SMEs are facing many challenges in that they have to reduce the costs of operations. They have to invest in people and technology wisely to meet the growth expectations. SMEs have to concentrate on improving customer response time, satisfaction and retain customers more than getting new business in this highly competitive world. They should have control across multiple operating locations and smaller business units.
Many smaller organizations are nowadays looking to purchase software that has a vertical, or industry-specific, functionality. They are looking for better applications and are willing to invest provided these investments get to the core of their businesses' operations. Therefore, cloud has a major advantage as far as meeting SMEs’ expectations, challenges and budgets is concerned.
1. Easy Implementation
One of the reasons that ERP implementation fails is the miss-match between the product implementer and the end user. If the product is easy to implement so that the end users’ team is itself able to configure and implement, then major problems are solved. Hence, an ERP that can be self-managed should be chosen.
2. Scalable
An ERP that is designed to grow according to the needs of the company should be chosen. If the company grows, the ERP system must scale. In case a a new business unit is formed, the ERP should also be able to support the company with these expansions and growth.
3. Accessible across devices
It is no longer necessary to have the ERP on the premises to run the business. It can be on cloud, so that it can be accessed at anytime, anywhere. The team should be able to manage the operations from anywhere. In particular, critical MIS reporting must be available while you are on the go.
4. Customizable
An ERP that can be easily customized should be chosen. The customization feature must be a built-in utility. Minor customizations can be handled by the customer although if any major business process changes are required, the application must flexible enough to deploy the changes within a short span of time.
5. Integrations
If the business is already using an application that is comfortable in using that software for roster management, payroll, tax and applications such as Microsoft Office and Outlook, then choosing an ERP system that integrates with the existing software can save the company both time and money.
6. Multiregional
ERP should be multi-currency, multi-time zone, and multi-region friendly. For example, the moment you choose India, GST should apply. This will save time and cost and it will be more of a plug and play. Some ERPs are implemented in a weeks’ time, without many complexities, since they cover all the functions and processes of industry best practices.
7. Affordable
On-premise solutions are naturally costlier than on-demand ones (SaaS model). Therefore, the flexibility, packages, upgrades, maintenance, downtime assurance, support mechanism that come under each price package should be checked.