You’ve begun evaluating ERP software vendors and have a couple different proposals in front of you, with pen in hand to sign one along the dotted line. Each proposal clearly outlines your business processes and requirements, the components you will be receiving, a final quote and payment options and the implementation. But wait – what exactly is involved with implementing inventory and accounting ERP software? What does it mean by configuration, and installation and why is data migration so expensive? Unfortunately, many people do not stop to ask themselves these questions, often overlooking the implementation and not fully understanding what is involved and the differences from one vendor to the next. To help answer these questions and understand what is typically involved in inventory and accounting ERP software implementations, continue reading or visit our website to learn more about Blue Link's Implementation Process.
Installation
Installation refers to the process of installing the software on the server. This applies to both hosted and on-premises installations, the only difference being whose server the software gets installed on. For those who chose to implement on-premises, additional costs may be incurred as a result of needing to upgrade their server hardware to accommodate the software.
Configuration
Configuration refers to the actual set up of the software. This applies to all businesses, as every company will have certain ways they want to interact with the software. A common example of configuration needs includes setting up flags for dealing with customer credit limits.
Data Migration
Data migration is a very important aspect to consider and understand as it can vary significantly from one vendor to the next and is often a big contributor to final cost. Essentially data migration consists of transferring data from your old system to the new one, however this process can be complicated depending on the format of the data. Understanding what role the vendor plays in the data migration process is very important as different software vendors will provide different levels of service. A proper migration will be done by the vendor and should include a “massaging” process for cleaning up the data that needs to be transferred into the new system.
Employee Training
Similar to data migration, employee training tends to vary drastically by each ERP vendor. Although it’s important to have different types of training resources available to customers such as videos and manuals, we’ve found that one-on-one training leads to the best results.
