ERP Software Continuous Improvement Plan

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software is a significant investment, both in time and money. Obviously, it shouldn’t be taken lightly. A lot of effort goes into the implementation period, but not enough businesses consider what will happen after the go-live date. Just like your business, ERP software is not a static entity.

First, it must grow as your business expands and your processes change. Second, you must accommodate new software features as the system is updated over time by the vendor. The way you implemented your ERP should not be the way you use it for the rest of its lifetime—otherwise you won’t be using your investment to its fullest capabilities.

An ERP continuous improvement plan is an effective way to ensure your business is leveraging your software implementation to cut more costs and increase revenue every day. At Datix, we provide continuous improvement plans (CIPs) to cover ongoing services and offer critical enhancements. Here’s four reasons why an ERP continuous improvement plan could be crucial to your software’s success. 

1. Complete Post Go-Live Operations

The ERP implementation phase can often be hectic and filled with unexpected roadblocks. It might make more sense to perform non-critical customizations and adjustments after the planned go-live date. An ERP continuous improvement plan allows your company to map out the necessary post-implementation tasks and ensure everything gets completed. Without a solidified calendar, you may find that customizations and dashboards get left too long and they aren’t there when someone in the company needs them. CIPs can help you stick with your software goals.

2. Make Your ERP Work Long-Term

ERP software isn’t guaranteed to start working for your company right out of the box. It needs to be fit to your business data and processes—that’s why the business process modeling and configuration stages are so crucial. However, you ERP configuration and process evaluation isn’t just for the initial implementation. Your business won’t look the same five years down the line. Growth, advances in technology and changes in common best practices will influence the way your company communicates, operates and provides products and services for your customers.

Attempting to accomplish new things using your old ERP system just won’t work if you don’t update and improve your software. Processes that aren’t fully supported by enterprise software will also quickly become inefficient and reduce company transparency. These kinds of holes can lose your business money, negatively affect your customer service and ultimately weaken your ERP. Continuous improvements will help your ERP keep up with changing business needs.

3. Ensure ERP Functionality Stays Up to Date

The ERP industry is fast and constantly changing. Epicor and other vendors roll out major upgrades, and best practices for using your ERP can also change over time. An ERP continuous improvement plan factors in how your company will handle these changes and upgrades. That includes the pace of upgrading your software (phase-in upgrades by departments or all at once, for example), training on new systems and how you may need to adjust operations or workflows. That way, when you need to update your ERP functionality, you won’t be scrambling to get the right resources together and divert people from other projects. With expert consultants and a CIP, it will just happen seamlessly.

4. Maintain ERP Budget Past Go-Live

With the help of a continuous improvement plan, you can prevent cost overrun on your implementation. A long-term calendar of tasks and upgrades will provide a solid structure for your budgeting and alert you to when certain projects are taking up too much time or money. Your business can then channel investments to the right place and target areas of waste. A concrete plan doesn’t just mean staying on the budget you set for ERP implementation; it also means making the best use of your software investment after go-live. 

Wrap Up

Datix offers flexible ERP continuous improvement plans that help your business reap the rewards of enterprise software long after the go-live date. An Epicor Gold Partner, we’ve provided ERP services and solutions for over 20 years. We consider the necessary customizations, upgrades and business process management you’ll need to ensure your ERP software stays profitable. Then, we build a budget and schedule that work for you. Some of the services Datix can include in our CIPs are:

• Systems audit
• Asset management
• License management
• Network & server monitoring
• Remote administration & support
• Proactive scheduled follow-ups
• Datix continuous protection

Our consultants can design use cases to demonstrate how every employee will interact with the software. Then, we provide individual attention to every stakeholder and training to every employee even after go-live. Your ERP continuous improvement plan will have a dedicated Datix expert that is on-call for additional help so you can rest easy that your ERP will be supporting your business success long after go-live day.

Get in touch with one of our consultants today to learn more about our CIPs and how they can maximize the value of your ERP solution!

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