Enterprise resource planning solutions (ERP) are only as static as the businesses that use them. That’s why it is important to have an SAP partner that is not only there during rollout, but also continues to support the business as it grows and evolves.
ERP typically serves as a comprehensive, company-wide software solution that is used every day by employees at a company.
So when a business grows, ERP must expand along with it through additional functionality, new integrations, or system upgrades. When market dynamics change or new lines of business evolve, a company’s ERP solution must evolve with it and support these changing business needs. When a business adopts new methods as technology advances, so too must the ERP system change.
So although a new ERP implementation should empower a business for years to come, the system itself is only as stationary as the business that uses it. This is why it helps to have an SAP partner that helps support the business in the long-term.
“One of the really good things about Navigator is that we’re still in touch with the consultants who put it in,” notes Scott Harris, vice president of information systems for contract pharmaceutical maker, TriRX. “If there's an issue that's above the support group, we can go straight to our Navigator consultants. Because I need someone who understands my system, not just someone who can do helpdesk issues.”
Read about TriRX’s ERP journey
An SAP Partner Should Know Your Business and Deliver Solutions
There typically are several reasons why a business needs a long-term SAP partner that supports the business and the ongoing health of the company’s ERP system.
First, issues with an ERP solution can emerge over time. Software upgrades might break a key business process, or a data issue goes unnoticed for years, or an integration stops working because an important distributor begins using a different way to connect over electronic data interchange (EDI).
Second, technology changes require an adjustment to the ERP solution. An industry adopts new protocols, or a radical new technology such as artificial intelligence upends the way that businesses transact business.
Third and most common, a business grows or evolves. A business might put in new processes that require adjusting the ERP system. Or orders and headcount increase by several magnitudes, and the company needs a bigger ERP system or additional functionality it didn’t need when it was much smaller. Perhaps a business was acquired and must now connect with a parent company using a different system, or regional offices in different cities require an expansion of the ERP system.
For all of these, it helps to have an SAP partner that understands the business and has a long-term relationship with the company and its specific ERP system. It also is important that the SAP partner understands and supports the business, not just the technology.
“If you ever use SAP, you're going to want a partner like Navigator,” says Matt Geary, the former director of IT and HIPPA security for BioDerm, a medical device manufacturer. “Typical vendors would shy away and say things like, ‘We’re not trained or not certified in that area, so we’re not going to help you.’ Navigator, on the other hand, basically is like having SAP on staff.”
BioDerm’s former vice president of operations, Shawn Stone, agrees.
“Navigator has been so responsive,” he says. “They understand our needs, and if they don't understand something, they get you to the person that can help you figure it out.”
Learn how BioDerm modernized its life sciences business with ERP
The Difference Between a Support Partner and Your IT Department
The burden of maintaining a company’s ERP solution rests with a company’s IT department, and to a lesser extent the cloud vendor that provides the ERP software and cloud infrastructure. But in the ideal arrangement, the IT department and a long-term, third-party SAP partner work hand in hand to troubleshoot and support the ERP system.
The IT department is deeply knowledgeable about the particular needs of the business, and maintains the system on a daily basis. The SAP partner, by contrast, deeply understands ERP and how other businesses are using it today, and they come in for spot help as necessary.
Both play distinct but interrelated roles in the maintenance of a company’s ERP solution.
“We have a really strong relationship with Navigator,” says Heather Howard, chief supply chain officer for shoe manufacturer, Rothy’s. “We can just speak incredibly clearly without any nuances. We go to them and say, ‘Hey, you guys are the experts. Help us.’”
Read how Rothy’s used SAP Business ByDesign for mercurial growth
Learn How an SAP Partner Can Support Your Business
Navigator Business Solutions has been supporting businesses for more than 30 years as an SAP Gold Partner. Growth-focused organizations come to Navigator when they find their ability to grow or adapt is being limited by their current business processes and systems, or when they realize they don’t have ERP support they can rely on.
One way that we understand and support growing businesses is with prepackaged ERP industry solutions that come configured out of the box for a given industry vertical. The solution sets for these prepackaged ERP solutions have been developed through decades of industry experience, delivering integrated ERP offerings for small and mid-size organizations without the headaches.
For more information about how we can help, call one of our experienced ERP consultants at (801) 642-0123 or by writing us at info@nbs-us.com.
