An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a robust software platform for managing day-to-day business activities such as accounting, procurement, project management, risk management, and compliance.
But the idea of switching up software can be intimidating to small and medium sized manufacturing firms. Just the three letters “ERP” can send a chill down the spine, conjuring visions of cost overruns, longer than expected implementation times, and unmanageable complexity that can leave you scratching your head wondering if you realized any actual cost savings from the investment.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
There are three steps to unraveling the complexity. We start with the basics: What’s your current tech stack? Why are you encountering issues? What else is going on? Where are the bottlenecks? Every manufacturer we meet with is unique, and that’s why we look at your specific situation and goals to get you that right-fit solution.
Phase I: Business Software Solution Mapping
If you are like most manufacturers, some of your software solutions work fine, and some don’t.
We typically find that the right-fit management software will depend on the size of your business. When you’re around $5 million in sales, complexities start to rise that may point to an ERP. For companies in the $1-5 million range, we’ll think through other options.
We’ll look at whether your margins allow for the expense of an ERP solution. But it’s not only a budgetary concern — we also need to explore your internal resources for implementing a new system efficiently.
We’re here to support you with your business infrastructure, not to convince you to buy software you don’t need. We often find that solutions you are already using can fit the bill with some additional training or using capabilities you didn’t realize you already invested in.
Sometimes, our work ends at Phase I, but if you do need additional solutions to achieve your goals, we can help with that also.
Phase 2: Solution Shopping
Consider this: A typical discovery process for a given ERP is about eight hours. You don’t want to go through that 5-6 times – and that only gets you to the starting line.
We streamline this, saving you time and resources. Our consultants evaluate solutions all the time and we know their strengths and weaknesses. We can quickly identify which ones might fit your needs and budget. Then we work with the software salesperson to create a demo for you and your key stakeholders that focuses on those capabilities and not the myriad of bells and whistles you don’t need.
Phase 3: Implementation Support
Once you’ve chosen your solution, OMEP can facilitate the entire implementation process. This is, after all, where the rubber meets the road. Either by acting as your project management representative or supporting your in-house project management team, we will help keep you within budget and on schedule.
Finally, we provide coaching and post-implementation support for continuous improvement. Need a tuneup a year later? We’re here for you.
OMEP Works by your Side, Focused on Your Goals
We are solution agnostic, and our only agenda is to find the right solution to get you where you want to go. Whether you need help identifying gaps in your software management solutions, finding the right fit solutions or getting more out of them, we are here to help.
We’ve had tremendous success with this process across different sectors and company sizes, proving our approach is effective and adaptable. Curious to learn more? Book your no-cost assessment today.
