The ERP market is full of offerings, and it can be complex for companies to find the right ERP software for their needs and expectations.
Which ERP to choose for a service company? What criteria should you take into account? SaaS or On-Premise ERP?
If you want your business processes to be automated and your information system to be unified, you’ll need to find the answers to these questions quickly.
Whatever the size of your company, implementing ERP software is an important decision which involves taking into account your company’s resources and the criteria of your business sector.
An ERP solution is management software that will support your company’s development for many years to come, so you need to make the right choice.
In this article, we give you the criteria to consider when selecting your ERP dedicated to service companies.
The challenges of a service company
The Consulting and Services sector was not spared by the slowdown in activity caused by COVID-19.
In fact, Syntec’s figures back up these statements, forecasting a 4.2% drop in sales for the sector by 2020.
Therefore, to remain competitive, a service company must :
- Develop its customer portfolio, enabling it to acquire new market share and increase sales;
- Optimize organizational efficiency through more agile and fluid business processes, and increase productivity by eliminating time-consuming, non-value-added tasks;
- Stand out in the market by offering new services;
- Improve internal management processes ;
- And above all, to develop customer relations.
To meet these challenges, companies are betting on SMAC (Social Mobility Analytics Cloud) and more particularly the cloud, which has seen its sales grow by 12.2% in 2020.
Indeed, the cloud enables service companies to benefit from SaaS-based IT solutions to support their growth faster and more easily. These include enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions.
Through this IT solution, a service company seeks to closely monitor its business activity while improving internal processes.
Why choose ERP?
As mentioned above, Consulting and Services companies want to better monitor their activities and improve their internal processes.
This is precisely where an ERP solution comes into its own.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a business management solution that enables companies to meet their strategic and operational challenges, in particular by :
- Forecasting indicators for their business;
- Manage internal and external resources and skills;
- A real-time view of all their activities;
- Combine operational project management with financial business management;
- Manage technical sales information and documents;
- Operational visibility by project or mission;
- Reduce the number of employee inter-contracts.
Now that you’ve identified the challenges and benefits that an ERP solution can bring to your service business, it’s time to choose.
But between all the offers on the market, it’s sometimes, even often, difficult to make a choice, and even more difficult to make the right one.
How do you know which solution is right for your service company?
We give you the criteria to consider.
Criteria to consider when choosing an ERP system for a service company
General or specific?
You’ll find a wide range of ERP-type business management software on the market. Some are generalist, others more specific to the Consulting and Service professions.
We advise you to opt for a solution specific to service companies, as this type of enterprise software takes into account the particularities of your business, such as business management and time recording (CRA, etc.).
Functional coverage
You need to identify the key features you’ll need to achieve your goals and meet your requirements. This could be business management, to meet the specific needs of your market; sales management, for better management of your relationships with your customers and prospects; reporting and dashboards, to have access to key indicators of your activity, etc.
Safety
You also need to ensure the security of your data, which is why your publisher must provide you with guarantees of their ability to do so.
These may include certifications, recognitions, authentication, data encryption, etc.
Compliance with regulatory requirements
Regulations are constantly changing, and it can be difficult to keep up. Having an ERP solution whose functionalities meet regulatory requirements is an asset.
This may be for official documents (invoices, etc.), GPRD, etc.
Solution scalability
As your business grows, so will your needs. Make sure you choose a scalable solution that can keep pace with your growth. Whether in terms of user numbers or functionality.
Services offered by the publisher
Identify the services offered by the publisher to support the deployment of the enterprise management tool. Does it offer training courses? webinars? Do you receive support throughout the various stages of the project, especially during set-up and start-up?
Ergonomics
The ERP package must be easy to learn, both for ease of use and for rapid integration.
Test the solutions you’ve chosen to appreciate the proposed ergonomics and make a decision. Ask the editor for a demonstration.
The cost
You’ve found the perfect solution for all your needs. Now, do you have the budget?
This is an essential question, because you risk wasting time on a solution that may not be within your reach. And time is money.
ERP solution interoperability
Do you need the solution to interface with other applications? For example, for payroll, job advertisements, etc.
To conclude on the criteria to consider for an ERP dedicated to consulting firms and service companies
Implementing Enterprise Resource Planning within a service company enables it to meet a number of fundamental development needs.
Whether it’s the accessibility of KPIs (key performance indicators), the management of human and financial resources, real-time vision, and so on.
The management software package will help coordinate all the service company’s strategic business units to increase its competitiveness.
But you still need to choose the right ERP solution? There are many ERPs on the market, and making the right choice can be complex.
To make the right choice, a service company needs to consider its market, its needs and its resources.
Drawing up ERP specifications can help you assess needs and expectations.
In all cases, the software package must be flexible to support the company’s growth, and integrate reporting functionalities for analytical needs.
Demos and trials should be carried out before the choice is made, to better appreciate the experience offered by each of the solutions studied.
Read also
