CIOs favor Industry Specific ERP Software for Greater User Adoption

Vertical functionality in ERP systems is favored by CIOs who have had trouble in the past upgrading from highly customized software systems. Selecting an industry specific ERP allows for customizations as well as greater usability.

Industry Specific without Extensive Customization

Vertical applications, including ERP systems, are built with specific industries in mind and are designed to fit a business’s specific set of needs out of the box.The more “vanilla” ERP implementation is helping ease the ERP implementation process said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research for Nucleus Research.

“In the last round of ERP deployments that people did, maybe 10 years ago, they did a lot of customization,” Wettemann said. “But I would say that the majority today are going 90 percent out of the box — with very vanilla installations. It gives you a more predictable and cheaper deployment and then obviously, it makes upgrades less disruptive and less costly.”

If customizations are required they become an adjustment of software (that is already a good fit) instead of a major project requiring extensive development.

Case in Point

Industry specific software is working well Boers & Co FineMetalworking Group, the first company to implement Epicor 10, Epicor’s newest ERP software geared for discrete manufacturers. Boers & Co. uses Epicor for price quoting, sales, financials, production, stocking and shipping. Jos Greeve, the ICT manager for Boers & Co FineMetalworking Group, found employees are doing well with the new version. The user interface and dashboards are simple to use and customize, with minimal help from IT, he added.

“With Epicor ERP 10 we immediately saw the advantages of the new user interface and dashboards which makes everything simpler and easier to use. By using touch enabled, touch friendly computers with new menus, the solution is transforming productivity,” Greeve said.

Industry specific ERP means companies are able to make changes before or after deployment easier than before. This is a less risky, more stable means of deploying ERP. And best of all — you won’t be stuck with an ill-fitting ERP system.

What Has Caused the Shift?

Every aspect of your business will be affected by ERP. CIOs realize this and are obtaining feedback from employees early on.

“I think CIOs today realize that user adoption is really critical in the success of an ERP implementation,” Wettemann noted.

“Getting users involved early gives you very good feedback so you can solve problems before they really become big problems on everyone’s desktops. That way you don’t roll out an application that no one has seen before.”

Regardless of your implementation choice, your ERP has to fully fit your business.

Your take:

Do you agree? Has an industry specific ERP worked better for your company?
Let me know by commenting below.

Suggested:

• Meet our skilled ERP consultants
• Learn more about our Epicor services
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• Read more about choosing between a generic and an industry specific ERP
• Read an article in CIO about customizations and your ERP strategy