Report: Are You Fully Utilizing Your ERP?
Yes, the rumors are true. I have left the world of “cool” and entered the world of “White Papers”. It really isn’t that bad. In fact in my research I have found a very interesting White Paper by Cindy Jutras, Vice President and Service Director, Manufacturing Research, for the Aberdeen Group, Inc. Jutras’ paper is entitled Best Practices in Extending ERP: A Buyer’s Guide to ERP versus Best Of Breed Decisions. Admittedly her report was published in November 2006, but it is a factual view of where the ERP industry was at that point in time and a prescient summary of where it was about to go. It is a must read for those involved in the ERP industry and I highly recommend it to my readers.
The gist of the report is the emerging approach of today’s Enterprise’s desire to derive more for their dollar from their ERP implementation and deciding whether to stay with the core functionality of the ERP solution or augment this functionality with “pure play” or “Best of Breed” software vendors. This decision is becoming more complicated due to the acquisitions of these smaller Best of Breed vendors by the larger ERP giants. This 2006 report foresaw the consolidation in the market and what affects it would have on the companies caught in the middle. See also What’s Next for ERP in 2008; and, The 7 Trends for ERP in 2008; and, What Customers Want from their Software Vendors; and also, SAP’s Business Objects Partnership with Oco.
Jutras identifies the three “Key Business Value Findings” for the enterprise deciding whether to go solely ERP or Best of Breed. These three factors are:
- Functionality
- Integration
- Ease of upgrading to new releases
Her report includes very descriptive and easy to understand tables and figures such as:
- Levels of integration
- ERP module adoption rates
- Adoption rates of ERP extensions
At the top of each of her four chapters is a “Key Takeaway” section in bullet points. This is extremely helpful to the reader. It helps direct your attention to the salient points and provides a fast and easy way to return to a chapter and refresh one’s recollection.
For all those involved in the industry this is a report you should keep handy. It definitely helps bring the whole recent picture into clear view.
