10 Signs You Need A New Business Management Solution

There are many common signs to determine if your current business management solution is working for or against you. BKD has compiled a top 10 list of key issues your organization may be facing that suggest you should consider a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.

1. Non-integrated and disparate systems

   Are you spending time and money to manage multiple databases and complex integrations instead of having one, complete system? Your financial, service, customer relationship management, human resource management and business management solutions should work seamlessly together and offer a consistent user experience. It is critical to implement a single, integrated solution to help boost employee productivity and eliminate non-value-added tasks from your business processes.

2. Out-of-control product costing

   Do you know what it costs to produce your products? Do your inventory costs fluctuate wildly? Do you have the ability to analyze variances from standard costs? A complete business management solution should provide control over the supply chain, effective planning and scheduling tools that provide visibility into future requirements and accurate on-hand quantities and costs for purchased and produced inventories.

3. Manual business processes

   Are you working around limitations and deficiencies in your software? Does your software adapt to your business processes? Effective ERP solutions offer configurable workflow engines that permit the automation of business processes along with customizable process diagrams that adapt to your business requirements. Your system should have built-in tools to customize the application to meet your changing requirements. As your business changes, your software should change and grow with it.

4. Growing pains

   Are you looking to grow without adding employees? Would you like to automate business processes? From automating tasks like approval processes with online workflows and electronic signatures to implementing a fully automated warehouse management solution, your ERP system should help you increase your revenues and improve your bottom line without adding staff to manage the increased volume.

5. Inaccurate quantities causing customer satisfaction issues

   Are your inventory quantities accurate? Can you reliably meet on-time delivery expectations, or do you suffer from unexpected shortages in the production or fulfillment cycles? Your business management solution should allow you to accurately quote promise dates to your customers, permitting you to meet or exceed on-time delivery standards. Depending on your industry, forecasting tools also are available to help plan your material requirements based on projected demands.

6. Difficulty extracting meaningful data

   Can management retrieve important information when and how they need it? Empower your employees with the right information in real time. Business owners and upper management should not have to wade through numerous screens and reports to identify key performance indicators that drive business. Customizable, Web-based dashboards can replace traditional management flash reports and put critical information in the hands of key decision makers on demand.

7. Poor performance and lack of data integrity

   Do you suffer from poor productivity due to slow system performance? Are you constantly restoring files from backup or experiencing error messages that require utilities and support to correct data issues? Your ERP solution is critical to your success and should meet the three basic tests of any software solution: availability, reliability and performance. Your solution should be based on a scalable, relational database structure with built-in protection against data integrity and performance issues.

8. Decreasing top line revenues

   Do you need to understand your sales cycle better? Do you know why you are winning or losing opportunities? How effective are you at managing your sales force? The right customer relationship management (CRM) solution can help your organization gain a competitive edge through better insight into sales, marketing and customer management processes.

9. High infrastructure costs

   Are you searching for a better deployment option? A hosted software solution—also called “cloud computing”—gives organizations a choice when deploying a new solution. You can experience a lower cost of ownership with less on-premise hardware and controlled maintenance costs along with the ability to access information where and when you want it.

10. Regulatory or compliance reporting

    Do you struggle to maintain and report data required by regulatory agencies? Are you managing this information manually outside of your current ERP system? Would you like to become certified for ISO or another standard but don’t know how to proceed? For many industries, tracking the information necessary to complete regulatory reports is a complex and growing requirement. From ISO and SOX reporting to OSHA and FDA requirements, your solution should allow you to document and report any data required by regulatory agencies governing your industry.

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