SAP for SME's

[flyingjase]

Over the last few years SAP have said that they are actively targeting SME business.

Does anyone have any experience of implementing SAP in an SME or is it one to avoid due to the risk of getting it wrong?

I'm currently looking at a new front office system (60 users) and was thinking ather than integrating lots of different packages it would make sense to get one enterprise solution.

Cheers

Jason

[bga]

Hi Jason,

While it's not answering you exact question (I have implemented SAP into SME's but not their current SME product) SAP's offering for SME's in Business One and is a completely different product to the traditional R/3 product which many of us know, hate & use to pay our bills

As with the likes of MS Dynamics suite, implementing any ERP is mainly about getting the business ready rather than the technical side. There are many implementors and contractors who can make a decent fist of either but if you are not willing to review and streamline business processes (generally to fit the way the different software works) and pay attention to getting your data into decent shape then the best tech implementation will not deliver the benefits that you need. If you think this is all feasible (while the business user continue to do their day job and help with the implementation) then it could be a good way to simplify everything onto a single integrated platform.

Personally I would get a few vendors to show you what their products can do, along with info on possible implementation timings etc. SME isn't my forte at all but I'm pretty sure there are products from Sage (MAS suite??) & Oracle focussed at your market too

Good luck!

[spikeyhead]

I've worked in places that have SAP implemented in a manufacturing environment with 100 employees, though that was part of a huge multinational but the company existed autonomously.

I've also worked in a place that implemented an ERP system, can't remember which one but it wasn't SAP.

As bga has already said it only makes sense to do it when the business process is matched to the ERP system and data accuracy is close to perfect. Don't try and implement any ERP system until you've got the business process running sweetly. If you want any assistance on business process improvement in a design and manufacturing environment PM me or ask specific questions here.

[drivin_me_nuts]

I suggest that perhaps you look further afield than the SAP products. Big commitment to go down the SAP route.. and as already been said the money is the least of your worries, time, training, commitments, POLITICS, will make for an amusing and interesting venture into the world of German software...

[bga]

drivin_me_nuts said:

I suggest that perhaps you look further afield than the SAP products. Big commitment to go down the SAP route.. and as already been said the money is the least of your worries, time, training, commitments, POLITICS, will make for an amusing and interesting venture into the world of German software...

That is the same with any ERP though, all of the above have applied on Oracle Apps & JDE projects I have worked on

[Carsie]

Hi, I've just finished implementing an ERP into a smaller company and have a lot of experience in these projects.You have been given good advice above and as has previously said its more important to look at the business processes and the outcomes and then look to market for a solution; having said that of course having a beauty parade can open your eyes to possibilities.From previous comments you've made I suggest SAP One will be too big but we can advise on other systems and we're independent!- I'll drop you a line.

[Ade355]

Don't bespoke anything. If you have broad shoulders, run the project like a massively paranoid dictator to crush political inefficiency. Get feedback from your users early on to make them feel involved... but dont actually listen to them, they are stupid.

[tvrolet]

If you are considering SAP, then you should also be looking at Microsoft Dynamics AX (user to be named Axapta). As Microsoft Gold Partners we clearly have a vested interest, but we chose to partner with Microsoft in order to sell/implement Dynamics AX rather than to parter with SAP as in our view AX is the better product. We have also had a fair few SAP consultants jump ship and come to work with us so we've certaily heard the horror stories.

It would be totally wrong to say SAP is a bad product, but it's fairly inflexible and that in itself can asily lead to time and budget overruns and/or dissatisfied clients. Implemented properly SAP will deliver the goods, as will many other products. But I think it's a riskier route financially than Dynamics AX (I would say that!). There's some good Return on Investment papers on Nucleus Research (independent of Microsoft) http://nucleusresearch.com/research/notes-and-repo...

Drop me a mail if you want me to preach some more on Dynamics AX We're on http://www.indexsystems.co.uk/

Willie

[drivin_me_nuts]

bga said:

drivin_me_nuts said:

I suggest that perhaps you look further afield than the SAP products. Big commitment to go down the SAP route.. and as already been said the money is the least of your worries, time, training, commitments, POLITICS, will make for an amusing and interesting venture into the world of German software...

That is the same with any ERP though, all of the above have applied on Oracle Apps & JDE projects I have worked on

Indeed. But I think that it's important to appreciate the sheer level of commitment it takes to implement ERP properly...(12 years+ of implementing SAP technical projects) and some of them have been like amputating arms without anesthetic..). The commitment has to be there at all levels, coupled with the knowledge that some staff will leave because they 'won't like it' and they go through what can only be described as 'territorial issues', others will start to leverage their new sense of 'power' half way through the project and some will simply say no. The good ones will remain and a few very committed ones will see the project through to the end.

First priority is to see if at the highest levels in the business there is the real commitment for change. If it is not there, if the money is tight and the benefits cannot be realised in ways that are not just tangible bottom line increases, but other wasys like increased staff satisfaction through streamlines/'pointless' processes then have a rethink.

Big organizations have the leverage to implement SAP because they can quite simply bulldoze the changes through. Smaller companies need a lot more finesse and appreciation of the human side of the business.

[flyingjase]

Good advice guys - thanks.

Seems to me that it wouldn't be right for our business at the present moment in time and it terms of risk v reward, the risk would be just too much when there are very good 'out of the box' solutions available from a front office perspective and the ability to integrate those with back office apps.

As much as it pains me (and goes against everything I stand for!) to shoe horn business process into a system capability, sometimes that's just the way it is!

Cheers

Jason