You may be about to embark on your new ERP implementation, or you may already have an ERP suite deployed and are planning to extend the business processes supported by implementing a new module or component.
Implementing and integrating your business and technology project is a critical part of any ERP project. SMS Management & Technology (SMS) has the right skills, frameworks and experience to ensure the success of these business-critical projects.
New implementations
If you are embarking on a new ERP implementation, we can be there from the beginning to guide you through the critical early planning stages. A selection of aspects we will work with you to consider include:
- What do you need an ERP system for and which solution is right for your organisation?
- How long will the implementation take?
- What people from the business should be involved in the implementation?
- What is the most effective way to utilise your staff in the project?
- What implications are evident in the management of your organisations data and core business intelligence assets?
- What is my short, medium and long-term support strategy, and what should my knowledge transfer plan be throughout the project?
- What change management, training and documentation considerations should be understood to ensure that the ERP project is accepted within the business?
SMS works in a practical and pragmatic approach, focused on understanding your objectives and working within the best interests of your organisation.
Extending your existing implementation
If you already have an ERP suite deployed, and want to either extend the functionality available, or implement a new component, then you already have a strong understanding of the basics of the technology, and will be looking for assistance in areas where you have gaps in your knowledge. You may even wish to manage the implementation yourself, and bring in key consultants to help out.
SMS is flexible in working with you to determine an approach that best suits your environment, maintaining a whole of life-cycle approach to your implementation ensuring that it is effectively integrated within your organisation.
Integration
Our expertise in ERP technologies (such as SAP and Oracle) and various Internet technologies positions us to architect a more integrated business system to support broad enterprise business processes. Our integration services cater for businesses who seek advantages in extending the boundaries of their existing business processes to better involve their employees, customers, suppliers, and other business partners.
The technical options for integration with ERP technologies are extensive and sometimes complex. Each option carries its own critical tradeoffs between licensing costs, development costs, implementation complexity, performance and future support. Our integration services can help you to examine the business case for a particular ERP product and Internet integration, canvass your integration options from both business and technical perspectives, prototype the implementation of new services and technologies, and follow through with the implementation itself.
Our recommendations will take into account not only the cost of initial implementation, but the full lifecycle cost of that solution and the impacts your choice will have on other parts of your organisation and infrastructure.
When extending the current capabilities of your ERP system, you will typically want to examine the tradeoffs involved in pursuing one of the following options:
- Proprietary ERP modules, if available (lower implementation costs but potentially higher ongoing license fees)
- Selected third-party technologies (sometimes a closer match to requirements and fees can be similar to proprietary products)
- xApp development (provides functionality extensions while keeping development platform in-line with your existing ERP suite, but requires considerable ERP domain expertise)
- ITS / WAS deployment (provides a full range of ERP functionality out-of-the-box, served through a standard web browser - the fastest and most cost effective way to get a lot of standard ERP functionality Internet enabled quickly)
- Custom development (higher initial implementation costs but no license fees and perfect fit to requirements)
- Integration with existing systems (lower implementation costs, no licensing fees, generally a good fit to requirements, extends the life of existing technology assets)
An extensive range of connectors and integration tools are available to make integration possible, and these tools are generally license-free and standards based.