ERP systems - what you need to know

ERP systems – what you need to know

The other day, while researching ERP systems and to see what our competitors are up to I came across a very interesting article. As we all know, ERP is a concept that serves as a benchmark for businesses to assist in the planning and maintaining of their business strategies. The implementation costs of these systems are normally astronomical. This said, when you have a system tailor made to suit your specific needs, this system can show a return on your investment and all the money spent on this can be seen as money well spent.

So back to this article I read: A gentleman by the name Dennis Gaughan did a bit of research on four major ERP and IT solutions vendors and his findings were quite bleak, to say the least. A lot of time and effort goes into finding the right ERP system. This system should be easily integrated into your business. A lot of time, manpower and care should be invested while implementing this system into your business. Following below are some of his findings. This might just be the tips you need before you decide on the right ERP system for your business.

Products that can’t work together.

Some service providers’ products do not work well together. Some companies push for their ERP systems to get implemented, only to discover later that this system has minimal integration capabilities which in the long run cannibalise all your other existing systems. Some companies do not disclose the roadmap of their implementation either, resulting in more than three quarters of the profits being earned by maintenance work alone.

Some companies might want to take over your IT strategy.

Some companies’ main business is to sell consulting services. Account managers try to take control over your company’s IT strategy so that they can push more of their own products into your business. Dennis suggests that a shared or partner approach should be taken between the service provider and the business.

Confusing pricing strategies.

A lot of companies struggle with figuring out the billing and licensing of their service provider’s products and services. The major catch is unusual billing methods that confuse the customer. A simple example of this is when an upgrade gets done on an existing system, no new policies get drawn up and customers still pay full price for an add on product where it could have been offered at a discounted price. What is recommended is that you as a client demand clear project plans, timelines and methodologies. This will ensure no nasty surprises come month-end.

I never saw the ERP market as so competitive, well maybe not competitive, but unclear when it comes to helping prospective buyers choose the right system for their business. I have always been of the mind-set that people and feelings come first when doing any business transaction. And this is no different. It is, after all, people that will be working on these systems. It is essential that account managers or the sales people be honest in their dealings when trying to sell their products to prospective clients. After all, honesty is the best policy. 

ERP - Invention?

Inventions: cars, telephones, radios, cell phones and computers these inventions happened in a time of need or necessity to make the lives easier for everybody using them. I can’t imagine my life without my phone or my laptop and I can’t comprehend how I ever managed without them. No wonder that inventors throughout history still gets celebrated today for what they discovered and invented even centuries ago. I wonder if the people that designed the 1^st ERP system also have a “Newton moment”, I don’t think they had an apple fall on their head though, but I can imagine that the breakthrough moment could have felt as amazing as realising how the apple fell.

If you look at it logically, ERP systems were developed for the simple purpose of running your company and running it successfully. ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning; it explains exactly what it does. It is a complete system that can assist in every aspect of your business. Sadly, a lot of businesses fail very soon after being established. This is almost always due to bad planning or not having the proper management or controlling helplines in place. This is the reason for ERP systems being ‘invented’. A bunch of smart people, through the process of trial and error, created a system that can possibly save a company from bankruptcy. I’m not saying that each and every business needs an ERP system to run successfully, but it sure makes the process a whole lot easier.

I did a little study of my own on how ERP systems can be implemented into a business to ensure productivity and agility from the beginning.

Following below, is the natural history and indication of how a business gets started and how an ERP system can assist a business from day one:

Year one

Year one of your business is probably the infantile year where a lot of your business is based on financials and ensuring your company shows rapid growth. A lot of businesses make the mistake of only buying and implementing an accounting package. This is fine and this package can and does work, but what of year two?

Year two

So after year one, your business is starting to take off and you can see some growth on your revenue. Now that your business is making money you might consider a manufacturing your own products. For this, you will need a manufacturing software package, but you only have an accounting package. So what happens? You scrap your accounting package and you move on to software that has the ability to handle both your financials as well as the manufacturing side of your business.

Year three

By year three you can already see a huge difference in your business and how your business is run. Workflows that got implemented in year one may not necessarily be of importance now. So now that your business is financially strong and manufacturing its own products you need to look at a system than can handle warehousing, managing of deliveries and controlling of your stock. So, once again, you scrap your previous system and implement a system that can handle this function as well.

Year five

This is the time where the business is doing really well and you have already reached your five year plan. You can see your business flourishing, but you need a system that will help you manage your client relationships more effectively. All your systems that you implemented are showing results. But a system to track clients, keep their records and who knows maybe even run successful marketing campaigns are now inevitable. But, surprise! Surprise! You need another system that can handle this aspect of your business as well. So your previous system gets scrapped once again and a system with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) capabilities gets implemented.

The future

Finally, you have a successful business and an ERP system that can manage all aspects of your business. Would it not have been easier to implement an ERP system in year one that could have handled all these aspects of your business and that could have saved your company millions? That is the beauty of ERP systems that are designed to assist in all aspects of your business from the start; they consist of all these functions, not necessarily activated, but readily available when needed.

Gone are the dark days where businesses are run without any proper helplines. What a breath of fresh air to know that an ‘invention’ as great and powerful as the right ERP system can improve your business and help it grow. Who knows, we might be celebrating this system in a 100 years from now; not that I will be around to see it, but here’s to hoping I will.

What to look for in Sales software

The more we write about the perfect CRM system, the more I appreciate what this type of system can do for a business. We can actually see this system as the perfect PR person for your business, if it had to be a person, I would imagine them to be charismatic, good looking and someone that gets along with everybody. A person who has all your needs as their top priority and can make any job possible with their good looks and charm, everybody just loves this person.

So if this charismatic person (CRM system), claims to have your business’ best interest at heart, surely at the top of his list will be to see that your business generates a healthy revenue.  

The only way to ensure the survival of your business is with a constant cash flow to pay the bills, pay salaries and have a little something stored away for your retirement.  And, if your business does really well, thanks to your CRM system, maybe even early retirement.

Let’s have a quick 101 on some important features of what to look for in sales software:

What should the key sales software capabilities be?

Sales software should be equipped with helplines and guidelines to ensure your sales people do their work effectively. What this also means is that this software should be easy to use and even easier to customise to the sales people’s specific needs, because as we all know everyone is different and do things in different ways.

Interactive dashboards

Like I said: Customisation is king. Dashboards can be customised to the sales person’s specific needs to display the information relevant to what he or she needs to do their jobs properly. These dashboards all work in real-time and is completely interactive to assist the sales people in being on top of their game, to help them track the status of the sales process and to determine what steps to take next. This is an excellent tool to boost productivity as all information is always available.

Opportunity and leads management

The ideal sales software should assist in the management of leads and opportunities from the first contact.  This enables the sales people to track the status of each lead and to determine if a lead will end up in a sale and if not to seek out new opportunities. Because of this wonderful capability, it can easily be seen which person will be the best candidate to handle the sale, lead or specific task.

Forecasting and reporting

Graphs should be a functionality that can be set in place to track the status of a certain deal or sale to determine what strategy should be followed to close the deal. Analyses of the statuses on these graphs make it easier to determine the next steps to follow.

Quote and order generation

If a CRM system is seen as a person it should be able to generate personalised quotes to be sent to your clients in a speedy manner ensuring no time is wasted in getting the deal and showing the client that you are truly invested in giving them the best service and your expertise.

Managing your communications

Probably one of the most important features should be to manage appointments, specifically managing your sales people’s appointments. Sales software should give the CEO peace of mind: All relevant calendars must be available for view to ensure complete transparency throughout your business. This can also assist in appointment-making as all calendars can be seen for availability.

The future is mobile

It doesn’t get any better than this, software that allows all staff members with smartphones to access all their information from their mobile phones. This is the future, people do not even have to be at work to actually do their work, amazing! Productivity is shooting through the roof. Sales-automation software is playing a big part in this by allowing all information to be mobile and available and ready with just a few clicks.

This is it

We always talk about intelligent software that can do just about anything, even make coffee for you, but I’m pretty sure this software can do more than that; it can make you money and lots of it! I think it is time that business owners start investing more time and effort to research and find sales software that resonates with their business and their beliefs and what they stand for.

 In the end, it is all about sales and money. But, keep in mind to find software that will be easy to customise and integrate with your current software and hardware and human resources, of course ;)

MARKETING SOFTWARE?

Software! Software! Software! It seems that everybody is always talking about software! Not so long ago I had no idea what the difference between software and hardware is. It turns out that it is not really rocket science; once you get into it. Sometimes I still feel that I do not understand a word these IT people say when they speak to me.

Hardware is basically everything you can touch when it comes to computer-type things, for example: Computer screens, laptops, iPads and towers. Got, it? Good. See, not that difficult. But here is where it gets a little tricky.  Software is a vast, mystical environment where there are so many programs and systems that make up software. Software is the tool needed for your hardware to work in complete synergy.

Seeing that I am in the business-to-business marketing field, there is only one kind of software that means something to me; CRM. Okay, so by now most people in the business world have heard of CRM (Customer Relationship Management), but not all has seen it in a true marketing software light.

Hand in hand with running a successful client base, the ability to run marketing campaigns within your business is essential. It has been proved over and over again that constant marketing to your current client base is the best way to ensure a constant cash flow and ROI (Return on Investment). Not to mention the relationships that can evolve thanks to the constant involvement in your clients’ business interests. It has been proven and tested that the ideal CRM system allows you to have the optimal access to your clients and what their needs are.

So when we speak of marketing software, in essence, what we mean by this is the right CRM system for your business. This system should handle and manage all your marketing campaigns within your business.

Why a CRM system as marketing software?

When you start a business you need tools and software to run your business successfully. Systems and records need to be implemented to allow for proper tracking of your clients and also to gain new clients. As previously mentioned in one of our blogs, the right CRM system can do this for you and your business.

The most important function of this CRM system is that effective marketing strategies can be put in place. Keeping track of these records can make it easier to determine the gaps in your marketing campaigns and on which products and clients to focus on.

Ever heard of drip marketing?    

A very useful type of marketing indeed, it is a sort of die-hard marketing tool. Marketing that gets done over and over again, just with a different colour jacket on each time. Drip marketing is the tool that allows for research, finding out what went wrong the first time round and how to improve your strategies for next time. Drip marketing is also a key factor in running the same marketing campaign on a different group of clients where it may be relevant to them or visa-versa.  All of this can be automated with the right CRM system.

Follow ups

Having the ability to keep records on all current clients and prospective clients will enable you to keep constant marketing strategies in the pipe line which will make it easier to know what strategies will fit in with which companies. Following up on leads and marketing campaigns is what the right CRM system can do for your business. 

Closing deals

Closing of deals are the signs of an effective CRM system with the proper marketing software that will ensure leads being followed up on and that deals get signed off. The process of customer relationship management can then begin where clients are added into the existing data base of your company and where effective marketing campaigns will ensure a constant cash flow or ROI.

Social media is the way forward

In a world where social media is leading the way in how we do business it is essential to have a CRM system with the proper marketing software that can assure your marketing campaigns get optimal exposure.

Don’t always jump on the bandwagon, but to get the most out of today and the future, ensure that you invest in software that works, grow with the times, your business and your clients.