At present, the business world is highly competitive, the global environment in which companies develop has caused only the most efficient to achieve success. Despite being in good business, many organizations are not able to take advantage of the situation in which they find themselves, it is very common for information management to bring significant losses and therefore inefficiency.
A possible solution to improve in these aspects is the implementation of an ERP, but what is an ERP?
An ERP (Enterprice Resource Planning) defined by Deloitte and Touche as a business software system that allows companies:
- Automate and integrate most of your processes Share common and practical data across the entire company Produce and access information in real time
The objective of ERP's is to coordinate all the business of the company, from the evaluation of a supplier to the invoicing for a client. Use a centralized database to help the flow of information between the different departments of the company.
But the implementation of an ERP would be useless if you don't work from the bottom of the problem, on the contrary, it would cause a bigger problem and more difficult to solve.
For the effective implementation of an ERP it is important to be aware of:
- A collaborative work of the entire company is required for its implementation Bad work habits must be eradicated, that is, having people who can work adequately in the new environment and then looking for technology Maintain a mentality of acceptance of change throughout the company, not only the users, because in addition to them, there will be many people related to the results of working with this new system. Be patient, the implementation of a system of this type requires time and effort.
There is a wide variety of ERP`s on the market, all flexible and adaptable to the situation of the company with which they will work. A careful study must be made of which one is the best for you, because although they are very similar, there are differences in costs and they are focused on particular market types.
Some of the advantages of implementing an ERP`s in the company are the following:
- Cost reduction Streamline business operations Better information management Integrate supply chain, production and administrative processes Unify databases Increase communication and collaboration around the world Helps integrate multiple unit sites of business.
But definitely not everything that surrounds an ERP is good, they also have their disadvantages:
- They are very expensive. Requires changes in the company and processes for their installation. They are complex and many companies cannot adjust to them. There are few experts in ERP`s.
All over the world there are successful cases of the implementation of an ERP, although not all are equally surprising, just to mention a few, we have the following:
Cinsa that used an ORACLE ERP, GAN AHMSA that used the SAP ERP, KODAK that used the FOUTH SHIFT, MEXICANA DE TELECOMUNICACIONES that used the iBaan ERP, SOFT CHOICE that used the ORACLE ERP and lastly CASA MARZAM that used the CARDINAL.
As we can see, all the previous companies are successful and although it is not precisely due to the implementation of the system in them, it does have a lot to do with their achievements. Their growth would be useless if they did not know how to handle it and adapt to the new situation in the world where information management is vital.
Bibliography:
Heizer, Jay. Operations Management, Prentice Hall, 6th. Edition, 2001
Expansión (2000, July) Turn your ERP into an e-business, special edition
ERP Failures, many but not so many. Computer world.
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