When is the best time to purchase an ERP system for a company?

Purchasing an ERP system: is it for everyone?

First of all, before thinking about the best time to implement an ERP system, you should ask yourself whether you really need it and, above all, what features it should have. This criterion is extremely important, especially considering the nature of ERP systems. ERP systems are modular tools, which, for the same reason, have a high degree of adaptability. In this regard, it is always advisable to fine-tune everything possible the search for ERP so that, when the time comes, the best decision can be made. Below, you'll find some functional criteria to keep in mind when making a decision.

1. The best time to buy an ERP system: when productivity needs to be increased

First, we need to talk about the productivity criterion when finding the best time to purchase an ERP system. As you probably know, one of the most remarkable aspects of an ERP system is its ability to improve the productivity of a business. It does so by optimising and centralising all data collection and processing procedures. This allows for a more reliable analysis of each of the elements and, thus, greater performance throughout all processes.

2. When a company starts from scratch

Although it has been commonplace up to the present day for established companies to implement ERP, this is far from the norm. Indeed, an ERP system is a suitable solution for many types of businesses in many different phases of development. Therefore, if you are looking for centralised and optimised management from the start, the best time to buy an ERP system could be straight from the start. Technologies such as ERP and CRP systems allow us to maintain a centralised database of the main areas of our business (warehouse, sales, purchases, etc.)

3. The best time to buy an ERP system: when your company grows

One of the causes that can make ERP obsolete is when it is not able to cover all the operations and needs of a company. For the same reason, the best time to buy an ERP system can also be when undergoing growth. It is always a bad idea to have outdated or obsolete software: Whether it is because it has stopped performing its functions or because it can't keep pace with the company.

4. When the Internet comes into play

When thinking about the best time to buy an ERP system, one must consider the possibilities for digitisation. Digitisation is here to stay and, in fact, has literally caused thousands of e-commerce businesses to emerge. If this is your case, or your company has begun selling over the Internet, it is also the best time to buy an ERP system. It is a tool that, among the wide variety of functions it can provide, connects to the online e-commerce platform to centralise all data, sales and processes.

5. When is the best time to buy an ERP system? If yours isn't working

Naturally, this is one of the most decisive factors when purchasing a new ERP system. It often happens that a company's ERP system does not meet its objectives or the performance expected of it. This may have several causes; however, one of the most frequent is precisely that a proper study was not performed during implementation or that the system is not adapted to the nature of the company. To a large extent, this may in turn be due to the lack of connection with the professionals offering the ERP solution, who are not sufficiently supporting its implementation.

Whatever the cause, if your current ERP system does not fit your company's needs, we recommend changing it. It may be due to a lack scalability or ineffective management. We should also check whether our ERP system is compatible with other software, such as invoice management or online accounting software.

6. The best time to buy an ERP system: when there is no cloud connectivity

Another of the most important reasons that determine a good time to implement a new ERP system is a lack of cloud connectivity. There are completely obsolete ERP systems that do not have cloud connectivity and that, for the same reason, have all their information on the company's own equipment. This means that all the major advantages of an ERP system are largely lost. Basically, if an ERP system does not have cloud connectivity, it is not fulfilling its potential functions.

This means that it is not offering the performance that it should as it not connected to the cloud and does offer efficient and remote operation. This is because one of the main advantages of ERP is that it allows us to operate remotely or have the data available to share with another device. Managing a real-time business largely depends on being connected to the cloud. Otherwise, we will not be making use of other technologies such as Big Data and will be very limited in our possibilities.

We hope these tips will help you to know when to change or purchase an ERP system. At SEIDOR, we have the best solutions for your business.