If your ERP system isn’t tailored to your businesses’ specific needs, then there’s a good chance you will not be able to benefit fully from your chosen software.
For your businesses to make the most of its ERP system, it is highly likely that you will have to engage in a level of ERP development to allow you to customise the software to your specific processes and needs.
Traditionally, ERP development is thought to require extensive resources, meaning some businesses avoid it even if the benefits would far outweigh the initial outlay of resources.
But what if there was something that could provide you with all the benefits but come without the traditional drawbacks.
Standardised ERP development solutions, such as our Unit4 ERP (Agresso) Expert Solutions, are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s market, allowing you to benefit from ERP developments in some instances without suffering from the usual pitfalls.
Here are several key benefits of ERP system development add-ons:
You Can Purchase At A Fixed Price
ERP system add-ons are typically offered at a fixed price, helping you to accurately weigh up the benefits of the development against the associated costs and impact it will have on your budget.
The cost of bespoke ERP development on the other hand can vary a lot depending on your needs, the size of your company, who needs to be involved in the development process, as well as much more. The longer it takes, the more expensive it will ultimately be.
This isn’t to suggest that the resources that you put into bespoke development aren’t worthwhile. If you get it done right, it can pay off hugely, especially in terms of productivity. But if your ERP development needs can be met by a standardised solution, which takes up less of your budget and frees up resources for other projects, you are of course going to be interested.
It Takes Up Less Time
If you choose an ERP development solution that has worked well for other businesses in your industry, there’s a high probability it will work for you too.
ERP development add-ons are designed to work with the chosen software quickly and pain-free. Because the solutions have already been tested and implemented before, many of the issues you may have found during a bespoke development process will have already been rectified, saving you considerable time.
Bespoke ERP development typically requires considerable planning. You must be clear on what you need, how long it will take to implement, who is going to be using and testing the system and much more.
You could end up allocating more resources and spending more time on these tasks than is necessary if there’s already an off-the-shelf solution that caters to your needs.
You May Discover A More Efficient Way Of Doing Things
Your business processes may be unique. But is there a good reason why they are unique?
As you begin to explore the possibility of using an ERP development add-on, you may discover that there are inefficiencies in your processes. What you originally thought to be a competitive advantage could be a bottleneck.
If there are numerous businesses within your industry that are benefitting from the same standardised ERP development solution, you may find that there may be industry best practices and standards that if you also adopted, could have a significant positive impact on your processes.
Furthermore, you may be able to incorporate some of your true competitive advantages into an off-the-shelf solution through minor development.m If the solution only requires a little bit of adjustment to work to its full potential for you, you can save yourself a lot of resources making minor changes compared with having to start from the ground up.
You Can Benefit From Support and Upgrades
Finding support for a bespoke ERP development solution can prove to be challenging, if not impossible in some cases.
In comparison, ERP development add-on solutions typically come with support and upgrades on an ongoing basis.
For example, our Unit4 ERP (Agresso) Expert Solutions are all complimented by an annual maintenance package, ensuring you have peace of mind when it comes to the support and upgrade of your solution. Crucially, this frees your internal team from any extra work.
Conclusion
The benefits of an ERP development add-on solution compared to the bespoke alternative, means that if your businesses’ needs can be met by a standard solution, it is likely to make considerable sense to opt for this. Not only does it place less strain on your resources during the development process, but it also means you will be be better protected going forward in terms of support and upgrade.
