To smaller and midsize organisations, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems may seem too cumbersome and expensive.

An ERP is for multinational corporations like Shell and Coco-cola, right?

Software vendors like SAP and Microsoft (and retail / omnichannel specialists like Brightpearl) have specifically designed products aimed at SME organisations. The myth that ‘ERP is only for the big players’ has been dispelled over the past 10-15 years.

SME’s are now able to focus on activities that bring profitable growth.

An ERP solution enables SMEs to benefit from a single view and central management and control across their entire business – through a single, software solution. As well as being a more productive approach, this can also make business decision making faster and more accurate for business owners and managers.

 

Moving from a finance system to an ERP system

So how do you know when its the right time for your SME to move to an ERP System?

Our partners, Codestone who are the UK’s number one SAP Business One partner recently delivered a webinar that covers the why, when, and how of moving from a finance system to an ERP system – and the benefits of an ERP system for SMEs. The webinar took place on Tuesday, February 23rd at 11:00 AM GMT

Moving From A Finance System To An ERP System

The webinar answered questions like:

  • What are the fundamental differences between a financial package and an ERP system?
  • When is the trigger point for you to contemplate a change?
  • What benefits could your business realise with an ERP system?
  • How can you migrate to an ERP System?
    • Which product and an implementation partner should you select?
    • What do you need to consider for migration and implementation?
    • What about ongoing support?

Why? When? How? And The Benefits.

In the webinar we learned:

Why ERP?

There are a number of reasons businesses might decide its time to implement an ERP, for example:

  • Where there are lots of manual processes in place
  • To remove silos of information
  • To make information easy to access, and remove multiple versions of ‘the truth’
  • To stop the need to re-key information multiple times
  • For more visibility into the true costs and margins in the business
  • To simplify a log and drawn-out end-of-month process
  • When they need to reconcile multiple systems
  • To combat insufficient levels of control of the business

The benefits of SAP Business One and Codestone:

“Had we not deployed SAP Business One at this time, then we may have required some 8-10 additional heads in the business to manage the paperwork” – Director, Totally Wicked

“We now have full visibility of every aspect of the business and the ability to track and manage performance! – Hydreco

Key considerations for an ERP system:

  • Is the system a good fit ‘out of the box’?
  • What is the future road map for that solution?
  • How scalable is the system?
  • Who develops the system?
  • What is the level of R&D investment going into the system?
  • How is the system deployed?

Key considerations for implementation partner:

  • Do they take the time to understand your business?
  • What level of scope goes into your contract?
  • How experienced are they?
  • Is the project manager included?
  • What level of support is included?
  • What happens post-project?

In the webinar, we also learned how integrating Stream brings delivery route planning and logistic operation management to SAP Business One.

About SAP Business One

SAP Business One is a scalable business management system that provides complete visibility and control across all core elements of your business at an affordable price. Easily customised to suit your needs without the need for a large IT department, Business One adds value that you can see and measure, making your staff more productive, your processes streamlined and decisions more strategic.

We have a number of subscribers running SAP Business One integrated with Stream.

About Codestone

Founded in 1997 Codestone are an award-winning SAP gold partner and managed service provider. Specialising in SAP Business One and SAP Business By Design, Codestone has delivered over 600 UK and overseas implementations.