Improve the ROI on your ERP investment:

Improve the ROI on your ERP investment:

Most midsized manufacturing companies invest a significant amount of resources (sometimes blood, sweat & tears) implementing their core ERP system. Using limited resources to implement an ERP system makes sense because the return on investment (ROI) is quick and easy to measure (a successful ERP implementation will reduce inventory costs, improve efficiency and enhance customer satisfaction).

Yet after the core ERP system is up and running it can be difficult to find significant opportunities that will yield similar ROI. Two options companies can use to continue to improve efficiencies and reduce costs include implementing Expansion Modules to the core ERP system or implementing Business Activity Monitoring.

Expansion modules are add-on tools that work with the core ERP. An expansion module typically leverages the data in the ERP system, has a similar look and feel and is quick and easy to go live. For example, Quoting leverages the existing account master, part sales, etc. data that has already been entered. The user interface is similar so the learning curve is fast, and the tool should be fully functional so the go live is quick. Other expansion modules include; Engineering Change Control, Warranty Tracking, Subcontract Management, Lot/Serial Control, etc. Expansions modules have another huge advantage in a regulated environment because the data is collected and stored in a single location, making it easy to track manage the data as necessary which is vital for organizations that require a high degree of traceability.

Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) is a second area that delivers significant ROI with an existing ERP system. BAM (or Event Management) monitors a data base looking for certain database conditions…when that condition occurs, BAM automatically send an alert or message. BAM becomes an invisible assistant that can automatically perform repetitive tasks that are usually performed by administrative personnel (improving response time and reducing costs). BAM will warn in the event something requires immediate attention. BAM runs in the background and can check for hundreds or thousands of different conditions. When a condition happens BAM can send a message through email, pager, or text message. In addition to messaging, BAM can write data to another system when a condition exists.

There are many examples of how BAM can have a significant, immediate impact on Engineering, Finance, Sales, Purchasing, Inventory or Production. The key to a successful BAM deployment is a well defined condition to monitor, and a well defined event to trigger when that condition occurs. This could be: send an email to the sales manager when a customer is put on credit hold or send an email to the customer when their order ships. A more complex event could manage scrap in production, email the QA Manager, create a workflow request, and alert purchasing to buy more. BAM will have a significant and immediate impact on the business simply by leveraging the data in your ERP system.