ERP ROI - RReturn On Investment

Streamlining business processes via ERP systems has been of great benefits to companies no matter how big or small. This has led to reduced costs and has been able to provide a bird’s eye view of operations as a whole. Companies such as PeopleSoft, SAP and Baan have been on the forefront of this business process streamlining applications. They help companies make more effective decisions on a corporate wide basis. This id due in large to the aggregation and consolidation of all reports thereby outputting this data in to not only meaningful but also useful information. By diligently following the standard steps needed to implementing an ERP system, a company can potentially unlock the keys to more cost effective decision making techniques. On the contrary, by deploying an ERP system without the due processes to be followed might require a serious disaster recovery plan coupled with solid company insurance to cover potential losses.
Furthermore, a solid sensitive analysis plan that is comprehensive enough to include all facets of operations will greatly pave the way for a solid ERP system implementation.
Notwithstanding, lack of responsibility on the part of business units or a lack of dedication on the part of key members of the deployment team can adversely affect an implementation plan at the execution stage. There are risks involved with the deployment of an ERP system, especially with success in mind. From budgeting to stakeholders to a solid leadership, recognizing these pitfalls greatly reduces risks.

Return on Investment (ROI) MUST be taken into consideration when implementing an ERP plan. Consolidation, integration and streamlining could be reasons why some companies deploy ERP systems with not a lot of emphasis on Return on Investment. Nevertheless, ROI is still taken into consideration. It may take some companies a longer period say a year, two, or maybe more to fully get an ERP system running. Costs associated with this may be very high and Return on Investment may take a few years to set in. ERP changes the way business processes are done and getting this message across, integrating systems, training and consultation costs which may be the biggest cost have to be carefully planned and glitches in the processes should be anticipated for successful deployment. A successful deployment will be the platform and set the stage for future e-commerce systems. Although ROI may require the company to change its business model, payback may often take some time.

Competitive Intelligence or Industrial Espionage?

Leonard Fuld ... "Look at a company like Unilever – they employ thousands of scientists. We did an analysis of the patents that Unilever has issued and discovered that a handful of scientists may be the prime drivers of research in a certain area of Unilever. We did a scan to update some material and came across one of these scientists, who was looking to employ a Ph.D fellow in the lab. Through the ad listing itself, you begin to learn what this particular scientist is working on. This is the power of the Net. It allows you to peek into a company's activities through many other doors that you wouldn't have gotten access to before."

Is this the backdoor into a companys operations? I think so. It is so difficultly easy nowadays to get the most important competitive intelligence fromthe most ignored sources. Job postings, request for proposals, white papers, public research and seminars! This is very interesting especially with the bruhaha over analysis and intelligence. SAP for example can not only consolidate but streamline the business processes andd critical paths but also expose key areas of operations useful to competitors. All I need to do is either attend a conference or telephone the company pretending to be a student conducting a survey and I can easily walk into all the information I need. Customer service...beware!

Consider outsourcing, everytime I speak with an indian when i have problems with microsoft office applications, I let him know I'm calling from New York City of Connecticut and as soon as he knows an American is on the phone, he tries to satistfy me at all costs! The other day I was able to get 4 different registration codes from 2 service reps (outsourced indians) for just one copy of my software product. not because I needed it but just testing the system and understanding critical path analysis of these sort of operation...beware software bootleggers and pirates!
watch out for the concurrent part of this series.

more to come,


Alani O. Kuye
Competitive Business Intelligence Analyst
Phantom Data systems

http://www.phantomdatasystems.com