Author Archives: Brett Mundell

About Brett Mundell

Brett has more than 20 years of business software sales and company management experience. Brett has been involved in more than 300 ERP projects. His passion is customer satisfaction, making sure every client is more than just satisfied. Brett wants our customers to be driven to refer their friends and peers because we offer the best services and technology available and because we exceeded their expectations.

Why implementing an ERP Solution is about people first – not technology

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Considering a new enterprise solution? We explain why you need to put people before technology on your journey to better systems.

Are you looking to upgrade because your team is frustrated or thwarted by legacy systems? It’s important that during your quest for the best ERP system you keep in mind that technology alone won’t fix your woes.

Technology is an enabler, not the total solution. The software doesn’t solve any problems on its own. Your employees—from executives through to frontline workers—need to effectively apply technology in order to solve problems.

After all, your team members are the people that take responsibility for tasks, drive decisions, develop ideas and programs, interact with customers, and work together to achieve outcomes.

Let’s explore the important ways to consider and include people throughout software selection and implementation processes.

Prioritise the experience of people

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates once said, “The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.” The extent to which technology makes our lives better is directly tied to its uptake. This is why smartphones have become ubiquitous.

Employees want systems that work and are easy-to-use (not just more technology, or a particular product). Yet, many organisations still don’t emphasise usability and mobility in their business systems. The ones that do prioritise employee experience are likely to gravitate towards modern, cloud-based ERP solutions.

It’s important that your systems enable your people to feel like they are contributing meaningfully and getting results. That includes ownership over their work—something that employers tend to neglect. A global survey by Slack found that workers value autonomy much more highly than their companies.

Weigh up different enterprise software products based on how well they serve the needs of your workers and allow your company to foster job satisfaction.

Does the technology:

Make decision-making easier and more reliable?
Offer self-service features and personalised interfaces?
Empower more flexible and remote working?
Improve the ease, speed and accuracy of collaboration?
Automate manual tasks to enable a strategic focus?

People can make or break implementation projects

Choosing software is the first step. Implementing an ERP system successfully also relies heavily on configuring the software to your specific business needs.

A significant factor that contributes to failed ERP implementations is a lack of involvement and support from key people across your business.

This usually manifests in one of three ways:

Staff aren’t included in planning, reducing the effectiveness of the solution
Poor communication increases time/costs and slows issue resolution
Workers don’t understand or like the new system

Upgrading legacy systems is an important project with business-wide effects that will be felt for many years. The support of leadership, internal project management muscle, rapport with your ERP partner, and attention to training and change management, are all critical.

[RELATED ARTICLE – Why your internal ‘ERP champion’ matters]

Involve your people to uncover improvements

Start early in your process—involve key team members from all areas affected by embedding a new ERP solution as you develop your initial list of system requirements.

The people who work in your business are best placed to identify the existing barriers and bottlenecks, how information and workflows, functional necessities, and critically—how the new system could be used to improve the way you operate.

That helps you (and your ERP implementation partner) to focus squarely on implementing technologies that truly deliver the strategic business benefits you want, such as:

Improved customer service
Faster and more accurate workflows
Better resource use to boost cash flow
Simplified reporting and data-driven decisions

For instance, unless you know what negatively impacts customer service now, how can you build the best solution to empower your team to do things differently?

Great ERP software partners bring out the best in people

Avoiding the pitfalls of poor implementations depends heavily on working with an ERP implementation partner who listens, demonstrates their understanding, and communicates well.

Obviously you also want a partner that has the skill and capacity to deliver your project—but don’t underestimate the value of people skills and cultural fit.

Meet and evaluate the people in your consulting team. Choose consultants that gel with your team, make it easy to understand and address problems, and keep everyone in the loop and motivated to achieve the project objectives.

A good ERP provider will get the most out of the team that is implementing by ensuring:

Listening to the customer and the user
Facilitating constructive meetings
Creating a shared understanding and language
Building a culture of success and strategic purpose
Presenting issues and potential solutions clearly
Well-designed and delivered user training
Extensive user acceptance testing
Providing information to support change management

Making your team feel heard and confident about embracing new systems are key aspects of Leverage Technologies’ best-practice approach to managing ERP implementation projects.

[LEARN MORE – Discover our project management methodology]

Invest in technology to maximise people power

When we focus on technology above people, it’s easy to get carried away by the possibilities and forget to introduce systems in a purposeful way. In today’s digital economy, the technologies available to businesses of all sizes are incredible—automation, data analytics, AI, IoT are accessible and exciting.

However, never lose sight of the fact that people must actively use technology to deliver outcomes. If you collect vast amounts of data via a network of sensors but your team has neither the time, inclination or capacity to do something meaningful with the data—the technology investment is wasted.

Pay attention to the people that will use and develop your new enterprise solution to ensure your system is implemented smoothly, achieves your business objectives, and is eagerly welcomed by your team.

Want to work with friendly, experienced, and attentive people to plan your digital transformation? Contact us to get started today.

What’s the best ERP strategy for subsidiaries of multinational companies?

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What should multinationals and their Australian subsidiaries keep in mind when it comes to establishing business systems that achieve both their aims?

Going global comes with many challenges, especially when your company owns and operates multiple subsidiaries. It can be hard for multinationals to manage standards, obligations, costs, and reporting across a worldwide network of businesses.

Subsidiaries of multinationals may operate in similar industries or vary significantly from parent companies. Regardless, in a digital economy being able to leverage your entire network is key to being able to adapt your offering to meet changing customer needs and remain profitable.

The digital ecosystem in which a multinational and its subsidiaries operates is just as important as the strategic decisions company leaders make about investing to acquire or diversify their revenue streams.

Giving subsidiaries direction while enabling autonomy and innovation is made easier when you invest in a robust, integrated ERP system.

A connected system is a key to managing subsidiaries

A long-term study involving more than 50 multinationals found that unleashing innovation in foreign subsidiaries was improved when companies:

– Think of subsidiaries as extensions of their strategic domain rather than ‘outposts’;

Put in place practices to improve formal and informal channels of communication; and
Give subsidiaries more authority to see their ideas through.

Each business owned by a multinational needs to be able to independently excel—increasingly that will depend on business systems that drive efficiency and accuracy, as well as data-driven and customer-centric approaches.

And at a higher level, the multinational needs a level of visibility and control to be able to ensure compliance, understand performance, deliver strategic initiatives, manage finances, and demonstrate good governance.

Innovative digital platforms that unify back-end processes between corporate headquarters and subsidiaries—and between subsidiaries—ensures every company in your global network is ‘speaking the same language’ when it comes to shared internal operations and capturing data that HQ needs to analyse what’s happening and plan for the future.

The solid foundation made possible by an ERP solution helps you to:

Standardise core processes and consolidate top-level information
Increase the security and continuity of business data and operations
Improve communication and knowledge-sharing across companies
Adjust to global changes in regulation and tax management
Understand and distribute costs across companies
More easily expand and add new companies

How to select and implement the best systems for subsidiaries?

I’ve written previously about challenge that multinationals and their Australian subsidiaries face in choosing and establishing enterprise systems:

Selecting the right ERP system: Typically comes down to a choice between a ‘multi-tier’ offering or using one solution across your entire network. A multi-tiered approach lets you implement software to match users’ needs while maintaining consistency and connection across your digital ecosystem by using products from the same vendor. For example, a corporate head office might use an enterprise solution like SAP S4 HANA, while a smaller subsidiary uses software designed for small to medium enterprises like SAP Business One. Multi-tier makes it possible to integrate operations while giving subsidiaries some flexibility and autonomy.

Using the right implementation methodology: On one hand, multinationals tend to want to control implementations so they can apply corporate standards and achieve economies of scale. However, this approach tends to limit the amount of local support, customisation, and employee engagement within the subsidiary. Ideally, you’d combine the two approaches—ensuring head office provides structure and support, while also engaging a local implementation partner to work through and implement any specific local requirements. This hybrid model requires excellent communication between the local implementation partner and the overseas head office.

In focus: SAP Business One for local subsidiaries

A global leader in enterprise software, SAP is a tried and tested option for multinationals and their subsidiaries. SAP Business One offers small to mid-market businesses the ideal platform for growth while supporting a multi-tiered approach with a larger corporate head office.

SAP Business One gives SMEs visibility over core business functions plus powerful, built-in reporting and analytics capabilities, customer relationship management, and a flexible architecture that allows for future enhancements and customisation as business needs change.

Reasons SAP Business One is a good fit for Australian subsidiaries:

Powers more than 2,300 subsidiary operations around the globe
Seamless integration within the broader SAP Business Suite
Synchronise inter-company data, processes, transactions, and reporting
Quick to implement reducing the time, cost and risk of expansion
Market-leading, global vendor committed to R&D
Local support from experienced partners/resellers

Check out our SAP Business One Info Kit for a detailed look at the benefits, capabilities, and cost of implementing SAP Business One, including information about how it can be used to integrate business management across a corporate head office and autonomous subsidiaries.

Have questions about creating a more integrated digital environment for your multinational or other multi-entity company? Talk to a knowledgeable consultant now.

You can’t afford to skimp on scoping your ERP implementation project

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We explain why getting your ERP implementation project off to a great start is dependent on great scoping.

Implementing a new enterprise system is never about the technology alone. Technology investments are made to support the business strategy.

How well you execute the implementation and adoption of new business systems has a direct impact on your ability to execute your strategic vision.

In many cases, great execution hinges on the work that’s done up-front to define the parameters of the project and the methodology required to deliver the project successfully. This work is called scoping.

Scoping projects with skill ensures you can:

Break high-level goals down into practical deliverables
Articulate the features and functions to be included in the system
Describe how the functionality aligns to business structure/processes
Clearly document milestones and tasks to drive effective delivery
Establish a realistic schedule and deadlines to maintain momentum
Identify and allocate the people/resources needed at each stage
Agree on how changes and issues will be managed
Determine what’s achievable within the project budget

Achieving strategic goals stems from a clear scope

One of the key benefits of defining the scope is that it brings your team together. Typically, business owners, executives and department managers need to meet to discuss the future state that your business is working towards—what business outcomes do you want to achieve by adopting a modern ERP solution?

Then, to truly understand what’s practically involved in achieving those outcomes, an organisation’s leadership has to delve into how things currently work, where the bottlenecks and inefficiencies are, and how the business could function better (driven by the technologies being implemented).

Sometimes, the act of examining business operations in detail leads to surprising revelations. Your team may be able to tackle long-standing problems that can be addressed through the adoption of new approaches and software features.

A thoughtful and collaborative approach to planning can also flow through into the delivery and governance of the project. Engaging stakeholders such as business leaders is an important aspect of good project management.

There are a lot of moving parts to a major IT systems upgrade. When key staff across your business understand what needs to happen and why, how it involves or affects their team, and feel personally invested in achieving the planned outcomes—it puts your project on the right footing from the beginning.

Detailed scoping underpins better project management

Project management includes the processes and people involved in keeping a project on track—ensuring that tasks are delivered within the agreed timeframe and budget, to a high standard, and in a way that actually meets high-level business objectives.

It’s not easy to deliver high-quality outcomes on time and on budget. Even when you do, the result you end up with doesn’t always achieve the goals you had in mind.

A 2019 survey of project management professionals in Australia and around the world found that less than half of organisations (44%) are likely to deliver projects that meet the original goal and business intent.

Preparation helps, which is why comprehensive scoping is necessary. When you develop a granular project scope, your project management team gains a better handle on requirements, constraints, and the purpose of the project. They know what outcomes will signal that the project has been a success.

A well-defined scope doesn’t mean that everything will go exactly to plan during project delivery. What it does mean, is that project managers and governance committees know precisely where their priorities lie—which helps ensure your project isn’t derailed if and when challenges or changes arise.

Effective scoping of your ERP implementation reduces risk

The project scope is an indispensable planning tool—it gives everyone involved in the project a clearer picture of what’s important, and what’s not. If people don’t know what tasks and outcomes fall within the purview of the project, they’re more likely to be confused or distracted.

ERP implementations are more likely to fail or experience budget and time overruns when the stakeholders involved aren’t working towards the right goals in a coordinated way.

Reducing your risk is also the reason it makes sense to work with an experienced external partner to develop your project scope. Scoping is a core aspect of Leverage Technologies’ software consulting services—we’ve supported hundreds of SMEs to make confident decisions.

We believe so strongly in the importance of scoping—as a means to set the right direction, and to build rapport with prospective clients—that we offer a free requirements analysis to kick-start your scoping.

When you work with Leverage Technologies to undertake a free requirements analysis, together we’ll develop a scoping document that includes:

The project’s goals and desired business benefits
Personnel requirements and responsibilities (for both of our teams)
A review of functionality that will be delivered
Project budgets, timelines, and key steps

Within a short period, you’ll have a costed proposal that lays the foundation for successful project delivery. You can also seamlessly transition into project delivery with Leverage Technologies at the helm—if you choose—and feel assured that you’re working with an implementation team that understands your scope and has the technical and communication skills to expertly deliver your new ERP solution.

Get professional help to scope your project to ensure you can embed your new ERP solution effectively and efficiently. Talk to a Leverage Technologies consultant today to book your free requirements analysis.

Everybody is talking digital transformation: How to not get left behind

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If business success depends on digital transformation, you don’t want to miss out. Discover why digital transformation can’t be ignored and what’s involved.

Digital transformation may be a buzzword, but it’s an important idea that’s not going away. In fact, digital transformation has been the number one concern of Australian CEOs for the past three years, according to KPMG’s annual survey of the C-suite.

The concept is front of mind for leaders in the business sphere for a good reason. It’s predicted that within the next few years, up to 80 percent of revenue growth will come from digital operations and offerings.

Business owners and executives in small and mid-sized companies need to understand and embrace digital transformation to remain competitive and profitable in our increasingly global, interconnected, and the digital economy.

Part of the challenge for SMEs is truly grasping the imperative to transform their business through digital innovation, and then determining what kind of approaches, systems, and technologies will ensure they don’t get left behind?

What is digital transformation and what’s the urgency to transform?

The editor of the Information Age website, Nick Ismail, recently offered this clear definition of digital transformation, “…what it boils down to: is changing how a business interacts with customers and employees using technology; and also using technology to significantly improve internal processes, by making them more efficient.”

It’s a shorthand way to articulate the process of continually creating value for customers using technology. The ‘digital’ aspect of what drives a business’ transformation will vary—it might be the product/service you offer, how you offer it, or how you engage with and respond to customers (often all three).

Digital transformation doesn’t have a fixed start and endpoint—technologies continue to emerge that can be applied in new ways to refine how you operate or the customer experience

The fact that technology changes so rapidly is also the reason that you shouldn’t wait to begin your transformation. Right now is the right time to invest in better ways of working, new business models, and more cohesive customer journeys—underpinned by digital networks and platforms.

Companies that delay digital transformation will be surpassed and superseded by those with the right systems, skills, and data at their disposal. Harnessing technology fuels disruptive innovation—it’s what has enabled upstart competitors to displace market-leaders in many industries.

Not even the emergence of COVID-19 is cause to put off digital innovation. Quite the opposite. The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated how companies that moved early are better prepared to work remotely, leverage the cloud, sell online, provide on-demand services, and deliver virtual experiences.

What’s required to make transformation effective?

So, digital transformation is essential—but what approaches support a successful evolution? You’ll want your transformation to be organisation-wide, which means that your people, processes and business systems will play a critical role.

Here are three key things to keep in mind:

1. Digital effectiveness dovetails with leadership capability

A global study by MIT found that companies with more digitally savvy leaders outperformed the rest on growth and valuation by more than 48 percent. They defined a digitally savvy leader as ‘someone with an understanding, developed through experience and education, of the impact that emerging technologies will have on businesses’ success over the next decade’.

For businesses of any size, it pays to strengthen your understanding of, and commitment to, digital transformation in order to make good decisions and capitalise on any changes you make.

Obviously, technical and project management capacity within your business also makes a difference. Lack of people skills is the key factor holding back digital transformation in many businesses.

Of course, some of these gaps might be bridged by outsourcing. However, it’s also important that the people you choose to deliver IT projects—external suppliers and consultants—have a clear understanding of digital transformation and its benefits, in addition to technical expertise, experience, and excellent communication and listening skills.

2. Systems must practically support your team to work well

Many organisations are driven to transform digitally by a desire to create more mobile, frictionless, and personalised experiences for customers. Being able to anticipate and exceed customer expectations can be enhanced with digital tools.

But the people working behind the scenes—your employees—matter even more. Putting customers first across every touchpoint in your business can only be achieved if your team has what they need to do their jobs well.

For example, how can you deliver an online order quickly unless your warehouse is functioning smoothly? You can’t. That’s why you need to start your digital transformation with the systems that allow you to provide a high-quality end-to-end product or service.

Research backs this up. A study that compared multiple pathways to achieving digital transformation found that employees suffer from increased work complexity when companies prioritise customer-oriented capabilities over operational capabilities. The best approach to improve the employee experience as they deliver on your transformation is to start with core operational needs and then gradually add customer-oriented capabilities.

3. The best technologies deliver actionable insights

Improving how you run your business and interact with customers is often contingent on having the right information at the right time. One of the goals of your digital transformation should be to ensure that people at every level of your organisation can make more informed decisions, more confidently.

Consider every technology investment with this in mind. Ask yourself:

Will this help me to capture and make better sense of my business and customer data?
Will this ensure the right people can access and apply info when it’s needed most?
Will this help me gain a deeper insight into what’s working and where I need to improve?
Can I trust the security and accuracy of the data, the analytics, and the outputs?

The technical capabilities of a technology pale into insignificance compared to the quality of the insights you can extract—meaningful information or recommendations underpin better day-to-day actions and strategic planning. Look for solutions that reliably leverage technologies such as the cloud, automation, AI and so on—to enable data-driven decision-making.

Are your current business systems a launchpad for transformation?

To transition to a continually evolving (and improving) business, sophistication and flexibility are required. Legacy systems are a known barrier to effective digital transformation because they’re often built on out-of-date technologies or applied in a haphazard way across a business.

So, while you may already be using digital tools—often those tools don’t provide a joined-up picture of what’s happening operationally, your supply chain, or your customer journey.

That’s why the first step for many SMEs is investing in better business systems. They choose enterprise systems that bring together core functions, data, and workflows in order to provide a solid foundation for digital transformation.

Modern ERP systems are built on cutting-edge infrastructure, can be deployed in the cloud for mobility and scalability, and can easily be extended and integrated with other data sources and applications to create a seamless digital ecosystem.

By investing in an innovative enterprise solution, you can more effectively lead digital transformation efforts, support your team to maximise their productivity, get powerful analytics for better decisions, and stay ahead of the competition.

Ready to get started? Why not take advantage of our free requirements analysis service to help clarify your business goals and technology needs? Get in touch.

People are a critical resource for ERP implementation project success

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Discover the important role your people play in successfully implementing a new ERP solution, and why you must commit internal resources if you expect a positive ROI.

By its very nature, an enterprise solution touches all parts of your enterprise. How can it be delivered without the involvement of your enterprise’s most valuable asset—your people?

Leverage Technologies believes every project requires some internal ‘muscle’ and support. Working together complements and informs our efforts to implement your ERP solution, resulting in a more effective project, and therefore increases your potential return on investment.

A skilfully-configured ERP solution enables better business operations and teamwork—allowing your business to transform how you work and reap the benefits, such as improved efficiency, cash flow, and customer experience.

How your people will drive this transformation, or be impacted by it, can be overlooked if you’re too focused on the technology.

Who is involved and how they contribute makes a big difference

A successful ERP implementation relies on the people within your organisation as much as it does on the technology you implement or your implementation partner.

There are three key reasons this is true:

Business leaders are responsible for setting a vision. They need to determine your organisation’s ideal future state, clearly articulate the business outcomes required, and then be accountable for achieving them (by working with a vendor/software implementation partner and providing project governance).
Your employees are responsible for carrying out processes and delivering products, services and projects. Being able to achieve your goals will depend on their capacity and motivation to embrace new systems and the organisation’s change culture.
People at every level need to be involved during the ERP implementation project to plan, prepare data, complete tasks, undergo training, and more. Plus your team must actually use the system day-to-day and make decisions about maintaining and optimising it, long after go-live.

Lack of clarity about the path to digital transformation, lack of leadership, and lack of focus—on people and processes, outcomes and benefits, and managing risk—are some of the main reasons that digital investments fail, according to Australian digital governance expert Dr Malcolm Thatcher.

Software consultants can provide valuable advice and technical skill, but they can’t effectively embed new ways of working within your business. That transformation needs to happen internally, and continue to be nurtured over time by how you manage, engage and develop your team.

Executive involvement lends strategic oversight to ERP projects

Actively engaged executive sponsorship is critical to the success of any project. Engaged leaders ensure projects are more purposeful, and driven by high-level business objectives. When people understand why a project matters, they can focus on delivering the right outcomes.

Business leaders or Board Directors should also provide governance—overarching guidance on project performance, risk and issues management. Good governance relies on having clear lines of reporting and boundaries. You don’t want your governance committee bogged down in details that should be handled by the project manager; it causes delays and confusion.

You need people to champion the project and manage the delivery

Partnering with a reliable software partner/reseller to manage your implementation is a smart move. But the relationship must be a partnership.

Ideally, a senior executive ‘sponsors’ the project and you’ll also appoint an internal project manager—it could be an existing staff member who takes on extra duties, or you may prefer to hire a resource for the project duration.

Internal resources who champion the project and manage delivery help ensure the project stays on track and the ERP solution is aligned to your business and employee needs. In-house personnel also coordinate activity and decision-making processes so you can meet deadlines.

At various stages of the implementation, different team members will need to have input to:

Brainstorm desired outcomes or document existing processes
Explain reporting and financial management requirements
Prepare data in readiness for entry into the new system
Participate in training and train others within the business
Test the system and provide feedback to improve functionality

Success depends on how people adapt and embrace change

Another factor that affects ERP implementations is people’s attitude to change and their digital literacy. If you don’t have an adaptable, innovative organisational culture and a digitally-savvy workforce, you’ll have to work harder to help your team embrace a new ERP system.

A new enterprise solution will take people out of their comfort zone—you’ll have to take the time to explain why the change is happening, what’s involved, and what’s in it for them. Otherwise, the change can result in employees becoming disengaged or disruptive. Good change management practices include involving people in the process, communicating well and often, and providing opportunities for people to express feedback.

Additionally, the digital knowledge and skills held by your team will influence system uptake. Training and education may be needed to enhance your team’s digital and data literacy.

You can also make life easier on your team by selecting ERP software with great usability and automation, and ensuring that your solution is carefully configured to make workflows, reporting, and analytics dashboards more intuitive and meaningful for users.

Your people + Leverage Technologies = a capable team

The involvement and empowerment of your people, at every level, will influence the outcome of your ERP implementation project. But you don’t have to do it alone—pick a trustworthy and experienced software consultancy to bolster your capacity to achieve your goals.

Leverage Technologies has can help you understand how much internal muscle is required to support your project, and how different resourcing models could affect your project’s budget, scope, and timeframe. Talk to a friendly consultant now.

Industry verticals are increasingly important in the ERP market

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Industry-focused template ERP solutions can slash the time and effort involved in transforming your systems—discover how.

ERP software was once confined to large companies in the manufacturing industry, but nowadays businesses of all sizes and across all industries are able to benefit from modern enterprise solutions that integrate core business functions, data, and financial management.

Both small and large companies that need end-to-end visibility of what’s happening across their operation and throughout their customers’ lifecycles are adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

Getting up-to-speed quickly with a new enterprise solution is easier to achieve if your business requirements are not too distinctive. One fast and cost-effective way to implement an ERP solution can be to embrace a standardised, industry-specific approach.

While the purpose and feature set required in an enterprise solution will vary considerably between different industry types, within an industry vertical many businesses want the same basic functionality and workflows.

Why is an industry-focused ERP implementation valuable?

Software resellers like Leverage Technologies offer templated implementations for specific industries because, under the right circumstances, it allows the customer to achieve the business benefits they need and get a quick return on their investment.

A pro forma implementation based on your industry type helps your business:

Get a fixed price and greater confidence in the outcome
Reduce the cost of your ERP implementation project
Avoid and limit risks including time and budget overruns

The reason that using ERP templates for a standard industry implementation works well and represents value-for-money is that your reseller can achieve economies of scale.

Delivering the same suite of functionality for multiple businesses in a particular industry means your implementation partner can:

Quote and control projects more easily and accurately
Repeat and refine processes that have shown to be successful
Learn from previous implementations and apply to the next
Multiply industry know-how and technical skill over time

When is an industry template ERP the right move?

Some businesses are highly unique. Some are highly complex, with convoluted structures and custom procedures. These businesses are unlikely to be happy with a solution and implementation that doesn’t give them the option to make adjustments.

Other businesses are more straightforward in their structure and operate in a way that’s typical for the majority of businesses within their industry vertical. Although your target market, products and services, sales strategies, and value propositions may differ greatly from competitors—you’ll have the same kinds of processes and structures that underpin your daily operations.

If your business fits into this second category—with a straightforward structure and typical industry operations—you might benefit from an industry-focused ERP implementation.

Are all industry-based ERP templates the same?

Because the system requirements within a particular industry are similar, many of the ERP templates that resellers offer will be similar in terms of the kind of functionality included.

For example, a typical mid-market distribution industry ERP template might include:

Financial management
Purchasing
Inventory management
Warehouse management
Delivery and logistics
Barcode scanning
EDI

How can you choose between two providers offering templates with the same list of functions?

ERP providers offering industry templates will differ in two key ways:

The ERP software and allied products they recommend: Leverage Technologies partners with leading ERP software vendors MYOB, Sage and SAP, plus a range of tried and tested complementary solutions that seamlessly extend these systems or provide robust, industry-specific features.
Their depth and breadth of industry knowledge, dependability, and project management experience: This is not something to take lightly—the templated approach must be skillfully applied in order to deliver the results your business wants. For Leverage Technologies in particular—because we’ve been in business since 2005—we’re dab hands at packaging the ideal industry-specific functionality and developing an exemplar approach to implementation for different industry verticals.

Our experience and attention-to-detail make standardised implementations more reliable. Many of our team members have been with us for long periods, and have direct industry and business experience in addition to their knowledge of ERP systems and implementations.

If a template is a right way forward for your business, your choice of partner is critical. Choosing an ERP reseller you can trust means less risk, and ensures you get a system that does what it’s supposed to do—allowing you to work smarter and grow.

How does an industry-focused ERP implementation work?

The Leverage Technologies approach to an industry-focused ERP implementation is as follows:

We consult with you to ensure our template design and mythology suits your business
We advise you on the deliverables included in the template for your industry
We devise a project plan and follow the templated implementation processes

It’s important to note that implementing to a template still requires configuration and the involvement of your team to help guide the conversion of data, set-up of workflows and reporting, and participation in user testing and training. Working with us is collaborative.

However, the modules and accredited add-ons we include as part of our industry template cannot be altered, substituted, or customised (without incurring additional costs and taking extra time to plan and implement).

You don’t get ‘whatever you want’. You DO get a proven solution that we know will address the key industry capabilities your business needs to increase efficiency, get company-wide clarity, and improve how you function.

Leverage Technologies offers standardised ERP solutions for industries including:

Wholesale / Distribution
Discrete manufacturing
Process Manufacturing
Configure to order
Construction
Engineer to order
Non-profit
Medical distribution (capital equipment and consumables)
Food and Beverage
Financial Services
Field Services

Implement an industry-focused ERP solution faster

Introducing an ERP solution is never a ‘quick-fix’ because every implementation requires planning and careful project management. But working with a reliable provider who has established, benchmark solutions for your industry can allow you to implement a great ERP system more quickly and painlessly.

Leverage Technologies are ERP implementation experts with experience in a wide range of industry verticals. Talk to a consultant today.

Why you should ask your ERP reseller to listen

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If your ERP software partner doesn’t truly understand your business, they can’t deliver the best solution. Discover what makes good listening so critical.

Your choice of software reseller is an important one because implementing new business systems is a long-term investment. That means your relationship with your ERP Partner will ideally be a long-term one too.

Consider this: it might be 10 to 15 years before your business thinks about switching systems again.

And in many ways, implementing a new enterprise solution is just the first step. You’ll likely want ongoing support from your software provider to ensure the system remains up-to-date, has the features you need as your business evolves, and can be competently used by your team (as your team size and complexity grows over time).

Being able to maintain the continuity of working with one ERP provider over that time will be less disruptive and will save you time, and money. After all – we are implementing ERP solutions to get sustainable, long-term, business benefits. For any relationship to last and flourish—great communication skills and value add are a must.

Therefore, one of the most crucial attributes to look for in an ERP software and support provider is their ability to listen, communicate and then execute to deliver business benefits and outcomes.

Why a great relationship starts with listening

Research shows that good listeners probe deeper, show support, and create an atmosphere where cooperation and constructive feedback is possible.

In a business-to-business relationship, really listening to customers shows that a provider:

Respects your time and input.
Wants to get the details right.
Hasn’t assumed they already know best.
Wants to keep improving the relationship.

Good listeners make fewer mistakes and are more able to ‘read between the lines’. They listen to how you say things, and topics you avoid. They ask intelligent and tactful questions that help you to clarify your thoughts and delve into the complexities of your business.

When you’re working with an ERP solution reseller, this helps ensure:

You can confidently select a system that delivers the benefits you want.
You can uncover constraints or gaps earlier and address them.
Your ERP implementation is more targeted, cost-effective and error-free.
Dealing with issues, changes, and ongoing support is less stressful.

Not all ERP software resellers are created equal

Unfortunately, the art of listening is at risk because people are more distracted, and not primarily focused on connection and understanding. It’s especially problematic if a consultant approaches the conversation with your business with an agenda to ‘make a sale’ or ‘implement the software in a quick time frame’.

In my opinion, that’s short-sighted and that’s why our consultancy fosters a culture based on honesty and genuine respect for customers.

Sure, Leverage Technologies resells software—leading ERP systems from MYOB, Sage, and SAP—but it’s not really what we do. The crux of our work is finding solutions that address our customer’s business needs and deliver the benefits that help improve and grow businesses.

That looks different for each and every customer.

Two businesses might operate in the same industry and might both implement a new ERP solution. But their workflows, structures, management styles, and reporting needs will vary. Their priorities and strategic goals will be unique. Their budgets, timelines, and internal capacity won’t be exactly the same.

We listen carefully—because we care about truly grasping the nuances of your business (and tailoring a solution to match).

From the very beginning, listening to customers is embedded in our processes and project methodology. We emphasise detailed scoping so we can meet, digest your ideas, and present them back to you to test our understanding before we create project plans.

If your ERP Partner doesn’t demonstrate the patience and desire to understand your current issues, what you want to achieve, and your future objectives—can you trust them to wisely guide the selection, implementation, and ongoing optimisation of your ERP solution?

Listening creates the foundation for success

In effect, you don’t actually ‘buy’ an enterprise system. You rely on a skilled ERP software partner to listen, work with you, provide recommendations based on sound industry and product knowledge, and apply technical skills to leverage a variety of technologies for your benefit.

A successful relationship with your ERP provider over time is basically a continuous loop of these three steps:

Your ERP provider listens closely to your needs
You communicate with each other and make decisions
Together, you take action

If your ERP reseller is a great listener, your systems will reflect an in-depth understanding of what you need and support ways of working that genuinely help you achieve your goals.

If your provider doesn’t listen closely, you risk ending up with a system that falls short and doesn’t help you innovate and grow. That puts you on the back foot, and poor listening will exacerbate any problems the longer you work together.

So ask your ERP provider to listen or find one who will.

Leverage Technologies is one of Australia’s most experienced, awarded, and trusted ERP software resellers and implementation partners. We’re ready to listen – get in touch.