We often tell firms to consider not only their short but long-term objectives and growth potential when searching for a new business management system. This means looking for a scalable ERP or CRM solution that will grow with their business and support any future business activities, mergers or international expansion.
Many firms get cold feet when they see the price tag attached. While it’s true that a Tier 2 solution may represent a larger investment initially, it can drastically reduce your costs in the long term. If your firm is still expanding, look to the future instead of your short-term needs. Make sure to take into account your growth ambitions as well as your current and future goals to avoid having to implement a new system in a couple of years.
Why invest more now?
We understand that cash flow is an important aspect of any growing business, but the following elements should not be underestimated when choosing your new ERP or CRM solution:
- How much time do your employees spend on manual processes that could be automated?
- If you implement a cheaper system as a short-term solution, will that solve your problems or simply push them back to later?
- Don’t underestimate the time that change management represents. Your team will have to learn one system and then have another learning curve in a couple of years.
How to tell what you will need in the long term?
Of course, no one can predict the future, but there are ways to plan ahead for your future business needs and evolution. Here are a few tips to properly plan for your future growth and make sure your new solution meets those needs:
- Make a list of what you need today, what you would like next year, and where you hope to be in 5 years. Be transparent with your implementation partner. A good partner will let you know what should be in which phase of the project. This will help with costs, change management, and selecting the system that will be the best fit for your needs.
- Look for a system that can be implemented in phases. This allows you to add functionalities as your company grows. If there is no need to do everything on day 1, then we recommend taking the time to implement each individual phase properly to ensure the success of the project internally.
- Look for a cloud-based system. This way you don’t have to worry about infrastructure costs and will have a better understanding of your software costs. As a result, you can easily scale them up or down depending on your needs.
- Keep an eye out for any grants or subsidies that you may be eligible for. This can help you with your upfront implementation costs. For more information, check out our blog post to learn more about grants available to Quebec firms.
Plan for tomorrow by making sure you have the proper foundation in place. The implementation of a new business management system is a big deal for any firm, whether they have 25 or 2,500 employees. Selecting a system that meets not only your current but also your future needs will minimize long-term costs and the upheaval taking place within your organization as it undergoes new implementation projects. Instead of implementing an entirely new solution, you will be able to focus on optimizing your existing software, lowering change management and any upfront costs.
