ERP Software Needs Assessment: 3 Ways to Prevent Bottlenecks

Showing signs of slowing business during a growth spurt?  Getting bigger can present some challenges, especially if your ERP software users are growing dissatisfied with the basic functionality of your accounting system and ERP system.  Have you outgrown your ability to accomplish customer service objectives because your businesses is growing?  The best way to overcome growing pains and eliminate bottlenecking in your growing business is to start with a Business Process Assessment.

You may not have predicted that the growth of your business is actually putting the quality and efficiency of your business at risk.  You can take steps to prevent the changes from restricting productivity in what is known as a bottleneck effect, which is when the volume incapacitates the funneling of output.

Here are 3 main ways your company will benefit from an ERP software needs assessment:

1. The first benefit of the ERP software needs assessment is to identify the key issues in your company’s business processes and process automation.  To help you articulate your needs, you will be asked a set of questions asked by an ERP software consultant.
2. The second advantage granted to conducting an ERP software needs assessment is that it can reveal the origin of issues within your company's business processes.  Perhaps the bottleneck is due mostly to human related issues versus software related issues.
3. In order to structure your business for future growth and to solidify the existing framework, it is crucial to have a comprehensive ROI analysis. According to source:  TGI  http://www.tgiltd.com/erp-software-selection/erp-software-needs-analysis.html, "An ERP software needs assessment can be the foundation for preparing a complete ROI calculation and analysis.  The ROI analysis is the key to starting the software selection search off on the right track, because it builds the foundation for assessing and selecting the software for your organization's future."

An ERP software needs assessment is a work in progress, a document that defines ERP software users necessary requirements and measures how well their business process needs are being met.  This document will express the business case findings from the user's current perspective.

An ERP software needs assessment reveals whether or not your organization needs a more in depth business process assessment.  In our next blog, we will explain what is the difference between an ERP software needs assessment and a business process assessment and how the two serve your growth and development.

Interested in scheduling a free 30 minute ERP software needs analysis?   Contact us to find out how.  

Submitted by Keith R. Perkins, CPA with Accounting Systems Consulting Group, LLC  in Shreveport, LA