How to Justify Your QAD Upgrade
Posted on: October 25, 2015 | By: David Kwo | QAD Business Process
You have done your research, know your facts and have made the decision to upgrade to QAD EE. Yet, you still have the arduous task of presenting these facts to your senior or executive managers. QAD standard edition, although outdated, continues to remain as a bulletproof ERP system – which means that your managers may be reluctant to make a switch even if the outcome provides them with capabilities that are current and extremely advanced. When it comes to initiating this switch, what can you do to justify this upgrade?
From experience with our clients, we have found that management is much more agreeable to ERP upgrades when they are presented benefits that drive improvements in real cash flow. It is understandable that in order to make such a large upgrade, higher level executives want to see quantifiable results. Our experience is that Management is much more agreeable to ERP upgrades when they are presented with business benefits that drive improvements in real cash flow. A well implemented ERP system is the transaction engine that provides the foundation that allows any company to drive real business value. This business value can be found in following three business process flows:
1. Quote to Cash
2. Plan to Produce
3. Procure to Pay
In the Quote to Cash Cycle, a well-implemented system can easily and quickly support new pricing initiatives in reaction to market changes and market opportunities. Pricing Optimization is critical because every extra dollar you can increase goes right to the EBITDA bottom line.
In the Plan to Produce Cycle, a well-implemented system can reduce working capital requirements in terms of less inventory required. This cycle will also increase inventory turns and optimize the use of external labor. Real-time visibility will also increase, resulting in less expediting and more customer deliveries.
In the Procure to Pay Cycle, your company can leverage the global buying power of an entire organization, ensuring that all vendors are honoring the best pricing.
Even in cycles such as Recording to Reporting (finance & accounting) a well implemented system can provide real time, timely, and accurate financials that your executive team can use to track key metrics. From experience, when it comes to talking with your key executives about upgrading your current QAD system, your key driver to results will be quantifying the benefits that this change will have for your company. By doing so, a blueprint to success is created. For more information on QAD implementation or QAD upgrades, contact Logan Consulting, your Chicago based QAD partner.