ERP replacement

[loosemarbles]

Our existing ERP works ok for us, but we are looking at a more digital led solution. Anyone got a recommendation for a good firm to approach to explore our options etc?

[rich1231]

What sort of industry are you in ?

[loosemarbles]

rich1231 said:

What sort of industry are you in ?

Distribution - majority of product shipped direct from manufacturer, but we have multiple 3rd party warehouses as well.

[vaud]

Going to need a LOT more information to even vaguely point you in the right direction.

Industry
Scale
Define what is in scope for your ERP?
What does the current solution not do?
What are your needs in the next 5-10 years?
What is your ability to develop and maintain in-house vs needing a service provider?
Vague budget expectations/do you have someone that can build and articulate a business case?

[loosemarbles]

THAT I appreciate, but we are the beginning of the journey, and we run a business first and foremost, without a) the experience to know where to start and b) the human-power to chuck loads of people at it. We have the starting of a wish list, namely what our current system doesn't do.

In terms of scale - 400-600 sales invoices a month, 300-400 purchase invoices, average invoice value is circa £10k. 100 suppliers, 700 customers, 1000 SKU's. 4 x finance roles, 10 x SOP roles.

[RDShaw]

PM Sent.

[PugwasHDJ80]

We had the same questions when trying to replace our CRM.

We eventually used a company called rapidindigo.co.uk who specifically help you select the right software package.

We used them because our first choice didn't work out and we didn't want to make another mistake!

[MustangGT]

vaud said:

Going to need a LOT more information to even vaguely point you in the right direction.

Industry
Scale
Define what is in scope for your ERP?
What does the current solution not do?
What are your needs in the next 5-10 years?
What is your ability to develop and maintain in-house vs needing a service provider?
Vague budget expectations/do you have someone that can build and articulate a business case?

Exactly.

What you actually need, right now, is an agnostic ERP systems implementation and business specialist who can help you get your requirements down on paper.

Then you take that requirements document and ask for proposals based on the requirements.

I used to do this as a freelance systems consultant, many moons ago (I retired 3 years ago).

[Speed 3]

MustangGT said:

vaud said:

Going to need a LOT more information to even vaguely point you in the right direction.

Industry
Scale
Define what is in scope for your ERP?
What does the current solution not do?
What are your needs in the next 5-10 years?
What is your ability to develop and maintain in-house vs needing a service provider?
Vague budget expectations/do you have someone that can build and articulate a business case?

Exactly.

What you actually need, right now, is an agnostic ERP systems implementation and business specialist who can help you get your requirements down on paper.

Then you take that requirements document and ask for proposals based on the requirements.

I used to do this as a freelance systems consultant, many moons ago (I retired 3 years ago).

Precisely this. I have seen so many IT systems selected off the back of a sales pitch with very little understanding of what is required or talking to the IT implementers who really know what their system will do without costly modification (if it'll do what you want at all). Its worth spending time and some money on writing the exam question before you talk to the providers. It'll save implementation cost and heartache in the long run. Run an ITT first as well to filter out unsuitables. I'm doing one in Brazil at the moment for a client and that is precisely what we've done. It also pays to fully understand what your own implementation resource looks like. Its always painful taking the best people in the business out of the loop to do a configuration properly.

[vaud]

MustangGT said:

What you actually need, right now, is an agnostic ERP systems implementation and business specialist who can help you get your requirements down on paper.

Challenge is finding a good one in the SME market

[alabbasi]

Are you a 3rd party logistics provider or a distributor that buys and sells (or makes and sells) their own stuff?
It's important because different systems handle multi tenancy and billings better than others.

Edited by alabbasi on Tuesday 10th October 22:22

[skilly1]

We are looking at Zoho. May not look like a traditional ERP on the face of it but dig deeper and may suit your requirements. Will need some custom work as with any ERP.

[craigjm]

It’s easy to be oversold on these things. Be clear about your needs not just for today but any plans that you have for the future. You need to consider it in the context of the whole company direction and general IT direction. I have seen many companies buy stuff and then find it doesn’t meet their needs. A company that sells more than its own products is your best bet as they could so a vendor selection exercise for you. Happy to talk through your situation with you

[48k]

I've spent the last 8 years building an ERM system for a manufacturing business which is now used by 3 companies. (Circa 15m turnover, hundreds of invoices per month, 12 delivery trucks kind of size). They are business who used to run entirely on Excel spreadsheets, that are now running on a web based system (a particular boon during lockdown). It covers everything from initial customer enquiry, quotation, factory scheduling, stock control, delivery scheduling, invoicing, HR / employee management etc. It interfaces to Xero, Companies House, Experian, Equifax and the 3CX voip system amongst others. I have one developer working on it full time for me. So although we're quite small we're very agile at building new functionality.
Happy to chat through the journey we've been through and share some experiences if the above sounds similar to what you will be going through.

[MustangGT]

vaud said:

MustangGT said:

What you actually need, right now, is an agnostic ERP systems implementation and business specialist who can help you get your requirements down on paper.

Challenge is finding a good one in the SME market

Indeed, you are correct.



Maybe I should come out of retirement?

Not happening, medical reasons.

[vaud]

MustangGT said:

Indeed, you are correct.

I could recommend a few in the enterprise market who aren't complete charlatans, at least for a scoping exercise, but they would be overkill in this area.

OP there is a very long list here that I can't vouch for.

https://themanifest.com/uk/erp/consultants

But as a first step you might want to:

• Document your current state of your ERP
• Outline your business problems and pain points (not the solutions)
• Define some priorities and timelines (by x date we would like to do ABC)
• Have some tough internal conversations about the business change needed. There is no such thing as an IT project, they are always IT+ business change. Ensure the business owners AND IT are represented or it will go wrong with mis-set expectations.

Identify 3-5 of the companies (maybe local-ish and of the right scale) and engage them in a presales conversation without commitment.

It sounds like you need a good independent consultant, or a boutique sized business that is comfortable with your size and maturity of processes, etc