As effective as Enterprise Resource Planning has been, it has not been free of facing its own challenges, with it also having witnessed its own fair share of skepticism. When people sneered at it as one other technological misfit, but with ERP:FM we have developed straegic and effective solutions to overcome the challenges that exist within the current ERP space for other companies, with some of the challenges that ERP has had to face are:
1. INTEGRATION : This is one of the features that ERP prides itself in. It is a software tasked with the challenge of integrating each and every aspect of a business concern. Ironically, the very thing that it prides itself in happens to be one of its challenges.
When an organization wants ERP; questions like what processes or systems need to be integrated are asked. They question if having the accounting system on the central database would not affect the department of customer service relations for instance. It is also worth noting that before ERP is initiated, the management of the organization know little or next to nothing about the things ERP can help them achieve.
This challenge was effectively managed by designing a system that will work for an organization after doing a proper study of the organization and how their work processes flow.
With ERP FM, we are accessible via the world wide web and immediately accessible for users, with the addition of an offline mode that works seamlessly for users.
2. GOAL SETTING: The importance of goal setting can not be over emphasized. This was why ERP faced the challenge of how its implementation can be measured in terms of goals and objectives. It was not enough to just implement ERP; there was the need to measure if it was achieving the purpose for which it was implemented.
The way this challenge was overcome was by setting goals of what is expected to be achieved by each department when they use ERP. So, before implementation, it was designed to help the departments measure their performance. This is the reason why organizations that use ERP have been able to realize that it improves work efficiency as well as reduce cost.
3. UNIQUENESS: One other challenge is that organizations expected ERP to be a one-shop-fix-all solution to their problems. A lot of expectations were put upon ERP. They wanted to be given the assurance that once they implement ERP, they have bought a well packaged solution.
This challenge was handled by letting organizations know that what ERP offers is a structure upon which the organization should design a system to help it fix its problems. Now they understand that when they proffer the solution to their work processes, ERP will assist in making sure that the system works according to the reason for its design.
4. FLEXIBILITY: Flexibility means change, and change is one thing that does not go down well with people. By nature, humans are designed to always follow a pattern in doing things. Anytime, they are challenged to change the way they do things; the thing being introduced will face some sort of stiff challenge.
It was the same with ERP. It was not what they were used to, so people were skeptical to embrace it.
However, when they were made to understand that ERP will help their organizations achieve its set goals and objectives, they began to embrace it. They had to adjust themselves were necessary in order to benefit from the offer available through the use of ERP.
5. EFFECTIVENESS: There was also the challenge of whether the use of ERP was going to be more effective than their tested systems. It was a huge risk to depend on what was untried and untested. One of the keywords in business circle is the effectiveness of anything that is supposed to add value to the organization.
Over time, they came to understand that once a workable system has been designed for an organization; ERP will be a more effective method of integrating every aspect of the business.
Despite the many challenges ERP has had to face; solutions were able to be proffered that ultimately led every party involved to accept it. Now they have come to realize that ERP has come to stay. This is why you see a lot of organizations, small and large, embracing the technology to assist their management in making quality and informed business decisions.
With the most challenging times for the perception of Enterprise Resource Planning well behind it, it is now time for more organizations to embrace it and begin to enjoy the many benefits of having an ERP implemented in the workplace.