3 min read

Great Expectations for Edgy Solutions

“I need an explanation,” the CFO of a tomato sauce manufacturer told me. “I bought the latest and greatest Enterprise Resource Planning system to help our company improve accounting, control our supply chain, and forecast our raw material needs.

But I can’t get the #%$&! information out of the damn system!”

Feeling as though she’d failed in choosing the software, she asked us to help figure out her ERP conundrum.

After hearing her list of complaints, we had a pretty good idea of the issue. “Actually, you bought the right software,” I told her. “The product you’re using is ideal for your company. Your problem isn’t a failed ERP. Your problem is Failed Expectations.”

She thought that the new system would be the be-all and end-all of her information needs. But, no.

Reports from the ERP system often are best accomplished with some edgy solutions that seamlessly bolt-on and create awesome dashboards that the ERP system lacks. The data is there but the view is cloudy.

Your New Roadster can be an Awesome Ride

The reason companies decide to buy ERP is similar to the reason people decide to buy a new car.

The old car will still get you from point A to point B. In the same way, the old software system a company is using may be just fine at providing reports and producing invoices. In fact, the staff may be very familiar with the system, which is highly tailored to the company’s needs. Yet, the employees find the user interface clunky and old-fashioned. Complaints may be that response times are slow. Just as the old car may have shot shocks or terrible gas mileage, the current system is showing its age.

A new car with the latest cool features won’t change the number of miles you have to drive, but it will make that drive so much better.

This is where a new ERP is not like a new car. For middle-market companies, we find the “drive” doesn’t noticeably improve until they add on a few “edgy” solutions. These are the solutions the tomato sauce company CFO was going to need before her system did all the cool things of which she’d been dreaming.

"Edgy" Solutions that are "Must Haves"!

Out-of-the-box ERP will get you 80% of the way home, but some of your key requirements, such as Demand Planning, may not be part of that package. These functions need to be added on.

Fortunately, software is readily available that will integrate tightly with your new ERP. You can find edgy solutions that address everything from Warehouse Management to Supply-Chain Management to Trade Promotion Management. The image below shows some of the typical edgy solutions that you can add on to the perimeters of your ERP system.

ERP is Just the Beginning of the Road Trip

When you envision your new system, think about the view of your dashboard and add on the edgy solutions that have a firm handshake with your ERP so that you get the best of all worlds - a strong processing engine with excellent dashboards will give you visibility into operations and performance.

To make the engine hum, you’ll need to add-on a few well designed applications for Business Intelligence, Financial Planning & Analysis, and CRM.

Other solutions abound including Currency Management, Expense Reporting, Logistics, Talent Management, and about every aspect of your business that you can think of.

Living on the Edge

Adding edgy solutions to your ERP system enables you to manage the enterprise. The “new car” can now show you just how sweet the drive can be. “Great Expectations” come true. Now you are ready to see results daily from your systems.

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Rubenstein / Justman Management Consultants (RJMC) is adept at quickly assessing your ERP landscape. We can add some edgy solutions to your business process so that you can expect a positive ERP experience. Give us a call at 310-445-5300 - we know ERP. We live on the Edge.