Go Green with ERPs

ERPs generally help you to improve the process. How can an ERP system can make your organization eco-friendly.

1. Going with workflows
Workflows in an ERP system can help you reduce the process flow of documents between people to people as paper documents; This also increases the visibility of the process across the organization

2. Alerts Mechanisms
In traditional usage of office applications people tend to take printouts of huge statistical data and act upon the critical areas. ERP systems will help or assists you with setting upon alert mechanism may be its inventory, increase of credit limits, excess budgets, etc.,

3. Passing of information through Emails
ERP systems alows you to send critical documents such as Purchase Orders, Sales Orders, Production orders to be reviewed and ammended online. These documents can also be sent to the respective people via emails.

4. Review meetings
No need for people to take printouts of their analytical areas instead they can share the ERP data screens through video conferencing, remote desktop access by sharing their data and discuss among peers.

These ways ERP can assist you in reducing your Travel, Printing of paper, Spending of money in Logistics, etc.,

This may seem to be an cumbersome excersice even for the companies which have already implemented ERPs but belive you can do a lot of good thing to the future generation and the organization, by implementing step by step at least any one of this and follow it rigorously.

Be the change you want to be - Mahatma Gandhi.

Thanks.

Challenges for small software companies in Domestic Industry

In this blog I would like to discuss the various factors which pose as an challenge for the growth of smaller software companies.

1. No idea about the market
When the companies enter into the market, they have very little or no idea about the current market situation, have less amount of analytics. This situation makes them unclear about the problems they are about to face in the market.
2. Unorganized business segment
Since the market is largely unorganized for the domestic industry per se, the cost factor will be key for the growth. Due to unhealthy competition prices are not organized and they become volatile.
3. Funding
Due to the very problem of high attrition rate and Industry own high pay scale issues funding needs to be the key. The smaller companies get into the viscous circle of not getting paid by the customer in time due to no clear definition of success.
4. Lack of documentation
Documentation and process is lacking which will be taken as an advantage by the customer. Documentation involves quite an amount of process understanding rigorous auditing by the organization.
5. Failure to learn from mistakes
When we fail to learn from mistakes we tend to end up in an bigger problem. This happens with the smaller organization. Smaller organization focus only on getting the business, but instead they should focus on getting sustainable business.

Open for comments & Discussions.

Reasons for failures of ERP Implementation Part

There are various reasons for failure of ERP implementation . This blog discusses some of them for your understanding:

1. Success is not defined properly.

The success of the project is not defined properly. The success has to be defined in such a way that its measurable and achievable. Some example can be mentioned as given below:

a. Completion of first 25 Purchase order in the new system
b. Inventory match between the live erp system and physical inventory
c. Trial Balance match on the first month after going live on ERP system financials
d. Completion of first 10 sales invoice from the new ERP System

These predefined measureable statements would be the key for defining the success fo the erp system.

2. Transparent Communication by the stakeholders

Stakeholders are not communicated properly on the problems and decisions. Decisions which are not taken timely will create delays in implemenation. This has

to be taken care in both vendor and customer side. Example of such non-communication are as given below:
a. Lacking certain functionality in the ERP
b. Non-availability of report formats to the Report development team
c. Not revealing certain inputs for completion of the accounts mapping.
d. Decision on process from the Head of the departments

ERP: Psychological Factors

Why do organization restrain themselves to ERP. This blog discuss some of the internal psychological factors which makes organization restrain to going ahead with ERP

1. Change Management: Users accustomed to the existing legacy solution or systems have to get used to the change which tend to happen in an ERP Implementation
2. Training: The Users needs to be trained to the new system, time and effort required would be high
3. Control: The existing system might give ease of control for managing the mistakes effectively, imposing an ERP solution might put them on to control on data authorization, approval procedures
4. Accountability: When you implement an ERP the accountability of the data is made responsible to an person, which they might be fearing off
5. Perception on Failures: Their competitors and partners they work with might have told them about the problems in an ERP implementation which might given an negative perception about ERP Implementation

SAP B1 (Business Process set right)

SAP B1

The Small and Medium size ERP is being talked all over india now. the SAP Business One an SME version of ERP meant for Small and Medium enterprises is gaining high importance at this time of recession and slowdown economy to have better control of business processes.

Why do we need SAP B1 - If any organization is worried about having an ERP they should try to figure out solutions for this questions:

1. How long it takes to prepare an Balance Sheet?
2. How many times we check the inventory before we make an new purchase order?
3. Which are the product lines which is taking more time for delivery? Where is the bottleneck?
4. Which is vendor is delaying in supply of raw materials? Should I continue partnering with him?
5. How much credit period I get from vendor ?
6. Whats the time spent on reconciliation of Bank statement from my books of accounts?
7. Do I have control of the Customers and Suppliers I deal with? Whether do I have all the sufficient information regarding them.
8. How about the control on expenses we make? Can we have an budget and make control over the same?
9. How many leads I came across this Quarter, how many have been lost and why are they lost?
10. Whether my Purchase and Sales documents are proper with numbered, year after year and maintained properly for statutory and auditing purpose at any point of time?

Hope answer to these questions would make you understand the need of an ERP like SAP B1.

Why waste time, evaluate it.