Sometimes a business looks around at its ERP and realises it’s not fit for purpose.

New ERP!

Someone will often then talk about a new ERP. Or, short of that, a full new re-implementation. But most often a new ERP.

At this point – stop.

Is the problem the ERP, or is it the way it’s set up? Unless you’ve let an old system gather dust without updating for years, the ERP itself is probably capable enough, and the problem is how you’re using it.

New ERP! Without any of the problems!

OK, maybe so. But a new implementation will force you to fix that, right?

Beneath the surface, this is often a big driver of ERP implementations. When there’s a new system to install, you have to fix all the things. FIX THEM ALL. Everybody loves the idea of having all the niggles fixed, and there will be no excuse.

ERP sales people know this well.

Think, though. You’ll be fixing those problems and working out how to make a new system work for everything that is working, and getting everybody to learn new ways of doing everything, and new interfaces, all at the same time.

This is not just repairing the engines while the plane is flying, it’s removing them entirely and replacing them.

Too often, once the project is under way, it’s as much as the business can do just to get the new implementation done at all, and all those nice process fixes take a back seat. Everything is so new that people push for things to be done the old way wherever they can, even if those old ways were the problem in the first place. And the people doing the work are too exhausted to push back.

New ERP, with a mix, now, of old and new problems. Lovely.

So what’s the alternative?

Here I assume you have Epicor ERP10 or Kinetic, because I know those are capable enough for most businesses.

If you have problems, there’s almost certainly a mismatch between your business processes and how you’re using the system. Often that dates back to a few key decisions taken when implementing that turn out to be drawbacks, and either you feel stuck with them or it hasn’t occurred to anyone to question the original assumptions.

Before deciding what to do, visualise what a working system would do, and how. What would the business run like, say, two years from now, problem-free? What would that actually be like, and what are the key differences from now?

You might need experienced help with this, or you might not.

Now, if you were starting again with the ERP you have, could it do all that?

If the answer is yes, even with some expert work, then do consider making that happen.

Why, though?

No matter what the sales people tell you, a new ERP won’t fulfil your new vision out of the box. It might be a bit closer, and it’s worth getting independent expert advice (not from me, from someone who knows multiple ERP systems) on whether it might be close enough to be worth all the expense and trouble of changing.

In most cases, though, the work to configure it will be necessary in a new system, and can be done to the old system.

Not only do you save, keeping the old system, but by losing the time, effort and expense of changing even the basics, you free it up for changing actually what you want to change. This makes a serious difference.

It isn’t as glamorous as a shiny new system, and don’t underestimate how important that is as a draw. Shiny and new is attractive. It just isn’t always rational.

You can have your vision with the ERP you have, probably. It will be hard work making the changes, and there is a right way and many wrong ways between now and that blissful future. You will probably need expert help, just less of it than for a whole new implementation.

OK, so how, then?

Well, this is long enough, so there will need to be a part two.