I read an interesting article about problems with ERP Systems on May 28, 2025 which you can check out by clicking here. The article identifies the following 4 problems with ERP:
- System – system is missing functionality needed
- Setup – system ok but not setup properly
- Incomplete – system ok but not using it
- Business Practice – system ok but not using it well
It’s important to classify the problem, as the solution is not always a new system. We take a similar approach when we do our business process reviews, where we interview employees to describe the business process and the problems with it. We classify problems a little differently
- System – Same as above
- Training – Both Setup and Incomplete would be included
- Infrastructure – There could be, for example, performance problems related to the infrastructure.
- Business Process – Same as business practice
- Culture – Sometimes the culture of the organization can be the source of a problem.
You can do a lot to change all the non-system problems other than culture and you also have some options with the system problems:
- Use RPA or AI to automate a manual process
- Change the business process if the process is not that important to your business. Just because it’s been done that way for ages, doesn’t mean it can’t be changed.
- Enhance the system which could be done with configuration tools like adding a new field or by customization
- Use 3rd party tools
So before you embark on replacing your system, consider all your options including contacting us to do an independent review of your business processes.