A productive workforce is a varied one, encompassing an array of different ages, backgrounds, and personalities. Sometimes that can lead to conflict, yet the most successful businesses we deal with are those which embrace diversity and recognize the value of different approaches. We recently launched our Resistance to Change eBook to help customers navigate different personalities and put personalization at the heart of ERP.

Many SMEs experience growing pains as they attempt to make the transition from a small to medium-sized business. Our team at K3 Syspro spends much of its time talking to manufacturers about the challenges they face in scaling up their operations and explaining how building digital resilience is a key part of any growth story. A comprehensive ERP system is able to equip business leaders with a set of solutions to tackle the challenges ahead and business growth.

When implementing an ERP system, businesses face a variety of challenges. The system brings innumerable business benefits and yet it is often used as a trigger for deep-rooted organizational change. Implementing ERP is fundamentally a people process, and for a system to work effectively, manufacturers must work with their ERP partner to bring everyone within the business on board.

At the beginning of October last year, we held what has been widely regarded as our best customer event to date. Alongside guest speakers from within the SYSPRO community, Nick Peters, the Editorial Director at The Manufacturer magazine delivered a presentation which raised a very interesting talking point around how businesses react during hard times; such as recession or the ongoing Brexit uncertainty.

There has never been a better time for manufacturers to embrace the powers of ERP. The benefits are compelling, be it improving efficiency, building resilience, controlling costs, or boosting productivity. Yet too many are failing to recognize that an ERP implementation is as much about people as it is technology. Ensuring that everyone within the organization is on board before embarking on an implementation is critical to its success. Regardless of the commitment of the management team, it is the buy-in from end users that really determines the success of any deployed solution.

Time and again we have seen the same story play out in sci-fi movies: the robots rise up, and then the humans defeat them. But it’s not just on the silver screen that people combat technology. It’s happening, albeit on a more subtle scale, up and down the country in businesses right now. People are fiercely resisting new technologies that will shake them out of their comfort zones.

We are currently experiencing a new industrial revolution. Like past revolutions, it too will have immense impact, causing ripples throughout society. Some jobs will be replaced by intelligent robots, and some people will have new electronic companions, so called cobots. Two thirds of the children in primary school will work in jobs that don’t yet exist. In the future, manufacturing processes, working life, and our relationship with technology will be quite different.

We are currently experiencing a new industrial revolution. Like past revolutions, it too will have immense impact, causing ripples throughout society. Some jobs will be replaced by intelligent robots, and some people will have new electronic companions, so called cobots. Two thirds of the children in primary school will work in jobs that don’t yet exist. In the future, manufacturing processes, working life, and our relationship with technology will be quite different.

This is the third and final part of my blog series on a successful ERP implementation. Although the process can be challenging, there are ways in which you can identify and rectify potential stumbling blocks before they hamper the performance of your chosen solution: