Technology Magazine January 2021 | Page 46

EPR

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Lisa Bowden , head of business development for solutions at Retail Assist , thinks too many companies try to do too much at once . “ The risk of undertaking multi-year project implementations are well reported ,” she says , “ expectations are high and retailers are often left disappointed with the length of time it takes to , in some cases , simply move from one system to another – delivering like for like , with little reduction of operating costs .”

Describing this approach as “ trying to fit a square ERP peg into a round market ”, she says it ’ s better to deliver your implementation in bite-sized chunks . “ Long project tails can lose sight of the original objectives and change management is used to ‘ shoehorn in ’ unnecessary modifications . As much as possible , stick to core software functionality and amend your business processes accordingly . Instead , engage in deep reflection on the core values of what makes a business successful and focus more on both the customer and product experience . This will differentiate businesses both now and in the not-too-distant future .”

— Lisa Bowden , Head of Business Development - Solutions , Retail Assist

It ’ s also important to embrace a cloud-based ERP , especially with the prospect of hybrid working becoming a permanent feature of business life .

JANUARY 2021