Why businesses often realize too late that they need ERP. The common mistake: focusing only on ERP technology too much – ERP system selection given the many choices available shouldn’t be a difficult or a time-consuming exercise. But once the technology is selected the most important aspect is to select the right Implementer.
The Trap of Big-Name ERP Vendors
Proprietary ERP: Profits Over Value?
- High costs and steep margins – A lot of the businesses have been paying loads of money to Proprietary ERP vendors like SF, MS Dynamics, SAP, SAGE, ZOHO and those companies have become billionaires because mostly they make the bulk of the software once and sell it many times over but at steep rates some of them reaping as high as 85% gross profits.
- Vendors like SAP, SF, MS Dynamics, SAGE, ZOHO dominating the market because businesses are not aware of other good alternatives. This is where we need to talk about honest ERP’s like ERPNext.
The Honest Alternative: ERPNext
- Free, open-source, made-in-India
- Trusted by 30,000+ companies like Zerodha, Blinkit, and ifTAS
- Modules for every business function – Accounting, Sales, Purchase, Stock, Manufacturing, Projects, HR & Payroll, CRM and E-commerce.
- Suitable for small to large enterprises
- ERPNext provides all that a business would need in terms of modules like ERPNext is one stop shop that will automate the customers entire business. It also has an option to implement only the CRM (Frappe CRM) and HR (Frappe HR) if the business does not need a full-blown ERP. Most of the customers adopt a staggered deployment approach as opposed to the Big Bang deployment as that allows them to automate their business gradually but most importantly with maximum user adoption which is key.
Also Read: Why Businesses Shouldn’t Pay for Expensive Software Licenses: Embrace ERPNext, a Free Solution
The Real Game-Changer: The ERP Implementer
Technology Alone Isn’t Enough
- Why implementations fail—lack of quality in implementation
- Importance of domain and industry expertise
What to Look for in an ERP Implementer
- Industry experience: Manufacturing, Healthcare, Logistics, etc.
- Domain knowledge: HR, Finance, Operations
- Team of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs)
Role of Functional Consulting
- Why functional discussion should precede technical discussion. These experts not only help with mapping the exact business needs of the company but also provide value by bringing in better ways of doing things for better efficiency based on Worldwide best practices. If there is a smarter way to do a particular process the Consultant needs to bring in that advice for the Business owners to review, consider and implement.
These Subject matter experts need to experience like for example, if the accounting module is being implemented then you need a Financial controller or a CA profile to help you with the functional consulting of the implementation. - Involving professionals like CAs, Controllers for specialized modules
Why ERPNext Makes Implementation Easier
- Low-code, no-code platform reduces dependency on expensive customizations. ERPNext comes with a robust development ecosystem in Frappe Framework.
- Internal IT teams can be trained and certified easily using the many Learning and Development options available from ERPNext.
- Lower long-term maintenance costs and the flexibility to scale the solution up as the business grows both in terms of number of users of the system as well as the newer modules that your business might need for the long run.
Leadership and Adoption Matter
Led by Experienced ERP Leaders
- Benefits of leadership from top ERP companies – Check for the leadership of the ERPNext Implementation company. What kind of companies have they worked for in their past and what kind of projects they have delivered for which industries. These Leaders have been-there-done-that and good Implementers emphasis on the following Two critical success factors:
Two Critical Success Factors
- Inculcate a Strong management ownership within the customers business.
- Proper training for end-users – the ERP Implementer company needs to provide the right training and comfort to the end-users of the system before it goes live. If this is not paid attention to, then the ERP project is bound to be a failure as it is human tendency to find easier ways and workarounds to get the work done when the system is not user friendly.
They will switch back to manual ways or Excel, will get the work done and the entire investment of an ERP systems is undone. So, in summary, the Implementer company can make or break an ERP initiative and it’s for that reason, businesses need to consider paying more attention to selecting the right ERP implementer as opposed to spending a lot of time on Technology selection.
Conclusion
The ERP implementer can make or break your ERP project. Businesses must focus more on who implements ERP than what Technology they implement. ERPNext is an honest ERP at zero cost, a strong development framework (Frappe Framework) and a very reasonably priced Cloud hosting option (Frappe Cloud) which does not charge by growth in number of users but by usage which is only fair.