Corvid-19 is forcing many companies into a standstill that is difficult to bear. For companies, making the best of the situation can mean using the idle time to sharpen the tools of daily work. This includes a task: ERP Software optimise.
Everyone tidies up
When I was at the municipal recycling centre on a Saturday morning, I got the impression that everyone, without exception, had started a major tidy-up since the coronavirus crisis. Apparently, many people are using the time at home to clear out attics and cellars. There are also reports of a rush on DIY stores. So people are taking advantage of the situation to tidy up their homes. An understandable strategy that can perhaps be applied to other areas of life.
In many companies that are now forced to take a break due to the coronavirus crisis, there is (figuratively speaking) a cluttered attic and/or basement. For years, people have been trying to tidy them up, but the hectic pace of business has meant that little has changed apart from minor cosmetic repairs. On the contrary, things were often added here and there, solving short-term problems but often only making the situation worse in the long term.
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 reasonably operated over a long period of time, often many years. In the best case scenario, clear guidelines and rules have been established at the time of implementation for the creation and maintenance of base data controlled. Over time, however, there were exceptions and special cases, many changing editors and at some point a loss of control. The uncontrolled growth then appears as follows base data have been inflated 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 Outdated data and Duplicates are often found in large numbers in the ERP system.
These measures can be used to optimise the master data:
- Extracting information from structured and unstructured sources
- Checking and correcting addresses
- Set up a set of rules for validating and correcting 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
- Greater acceptance among employees
- Increase customer satisfaction
- Better basis for analyses
- Optimise warehouse and purchasing
- Better database for other systems
- The planning of resources is improved
- Simplified and correct (cost) controlling
Optimising ERP software - back to the standard
ERP software undergoes a large number of enhancements during its lifetime. These can be due to the fact that special requirements of the business model cannot be mapped with the standards of the ERP system. However, this was often only a snapshot in time and later updates to the software allow the processes to be optimised with the Standard functions to cope with.
However, it was often during a time of "Sturm und Drang" that the tendency to give in to a quick expansion was excessive and people did not take the time and leisure to check whether the changes made sense in the long term. At the time of the introduction of the ERP software, the intention had been to sail close to the standard.
This is how you move back towards the standard:
- Check all extensions to see if, when and how often they are used at all
- Check whether the processes and requirements that previously triggered the enhancements are still current and/or relevant in their current form.
- 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 on which the standard processes are based can represent a (perhaps better) alternative to your current processes
- Concentrate on the specialities that really make you stand out
You can achieve these benefits by focussing on the standard functions of your ERP software:
- Save yourself the time-consuming checking and/or revision of customisations to your ERP software
- Maintain the ability to access a wide range of expertise and support so that you are not dependent on just a few experts
- Benefit from best practices and their continuation in future software versions
more on the subject
Time to tidy up - optimise ERP software now (Part 4)
Time to tidy up - optimise ERP software now (Part 3)
Time to tidy up - optimise ERP software now (Part 2)