4 Tips for Successfully Designing Your ERP Interface
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solutions are continually growing in popularity among businesses in all types of industries. Additionally, since new ERP systems make these business-bolstering tools more accessible and affordable than on-site deployments, small and medium companies can now take advantage of the benefits ERP software provides, including:
- Increased efficiency, data security, and improved workflows
- Streamlined operations
- Real-time insight and reporting
- Insightful dashboards and visualizations
All of these key benefits make ERP business software a budding must-have software system for business, but choosing the right time to implement new ERP system is the key. You should make certain that your company is truly ready to take advantage of an ERP and plan your implementation carefully to minimize disruptions and keep costs and timelines on track.
As you’re planning your implementation, or even shopping for your new or upgraded ERP system, you should be thinking about what you need accessible in your interface and what tools and dashboards will be most useful to your business. Customizations are where ERP benefits are truly realized.
To help you prepare, here are 5 tips for designing your ERP interface for success.
Rely on Intuitive Features and Tools
When you’re designing and customizing your ERP interface, you should leverage all the power in the intuitive features and tools already offered in your solution. While you’ll certainly want to tailor your ERP programs to your needs, keep the user experience and ease of navigation in mind. An intuitive dashboard will help your employees more easily navigate your ERP and increase confidence and adoption rates to ensure you truly make the most of your ERP investment. You can also buy ERP demo software for testing and training purposes.
Go Minimal in Your ERP Interface Design
ERP solutions come with many options and some even contain entire modules full of tools that are specific to certain business processes or industries, but less is more when it comes to your ERP interface design. You should only include the exact tools your teams need to help them work more efficiently and also protect your business data stored in other parts of the system as well. You can read ERP software reviews or testimonials by the clients before making a purchase. Make sure all the functions and options are laid out in a clear, clean manner to help make sure you can always find and leverage the information you need.
Tailor Dashboard Configurations to Each User’s Specific Needs
Chances are, you’ll have multiple users across various departments in your company using the same ERP system, and for good reason. ERP software applications can bring big business benefits in many varying aspects of your company, but you can increase the effectiveness and value of your ERP further by making each user’s dashboard customized to their needs and configured with only the tools they need.
Choose Mobile Responsive Designs
Cloud-based ERP solutions can be accessed via mobile, and smart devices and mobility is a big business differentiator when it comes to staying relevant and competitive in your industry. You should ensure that your ERP interfaces have a mobile responsive design and adjust to different screen sizes to provide a seamless mobile experience as your teams use the system remotely to grow your company.
Make an extensive yet clear checklist of requirements before searching for vendors
Start by carefully describing the mission of your project. Focus on particular business operations and system requirements. The more specific you can be in your requirements, the more thorough and detailed proposals you will get from the vendors. An ERP software review explains a lot about its efficiency. Absent or assumptive requirements always derail timelines and project budgets. Engage your senior management, IT department, and end-users.
Mostly, people choose enterprise ERP software on the basis of factors such as the flashiest system, cheap/affordable, or latest technology buzz. But if the ERP software is not a good fit; companies are left with high-priced customization and blocked solutions. An organization must look for an ERP program that is industry-specific with features and tools designed to solve the business needs. The long-term benefits and ROI of a good fitting system are huge.
Carefully figure out your options before choosing an ERP system
Ill-defined and poorly run evaluation projects can cause poor implementations. Vague priorities and dicey definitions of business needs can result in the wrong vendor choice. Whether you want to implement ERP management software or accounting ERP software you must evaluate the ERP software vendors thoughtfully.
Furthermore, missing input and no participation from key stakeholders in the evaluation process can cause user adoption and poor acceptance. And keep in mind that delays in the evaluation project can lead to delays in the go-live date and getting the best ROI.
One more thing companies overlook during the selection process of an ERP software is metrics and reporting. What benefits do you want to get from the system? Is this possible through the prebuilt, exiting reports in the system or you will be spending an extra penny to get custom metrics to manage a business, resourcing, and hiring? Evaluate this in the selection phase and not after signing a multi-year contract.
Set a decent budget and timeline
It’s crucial to set a realistic budget and decent timeframe that allows some probability for the unknown or unexpected sections of the implementation procedure. It’s estimated that around 75% of ERP software implementation and transformations go wrong to stay on budget or schedule because 74% of them take longer than expected. The budget should contain at least 25% probability of unexpected costs such as for cheap ERP software.
Sage X3
ERP software Sage is best for middle-sized organizations, especially distributors and manufacturers – that want good business ERP functionality without all the complexity and cost. This immensely popular ERP software manages finance, sales, CRM, manufacturing, purchasing, and inventory in one integrated ERP software program. Sage X3 price relies upon plenteous business and service needs. However, the ERP software provides a huge range of standard features at the primary price point that is difficult to get in competitive products, which makes it one of the most affordable ERP systems on the market.
About Wheelhouse
Like what you just read? At Wheelhouse, we are passionate about all things software, and our specialty is connecting software buyers to an enterprise solution that perfectly matches their needs. Please visit our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) page for a complete list of all the solutions we have on offer.
