News & Views

October 2009 from Conspectus – “…Nearly half of firms (47%) are not using their enterprise systems’ full capability and could increase utilization if they had more time, training and/or budget…

In summary, for organizations that have made strategic ERP investments in recent years, now is the time to work those investments even harder. With a focus on data, discipline and systems flexibility, IT leaders can squeeze far more value from their enterprise software and stop leaving as much as a third of their investment on the table.”

180 View – It does seem strange that organizations would not use more of their ERP system if only they had more time, training and/or budget. If the benefits greatly exceed the costs, why would they not make the investment? But if it’s breakeven, then one would understand the reluctance.

We think a bigger problem in not utilizing the full ERP system is that organizations are stuck with old versions and don’t know what to do. Our opinion is that replacing a system should be a last resort because of all the costs to implement a new system. We suggest documentating requirements just as if selecting a new system, letting the vendor demonstrate their ability to meet the requirements and a business case to determine whether to upgrade/improve the existing system.