5 keys to correctly choose an ERP software

An ERP software can be a very beneficial tool for any company thanks to the implement it provides for its efficiency and the simplification it offers for the information, decisions and effectiveness linked to them. That is why we want to give you some examples in this article about how they can help you and what factors you should take into account to ensure that its impact is maximum in its implementation. We will do it through five keys to correctly choose the ERP software for your company. Very attentive because in all likelihood they will be of great help.

1.- Identify and evaluate the needs of our company

The first point that we must take into account when choosing an ERP software is the nature of our own company. In fact, we must not only identify well what their needs are but at the same time how the implementation of an ERP software could help us to solve them . Thus, the first step we could say depends on our own company and not on the ERP itself (check the definition of an ERP here ). 

To identify these needs we can take into account the technical and human resources that we have and which will be the ones that will be subsequently involved with the ERP activity in question. It is highly recommended in this regard to prepare a list of tasks that can help us identify our needs and, at the same time, the solutions that our ERP software could provide.

For example, we can identify our needs with respect to our customers, deliveries and stock to try to make our ERP software help us maximize the performance of these areas by looking for a suitable stock control to avoid superfluous costs derived from poor management or forecasting. 

Likewise, an ERP software can be of great help to take a more exhaustive control over all the production equipment that we have thanks to the fact that it can centralize all its results to later make analyzes and calculations of yields and expectations for them. In this sense, it is also very beneficial to include in our list the expectations and objectives that we seek to achieve with the implementation of our ERP software.

2.- Prepare the appropriate equipment and train it

To choose an ERP software correctly we must adapt our equipment to its implementation. It is advisable to choose well the team that will be in relation to it and, if necessary, ensure that they have a good training to get the most out of our ERP software. Among the team we have chosen, we must create a functional structure for decision-making related to the different departments of our company. 

Within this structure it is advisable to choose a team leader who can organize the tasks and who can have an efficient working method according to what our ERP software has as its purpose. 

3.- Adjust the budget

It is very important to correctly choose an ERP software to have a budget for its implementation and to be able to adjust its price to our own expectations . In this sense it is advisable to choose an ERP software that fits our own sector and, at the same time, offers enough alternatives to prepare it for the nature of our own sector and our company. It is therefore advisable to make a sufficient investment that is a little above the present needs of the company taking into account that it is implanted precisely to grow. 

4.- Obtain information from suppliers

To choose our ERP software correctly, it is advisable to consult with their suppliers and know what features your software has, what benefits it can provide for our company , what flexibility it offers, what service it offers and what consultation and help services to implement it guarantees us . This is a step that must be carried out once we have prepared the previous steps to be able to adjust our request to the offer of the supplier in question. With this we will provide you with very valuable information to be able to give us the product we need. 

5.- Consult references

One of the most important advantages of the internet today is that it allows us to check different references of people and users who have tried a service before trying a service. Take advantage of this advantage to seek opinions from other users and references from other companies that already collaborate with your ERP provider. With this, you will be able to ensure that they have a good service and a good team of professionals as well as a demonstrable experience with companies in general and your own sector in particular. 

We hope this article has helped you. We want to remind you that an ERP software is a leading tool in what has come to be called the Industrial Revolution 4.0 thanks to all the advantages it offers over the control and management of any company as well as the benefits associated with them that it offers such as the Increased efficiency, decreased losses, improved quality and, of course, management and decision making.