Have you heard of the term “ERP”? Not exactly sure what it is or why it’s important to process manufacturers and chemical distributors? Maybe you’ve done some research and found it overwhelming and a little confusing.
If your business is looking to select and implement a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, you have a critical decision to make. Do you go with a generic ERP solution that comes with “one size fits all” functionality? Or do you look at industry-specific ERP software? While generic software can be cheaper up front, industry-specific solutions are an investment in your company’s future, offering all of the features that meet your needs.
To learn more about ERP software and the benefits it offers, see our introductory guide. In this post, we’ll compare the differences between generic and industry-specific ERP systems.
Your business has a lot of moving parts: from accounting and payroll to production and distribution. Every activity within the company and each piece of data gathered externally from customers, suppliers and business partners must be recorded. To make informed decisions, your entire company needs access to that data — but how can you manage it all while still handling day-to-day tasks?
The Problem: "We accept credit cards today but we do it through an online portal or with a physical card reader."
Most process manufacturers and chemical distributors accept credit cards for some portion of their sales. Customers with poor or declining credit, slow payers, or small customers account for many of those charges. When these cases come up you find yourself jumping between your ERP system and an online processing portal or a physical card reader. You might not have a great way to save card numbers and associate them with the right customer profile in your ERP so you end up writing down or saving sensitive credit card information in non-secure locations. You then have the headache of having to reconcile payments between your bank, your merchant processing statements and your ERP. It can be a messy process and is ripe for errors and security issues.
When it comes to searching for a new ERP software solution there is no one-size fits all. It is a critical decision that can be an extremely long and difficult process. One must consider many different factors (ex. functionality, fit, price, complexity etc.) before selecting a solution. It is very important that you take your time in evaluating your options as choosing the right solution as well as the right vendor is critical to the success of the project. To help ease the stress this process can cause we have broken down 5 key factors one should consider when evaluating various ERP software vendors.
