5 Steps to Assess Your Businesses

ERP Readiness
• Step 1: Does My Business Need a New ERP Solution?
• Step 2: Does My Business Have the IT Resources Available to Research
Potential ERP Solutions?
• Step 3: Assessing My Companies ERP Readiness
• Step 4: Reviewing My Options For An ERP Application
• Step 5: What to Look for in an ERP Partner
Step 1: Does My Business Need a New ERP
Solution?

Many small business owners run into the issue of

limited functionality and lack of data integration with
their current spreadsheet, legacy system or accounting
solution.

You may find yourself in real-life scenarios such as:

• “My sales team is out there selling items I don’t

have in stock.”

• “My cash flow is tight and I don’t know how to

improve it.”

• “I can’t find one report that gives me all the data

points I need to make this decision.”
 Step 1: Does My Business Need a New ERP
Solution?

With an integrated business management solution, businesses can change the outcome of
these scenarios by:
• Streamlining business processes through integrated core functionality
• Automating manual processes through workflows
• Reporting on accurate data
 Step 1: Does My Business Need a New ERP
Solution?

Determining when your organization is ready for a new ERP solution can be more
easily managed if you first answer several other related questions:

1) Does my company have the IT resources available to research potential ERP

solutions?
2) Have I already assessed my company’s ERP Readiness?
3) Have I defined the business requirements of the ERP solution that my company will
eventually adopt?
4) Have I reviewed and qualified my ERP solution options on the market;
5) Have we chosen the right implementation partner to select the ERP system?
 Step 2: Does My Business Have the IT
Resources Available to Research Potential ERP
Solutions?
With an always connected marketplace businesses face an expectation from their
customers to be accessible regardless of the time of day. They want real-time access via
mobile devices to purchase products, manage their accounts and find information.
Meanwhile, other business partners require access to real-time reporting, inventory
management, CRM data and more.

Some questions you may have to ask when

considering an ERP solution include:
• Is my businesses current hardware able to sustain
an ERP solution?
• Do we have the IT people available to
research/maintain an ERP solution?
• Does my business require an fully integrated
ecommerce solution?
• Will we require additional analytic and reporting
integration?
• Will an ERP solution further support a CRM
system in a single repository?
Step 3: Assessing My Companies ERP Readiness

Developing an ERP strategy is the best way to ensure that an ERP solution, like SAP
Business One, will address your business needs and maximize your ROI.

3 questions to ask yourself to determine your ERP readiness:

1. Have you defined your business process needs?

• Defining your business needs up front will help you evaluate which ERP
solution will best fit your business.
2. Have you set performance expectations for adopting an ERP solution?
• Anticipated ROI is important, but considering the opportunity cost of not
adopting an ERP solution is even more important
3. Are you prepared for change management?
• Assign an ERP Project Manager to address challenges associated with the
change from manual processes and legacy systems to an ERP solution.
 Step 4: Reviewing My Options For An ERP
Application

To ensure that your business is ERP ready, it is important to establish the right criteria to
evaluate your options before achieving ERP readiness. Narrowing the number of choices
on the market can be a difficult task however, this crucial process can become more
manageable if you keep in mind the following points:

• Understand you business process

o Create a detailed map of your organizations
workflows and daily operations
o Speak with your employees to determine essential
processes
o Identify areas that need improvement
• Decide on essential features
o Focus on the comparison between solutions and the
functionality they provide and how they fit your
businesses needs
• Decide on the type of ERP that fits your business needs
o ERP solutions should be evaluated on their ability to
offer core functionality out of the box that can be
further tailored to suit your business with the help of
an ERP partner.
 Step 5: What to Look for in an ERP Partner

You should be looking for a knowledgeable and experienced partner who has a deep
understanding of your business needs who also has a strong technical support team. Your
chosen ERP partner should be willing to go above and beyond that and help you:

• Map out the implementation process

o An ideal ERP implementation partner will map out the process for you
with a complete business optimization process to ensure the alignment
with a proposed business solution that addresses your business’ key
challenges.
• Maximize the value of your chosen ERP application
• Choose an implementation partner that understands your business
requirements. The more they understand, the more they can help you
work towards business goals and customize your ERP solution to help
you get the most out of your investment.
• Stay involved by offering open communication
o A good ERP partner will teach your employees how to manage the
organizational changes that come with implementing an ERP application,
train them how to use the application, and help them understand and
take advantage of the benefits of having a fully functional ERP solution.
 Learn More About SAP Business One

• Available on premise or hosted through Amazon Web Services, SAP Business One
offers an affordable, integrated business management solution designed to enable
growing small to midsized businesses and subsidiaries to manage their entire
company. SAP Business One provides one, simple solution that streamlines
business processes, provides real-time information, and helps boost overall business
performance.

The SAP Business One

Intelligence Kit contains:
• Customer Success and
Product Videos
• White Papers
• ROI Case Studies
• Product Briefs