ERP Implementation Consultant | SAP B1 Consultant

Both small-to-medium-sized businesses and large organizations require a significant amount of planning to organize daily tasks. Keeping up with manual processes can take time away from other important tasks, impacting productivity and ultimately slowing growth. This is where businesses should consider implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software such as SAP Business One.

ERP software is a process management system that helps an organization automate tasks related to resource planning. ERP software can be extremely useful for businesses because tasks that would’ve taken significant time to do manually, will now just take a minute or two to complete, improving operational efficiency. An ERP system also syncs data throughout different departments, keeping everyone in your organization up-to-date while giving you an insightful overview of your business functions and performance.

Building or updating an ERP solution best suited to your business needs requires plenty of research, planning, and support. Having an ERP implementation consultant on your team can ensure a successful digital transformation for your company by helping you create and implement ERP software specific to your business needs.

What is an ERP Implementation Consultant?

ERP consultants are knowledgeable in the technology-specific workings of various ERP software including SAP B1. Their primary role is to manage the full cycle of the ERP implementation project and ensure it runs as efficiently as possible. ERP consultants build and deploy ERP systems for companies of varying magnitudes to help benefit business and streamline workflow.

What Does an ERP Consultant Do?

ERP consultants create and implement ERP systems for the company they work for. They are involved in every stage of the implementation process from developing the project roadmap, establishing budgets, deployment and training, and maintenance of the system. Let’s get into more detail about the primary roles of an ERP consultant:

Develop and design a system

To develop an ERP software beneficial to your businesses, an ERP consultant should regularly meet with company executives to determine what the specific needs of the company are and use that information to design a system that adheres to the businesses’ requirements and industry standards.

An ERP consultant conducts a business analysis of your company to get a clear understanding of internal processes and how the new software can help improve operations. This external analysis can bring up inefficiencies and pain points in your operations that you might not have realized before, allowing you to create solutions that will improve business growth.

The development process also involves reviewing current business operations and estimates growth potential through Return on Investment (ROI) assessments. This is to ensure the ERP design is scalable and flexible to meet and adapt to the future needs of the business while ensuring the cost of deliverables is estimated and budgeted.

Deploy and integrate the system

Before the ERP software is up and running, it requires a complex and compelling installation process on various devices throughout the organization. This requires the migration of data over to the new ERP system and integration of external applications while configuring it to work for users and business processes.

Customization of software is also a big part of this stage as there might not be default SAP B1 workflows best suited to your business needs. A consultant will be able to configure and adapt the software to specific business requirements.

The success of your software also heavily relies on those using it. ERP consultants also train organization members on how to use the new ERP software and answer any questions on its functions during the deployment stage.

Evaluate the software

Once the software is deployed, the consultant must analyze any errors or shortcomings and modify the software to meet business needs. This includes measuring downtime, employee engagement, revenue and savings increase, and beneficial outcomes and linking these measurements to company KPIs such as improved customer service and ROI.

Maintain and improve the software

ERP consultants also regularly make improvements to the software and ensure it adheres to industry best standards. This includes maintaining and updating documentation whenever a new module or feature is added to the SAP B1 software, training and retraining the proper people, and eliminating unnecessary reports and/ or modules.

Why Should You Hire an ERP Implementation Consultant?

Knowing the ins and outs of a business management system can be a head-scratcher which is why it’s important to turn to people who have a background and regularly work with the proper technology. ERP experts are trained, certified, and experienced in management software and can understand system functionalities, limitations, and the ability to customize them.

Project Management

ERP consultants can help create a detailed implementation timeline and enact project deliverables and are prepared for the possible challenges, roadblocks, and costs during the implementation process. This can help your business cut costs by preventing delays and unnecessary costs.

Ultimate Configuration

Many businesses won’t require the entire management suite and on the other hand, some require additional modules and functionalities. ERP consultants can provide you with the configurations needed to automate specific business needs by adding the functions you need and removing the functions you don’t.

Ongoing Support

Lack of technical support can cause a decrease in employee productivity and morale which leads to reduced workflow and increased stress. Therefore, it’s beneficial to have an expert on hand who can provide ongoing ERP training and IT support to your team members whenever a problem arises.

Support One and SAP Business One

Choosing the right ERP consultant is just as important as choosing the right software.

Having an SAP B1 consultant like Support One will ensure your system is set up, used, and maintained correctly and can provide you with best-practice consulting.

SAP Business One is one of the most used ERP software solutions that feature innovative applications for every department in your organization. The single solution software can improve cost-efficiency, member collaboration, data security and management, and more.

Support One is an authorized SAP Business One Reseller, meaning we offer dedicated support throughout the project helping your business increase productivity while decreasing costs. Our team of experts takes pride in helping businesses achieve their goals, whether you are new to ERPs or an experienced SAP Business One user.

If you’re looking for an ERP implementation consultant, we can assist.