1. Getting Your ERP Right.

2. About The Author:
Jared P Shaner
A student of the game who believes there
are no limits to learning nor humility. I
absolutely love staying on top of the
emerging trends and technologies for my
clients and learning from those far wiser
than myself.
Ohh and I’m a Makers Mark Ambassador so
it’s fair to say I love me some bourbon and
the fine smell of mahagony
About Plum Tree
The Plum Tree Group is an Interactive Marketing and Technology
firm, we work to implement enterprise level eCommerce
solutions leveraging Magento Commerce.
jared@plumtreegroup.net
plumtreegroup.net
@Jaredism
www.linkedin.com/in/jaredshaner/

3. Maximizing
Efficiency:
Getting Your ERP Right!
Enterprise Resource Planning software,
or ERP, doesn’t live up to its acronym.
Forget about planning—it doesn’t do
much of that—and forget about
resource, a throwaway term. But
remember the enterprise part. This is
ERP’s true ambition. It attempts to
integrate all departments and functions
across a company onto a single
computer system that can serve all
those different departments’ particular
needs. This software oftentimes has
just as many moving parts as the
corporations they help to streamline.
In this ebook, we will focus on some of
the less technical (but most important)
concerns when trying to find success
with an ERP.
Table of Contents
The Human Element……………………….2-3
On-Premise Vs SaaS…………………….…4-6
Top Three Mistakes Made……..........7-9
Tips For Success…………….…........10-12
ERPs That Rock!………………………….13-14
1

4. The Human Element
There is a fundamental flaw in thought within most organizations
that ERP system changes are primarily an ―IT Thing‖. That the
tech folks hidden in the trenches of the office building are
responsible for installing the new software and then ―voilà!‖ the
organizations is instantly seeing 30% savings on accounting needs
and 25% less time from click to ship. This is false. According to
Jasmine McTigue of InformationWeek, ―ERP success is 75% about
people.‖
Taming The Human Element
A company must fundamentally understand a couple things about human
nature within your organization in order to properly mend the technical and
human resource needs required for a smooth ERP transition and long term
ROI with that implementation
People are
resistant to
change
There will
be business
unit turf
wars
• Comfortable with current
process
• Lazy – Don’t want to spend
the time to learn
something new
• How sales inputs an order
effects how accounting
works
• Never underestimate
people’s desire for revenge
Highlight process
changes that will
decrease their
work load
Assign a product
leader– As high
up on org chart as
possible
2

5. The Human Element
The reality is that even with the support of employees and management
alike, the company is still bound to face some questions and concerns
throughout the process and following the technical implementation of their
ERP software
Common Employee Question &
Management Concern
“Should I be
doing
something
differently?”
This can lead to
“paralysis by
analysis” ..
Employees are
scared of messing
up so they do
nothing
Despite being
managers being
creative , changes are
not occurring with
employees
Can be handled two
ways: 1) Adapt or leave
2) Customize the ERP
to fit
The process of vetting out potential questions and concerns should be
handled by a contracted IT specialist. Yes it is going to cost some
additional money to bring in specialists. However, these costs are nothing
in comparison to the revenue lost by not creating an well oiled machine.
3

6. On–Site vs SaaS
As if figuring out the complexities of how to get your team
engaged and working efficiently on a new ERP system is not
complex enough in it’s own right, companies must also consider
whether having a ERP hosted in the cloud (SaaS) or having an ERP
on premises is a better fit for their needs and technology
resources.
The Facts
The market has certainly
indicated that things have
shifted in the battle between
SaaS and on-site offerings:
•
In 2010
•
•
•
•
•
Jared’s
Orders
Jared’s
Other
Important
“Stuff”
Jared’s
Finances
On-premise = 72 percent of
the market
SaaS = 9 percent of the
market
By 2012
•
Jared’s
Inventory
Jared’s ERP
On-premise = 58 percent of
the market
SaaS = 16 percent of the
market
SaaS ERP usage growing
disproportionally among
different sized companies
(09’-11’)
•
•
•
<$50M = 19%
$50 – 500M = 9%
> $500M = 2%
4

7. On–Site
vs.
SaaS
•
Con: This choice requires the
purchase of additional servers on
site to keep the ERP running
•
Pro: The clear winner, all that is
required here is an internet
connection
•
Con: Also can require the technical
resources to install ERP software on
new servers purchased
•
Con: Can require some serious
customization since it’s not in
house
•
Pro: Due to the fact that the
software is housed on your servers,
you can feel free to do as you
please
•
Con: Requires more research to
make sure ERP functionality is a
perfect match because you cannot
rewrite the software
•
Con: Requires the company to
manually update software for new
versions
•
Pro: Software updates occur
automatically through the cloud,
this can also be considered a con as
you might like the change
•
Pro: You have complete control
over the functionality you desire
•
Con: Saas ERP often times have
constraints on functionality
changes
•
Pro: Can grant control to only
certain users
•
Con: If ERP provider decides they
want to change functionality of the
software, companies have to go
along
Simplicity
Flexibility
Control
5

8. On–Site
vs.
SaaS
•
•
Pro: Can be accessed anywhere in
the world where you have internet
•
Con: Often times can’t be accessed
remotely
•
Con: The reliance on internet
availability. If your internet goes
down, you’re in a world of hurt
•
Pro: Like ripping off a band-aid,
you feel the high pain of the initial
ERP implementation and
equipment costs and then don’t
have to pay subscription fees (Ideal
for mostly larger companies)
•
Pro: Aside from possible
integration costs, only cost
associated is the monthly
subscription costs (ideal for mostly
small and medium businesses)
•
Accessibilit
y
Pro: No need for internet,
everything is accessible in office
Con: These subscription costs can
become quite expensive as you
must pay them for as long as you
want your ERP and even more
costly as you additional users
•
Con: Any additional applications
that the company needs to
communicate with the legacy
system usually will require custom
integration
Cost
•
•
Integration
Final Analysis
Con: Requires an on site tech
specialist unless a company wants
to hire a consulting company every
time they wish to make changes
Pro: Applications often run on
company’s existing platform and
therefore don’t require much
integration
In the end it really comes down to the company’s individual needs and
size. In general, Plum Tree suggests the use of a SaaS ERP solution for all
small and mid-market clients whereas experience has showed up onpremise solutions are a better fit for larger ($500M+ companies).
6

9. Top Three Mistakes Made
Brought to you by Mike Zhang, EVP, RetailOps
Mistake #1
Your back-office software system(s) are
dictating your business workflows, not
the other way around.
A common misconception is that back-office
and front-end [website/shopping cart]
sophistication are mutually exclusive; and
because the back-office is in many ways a
necessary evil that’s a by-product of
growth, it is okay for back-office software
system(s) to dictate business workflows
because that’s how it has always worked. As
a result, this common mistake often leads
eCommerce retailers to deploy back-office
software system(s) and operational practices
that actually hinder growth and limit the
efficacy of sales and marketing campaigns.
Make your software work for you.
Your back-office software platform should
facilitate a logical, efficient, process-oriented
workflow specifically designed to optimize the
processes that drive your company’s growth.
7

10. Top Three Mistakes Made
Interview with Mike Zhang, EVP, RetailOps
Mistake #2
Your back-office software system(s) are
limiting your ability to affect positive
change.
Whether it’s due to software being
antiquated, disjointed, and/or difficult to
integrate with, your back-office is a mess and it
feels impossible to dig yourself out of all the
systems. That’s dangerous in this day and age
where marketing sophistication necessitates
back-office agility and flexibility.
Get the RIGHT back-office software.
Investing in back-office software that’s
agile, integrates well with other platforms
through well-documented, exposed web
services, and is intuitive and easy to use
(especially in large organizations with tons of
users who will be using the platform on a daily
basis) will allow you to affect REAL change on
the fly, experiment and improve (i.e. serving
up different versions of your product
description/sales pitch across different sales
channels), and evolve your operations to be
superior to your competitors over time.
8

11. Top Three Mistakes Made
Brought to you by Mike Zhang, EVP, RetailOps
Mistake #3
Your data exists in silos across multiple
software systems.
Great marketing and sales execution, both of
which are critical to growth, depend on having
quick and easy access to accurate data. Your
data sucks because it sits in various formats
across various back-office software systems.
The effort of aggregating data becomes more
than a full-time job. The larger you are, the
more complex data reconciliation
becomes, and the harder it is to affect any
change from a sales and marketing
perspective, ―locking up‖ your potential for
growth.
Unify your back-office on ONE
platform, with a central repository for all
of the data that you need to run your
operations and grow your sales and
profits.
Sell across UNLIMITED channels (multiple web
stores, dozens of
marketplaces, internationally, pop-up
shop, brick and mortar locations, and eventbased sales). The right back-office tools can
make the highly sought-after ―hockey-stick‖
growth curve a reality for your business.
9

12. Tips For Success
The process of implementing a new ERP system into your workflow is always going
to be a difficult and arduous process. However, Plum Tree through their
experiences with many implementation scenarios have found some strong
methods to avoid further compounded headache:
1
Before you even get
started with the
process, create a well
defined business
objective document and
implementation strategy
This can act as a roadmap as
you are deciding what ERP
system is correct for your
company
2
Be sure to do your due
diligence when it comes
to choosing an
implementation solution
provider
ERP implementations are
expensive and time consumer
… You don’t want to do it
twice!
10

13. Tips For Success
3
Make sure the support
team on the vendor side
is strong enough to hand
hold your team along the
process following the
implementation
It’s a guarantee that
employees will resist
change, they need someone
to help them through the
transition and teach them
4
Involve both top
management and the
end users when
preparing the scope for
ERP implementation
It’s important to properly
voice and meet the needs of
both the people at the top
and little guys … In fact, the
people at the bottom often
have a better grasp on ERP
needs
11

14. Tips For Success
5
Invest in training your
people
You just bought a Ferrari,
invest in some driving lessons
… You want to fully be able to
take advantage of all the
functionality and process
6
Avoid over customizing
your ERP
This can be avoided by truly
vetting your vendor and their
product to make sure it fits
your business objectives to a
tee
12

15. Plum Tree’s Two Favorite ERP’s
1) Brightpearl
They are serving the lower to middlemarket niche, where the other offerings
tend to be weak, and an e-tailer has to
have several different solutions to power
all of the functionality they need.
Brightpearl is able to add tremendous
value to the smaller retailers who really
can’t afford the enterprise backend
systems that will make their lives easier
and their business more effective. At the
same time, for middle-market e-tailers,
they are integrated with Amazon, eBay,
Magento, Shopify, Bigcommerce and
ekmPowershop, and the software is able
to connect to all channels at once, and
even several store-fronts. The
Brightpearl offering for a multi-channel
retailer is tremendous, especially when
factoring in cost and hassle savings of
connecting all these channels to one
system.
13

16. Plum Tree’s Two Favorite ERP’s
2) RetailOps
RetailOps is an agile, cloud-based retail
operations platform designed for highvolume eCommerce and omni-channel
retailers. The RetailOps platform
provides an exhaustive suite of best-inbreed tools to help retailers manage
business operations, including intuitive
and powerful tools for: Purchasing
(POM), Catalog/Product Management
and Photography (PIM), Dynamic Feed
Management (DFM), Distributed Order
Management (DOM), and
Warehouse/Inventory Management
(WMS). RetailOps easily integrates into
marketplaces and shopping
carts, providing a unified platform for
driving sales across all sales channels.
From timely shipping and accurate
fulfillment, to inventory accuracy and
product data perfection, RetailOps
empowers retailers to achieve the
operational superiority paramount to
driving repeat customer purchases, in
effect increasing the ROI on customer
acquisition costs by upwards of 200300%.
14