EBITA Systems

BUSINESS CHALLENGES

Most CFOs and CIOs want to use the system out of the box without making any changes to the software code. During implementation, business identifies things that the software doesn’t handle quite right and ends up making requests for changes. Based on recent major research on hundreds of implementations around the world, only around 10% ERP Systems are NOT customized.

Customization could make upgrades more complex, more costly, and more risky. Balancing “standardization” and “personalization” is needed and doing it right requires in-depth mastery of business processes and software functionality.

 Some common ERP observations:

• “The most widely adopted operational processes” - Enterprises systems are developed based on “the most widely  adopted operational processes” of “various types of organizations” in “diverse business segments”, updated through new version releases.
• “Overwhelming” - Enterprises systems could be “overwhelming” due to the huge web of numerous features and tricks to make them work as desired.
• “Relevance” - Implementation should pickup “relevant components” of the system: relevant components should be set up to align functionality with business requirements.
• What’s involved in configuration? Configuration of an ERP system deals with handling of numerous “usage controls”, which can be switched off or on, so as to balance its functions to business needs. Specific modules and granules would be configured. Thousands of configuration tables would define how the system should be operating, how the “data entry screen” would look like, and how the “signals and massages” would appear.

solutionS

Design for the Novice, Configure for the Pro.

Configuration is software vendor’s favored approach for letting customers tweak application functionality.
Configuration is not just to download software and double-click on ‘setup.exe’.

You might have a couple of employees with NAV configuration knowledge on staff, but they quickly get outside their areas of expertise when unfamiliar modules are introduced. You need specialized and highly trained people to know which switches to switch, the rules required, and the implications for downstream processes - such skills are rare. 

Customization could be suitable for handling unique tasks and workflows when a business requirement doesn’t appear to fit with out-of-the-box capabilities.

Companies could have their own algorithms other than standard ones. Customization could be part of how companies differentiate themselves when there’s no viable workaround. Customization could be valid if companies couldn’t find anything off the shelf that fulfills their needs. Customization could save money on software maintenance of other legacy systems otherwise they would not be able to retire. Do cost-benefit analysis and document customizations.