Constraints and Countermeasures of ERP implementat

Constraints and Countermeasures for small and medium-sized enterprises to implement ERP

ERP (Enterprise Resources Planning) is an enterprise internal and external resource planning system established around market demand. It breaks through the original way of only managing enterprise internal resources, adopts the latest achievements of network communication technology, and integrates customer needs, enterprise internal business activities and supplier resources

in recent years, in order to obtain future competitive advantages, China's large enterprises have carried out information reform within the enterprise, implemented ERP, conducted business process reengineering, and introduced customer relationship management. However, most small and medium-sized enterprises have a wait-and-see attitude towards ERP and have not taken practical actions. China has more than 10 million small and medium-sized enterprises, accounting for more than 99% of the total number of enterprises in the country. At present, only about 3.8% of small and medium-sized enterprises implement ERP. Lightweight is an important factor restricting the development of new energy vehicles, which is far lower than the level of developed countries and some developing countries. Therefore, how to implement ERP in small and medium-sized enterprises in China and improve their competitiveness is becoming the focus of attention

different from large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises will be restricted by many factors when implementing ERP, mainly including the following aspects:

1. Cost factors: small and medium-sized enterprises have low budgets, less profits, and are far more sensitive to losses and profits than large enterprises. At present, high-end products are mainly mature in the domestic ERP market, such as sapr/3, Kingdee k/3, UFIDA U8 and other solutions. Their high initial investment costs and subsequent secondary development, system maintenance, update and management costs in operation have deterred many small and medium-sized enterprises

2. Time factor: the cycle of enterprise investment and construction of ERP system is generally long, which is very disadvantageous for small and medium-sized enterprises whose management ideas often change, and even leads to the final ERP system can not meet the needs of enterprise development, which is far from the expected results of enterprise managers

3. Talent factor: on the one hand, the implementation of ERP requires talents with certain computer knowledge and skilled use of ERP system to ensure the normal operation of the system; On the other hand, we need compound talents with both computer technology knowledge and enterprise management knowledge to manage, maintain and redevelop the system. The quality of employees in small and medium-sized enterprises is generally low, lacking these two types, especially the second type of talents

4. Management factors: on the one hand, small and medium-sized enterprises pay more attention to short-term interests and pay attention to visible returns. The implementation of ERP is not only high-risk, but also its investment return is not immediate. Many paper enterprises have shown that it is affected by the rising price of waste paper and the price of base paper, which makes the implementation of ERP mainly depend on the foresight of enterprise leaders. On the other hand, the data management of most small and medium-sized enterprises is relatively scattered, lacking the necessary data foundation for enterprises to establish ERP systems

5. Scale because the plunger pump is an important component of the universal experimental machine: compared with large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises are difficult to form scale effect, and it is difficult to achieve close cooperation with suppliers, partners and customers in the supply chain, so that the benefits of ERP implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises may not be as obvious as those of large enterprises

due to the above constraints, small and medium-sized enterprises cannot copy the practices of large enterprises in the process of implementing ERP. Therefore, we propose the following countermeasures:

countermeasure 1: choose a suitable solution

small and medium-sized enterprises should choose an ERP solution suitable for their own enterprises, which is not only low-cost, but also short implementation cycle, good stability and strong scalability. Generally speaking, reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a set of solutions can be considered from the aspects of software, hardware and services

(1) hardware: mainly refers to the hardware operating environment

(2) software: in addition to the cost of purchasing ERP software, it also includes the software operating environment

(3) service: Generally speaking, the investment ratio of enterprise informatization in products and services is mostly between 1:1.5 and 1:1.3. An old expert in the chemical industry told me that because the products are standardized and the price is relatively fixed, the cost of services is more important

in addition, small and medium-sized enterprises need to be more agile than large enterprises in order to survive and develop. The implementation of ERP should also be fast, and there is not much time to demonstrate repeatedly. Therefore, the implementation cycle of the solution cannot be too long

countermeasure 2: actively participate in the implementation and decision-making of ERP

small and medium-sized enterprises generally take software developers or consultants of consulting companies as the main force in the process of implementing ERP. There is a lack of sufficient communication between enterprises and developers, which often leads to unnecessary obstacles. Therefore, at the beginning of ERP project implementation, enterprises should establish a stable project team with the backbone of each business department as the implementation core and senior managers as the decision-making center. The implementation process of ERP is mainly based on the project team inside the enterprise, supplemented by the developers or consultants outside the enterprise, which can not only ensure the smooth implementation of the project, but also ensure that the ERP system can meet the needs of the enterprise and achieve the established goals

countermeasure 3: building a data platform and unified standards

perfect data management is the basis for the implementation of ERP, and the confusion of data management will directly lead to the failure of system construction. In the process of ERP implementation, 70% of the work is the collection, collation and application of basic data. Inaccurate data will not get accurate information; Accurate but non-standard data can only be effective in local areas, and data transmission and processing are difficult; Accurate but not real-time data will make the data lose its effectiveness, and even have a negative impact on the management decisions of enterprises. Therefore, building a data platform and unifying standards has become a necessary condition for small and medium-sized enterprises to successfully implement ERP

countermeasure 4: carry out management reform

the quality of ERP implementation largely depends on the depth of enterprise management reform. To carry out management change, we must first start from the management. The management must correctly understand ERP, pay attention to ERP, and give consistent support to ERP, so as to ensure the smooth implementation of ERP. Secondly, the implementation of ERP generally involves the change of the internal organizational structure of the enterprise, the reorganization of business processes, and the original management ideas and methods will also be significantly changed. The organizational structure of small and medium-sized enterprises is generally not too complex, and it is not very difficult to realize the reorganization of the organizational structure. The key is that the leaders of enterprises should improve their management quality, have the determination to carry out management reform, and continue to deepen the management reform, rather than just cling to the form. Only in this way can ERP be successfully implemented and become an effective way to improve enterprise operation efficiency

countermeasure 5: absorb and cultivate specialized talents

the ultimate success of ERP implementation in enterprises depends not only on whether ERP can be successfully launched, but also on whether ERP can operate normally and adapt to the development of enterprises with the development of enterprises. This aspect involves the scalability of ERP system itself, so enterprises should pay attention to it when choosing ERP comprehensive solutions; Another important aspect is the ability of internal personnel of the enterprise to carry out post development and maintenance management of ERP system. Therefore, in order to make up for the lack of ERP professionals, small and medium-sized enterprises should establish a development and maintenance team before the implementation of ERP, provide them with intensive training and continuous knowledge infusion in the process of cooperation with developers, and let developers' professionals guide them to complete system documents and carry out collaborative work related to later development, maintenance and management. Of course, while training the internal personnel of the enterprise, we should also absorb new professionals into the team to improve the team's ability. The growth of ERP professionals in the process of system development and management is an important guarantee for the successful implementation of ERP in small and medium-sized enterprises

the benefits brought by the successful implementation of ERP are significant. The internal capital flow, logistics and information flow of the enterprise are managed in an integrated way, the capital efficiency is optimized, the logistics is smooth, and the information resources are fully shared, which enhances the ability of the enterprise to respond quickly to the market. At the same time, the implementation of ERP also has great risks, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, the implementation of ERP has many constraints. However, as long as enterprises fully understand their own characteristics before implementing ERP, take corresponding countermeasures and measures to overcome the factors that restrict the process of enterprise informatization, and minimize various risks in the implementation process, the possibility of successful implementation will be greatly improved. It is no longer a dream for small and medium-sized enterprises to implement ERP. (end)