August 2007 Newsletter
Does My Business Need ERP Software?
The first thing to understand about ERP is that it stands for "Enterprise
Resource Planning." That in itself is a confusion of terms that often leads
people to believe it's not for them. The problem is that most people focus on
"Resource Planning" and discount the word "Enterprise," which is the real
keyword. ERP is all about how to bring the functions within your enterprise
under one software umbrella. An ERP system is an integrated software program
that is divided into modules that support finance, human resources,
manufacturing, and warehousing.
It is sometimes hard for people to see the value that an ERP system can bring to
their company. "If it isn't broken, don't fix it!" Some people are uncomfortable
with change, even if it brings improvement. The system is not just a change for
the sake of change, but provides beneficial improvements to the way you take
orders, manufacture goods, ship those goods and bill for them. The way you do
business will improve, and the way people do their jobs will be enhanced, too,
having a positive impact on payroll and customer satisfaction. The phrase that
always comes to mind when I think of an ERP system is - "Every action has a
reaction." The customer order triggers the manufacture of the goods, in turn
triggering the warehouse to ship and then finance to bill for it. The capability
to look at a piece of data and "drill down" to the preceding transaction that
created it (within another functional area of the company), is the beauty of an
integrated ERP system.
Without experienced guidance, a change of this magnitude can be difficult and
costly. Implementation means an enhanced-but new-way of doing things, and there
will be changes in people's roles and responsibilities. Typical costs include:
training, integration and testing, customization, data conversion, and data
analysis. Trying to nail down the estimated cost of an ERP implementation is no
cookie-cutter exercise. Each organization has a story to tell that makes their
needs and requirements different from anyone else. If only we had a crystal
ball...
We welcome the opportunity to look with you at how your business runs, and what
an ERP solution could do for you. You don't have to be a manufacturing company
to put an ERP solution to work for you. There are ERP software solutions for
many industry verticals that build on the needs of that specific industry, and
provide the integrated solution that works for you.
Sincerely,
Susan Hawkins
Senior Consultant
Domain Technology Group
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in this issue |
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· New Address for Domain Technology Group
· Sage Software Releases Interactive Website
· Easy and Accurate Reporting using XL Reporter & SAP
Business One |
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Sage Software Releases Interactive Website |
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Easy and Accurate Reporting using XL Reporter & SAP Business One |
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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Product Overview |
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For IT professionals, delivering a messaging system that addresses these needs must be
balanced against other requirements such as security and cost. Learn how
Microsoft Exchange 2007 can benefit your company. |
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In Conclusion |
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In our next issue we will be discussing the marketing benefits of CRM software and presenting
a new project case study.
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