Spring Forward with Your ERP System
By: Kassi Burke
This past Sunday most clocks across the United States jumped ahead an hour thanks to the phenomenon known as Daylight Saving Time (DST). Before we jump into how you can ‘spring forward’ with your ERP system this season, let’s take a look at where Daylight Saving Time came from.
Daylight Saving Time’s Origin
DST’s origin dates back to 1784 when Benjamin Franklin came up with the idea to reset the clocks during the summer months so people could take advantage of the extra evening daylight instead of wasting energy on lighting. However, it wasn’t officially adopted until World War I as a way to conserve fuel. After WWI, Daylight Saving Time was abolished until the next World War because farmers in the United States favored the extra hour of morning sunlight. After WWII, states and towns were free to come up with their own rules around DST which created chaos until Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966.
It may only be an hour lost, but the disruption to my circadian rhythm was definitely felt for a day or two. However, after a long, dark New England winter, it’s worth the disruption for that extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day.
Spring Forward and ERP
So how can you ‘spring forward’ with your ERP system? Spring is the perfect time for change and growth especially if you’re an ERP user. Check out our list of ways to ‘grow’ your use of your ERP system.
Stay on the latest version. Keeping up to date with the latest version makes upgrades easier and quicker to perform. It also allows your organization to take advantage of bug fixes and enhancements to the system.
Perform regular backups and updates to hardware. Make sure you are backing up your data. Ensuring your computer systems are running on the latest version will improve security and overall use of the ERP product.
Assess business processes. Do you feel like your business is running as efficiently as possible? If you feel like there may be weaknesses in your organization, a Business Assessment by your ERP vendor can help to identify the problem areas and make changes.
Invest in training. There are always ways to improve your use of the system. Schedule one-on-one time with an ERP consultant or schedule a Business Assessment. Think about registering for your ERP vendor’s annual conference where you will likely find educational sessions, networking opportunities, one-on-one consulting time, open lab time, and more.
Consider if you’ve outgrown your current system. Maybe it’s just time to start looking for a new ERP solution because your current system isn’t meeting your needs anymore. If you’re on the fence check out this post for how to decide. If your IT team is having trouble keeping up with the system maintenance required for an on-premise system consider migrating your system to the cloud.
Conclusion
Sometimes we see customers that implement the ERP solution, go live, and never touch the ERP system again. Maximize your ROI by consistently checking in to evaluate your ERP solution. Spring is the perfect time to refresh and reinvigorate your use and enthusiasm for your ERP system.
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