Manufacturing - 5 Key Elements for the Right ERP Solution

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Choosing the right ERP solution for your manufacturing operations is a very important decision, one that you will be forced to live with for years to come. It is essential to evaluate the key elements that will make the choice a success.

Usability – Adoption, or use, by a large percentage of employees is critical to capturing the data you need accurately and in a timely fashion. Is the software simple to use? Does it complement the user’s job and make it easier or does the software “get in the way” or seem cumbersome? Does it make good use of technology such as handhelds, barcodes, RFID, touch screens, etc.?

Providing the right fit – Make sure you see how the data would get into the system. Is it easy? Is it captured and validated at the point of origination? Will it work for your highly-automated lines or your machine-building shop or your engineer to order operation, whichever you may have?

Licensing – How does the vendor provide his solution? Will there be an option to purchase a license? Should the vendor choose to hike the price at a later stage, you should be able to get your data and switch in case you wish to.

Scalability – Can a non-programmer create new screens and reports? Are your changes carried forward automatically as new features are provided by the software vendor? How often is new functionality released?

Total Cost of Ownership – Some costs you avoid with the SaaS model include investments on servers, operating systems, database management software, labour, back-up equipment, hardware upgrades etc.