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Customer reference calls and a site visit to see an ERP vendor’s customer using a proposed ERP solution in a real-world environment is a logical and essential step in the ERP selection process. That said, organizations that are evaluating distribution and manufacturing software solutions need to consider when in the overall selection process to ask the ERP vendor for such references. It is important to remember that it is not the ERP vendor’s customers’ job to “sell” the selection team on the system, and it is extremely unlikely that an ERP vendor will put the selection team in touch with an unhappy customer. In other words, customer reference calls should be used to affirm the ERP selection team’s vendor of choice and to get unbiased insight about the implementation process, lessons learned, support experiences, etc.; the selection should not simply rely on customer reference calls as a means to differentiate one vendor from another in an effort to tip the scales in one vendor’s favor. Read More…
Guidelines For Requesting ERP Vendor References
Following these three simple guidelines will not only help an ERP selection team find the best possible ERP system for their respective business, they will help the selection team make the most effective and efficient use of its and the ERP vendor’s customer’s time.
1. Complete the Majority of the ERP Selection Process First
Complete the vast majority of the ERP selection projects first, including remote demonstrations, an RFI, an RFP, discovery visits, and onsite scripted software demonstrations, before moving into customer reference calls and a site visit.
ERP selection teams should make every effort to complete other phases of the selection project before worrying too much about speaking to an ERP vendor’s existing customers. Selection teams should conduct a thorough, quantitative assessment of each potential ERP vendor and solution through distributing RFI’s and RFP’s, participating in initial web demonstrations with potential vendors, and bringing a short-list of vendors in to perform a site discovery visit followed shortly thereafter by a day-long, scripted software demonstration. Through distribution of an RFI and RFP, a perfectly logical request would be for the software vendor to provide some sample customer names who are in a similar industry and/or who have similar internal processes and software requirements. Through onsite, scripted software demonstrations, the ERP selection team should be able to narrow their short list of potential vendors and solutions down to one (or two at the very most) preferred vendor of choice. Done right, the scripted software demonstration process should provide the selection team with a clear-cut, quantitative ranking of the various software vendors and ERP solutions being evaluated.
Requesting customer references with only the preferred vendor or top two vendors will minimize the number of reference calls made by the selection team and prevent the team from calling customers of ERP vendors who have already been eliminated from the evaluation project due to functional fit.
2. Avoid Cold-calling
Allow the ERP company to arrange dates and times for customer reference calls based on their customers’ and the selection team’s availability.
Following scripted software demonstrations and identification of the preferred ERP software vendor, the selection team should request the vendor to arrange dates and times with three of its customers who are similar in size, industry, and functional requirements. The selection team should also request the vendor to arrange the calls with customer contacts who have an intimate knowledge of the proposed ERP solution and vendor, the software selection process that was used when evaluating the vendor, and who will be able to discuss his or her experiences with the ERP software implementation process and working with the software vendor.
Calling ERP vendors’ customers without having the vendor first arrange the date and time of the call with the right contact will prove to be largely ineffective. Not only does the selection team run the risk of a given customer contact not being available, it risks speaking to somebody who may not be able to answer the full scope of the selection team’s questions relating to the ERP vendor, the software, the selection process, and/or the implementation process.
3. Include the Software Selection Team on Reference Calls
The ERP selection process is a team effort; customer reference calls are a team effort.
When it comes time for the actual reference calls to take place, it is important to have the same individuals from the selection team on all of the reference calls. Too often, organizations tend to give the responsibility of reference calls to whomever from the ERP selection team is available. The problem with this approach is that it opens the door for questions to be asked differently and the potential to have one individual from the selection team experience a great reference call and a different individual from the selection team experience a mediocre reference call. This situation could ultimately lead to inconsistencies in the selection team’s view of who the right vendor is. By utilizing the same resources for all reference calls, the selection team will be able to ensure that its reference call process was objective, standardized, and consistent.
Customer reference calls are, without doubt, essential elements to the overall evaluation process. It is important, however, for the selection team to make the most effective use of its time to keep the selection process moving forward and request customer reference call arrangements to be made at the most logical time in the process.
One of the most common objectives a business has when evaluating distribution software solutions is to find an ERP system with a fully-integrated, RF and barcode-enabled warehouse management system. Many organizations enter the ERP selection process with the goal of implementing an ERP system that will allow them to operate their warehouse in a completely paperless environment. Read More…
While the paperless warehouse is an achievable goal through implementation of Enterprise 21 ERP’s warehouse management system, there are four critical success factors for achieving such a goal, all of which revolve around the issue of organizational change management. The process of migrating from a paper-based warehouse environment to one of real-time, paperless inventory tracking requires all parties to be equally invested in the process.
The Four Critical Success Factors for Paperless Warehouse Implementation:
1. Take a Phased Approach. Too often, organizations try to tackle more than they (and their users) are capable of doing all at once. Particularly in instances in which no barcode scanning exists prior to ERP implementation, it is recommended to have an intermediate step in the process in which users use a paper-assisted method in which barcodes are scanned via an RF device but a paper pick-ticket, work order, and/or packing slip is still generated. If nothing else, the piece of paper can act as a “safety blanket” for the warehouse users as they become more acclimated with the new ERP system on a daily basis. Once the users are more accustomed to interacting with the system and have demonstrated a willingness to record data electronically in real-time, the organization is ready to move to a more paperless environment.
2. Training, Training, and More Training. Sufficient training on the new ERP system, particularly for inventory and warehouse users, is critical to a successful ERP implementation and reduces the risk of issues occurring upon system go-live. As much training should be dedicated to the warehouse users as possible; the users not only need to learn the functional processing of the system but the business processes and transactions they engage in as well. Ultimately, these users are the last people who see product before it goes out the door to a customer, making their job critical in terms of measuring the implementation’s and go-live’s success.
These users also need to be prepared for situations that they may not necessarily see on a daily basis but that arise on occasion nonetheless (a supplier shipped the wrong product, a purchase order was over-shipped or under-shipped, inventory is not in the right location, etc.). The more prepared the warehouse users are prior to system go-live, the faster they will be able to adopt a paperless warehouse environment in the following months using the ERP system.
3. Senior Management Enforcement and Oversight. Senior management enforcement of user data entry for each warehouse transaction is essential to migrating to a paperless warehouse environment. ERP software and warehouse management systems are only as good as the data they are given. As a consultant friend of mine once said, “Without a change in business process and an emphasis on good data, an ERP system just handles crap data faster.”
Management needs to be willing to adopt the motto, “If you do something, you need to tell the system you did it.” Maintaining complete inventory data accuracy and integrity, and users’ willingness to adopt such methodologies, will prove to be the most critical factor in realizing the benefits and efficiencies provided by a paperless warehouse environment.
4. Make All Users Fully Vested in the Success of the Project. Implementation of a paperless warehouse management system provides an excellent opportunity to build data and performance-based incentive programs for the warehouse staff. Defining key performance metrics to analyze over time – orders picked by picker, line items picked by picker, picking efficiency based on travel time and/or the difficulty of picking one item vs. another – can be directly correlated to financial-based incentive programs for the warehouse staff.
Such incentives can also be non-financial based. A few years ago, one of our customers was in the process of deploying Enterprise 21’s warehouse management system in a paperless environment. To mitigate user pushback and resistance to change, the senior management team made a deal with the warehouse staff. “Implement and use the system as we’ve defined for three months with no complaints, and we promise you will never have to do another physical inventory count again.”
Sure enough, within six months of deploying the warehouse management system, our customer’s auditors determined a 99.97% inventory accuracy and told the management team that physical inventory counts were no longer required, and cycle counts would be sufficient moving forward. What was previously a two day ordeal in which the entire warehouse shut down to count some 70,000+ inventory items became an hour-long daily exercise for one user conducting system-generated suggested cycle counts.
Deploying an ERP system and a warehouse management system at the same time is never easy. Deploying a paperless warehouse management system can be even more challenging. By following these guidelines, organizations can improve their likelihood of adopting a paperless warehouse with success.