Your IT Customers Could Be Ready For A New, Flexible ERP Solution

By Ally Kutz, contributing writer

In Aberdeen Research’s report “Roll With The Punches: Select Flexible ERP And Be Prepared For Business Challenges,” author Nick Castellina, Aberdeen research director for business planning and execution, points out enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution is “THE key technology used to support an organization.” So, what options do you IT clients have when their business’s needs change?

Aberdeen Research surveyed 200 organizations, asking for the top two reasons they would replace their old ERP solutions.

The report states three out of the top four responses are that the old solution can no longer support the business — it might not have features the business needs, it might not support connections with emerging technologies, or the business simply might have outgrown it.

The report states, however, replacing an ERP can be expensive and disruptive, and, for this reason, “Best-in-class organizations are 83 percent more likely to have a solution that can be quickly tailored to reflect business change.”

In addition, organizations that have flexible ERP solutions are more likely to have updated standardized processes in areas including order management and delivery fulfilment, production planning and execution, and processes to prioritize which ERP capabilities are mobilized.

Aberdeen Research also reports there are tangible benefits to having an effective ERP solution and calculable ROI. Of those surveyed, 45 percent saw improvements in inventory turns, 24 percent in stock to sales ratio, 15 percent in operational costs, 13 percent in administrative costs, 20 percent in complete and on-time delivery, 14 percent in inventory levels, 16 percent in internal schedule compliance, and 19 percent in the cycle time of key business processes. Organizations with flexible ERP solutions also are more likely to monitor regulatory compliance and to tailor interfaces to users’ preferences.