Guide: Choosing the right ERP partner
Find the right ERP partner for your company with our guide, which helps you choose wisely and efficiently - in this article we will go through the process.
· 11 min read
Introduction
What is an ERP system?
Examples of ERP systems
What is an ERP partner?
Get ready to choose an ERP partner
Worth considering during the process
The risk of choosing the wrong ERP partner
Benefits of the right choice of ERP partner
List of capable ERP partners in Denmark
What is an integration?
Shopify Integration
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You are looking for an ERP partner, but which one should you choose?
That is a really good question: “which ERP partner should I choose?” because there are an incredible number to choose between, and they all have their own skill set and expertise. The right choice depends on many different factors, such as experience and chemistry, but after this blog you will be better equipped to choose the right ERP partner for you.
What is an ERP system?
An ERP system is software that helps you run your business, plan your resources and keep control of your data – an Enterprise Resource Planning system. With the help of an ERP system, you can more easily avoid manual and time-consuming processes.
An ERP system is therefore often bought from an ERP partner, since it takes extensive knowledge of the software to get it set up correctly.
Examples of ERP systems
What is an ERP partner?
An ERP partner is the company that delivers and implements an ERP system. The ERP partner has thorough knowledge of the ERP systems on offer and can help you install and configure the ERP system so that it fits your particular company.
Get ready to choose an ERP partner
Before you contact an ERP partner, you should ask yourself some questions.
If you jump straight into a collaboration, you can end up with a solution that does not fit you, wasted money and a sour taste in your mouth. So go through these points first.
What is your need?
Start by working out what you actually need an ERP system for. Are you on the hunt because you have heard that you have to use an ERP system – then you should probably seek a bit more information before you get in touch.
If, on the other hand, you are clear about what an ERP system can do, then you should think about this:
What should an ERP system do for you?
If you do not answer that question, the chances of you ending up with a solution that does not fit you are quite high. An eCommerce company is often complex and holds an ocean of data. If you do not get that data set up properly and build a scaffold that fits your webshop, you can spend untold amounts of time and money solving the initial errors.
That would be a shame – especially because it can be avoided by doing some initial thinking.
- Do you need a comprehensive setup – a mothership for the whole company?
- Do you need fewer functions for a smaller team?
Here are some of the areas an ERP system can help you with.
- Financial management:
This covers processes such as bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll administration and reporting. The ERP system helps automate the processes and make sure there is always an up-to-date overview of the company’s finances. - Production planning:
This covers processes such as production planning, raw material management and production control. The ERP system helps plan production and make sure the right raw materials are always available. - Inventory management:
This covers processes such as stock levels, goods receipt and invoicing. The ERP system helps keep track of stock levels and make sure the right items are always in stock. - Sales management:
This covers processes such as customer order processing, invoicing and delivery. The ERP system helps process customer orders, invoice customers and make sure delivery goes smoothly.
Ask your colleagues about an ERP partner
One thing is what you need yourself in an ERP system – a need you have to remember to look carefully through – but some completely different needs can arise when you ask your colleagues. Your colleagues have a different perspective than you, and perhaps even completely different tasks. That triggers the need for other functions.
Ask the warehouse worker how they work in the warehouse. Ask the finance team how they work. Ask your superiors how they work.
You do not want to be missing functions when the whole thing has to fly for the first time.
Research
You do not walk into a car dealership blindfolded and say “that one” to the first bucket you touch. You do your groundwork. You look at reviews. You ask other users of the car what they think.
You should do the same with your ERP partner. There are many different partners, and they all work in their own unique way. Read the websites, read reviews and ask around before you get in touch by phone or email.
Reach out
When you are ready, you contact your top 3 partners by email or phone. Make a list of questions you can ask all the partners if you like. That way you can hold the answers up against each other and see what makes the most sense.
As inspiration, we have put together a list of questions you can ask:
- Do you have industry knowledge?
- Do you have industry-specific solutions.
- Do you have a contact at a customer we can talk to?
- Are you a match for our company?
- May we use an external independent adviser?
- Do you provide support?
- How long does development take from estimate to development being accepted?
- How do you map out our company’s business processes?
- What is your response time on support cases?
- Can we buy a better support agreement?
- What is the billing model?
- How do testing and acceptance criteria work?
- Do you provide a project manager?
- Is there a focus on good communication between all parties?
- Do you train our staff on an ongoing basis and on special occasions?
- What is your delivery procedure.
One important thing you should notice is the chemistry. You and the partner will become close collaborators, and it always works best when you meet with good chemistry and an understanding of each other’s values.
Worth considering during the process
When you choose an ERP partner, you should consider whether they are specialised in your particular industry. There is a very big difference in how an ERP system can be used in different industries, so if your partner does not have experience with your industry, you should consider switching.
Include this point in your research so you do not make an expensive mistake.
The risk of choosing the wrong ERP partner
Just like with every other choice in life, you can end up choosing wrong. Unfortunately, when it comes to business, there is usually money involved. That is why it is super important that you make the right choices the first time. It can cost you dearly if you do not.
Here are some of the dangers of choosing the wrong ERP partner.
Incredibly slow time-to-market
An ERP system can quickly become a heart in your company. Without it, it can be hard to run a business the right way.
So if your attempt to implement an ERP system fails, it will be a long time before you can really get to market. You will have to spend time getting a more specialised partner to implement your system, with exactly your wishes intact.
Time wasted = revenue slipped away.
Money lost
You lose a lot of money by failing in the implementation of your ERP system.
Not only does potential revenue get lost in the process, you also have to get another partner to implement the solution. That kind of thing costs money, since it is a tailor-made solution built precisely for your needs.
Loss of efficiency
When you fail to implement an ERP system, you miss out on the efficiency you would have had if the mission had been successful. That means you are far behind where you could have been. Add to that the fact that your employees have missed out on the efficiency they could have had.
Everyone loses when the implementation fails.
The benefits of the right choice of ERP partner
Just as there can be terrible drawbacks to choosing the wrong ERP partner, there can be fantastic consequences of choosing the right one. Here are some of the benefits of choosing correctly the first time.
You know what you get
When you choose an experienced ERP partner, you can be sure that you get delivered exactly what you asked for. The partner makes sure to make an agreement with you in which all your needs are covered.
Once the system is implemented in your company, you know what the next step is, how to use the system and where to turn if operations play up.
Healthy data
There are not many things cooler than data when you run a business. Data can inform you about how you should act, when and why, based on the information your customers give you.
But if your data is unhealthy, you might as well throw it in the bin.
If, however, you get your ERP system implemented correctly, you can be sure that the data coming in is correct and safe enough to draw conclusions from. On top of that, you also know that your organisation has a uniform way of handling the data, so the number of errors is reduced.
Time and money
Not to be forgotten – when you succeed in implementing your ERP system in the right way, with the right functions, you create both more time for what is important in your company and save money by not having to keep track of the data manually in various documents – which is something you would rather avoid.
List of capable ERP partners in Denmark
Here are some of the best ERP partners you can work with in Denmark. They are reliable, experienced, and their focus is on hitting the mark with your implementation
What is an integration?
An integration is a way for your different systems to communicate with each other. Let’s say you have a Shopify solution. Here you create data manually, which the users react to. You have to create the same data manually in your ERP system. Likewise, you have to make sure to move data between the two systems on an ongoing basis, so that both systems are accurate.
An integration takes the hassle out of these tasks. With an integration you can make sure that all the data you create in one place is automatically copied over into the other system. And here we are only scratching the surface.
With integrations you can optimise your processes right down to the individual seconds you spend on your daily tasks. The possibilities are overwhelming.
Shopify integration
Shopify Dynamics NAV
Shopify Dynamics 365 Business Central integration
Other integrations
List of our integrations
Connectify as the supplier of your integration
Connectify has been building bridges between both B2B and B2C systems long enough to be one of Denmark’s leading iPaaS solutions (read about what an iPaaS solution is here)When you get in touch with us, you get a professional approach, with you and your needs in focus. We do no work that does not make sense for you.
When we have finished your integrations, you will be able to scale your business far more than you could before. You remove the manual processes, reduce the number of errors and automate large parts of the IT work for all the departments in your eCommerce company.
You get the knot around your hands untied, so you are ready to spend time and money on the things that really make sense.
See what our customers say about us here:
If you are not convinced, then give us a call or an email. We are always ready to have a chat about your challenges.