide: The key to managing your supply chain to learn more about using technology to the fullest.

Technorati Tags: DRP, MRP, procurement and inventory planning, stock control, supply chain, supply chain management, supply chain management software, wholesale distribution software

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Knowing where your food comes from is now more crucial than ever to consumers, for food suppliers, the best route to  tracing a particular supply chain is through food distribution software (or ERP software). We read about the horsemeat DNA scandal in retailer food supply chains every day, and now, so not to feel left out, processed meat has jumped up in the saddle and is coming along for the ride too.

But quite possibly one of the silver linings to come out of all this chaos is that more and more people want to ‘Buy British’, not cheapest. This could be the British Food Industry’s golden year!

Of course, along with good news often comes bad. Not only is the Food Standards Agency tightening the reins, but consumers are asking more of suppliers: where did that meat come from? Is it free range? Is it British? Is it from the man down the alley?

For the food industry, traceability is king! We need to be able to provide assurance to our customers that we were on friendly terms with Porky the Piglet who roamed freely around a field. It’s likely you’ve seen excerpts like this on your rashers; ”We watched him grow into a strong, strapping young pig, following his journey from British field to British plate”. It’s due to EU legislation that this kind of detail is expected of food supply chain management professionals.

This process doesn’t just apply to pork, although I am a little partial to a bacon butty. It also applies to any manufactured or processed food – managing the journey is key and recording that journey is crucial!

Traceability – this is a word that you’re going to be seeing and hearing a lot of in the future – raises a few key questions we need to ask ourselves:

-       Are our traceability procedures and systems up to the task ahead?

-       What additional costs will our business incur as the need for formal traceability increases?

-       Are we ready to cope with more demanding customers and suppliers?

Modern integrated systems allied to robust processes can play a key role in providing your customers with the audit trail and transparency they require and as a result maintain positive trading relationships. Download our free guide: prioritising ERP in the food & beverage industry.

What do you think about traceability?  Are you able to trace your ingredients and are you up-to-date on the latest legislation? Voice your comments and concerns in the comment section below.

Technorati Tags: Enterprise resource planning, ERP software, food & beverage erp, food customer, food erp

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We caught up with Scott as he sat downstairs building six new machines for one of our customers.

So Scott, how long have you been working at Lakeview?

I’ve actually only been here for around six months, so despite being 41, I am very much still a junior member of staff. I actually had quite a dramatic career change from pure retail to IT. I am happy to have been given the opportunity to start a new career, mid-recession, doing something I love.

What is it you do for Lakeview on a day-to-day basis?

I help our customers out with their problems, mainly a lot of IT support. Some problems are simpler than others so we can help straight away over the phone; others are more complex, we have to go on-site to investigate. I deal with more of the ERP hardware side of things; I also have a professional qualification in hardware engineering. I carry out repairs and fixes for clients too, and I build computers – obviously (he says looking down at his pile of computer bits and half-assembled machines).

What makes Lakeview a great place to work?

I am a bit of a geek I have to admit. I love computers and especially learning new things about them. Lakeview has already been such an amazing education for me and with the wealth of experience around me; I know I will learn a lot more. Some of the guys here have been working on ERP hardware for 15 years or more, so there’s always more for me to learn.

I’m also very used to helping customers from my retail background, so it is great to be able to use that experience at Lakeview. I even get to play detective when an issue crops up!

What about outside of work, do you have any hobbies?

I am a big gamer (told you I was a geek!). I love relaxing and playing the new Call of Duty game on the Xbox360. I was also pretty heavily into World of Warcraft for about 6 years, which I know is far too long to be playing one game. I had to stop in the end.

It might be surprising, but I am also quite a keen gardener. I think it is something to do with balancing out technology with nature, quite a few of the guys here feel the same. In fact, I recently found out that flowers send out a little signal when they’re grown a new area to check that they’ve grown properly. This is a very similar process to what happens in the RAM of a server. So there are quite a few parallels between gardening and hardware engineering I think.

Keeping up with our blog is easy; you can simply use the RSS link at the top of the page or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

If you would like an impartial chat on choosing the best bespoke ERP solution for you, get in contact with one of our friendly team members today and they’ll be happy to help.

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Avoid costly human errors

It is possible to manually track these forecasts through spreadsheets, but the margin for error in this method is high. Imagine if you had the wrong digit on a date – if something should be processed by the 1st not the 21st, your forecast planning would cause a ripple effect that upsets the fine balance between procurement, production, distribution and your clients expectations. This also has an impact on customer satisfaction, order fulfilment performance and ultimately where future business is placed by your client.

Gain real-time business intelligence

While you can manage inventory planning decisions offline, it can be difficult to take a top-level view of the entire process. Moving to powerful automated software means management and operations staff can create forecasts, tweak schedules and see every part of the chain in one place. If demand increases, MRP makes it much easier to see the timescales it may take for any kind of adjustment in the procurement, production, or distribution processes – whether the requirement is to ‘make to order’, ‘make to stock’ or future planned purchasing or production – to keep up with the load.

End unnecessary overstocking

Producing reports to analyse the current stock and demand situation can be a laborious process if handled offline or on spreadsheets. Having inaccurate or out-of-date records means you could be overstocking, therefore incurring unnecessary additional costs, such as storage, insurance and obsolescence. If you move your forecast and stock analysis onto an automated system, you can view the changing supply vs demand position online and also export to real-time reports or dashboards around your supplies, stock and demand with ease.

Simplify distribution planning

You might also be missing a trick with manual systems when it comes to distribution planning. Having one person in one location determining and controlling planned and actual stock transfers between locations or warehouses can prove difficult. An integrated software can greatly help monitoring inventory across locations and enable you to see at-a-glance where and when to shift stock and for anyone to see stock in transit.

Minimise paperwork

A final benefit of moving from offline systems to integrated MRP software is one that your accounts department will be grateful for, in particular: integrated software can ensure that all transactions are entered once in one system, coded up correctly and can be automated where possible via fax, email, internet or Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).

If you are still making do with a manual inventory planning solution, perhaps it is time to take a look at the next steps you can take to save time and money in the both the day-to-day management and forecasting process. Download Lakeview’s free guide to in-depth MRP software features and benefits.

Technorati Tags: distribution software, DRP, inventory planning, MRP software, MRP software guide, stock control, supply chain professional

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It is important to get your choice of ERP software provider right first time, particularly when you consider thatalmost a third of surveyed respondentsfound that their ERP solution provided no return on their investment (ROI), while another third said that their ERP software took 3 years to provide a measurable ROI. But what fool proof method is there for screening your potential ERP software providers?

Step One: List your requirements

The first and most important step on the road to successfully finding your perfect ERP software provider is to compile a complete list of your requirements for the software. It is crucial that everyone involved in or using the ERP solution has their say at this point, as these requirements will form the framework for the entire ERP installation project.

If there are specific reports that you need to run or processes that you need to complete then it might be a good idea to provide a demonstration of these along with the base requirement. Then your ERP software provider can develop your solution to fit your needs

You may discover that some requirements listed are either contradictory or conflicting. These requirements need identifying and resolving at this point before they develop into a bigger problem later on.

Step Two: Create a summary checklist

Once you have all your requirements gathered it is time to make a summary ERP software checklist to give to suppliers. This should be an exhaustive list of all the key requirements across all ERP modules. The language in your checklist needs to be as unambiguous as possible, so leave out qualitative words like ‘user-friendly’ or ‘flexible’ – all ERP software providers will claim to cover these points but in reality they leave a lot of room for interpretation. You should also try to avoid computer jargon such as ‘connect to’ or ‘interface with’ another machine. If you need to send a particular cutting pattern from the system to the machine tool electronically then state this as simply and precisely as possible. It may not sound as fancy, but will provide more information and clarity to your potential ERP software providers.

Step Three: Personalisation and expansion

Some of the features listed in your supplier checklist will be specific to your organisation – for example, producers of consumer electronics may require additional ERP support at the product-testing phase. These items should be teased out and highlighted to your potential suppliers in order for them to provide ballpark cost.

You should also think about how your business might expand in the next five or so years. This expansion plan may require additional elements to be incorporated into your ERP solution, so planning for them now can create a more flexible system capable of dealing with your expansion, with little pain or expense.

Step Four: See it in action

Once you have completed the above steps you are ready to complete a needs analysis with your prospective ERP software providers. This is an important step that some businesses miss and will help demonstrate to you that the supplier understands your requirements. Remember to be somewhat flexible at this stage; suppliers will know the latest technology that could work better for you than your initial suggestions and specifications. After all, you don’t want your new ERP software to be a complete replica of an old system!

A good ERP software provider will also offer you a demonstration at their facilities – if they don’t then you should insist on one since seeing the software on a single-user portable PC is not always very representative. Demonstrations at their facility will help to filter out the less reliable, less professional providers leaving you with a shortlist of the very best suppliers.

These steps have been summarised from our full ERP software checklist guide, which you can download for free.

Technorati Tags: ERP software, ERP software checklist, ERP software provider, ERP solution

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