Hint: The Data Model Holds All of the Secrets
With so many options to choose from, selecting Enterprise software can be a challenging task. Even after an exhaustive search, sometimes the selection process does not lead to the desired outcome for your business long term. Let’s look at how best to approach software selection to ensure that you choose a solution that will best support your business needs.
Selecting Software for Long-Term Viability
As you have most likely experienced, going through the process of finding a new software solution can involve taking part in endless demonstrations. These can often leave you more confused than when you started. While demonstrations and reference checks are an essential part of the process, other considerations should not be overlooked. In addition to demonstrations, reference checks, gap analysis, and the other common techniques, mapping the ERP data model to your business is an essential part of determining if your new solution’s long-term viability.
Mapping the ERP Data Model to Your Business
For example, if you are a project manufacturing company, then it is safe to say that you understand the importance of having your ERP system’s database stripe all transaction data by project number. Our services were called on after a project manufacturing company narrowed its ERP selection to two vendors and chose the user interface with the best look and feel. Unfortunately, this vendor did not stripe the transaction data by project number, and the company faced ten years of workarounds following the implementation of that software. Inspirage was able to get this company on the road to efficiency and visibility with a solution that resolved its years of ongoing issues.
At your company, do you have alternative ways of making the same product? If so, then software that supports this scenario and accounts for different resources will be an essential feature. Simply supporting alternate resources is not enough. Software that drills down and allows the user to identify whether the alternate resource definition is global, at the work center level, or the routing level is vital to an efficient process. Having the ability to check the database design of the ERP you are considering allows you to figure out the level of granularity present in the data model.
Does your company have more than one manufacturing location? If so, you will need multi-site Material Requirement Planning (MRP). Make sure to check the data model to see if the manufacturing site stripes all the MRP-related data. If you are a process manufacturing company, it is important that you have available a dual unit of measure feature. Check the data model to see if it is present.
Finally, ask yourself what fulfillment models do you use (or want to use)? If you can gain a competitive advantage by using advanced fulfillment techniques like Back-to-Back, Drop-Ship, and Contract Manufacturing, then ensure that the ERP system you are considering supports these fulfillment techniques at the database level.
Putting It All Together
Unless you have recently implemented an enterprise system, the ERP system you are using today is probably not the same one you will be using ten years from now. Take time to understand your business needs so that the selection of and investment in your next ERP system does not cause more problems than it solves.
As a recognized Oracle partner, Inspirage’s team of experts can help you select and implement an ERP system that solves your business challenges. In addition to our Oracle Application expertise, we have created a library of innovative PaaS solutions to supercharge you Oracle Applications so they best fit your needs. Please visit the Oracle Cloud Marketplace to see a complete listing of Inspirage Solutions and contact us with any questions or to schedule a demo.
