ERP Software – An Enabler or a Dictator?

I grew up in the age when software was not needed to survive. I still have this comforting notion on my mind that software has simplified my life and have the same expectations . I am almost in love with digital wold and digitization

The most interesting debate I’ve witnessed as an HR Professional in the Information Age is the one surrounding ERP Software. While some argue that it’s an “Enabler”, which has helped transform the function, making the operations cost-effective, more productive, and efficient, others perceive it to be more of a “Dictator”, forcing organizations to find workarounds to meet its unique needs.

To understand why this gap exists, I went back to the basics of what makes a product not only salable, but also popular – its simplicity and usability. While a products is deemed salable as long as it is priced reasonably and meets the basic consumer needs, in order to be popular, it has a few more barriers to overcome.

For example, if I needed a new smartphone, I wouldn’t mind purchasing an expensive iPhone when compared to a cheaper alternative, because the iPhone has everything laid out tactically and intuitively, reducing the time and effort needed for me to get accustomed to using it - People are willing to pay more for a better experience.

Similarly, ERP software lacks popularity among end-users because it is perceived to be complicated to understand and use. Some of the common red flags that pop up during ERP implementation are –

• The fact that it more often than not only meets the organization’s lowest common denominator needs, thereby affecting flexibility.
• The Overall operating cost of the software, especially those associated with modifications and the switching costs are quite high, which make adaptability to change difficult.
• Lack of easy access to information about business, sales or markets, hampers the decision-making ability of back-office and front-office personnel alike.

In a rapidly changing business context, flexibility, adaptability and accessibility are some of the consequent expectations from the ERP system for an organization that wants to stay ahead of the curve.

My advice to the end-users who are easily dissatisfied with their ERP experience would be to consider the difference between complex and complicated. Simply put, Complexity is intrinsic. Something is complex because it involves a lot of moving parts or components; it does not evoke difficulty. Complicated on the other hand is extrinsic. Something is complicated by or because of external influences, and might prove difficult to comprehend or solve.

ERP Software holds the promise of an integrated end-to-end HR suite, which consists of numerous applications that can be used for collecting, storing, managing and interpreting data across several functions of a business. That sounds quite complex, but is it really complicated?

Initially ERP implementation may seem daunting, but the evaluation of its cost vs benefit is equally unnerving, which make it a necessary tool for a business to stay ahead of its competition. Hence, two simple ways for someone to address his concern of ERP software being too “complicated” is to first dedicate the necessary time and resources for training on the ERP system, and second, not hesitate to ask for support and help from internal product champions where needed.

This would eventually help in taking a step back to look at the Big Picture (which is getting bigger by the day thanks to the cloud-based technology and a more commodity-like nature to many of ERP’s features) to understand how ERP can be an “Enabler” in leading us all towards a simpler and more dynamic era of information management.

(Thanks to Manasa and Rupali who gave great inputs to make this article possible  )