"Our ERP implementation failed."- A statement which sums up many companies' experiences with ERP software implementation. Of course, 'failure' is generally defined as not meeting the desired objective. A few common scenarios depicting it could be: 1) The system never made it to the phase of live run. 2) The system has been implemented but is now a white elephant. We do not deny that in some cases, there are certain factors that are uncontrollable (eg: sudden cashflow issues of companies, change in direction of the team, etc) which could contribute to the unsuccessful result. However, putting aside the unpredictable circumstances, how do we ensure a smooth ERP implementation?
One key factor which makes a difference: Expectation. Users could ask for many features to automate their business processes, to reduce their workload. ERP developers, on the other hand, could provide the solutions to cater to their requirements. However, in the midst of it all, many tend to forget that there are limitations- budget, technology, resources, etc. Hence, it is important to have realistic views of the costs of an ERP implementation and the business benefits that could be achieved. As ERP developers/consultants, it is part of our role to bring the focus of end users back to their company's key objectives, and to work out an appropriate solution that addresses their main concerns and is within their budget. Bridging the expectation gaps of users will definitely be one of the quickest and most direct ways to avoid failure.
Synergix Technologies has been delivering immeasurable value to companies of all sizes from various industries for 20 years. Our TaskHub e-business solutions cater to industries as diverse as Manufacturing, Rental, Healthcare, Project-based, CRM, Trading & Distribution, Charity Management, Student Management, etc. Our goal is to provide end-to-end solutions which are fully integrated and capable to solve business challenges, especially to companies with unique business requirements. Our consultants grasp fast and are able to understand real-world needs, hence they are skilled with the ability to advise accordingly and propose a practical solution to meet your needs. Being the principal developer of our product, TaskHub, our niche lies in customization services as per required by clients' specific business requirements.
Delivering innovative enterprise solutions is a confirmation that our proven methodology is able to provide improvement on our customers’ operations. It does not just improve our client’s productivity but also increases their business efficiency by enabling transactions to be made easy with real time accessibility.
Here is what some of our clients have to say:
Toshiba Data Dynamics is particularly pleased with the easy sharing of information that TaskHub encourages. Reports are easily available and the information within General Ledgers can be easily exported.
“We are impressed with the service that Synergix provides. The staffs are responsive and committed, to the point of sacrificing their personal time in the weekends to help ensure the smooth running of the application.”
Mr. Y. T. Lok
Toshiba Data Dynamics, Financial Controller
Ricon Private Ltd
With Synergix software in place, all transactions are captured and accounted for, be it from the Head office or in the Town office. Staff in the Town office no longer had to waste unnecessary time using the phone to check on stock availability and faxing sales orders to the main office for recording and accounting purposes. The staff at RPL can now easily do all that on line.
“Staff productivity has definitely increased, and I no longer have any worries about the quality of service support and maintenance as compared to the previous system. The recent software upgrades that I receive included the fine tuning of my database and the archiving and deletion of past records, is one example. The choice to go with Synergix has proven to be a strategic as well as an economical one.”
Mr. Tan
Ricon Private Ltd, IT Manager
King’s Safety Wear
Within 2 months, the office staff at King’s Safety Wear was comfortable with the new system. The implementation and post-implementation services they received from Synergix Technologies left them impressed. More astoundingly, the solution made a staggering difference to King’s Safety Wear bottom line. In spite of only 5 -10% post-implementation profit increases, costs have been reduced by as much as 50%!
“The company [Synergix Technologies] is flexible in accommodating our requirements at times without incurring additional costs”.
Ms. Lim Ai Wah
Business Development Manager
Portek International Limited
A Leading turnkey provider of equipment, services and solutions for the global port industry choose Synergix Technologies' software to solve their business needs.
With Synergix's TaskHub software, Portek found everything they were looking for. After implementing TaskHub's Project costing, sales quotation,sales order, purchase requisition, purchase order, logistic, inventory control, service order, cash flow projection, financial and financial consolidation modules, Portek is now able to get instant reports such as gross margin reports. The project department is now managing entire projects with cleared view on project activity and they have a clearer view on the project commitment and its cost. There is no longer information delay between various parties. Portek International can start do the work that really matters, to plan, strategies and build the business.
Last Updated (Wednesday, 02 June 2010 06:20)
With higher levels of exposure, advancement in technology, increase in individual’s knowledge base, naturally, the world gets more demanding. Therefore, it has pushed us to a point whereby the ordinary, the standards, the off-the-shelf items might not be sufficient to satisfy one’s requirements anymore. Just taking ice cream as an example, flavours used to be fixed and the only additions used to be the usual toppings. At present, ice cream stores that allow your own custom creations are springing up as they have recognised the differing preferences of each individual. Doesn’t this then lead to the reason why people opt for customization- to have the ability to choose what suits their preferences, and meets their needs?
ERP software systems are constructed to automate and streamline business processes no matter which industry it is; Manufacturing, Healthcare, Rental, Project-based, CRM, etc. However, more often than not, there are differences between the functionality provided by the software solution and the unique requirements of the end users. Hence, some customization is needed to allow the new processes to align with the organization’s existing processes, enabling not only a smooth shift from the old processes, but also a better fit between the ERP system and the end users.
However, the majority thinks that customization costs a bomb, or might complicate the entire delivery of the software system, and would thus try to avoid it. Additionally, many have this concern, that once a solution is tailored specifically to their requirements, the customized portions would be left aside, excluded from any upgrades. But are these issues really that big a concern, such that the reason why people opt for customization does not apply to ERP packages? Definitely not. In fact, most companies require a certain level of alterations to cater to their workflow processes. Instead of changing the operational flow in the company to fit the software package, the ERP solution should complement and improve the productivity and efficiency of your company. Hence, customization is a choice for companies who understand the importance and benefits of implementing an organized workflow structure without having the end users to make major changes to adapt to the system.
So then, what makes customization work for you? Two key factors an ERP consultancy firm should possess: 1) Proper team structure that consists basically of a chief architecture, programmers, system analysts, QA/QC personnels, etc, to well manage the different aspects of the software development and implementation; 2) Proper versioning tool to monitor the change requests and merge the program version files, to ensure the version is monitored well. That being said, in order to determine the level of customization which your company might require, it really depends on your ,management's/users' needs and the key objectives which you want to achieve. With that, will you, together with your ERP consultants, be able to identify the optimal level of customization for the implementation of your ERP package.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 18 May 2010 13:39)
When embarking on implementing an ERP software, most concerns that come to mind would be if you are moving from a manual or simple accounting system to a fully-integrated ERP software;
1) Would the ERP Software be an over-kill for me?
2) If I do not have a defined workflow process, is my company still a suitable candidate to implement ERP Software?
To answer question 1, ERP Software is essentially modular in nature. Hence, you can pick and choose critical modules that is required, before moving on to explore other add-on verticals such as CRM or HR/Payroll. The implementation of critical modules in the ERP software will firstly allow an ease of information transfer between departments, cutting down the need for duplicate data entry and integrity of information captured in the system. Management will also have greater ease in report generation, real-time at their finger tips.
For question 2, ERP software may be the first step in which business processes can be defined for the whole organisation, or within individual departments. With clearly defined roles, workflow is further streamlined and information can be centrally shared, and yet, not compromising on security issues as you can restrict or enable the access rights for different users in the ERP software. However, from our many years of experience in the industry, it is critical for companies to have a basic business process as this can greatly help lay the foundation of what to look our for in the ERP software and more importantly, determine the success of the ERP software implementation.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 06 April 2010 13:26)
When organisations are budgeting for a new ERP software, one may miss out on budgeting for hardware. ERP software is not a simple software. An ERP software is resource intensive in terms of processor, RAM and hard disk requirement. You would not want to compromise on your ERP software performance because you missed out budgeting proper hardware for your ERP software.
So how many servers do you need to run your ERP software? For this blog entry, I will explain why two servers is the popular architecture to run your ERP software in a SME organisation.
Application and Database Server
An ERP software requires two middleware server- Application and Database to run. Application server is used to run the ERP software, whereas Database server is used to store data of your ERP software.
To use your ERP software, separating database and application into two servers is widely adopted in the market.
ERP software: Purpose of having two separate servers
Security
For companies with multiple sites and entities, your users can access your centralised ERP software through web-based technology such as provided by TaskHub ERP software. By separating application and database server for your ERP software, only the application server is opened for external users access. For companies with mobile users, users may want to access your ERP software outside office through the internet. Thus you are able to allow external access to your application server, but keep your database server within internal access only. Therefore, you are able to keep your critical data in the ERP software secure, while allowing mobile users from multiple locations to access your ERP software.
Minimising Downtime
Another key reason for separating your database and application server for your ERP software is risk mitigation. If the application server fails, our system engineer can install the application software in the working database server and vice versa, so your ERP software can be up and running within a few hours. If both application and database is in one server and that sever fails, your ERP software downtme would be much longer. Especially for mission critical ERP software, minimising downtime should be one factor in considering how much to budget for hardware for your ERP software.
There are also many other reasons why many supports this popular architecture for their ERP software, such as the ability to have more CPUs, ability to have different Operating System for various servers etc.
Is merging application and database into one server possible for your ERP software?
Merging application and database in one server is possible. However, ensuring optimal performance of your ERP software may require you to have a high end server, which may cost higher than two normal servers.
What are the other hardware costs and why do you need them for your ERP software?
Other basic hardware components recommended for your ERP software are data backup, UPS, antivirus, firewall. We have touched on the various backup technologies for your ERP software in our previous blog entry. Stay tuned for our subsequent entries where we will share with you more on ensuring performance and security of your ERP software.
Last Updated (Monday, 28 December 2009 08:48)
Bar code versus RFID technology?
Most manufacturing companies that we have spoken to would like a facility to assist them in better tracking of inventory movement in their shop floor, status of manufacturing process and accuracy in data update. They have shared many a times that because of low IT literacy levels of the production workforce, it is imperative for any system implementation to be easy to use. Thereby reducing the chances of errors in data update, as well as relieving the staff of cumbersome data entry processes. Hence, through the implementation of MES (Manufacturing Execution System), it can greatly improve the execution of instructions to your shopfloor and reducing the need for human data entry. The bottom line - achieve leaner manufacturing!!!
For a basic start, many manufacturing companies in a quest to have an ease of information transfer from sales operations, to production planning, work order updating till that of inventory control, would already have a manufacturing software in-placed. Afterwhich, companies may choose to look having a holistic MES into bar code or RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology to complement their manufacturing software and achieve lean manufacturing process.
These technologies can be implemented in manufacturing companies in the following ways - in inventory receiving and issuing (issue to production or delivery to customers), work order updating as well as quality control manufacturing processes. Having the option of being integrated with any manufacturing software, the consideration is therefore on how much investment will be required?
Bar code technology is widely taken up now due to the relative low investment for hardware and integration effort required. Depending on your environment, you may choose from a range of bar code scanners based on your preferred mobility, speed of updating and the kind of equipment that will be able to withstand the environmental conditions of your shopfloor. You may also want to evaluate how real-time you want the information to be updated back to your manufacturing software. This will also have an impact on the cost of each scanner, like is the information only retrieved when they are docked in the cradle? Or updated real-time via wireless connection?
RFID technology on the other hand has received low take up rates due to the hefty upfront costs. Depending on the complexity of the solution required, e.g. basic inventory receiving and issuing can start from a range of SGD$50,000 onwards. RFID also considers alot on whether the equipment used is linked to CCTV or a gantry facility, as well as the physical environment like the size of your warehouse can have an impact on the cost of an RFID solution.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 06 April 2010 13:35)
Does above sounds familiar? While it appears Saas model is projected as a cheaper option than a traditional ERP due to its lower inital investment but the truth is, is that a fact?
Maybe we should start by comparing some variables in terms of Total Cost Of Ownership (TCO) between Saas and a priopietary-owned ERP.
Software License Fees
Saas: Ongoing payment per user per month or year until the day you terminate the usage
Propietary: Paid and license structure varies among vendors and brands
With assumption for 10 user licenses for 5 years,
Saas: $20,000 * 5 = $100,000
Propietary: $20,000 For propietary ERP, license fee is usually 1 time payment and thus it cost $20,000 only.
Professional Fees
Saas: subjected to cost
Propietary: subjected to cost
Assuming that Saas professional fees is 50% lower than propietary, then
Saas professional fees = $20,000
Propietary professional fees = $40,000
Hardware Cost
Saas = none for the software is hosted at vendor’s office
Propietary = Servers + Database + backup etc, assuming nothing is in place in existing infrastructure, $30,000 will be the estimated cost
Annual Maintenance
Saas : Usually none for it is the ongoing license fees that is inclusive of maintenance
Propietary: X% of user license, and we shall assume 25% which is within market standard
Saas annual fee = zero
Propeitary annual fee = 25% *20,000 * 5 years = $25,000
Thus, total TCO for 5 years comparison between Saas and propietary model:
Saas = $100,000 + $20,000 = $120,000
Propietary = $20,000+$40,000 + $30,000+ $25,000 = $115,000
As you can see, the above is just a total cost computation with assumption that user sizes and no changed in 5 years for Saas license fees and propietary software vendors’ annual maintenace.
Try computing that for larger user size and you will perharps see a much greater cost difference between Saas model and traditional ERP model.
Apart from cost, there are other benefits for company not to rely on Saas model but lets leave this for our next discussion
Many companies, especially SMEs who is willing to invest in a ERP or financial system but dismissed the importance of having a proper data backup system when the cost is only a fraction of their ERP software investment.
It is important to know that data in a ERP system has to be stored for at least 5 -7 years (for Singapore’s standard and may differ for other countries). Benefits derived from a proper backup system is intangible but no companies should overlook its importance.
Let’s take a look at various backup solutions available.
- Tape Backup
This is the traditional mode and has been fair stable for protecting data and is highly adopted worldwide. It is perhaps the most affordable and reliable method providing high portability (tape can removed and stored at external location for security reason) but also has some disadvantages, including the need of a personnel to be available to swap the tapes and longer recovery time needed when restoring data from tape.
- Disk-based backup
Storage system or NAS solution is an alternative to tape. Advantages include ability to hold large volume of data, easier to replicate the backup data to another off site system
- Replication of data to another server
This method will invovled using a replication software to replicate the data from the active application/database server to another (either onsite or offsite) server via LAN. Depending on the approach, you can always backup the data direct or indirect (via replicating of backup copy to replicate server)
Important thing to note is your operation timing when scheduling the backup. Should your organization operates 24*7, then it is important to know that you ought to ensure that your backup software has the open-file agent so that backing up can be done concurrently while users are still using the ERP system, otherwise it may possibly hinders users’ usage of the software or affect the possible corruption of data.
It is perhaps not too late to look into this now should you have always not been thinking much on backup. You will never know when you will need it to help you in data restoration.
Last Updated (Monday, 07 September 2009 06:14)
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