why choosing the right erp is the best step in your...

Why Choosing the Right ERP is the Best Step in Your Career And why you won’t get fired for choosing Microsoft Dynamics ERP

Contents

Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3

What Every CEO Needs to Know About ERP .................................. 4

Increased Cost Control ..................................................................................... 5

Intelligent Decision-Making ............................................................................. 6

Increased Cash Flow ........................................................................................... 7

Greater Governance........................................................................................... 8

Improved Customer Loyalty .......................................................................... 9

Flexibility and Scalability Through a Robust Selection ....................10

What CEO’s Should Look for in an ERP Solution ...........................11

Why Choose Microsoft Dynamics? ..........................................................12

About UXC Eclipse ...........................................................................................13

Why Choosing the Right ERP is the Best Step in Your Career And why you won’t get fired for choosing Microsoft Dynamics ERP 3

Introduction

So you’re on the team responsible for evaluating and recommending a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for your business. It’s a big decision – one that you, your CEO and your business will be living with for years to come.

How do you safeguard your career? How do you get your CEO to care about ERP and to choose the right one - the one that no one ever got fired for buying?

The right ERP solution has the potential to significantly transform business processes and add exponential value, ultimately improving the bottom line. And when organizations consistently achieve excellent results, their CEOs gain a reputation for success, placing them amongst the most desirable high-performers.

When you recommend the right ERP – you’ll be sharing the spot light!


What Every CEO Needs to Know About ERP

The marketplace for both business-to-business and business-to-consumer organizations has changed dramatically over the past decade. With so much data about individuals freely available through social media and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, organizations have no excuse to not know their customers. Cold-calling is a thing of the past. Organizations know more than they ever have about customer behavior, the buyer’s journey and individual preferences. It is the quality and validity of this information, as well as the decisions enterprises make based on that information, that sets them apart from the competition.

CEOs that relegate ERP to the IT department forget that smart decision-making in the boardroom depends upon the single, integrated view of the business that ERP provides. Without the information and context provided by the ERP system, business leaders must rely on patchy, siloed information and intuition.

A successful ERP project depends on the early and complete commitment from the CEO and other executive leaders to manage expectations across the business, and ensure the best possible results. The challenge in some organizations is to convince the CEO that ERP is not merely a decision for the IT department, but a strategic business decision that can affect the organization’s overall performance.

This white paper examines six key reasons why CEOs and executives need to put ERP on their top priority list and why Microsoft Dynamics is the right choice for ERP success.

Choosing and implementing an ERP system carries risk. Such a business-critical project requires the right amount of resources, strategic thinking and forward planning. When all these factors are considered, the most appropriate system can be selected and ERP can deliver a significant return on investment.


Large enterprises made up of different business units or departments have historically siloed information. Data stored in different systems may reflect different costs or fail to include certain items because they aren’t relevant to that particular department. This prevents the departments from working together effectively and it makes it difficult for the CEO to gain an overarching view of the enterprise’s financial performance.

To gain a comprehensive and true understanding of the cost of making a product or offering a service, then taking it to market, enterprises cannot have siloed and disparate information sources. They need a single source of truth so that all costs can be included and compared against revenue, revealing the true value of the product or service in the marketplace.

Once this information is available to business leaders, they can make informed decisions around how to control costs, how to price products or services appropriately, and how to streamline operations.

Increased Cost Control


The right ERP solution provides transparency across all departments, which means consistency and coherence in all business operations. This reduces the time it takes to make smart decisions and respond to challenges, opportunities and new market trends.

An ERP solution that is part of a stack of tools, including CRM, can show the enterprise how to: control costs, manage production, improve marketing and the go-to-market strategy, and measure social sentiment for the product or service. The platform shows the full lifecycle of the product including its consumption.

If the product or service is not working, then this information is filtered back to the business leaders quickly and a change of direction can be made sooner.

Intelligent Decision-Making


ERP systems deliver effective supply chain and inventory management, freeing up capital that was previously tied up in inventory. This money can be reinvested in the business.

Being able to understand and have full control over stock levels is integral to freeing up cash flow. Precision across the supply chain means the enterprise can hold exactly as much stock as it needs to both keep costs as low as possible and fulfill customer orders in a timely fashion.

Often organizations hold too much stock because there is no way beyond instinct to know what the right levels are. They therefore err on the side of having more than enough stock to avoid disappointing customers. But the cost involved in holding this stock can be detrimental to the business. For example, holding onto expensive or dangerous materials requires an additional investment in secure holding facilities.

Being able to accurately forecast and plan for demand, based on real data such as previous years’ activity or seasonal fluctuations, can significantly improve the enterprise’s approach to inventory and, as a result, increase cash flow. For a professional services firm, this helps manage resourcing for projects and ensures the organization does not employ more staff, or more expensive staff, than necessary.

Making it easier for customers to purchase and interact online can also free up cash flow by reducing the need to have a large call center staff. A strong ERP system combined with a full-featured CRM system means inquiries can be automated where possible and customers can easily get the information they need without requiring a person to walk them through the transaction.

Increased Cash Flow


Greater Governance

ERP enables effective corporate governance by making risk management and compliance an integral part of the business process framework. The increased visibility into all aspects of business operations that is afforded by ERP systems lets business leaders take a more proactive role in corporate governance. Any issues can be identified and addressed sooner.

ERP systems let business leaders view the organization broadly as well as more specifically, so they can examine the performance of a department, a product line or a single product. This combination of macro and micro information reveals where the organization faces risk, and where further attention to compliance may be needed.


Customers are more likely to be loyal when their needs are met consistently and without friction. Being able to segment and market to customers based on what’s important to them will make them more likely to buy. Understanding customer sentiment and rewarding positive advocacy is made possible by monitoring customer behaviors through their CRM functionality.

Measuring customer behavior also lets organizations spot gaps and opportunities in the marketplace. It may be possible to add new products or services to the organization’s offering based on customer purchase history. The first step is to consider whether there is potential to offer that product or service. The next step is to find out whether it would be profitable or too costly to offer that product or service.

Capturing and analyzing the relevant information lets enterprises make these decisions quickly and see whether they are working just as quickly. The resulting agility makes it possible for the enterprise to compete more effectively for ‘share of wallet’.

Customer loyalty can also stem from the fact that it is simply easy to purchase from the enterprise. For example, a consumer may prefer to purchase online, over the phone or in a bricks-and-mortar store. It is critical to ensure that, regardless

of which channel the consumer chooses, they receive the product or service in good time. A good ERP system is the way to ensure that stock levels displayed on the website reflect actual stock levels in the warehouse.

An ERP system can also facilitate interactions that require no human intervention. For example, if an enterprise provides raw materials for a manufacturer, the manufacturer’s systems can be integrated with the provider. When inventory reaches a certain level, the system can automatically place an order so that inventory is replenished. This makes it simple and frictionless for the manufacturer to purchase from the enterprise.

Improved Customer Loyalty


The real-time information provided by ERP systems increases flexibility to scale up business operations for high-demand periods and scale down in non-peak periods. This makes it easier to plan and ensure the business is running as efficiently as possible.

Businesses that can change based on customer requirements are more likely to be successful. To do this, enterprises need to see the whole picture, from the cost of each individual product to the likelihood that a particular customer will purchase.

Flexibility and Scalability Through a Robust Selection


While it may be you putting the shortlist together, many savvy CEOs are becoming more involved in the choice of an ERP system and are looking for implementation partners that can minimize the risk and get it right the first time.

An ERP implementation should include the following aims:

• Support organizational growth including the acquisition of new companies

• Support a clear organizational structure and clear segregation of duties through roles within the system

• Allow for scalability as well as expansion into new markets, products or services

• Delivers robust and reliable performance.

High quality results need to be prioritized over cost. The system should let managers make informed decisions that propel business growth, while ensuring governance and control throughout the organization.

What CEO’s Should Look for in an ERP Solution


Microsoft Dynamics solutions include ERP and CRM technology to help businesses connect more effectively with customers and seamlessly deliver according to their requirements. Microsoft Dynamics solutions are available out-of-the-box for a number of industries including retail, distribution, manufacturing, financial, service industries and telecommunications. They are easily customizable to suit the individual needs of any organization, large or small.

Microsoft Dynamics solutions let organizations take advantage of cloud services, run agile operations that exceed customer needs and help engage customers on their terms across the web, social, apps and mobile fronts.

As well as superb functionality and flexibility, Microsoft Dynamics solutions are based on the familiar Microsoft platform, so new users can get up and running fast, and organizations can begin seeing real results immediately.

Why Choose Microsoft Dynamics?


About UXC Eclipse

UXC Eclipse is a leading provider of intelligent business solutions to the enterprise and mid-markets. A member of the Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle (top 1% of global resellers) since 2002, UXC Eclipse is a member of the Microsoft Certified Partner Network: Gold Certified for ERP and CRM.

Offering a range of solutions from leading software vendors, UXC Eclipse ensures that customers get the right solution tailored to their needs. The company also delivers industry-specific (vertical) solutions built on the Microsoft platform to meet ERP and CRM requirements.

UXC Eclipse’s offerings include applications business consulting and project management, applications development, corporate performance management, and business process management.

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