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Understanding and Assessing your ERP Scalability
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can completely transform and streamline manufacturing and distribution businesses. Improving customer satisfaction, gaining greater visibility, and automating workflows are just a few of the many ways organizations can increase their competitive advantage with ERP software.
However, when you use time and resources to implement ERP software, you want to be sure it’s a lasting solution! That’s why we recommend implementing scalable ERP software. Otherwise, your business may find its software reaches its limits sooner than you expected.
Scalability refers to your ERP system’s ability to adapt to changing workloads and business growth. Throughout your ERP vendor selection, it’s best to investigate how well each system will accommodate business growth and expansion! Below, we’ve provided you with an ERP scalability cheat sheet to help you understand and assess the key attributes of a scalable ERP solution.
System Adaptability
A key feature of ERP scalability is adaptability. While your organization might not have the budget or need, on your go-live date, to utilize all the functions available to you, that’s not to say you won’t ever need to take advantage of those features. Adaptable ERP software will provide your business with the flexibility to take on growing datasets and changing demands. Plus, adaptable data storage options ensure your system can process increasing volumes of data.
Additionally, adaptable solutions consist of multiple modules that cover a wide range of requirements–accounting, production planning, supply chain management, and more. Whenever your business adds a new revenue channel or takes on more opportunities, your adaptable solution should be able to easily manage those changes.
A clear measure of whether an ERP solution is made to scale with your business is the capacity to add additional modules and functions without slowing the processes you already have in place.
Global Management
One of the many ways that businesses expand is through globalization. Global expansion is a major aspect of many manufacturing and distribution companies’ strategic growth. If you’re a company that plans to expand to the rest of North America and possibly to Europe and Asia, it might benefit you to consider an ERP solution that allows for out-of-the-box global growth!
Employee Expansion
It’s no secret that ERP vendors market software based on the size of the businesses they service. Yet, if during the lifecycle of your ERP, you decide to expand your team, you want software that will support that endeavor.
Essentially, this just means that you should think, realistically, about the future of your company. If you expect to grow your workforce, you’ll require an ERP solution that will be able to handle a dramatic uptick in users.
Cloud Hosting
Another critical decision you’ll make in your ERP selection is whether to host your software on-premises or in the cloud. For an on-premises solution, once you’ve maxed out your server resources, your ERP performance will likely suffer. Though you can scale on-premises software, it requires a significant investment in more hardware and server space.
On the other hand, when you utilize a cloud-hosted ERP solution, your provider runs the hardware, so you don’t have to worry about implementing and managing it. The cloud allows you to change your subscription by adding or removing more space and resources depending on your requirements. Thus, preventing you from paying for more than necessary while maintaining all the features you need.
Further, some cloud providers–like Microsoft Azure–provide an auto-scaling option that improves and simplifies your ERP scalability. Cloud-hosted ERP is a reliable, cost-effective solution that improves user scalability options.
Wrap Up
Your business isn’t stagnant, so your ERP software shouldn’t be either! A one-size-fits-all solution doesn’t address your organization’s specific needs. That’s why we recommend an ERP system that evolves with your company’s growth. This allows you to make relevant changes to your software to match your demand and the trajectory of your company’s development.
Infor SyteLine is equipped with highly scalable products. The wide variety of industry-specific software is tailor-made to fit your business and grow as you do. Additionally, your Infor ERP software will help you respond to industry trends and market changes, allowing you to achieve a competitive edge.
We know deciding who services your ERP software is difficult. That’s why Datix is a certified Infor partner and an expert in Epicor® ERP. As a one-stop-shop, we have countless software options that are guaranteed to transform your business! From start to finish, we will get to know your business process and offer unparalleled software consulting!
To learn more about ERP scalability or our other exciting software solutions, contact Datix today!
