To set the stage, Panorama Consulting is an outstanding resource for research, education, and guidance about enterprise resource planning software. Deploying an ERP solution is a major decision and the people at Panorama are smart and talented. The best example of their caliber might be Eric Kimberling, a recognized expert on ERP systems with 20 years experience. He knows his stuff and his opinions about ERP are trusted by some of the largest organizations in the world.
This detail might be the thing that makes his advice wrong for you.
In Mr. Kimberling’s July 25 post, he points out several reasons why purchasing new ERP software is a bad idea, both in general and specifically at this time. However to support this claim, he uses examples that predominantly fit into what Panorama labels “Tier 1” software — bulky, expensive packages for global corporations. For that subset of ERP solutions, his claim may be perfectly true.
But does it apply to you?
If you’re not a globe-spanning organization with hyper-complex operational structures, the answer may very well be “No.” In fact, there’s a good chance that now is the perfect time to invest in new ERP software. This applies to:
- A CEO who is tired of not knowing what the company’s true cash position is.
- A controller who is surprised by the AMEX bill every month.
- An owner who feels like she is steering a ship in the dark.
- An executive who is frustrated because everyone is busy, but nothing is getting done.
- Any decision-maker who feels debilitated by missing and incomplete data.
To be candid, Mr. Kimberling notes some limits to his claim later in the post. But a headline often grabs more attention than a second-to-last paragraph. So let’s elaborate on the possibility that you should seriously consider investing in your company’s ERP.
Your cost-benefit analysis needs to acknowledge what you are losing by not having an effective, integrated ERP system in place. How much time is spent shuffling papers, updating spreadsheets, and trying to get a clear report on the state of the business? In that lost time, how many opportunities are also lost? What more valuable tasks could you and your staff be addressing?
We acknowledge that major organizational changes can be difficult. But at aACE Software, we have built a reputation on implementations with rigorous preparation and with results that exceed expectations. And we have the case studies to support that standing. One client described his experience this way:
“The implementation was flawless and respectful of our need to continue operating. It couldn’t have gone better. Even though we had many systems to integrate, importing our data was easy and the entire process was smooth and professional. I’ve never experienced as easy an implementation of anything like I experienced with the aACE team.” ~ Jim Parker, President and Owner, Vacutherm Inc.
aACE 5’s value proposition is to accelerate your business velocity. This comprehensive yet affordable package operates on Mac and PC, coordinating your accounting, CRM, and ERP functions. Built on the FileMaker platform, aACE 5 can be easily and affordably customized, and can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud.
To be frank, we have to admit that aACE 5 isn’t for all organizations — if you’re part of a global enterprise, you’ll just have to wait for a better time to get the most for your ERP dollar.
For small and medium-sized businesses looking to get an edge in their market though, aACE 5 might be a perfect fit. And now may be the perfect time.
Learn more today about how aACE 5 can accelerate your business velocity.
“We were looking for a solution that gave us a solid core that we could customize rather easily to suit our unique business processes. As a custom fabricator, we also needed a solution that could give us several different options when it came to how we want to manage and track inventory, account for multi-level job-costing, and handle our unique design and estimation processes as well. Since implementation, we have found that aACE has not only helped us reinforce and automate many of our complex workflows, but it has also given us visibility into our data at both a high level and granular level like we have never had before.” ~ Andrew Porter, ERP Manager, Gable
