Sage MAS 90, MAS 200 and MAS 500 – Implementation of ERP, Advantages/Disadvantages, and Improvements that ERP can give to your Business

ERP Systems Improve Productivity, Speed and Performance

Before the development of the ERP system, each department of an enterprise had their own stand-alone software that does not integrate with other applications. These individual softwares cannot synchronize with the processes of other departments which can decrease the overall productivity, speed and performance of the enterprise. These resulted to problems such as incompatible exchange standards, synchronization deficiencies, misleading of information, poor decisions and performance and many more.

Example: The financial department will have a hard time coordinating with the procurement team in planning purchases as per the availability of money.

Therefore, using a robust ERP system such as Sage MAS 90, MAS 200 and MAS 500 can drastically improve performance, synchronization of the workflows, standardizing all information exchange formatting, complete overview of the functions of the enterprise, optimizes global decision making, increase speed and many more.

Implementation of an ERP System

The implementation of an ERP system in an organization can sometimes be a very extremely complex process depending on the ERP software you choose. It requires a lot of time to conduct a systemic planning, consultation from experts and a well structured approach. In some large organizations it takes years to implement because of its thorough scope. Sometimes the ERP system’s implementation will make it necessary to make critical changes such as work processes and change of staff. Most organizations believe that it is practical to have an in-house IT team to do the implementation but it is strongly advised to seek consultation from certified ERP implementation consultants and experts. These experts took a lot of study and training to get accredited and certified to become ERP consultants. For Sage MAS 90, MAS 200 and MAS 500, the accredited experts are called Certified Sage MAS Consultants.

Companies or organizations usually used ERP vendors, resellers or consulting companies to deploy their customized ERP systems. There are three types of professional services that are provided when implementing an ERP system, they are Consulting, Customization and Support.

• Consulting Services – they are the ones responsible for the initial stages of the ERP system implementation and help the organization adapt the new ERP system. They provide training, workflow and improve the use of ERP in the organization and etc.
• Customization Services – they provide customizations in the new ERP system that fit the specific needs of the organization. There are many ways in doing this, some may need to change the codes of the ERP system while some use add-on modules for specific processes. This is important because not all organizations have the same work processes.
• Support Services – they provide professional support and maintenance of the ERP systems. They deal with troubleshoot and fix anything related to the ERP issues.

In many cases, consultation, training, customization and support services are usually done by the vendor or reseller. Most of them provide all these services.

The ERP implementation process has five major stages: Structured Planning, Process Assessment, Data Compilation & Cleanup, Education & Testing and Usage & Evaluation.

1. Structured Planning: is the first and most important stage where a qualified project team is chosen, present business processes are studied, internal and external flow of information are being examined, essential goals and objectives are being set and an extensive implementation plans is formulated.
2. Process Assessment: is the secondly most important stage where the potential software capabilities are being analyzed, manual business processes are determined and standard working procedures are composed.
3. Data Compilation & Cleanup: helps in identifying data that is converted to useful information that can are essential. The compiled data is then examined for accuracy and consistencies while other useless data will be deleted.
4. Education & Testing: helps proofing the ERP system and educates the users with the ERP architecture, usage and functions. The complete database is being tested and verified by the project team using several testing methods and processes. A comprehensive in-house training is conducted and given to all concerned users.
5. Usage & Evaluation: the last stage of the ERP implementation process. Once the ERP system is live in the organization, the project teams continuously monitors and checks the system for inconsistencies and for any errors.

Advantages of ERP Systems

There are many advantages of implementing an EPR system. A few of them are listed below:

• A perfectly integrated system chaining all the functional areas together
• The capability to streamline different organizational processes and workflows
• The ability to effortlessly communicate information across various departments\
• Improved efficiency, performance and productivity levels
• Enhanced tracking and forecasting
• Improved customer service and satisfaction

Disadvantages of ERP Systems

While advantages usually outweigh disadvantages for most organizations implementing an ERP system, here are some of the most common obstacles experienced:

• The scope of customization is limited in several circumstances
• The present business processes have to be rethought to make them synchronize with the ERP
• ERP systems can be extremely expensive to implement
• There could be lack of continuous technical support
• ERP systems may be too rigid for specific organizations that are either new or want to move in a new direction in the near future

MTSI opens doors for you, we will be honored to be your Sage MAS 90 reseller | MAS 200 reseller and Sage MAS 90 partner | MAS 200 Partner.