Corvid-19 forces many companies into a standstill that is hard to bear. Making the best of the situation can mean for companies to use the idle time to sharpen the tools of their daily work. This includes a task: ERP Software optimise.
All clean up
When I was at the municipal recycling centre on Saturday morning, I got the impression that since the Corona crisis everyone, without exception, has started the big clean-up. Apparently many are using the time at home to clean out attics and cellars. There are also reports of a run on DIY stores. So people are taking advantage of the situation to get their homes in order. An understandable strategy that can perhaps be applied to other areas of life.
In many companies that now have to take a forced break due to the Corona crisis, there is (figuratively speaking) a cluttered attic and/or cellar. For years, people have tried to tidy up the place, but the hectic pace of business hardly allowed for any changes apart from minor cosmetic repairs. And often, on the contrary, something was added here and there, solving short-term problems but often only worsening the condition in the long run.
We are talking about the software landscape in the company and specifically about ERP systems.
Optimise ERP software - clean up master data
An ERP system is sensibly operated over a long period of time, often many years. In the best case, at the time of implementation, clear specifications and rules have governed the creation and maintenance of base data controlled. Over time, however, there were exceptions and special cases, many changing editors and at some point the loss of control. The uncontrolled growth then presents itself as base data have become bloated in their structure, or no longer have a common structure at all. Outdated data and Duplicates are often found in large numbers in the ERP system.
With these measures, the master data can be optimised:
- Extracting information from structured and unstructured sources
- Address verification and correction
- Establish rules for the validation and correction of data
- Find duplicates
- Aggregation of data and its cleansing
- Enhance master data with meaningful information
- Standardise and improve the format of the data
- Sort out obsolete data
These effects and improvements can be achieved by optimising the master data:
- Accelerated processes with fewer errors and more efficiency
- Higher acceptance among employees
- Increase customer satisfaction
- Better basis for evaluations
- Optimise warehouse and purchasing
- Better database for other systems
- Planning of resources is improved
- Simplified and correct (cost) controlling
Optimise ERP Software - Back to Standard
An ERP software undergoes a multitude of enhancements during its runtime. These can be caused by the fact that special requirements of the business model cannot be mapped with the standards of the ERP system. Often, however, this was only a snapshot and later updates of the software allow the processes to be updated with the Standard functions to cope with.
Often, however, especially during a time of "storm and stress", the tendency to give in to a quick expansion was excessive and one did not take the time and leisure to check whether the changes also made sense in the long run. When the ERP software was introduced, it was planned to sail close to the standard.
This is how you move back towards the standard:
- Check all extensions whether, when and how often they are used at all
- Check whether the processes and requirements that used to trigger the extensions are still current and/or relevant.
- Consider whether the processes can be implemented in part or in full with the current version of your ERP software
- Check whether the best practices underlying the standard processes could be a (perhaps better) alternative to your current processes.
- Focus on the specialities that really make you you
You can gain these advantages by focusing on the standard functions of your ERP software:
- Save time-consuming checking or / and revising of adaptations to your ERP software
- Maintain the possibility of having access to a wide range of know-how and assistance, so that you are not dependent on a few experts.
- Benefit from best practices and their continuation in future software versions
more on the subject
time to clean up? Optimize ERP software now (part 4)
time to clean up? Optimize ERP software now (part 3)
Time to tidy up – optimize ERP software now (part 2)