ERP Best Practices: Surviving the Summertime Slump
By Katie Foley
Introduction
While some schools are back in session across the country, here in the Northeast United States, summer is still at least 1-2 weeks away. And while the slower pace of summer is magical for kids and parents alike, after 2+ months out of the typical routine, you start to crave the comfort that a regular schedule brings.
Similar to the summertime slump that school-aged kids experience by mid-August, employees may start to feel seasonal burnout at this time as well. Don't wait til September to get back into the groove - here are some tips to not only survive, but to thrive if you're experiencing a summertime slump when it comes to your ERP system.
Get Your ERP Back On Track
You don't need to wait until after Labor Day Weekend to get back on track at work, especially when it comes to your ERP system use. The end of summer is often quieter with many employees out on end-of-summer vacations and therefore the perfect time to assess your ERP system use and make changes before the hustle and bustle of fall.
(1) Take Stock.
The summertime slow down is a great time to take stock of your ERP system use. Evaluate where your strengths and weaknesses lie. Are you making use of best practices? What business processes are working? What business processes need to be nixed or improved upon? Are you still using manual outside processes? Is there a Phase 2 of your implementation plan that you never got around to implementing, but would like to now?
(2) Invest Time & Resources.
ERP users can invest further in their ERP system to reach their goals. You may want to look into purchasing add-on modules or complementary software from your software vendor's list of partners to enhance your use of the system. This could mean investing in a business assessment to figure out the strengths and weaknesses of your business and make changes where necessary. Or scheduling some additional one-on-one time for additional training to ensure you’re using best practices.
This also could mean attending your ERP vendor’s annual conference. Attending your ERP vendor's annual user conference typically offers the best 'bang for your buck' when it comes to investing further in your ERP system. The Visibility ERP conference offers educational sessions led by Visibility experts, Visibility partners and Visibility customers. It also offers opportunities for one-on-one consulting, troubleshooting in the lab, and lots of opportunities to network and learn from your peers.
The implementation doesn’t end at go-live. There are many ways to continually improve your use of the system.
(3) Set Goals for the Coming Months.
ERP users can use the last couple weeks of summer to look at the current state of their business and set goals for the months ahead. Perhaps it’s time for a new ERP system. Or maybe it’s time to make the customizations or additional reports you never got around to before implementation and go live. Maybe this is the year you eliminate any outside spreadsheets or workarounds or go paperless. Whatever your goals are (they should be challenging, but reasonable), aim high and make them happen this year.
Pro tip: put a time deadline on your goals so that you are fully committed. If your goal won't be met until further into the future, set incremental check-ins along the way to measure your progress.
Conclusion
Just because you’re not in school doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from the ‘back to school’ feeling. Everyone should use this time to reset and get their goals in line for a successful year. If your ERP goals for this year include finding a new ERP vendor look no further than Visibility. Contact us here to learn how we can help your manufacturing business meet your ERP goals.
