Top 3 Mistakes Made When Upgrading to QAD EE

Posted on: April 26, 2023 | By: Emily Aro | QAD Manufacturing, QAD Business Process, QAD Distribution

Congratulations! You made the decision to upgrade to QAD EE!  You most likely have a date set for implementation and know which steps are needed going forward. What issues do you need to avoid? Here are the top 3 mistakes made when upgrading to QAD EE.

1. Neglecting the necessary (and sometimes unglamorous) step of cleaning master data

Master data is no longer just an IT concern; it’s critical for every aspect of your business. Companies often lack a single source of clear and consistent master data, leading to increased system and storage costs, added complexity, and waste resources on error corrections. Taking the time to clean and standardize your master data before the upgrade will save you headaches down the road.

2. Overlooking changes on current business processes

The new functionality in QAD EE requires a fair amount of financial process work. Thus, forcing companies to take a deeper look at their current financial processes.  Within the 4-7 years that QAD upgrades are typically occurring, businesses can undergo significant changes in markets and products. However, process rework in areas such as operations and distribution are often deferred to Phase 2 of the upgrade due to resource constraints. It’s crucial to access and update your current business processes to ensure they align with your current needs and goals.

3. Not maximizing current QAD version functionality

While QAD’s new EE functionality possesses some impressive operation features in serialization, item attributes, and quality control, our experience shows that most companies are utilizing less than 50% of the available functionality in their current version. In fact, well over 50% of the process gaps we identify can be addressed with functionality that the company already owns. Due to frequent turnovers, lack of comprehensive user documentation often leads newer users to rely on familiar tools like Microsoft Excel or Access. However, in order to fully leverage the newer functionality, there are no shortcuts. Forecasting, planning, and production tasks must be performed within QAD to take advantage of these features.

These simple and common mistakes can cost your company extra time and headaches during the implementation phase of QAD EE. Luckily, these mistakes can be easily avoided beforehand ensuring that your upgrade will be a breeze.

Next Steps

If you are interested in learning more about the top 3 mistakes made when upgrading to QAD EE and more, contact us here to find out how we can help you grow your business. You can also email us at info@loganconsulting.com or call (312) 345-8817.

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