Seven signs that your ERP system is due for a transformation

It's essential for organizations to reassess the health of their ERP architecture to keep pace with changing business needs.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been the backbone of modern businesses, streamlining operations, and providing valuable insights to drive growth. But despite its critical importance, many companies struggle to fully harness the potential of ERP. In a rapidly evolving business landscape, the importance of keeping your ERP system up-to-date cannot be overstated.

An outdated ERP system is like a rusty engine in a high-performance race car — it may still run, but it's not optimized for today's challenges. Whether it's adapting to new regulations, capitalizing on market opportunities, or simply streamlining your day-to-day operations, an ERP system that’s tuned for change gives you the agility and efficiency you need to succeed.

For large forest product companies, value chains are long and often complex networks of suppliers and partnerships, extending all the way to the final consumers. Aside from industry-specific challenges — such as sustainability tracking and reporting and the sheer complexity of the supply chain — there are also emerging trends that companies needs to keep track of, to continue deriving value from ERP.

6. Integration challenges: If you are struggling to integrate your ERP system with other business systems or applications, it may be time to consider a new system. A modern ERP system should provide seamless integration with other systems and processes — including cloud-based applications — to help streamline your operations.
7. Lack of mobile support: If your ERP system does not support mobile devices, you may be missing out on opportunities to increase efficiency and productivity. A modern ERP system should provide mobile compatibility, enabling you to access information and perform key tasks from anywhere, at any time.

Choosing the right partner for your ERP transformation journey

How do you manage your company through a multi-year, multi-million investment in a manner that does not compromise your business during the project, but improves the business afterwards? A good ERP implementation is the combination of business thinking with an understanding of technology and the latest industry trends.

The rise of cloud-based systems has disrupted the ERP industry. Long-established vendors are being challenged by other players who are revising their products in response to market trends. At this time when new trends are rising and disrupting the existing ERP landscape, organizations must look at strengthening their ERP ecosystem with support from an experienced partner.

Experience, industry knowledge, support for customization, technology roadmap and support are some of the key parameters to assess potential ERP partners. Getting support from a partner who has the business understanding and the technological backing — potentially in the same industry — gives you the ability to tap into valuable industry experience, build future-proof strategies and stay ahead of trends.

How can EY teams help?

The EY organization has helped clients deploy large-scale, end-to-end ERP processes that work for their specific business needs — in many cases, in a multi-ERP partner ecosystem. An understanding of the wider value chain, the latest industry insights and global technology solutions position EY teams as a competent ERP transformation collaborator. This involves a combination of understanding how people's ways of working and the processes will change and how the implementation will unleash business value.