Your ERP Rescue Guide: How to Diagnose a Failing ERP in 48 Hours

It’s not always obvious that an ERP is failing – but there are common signs that something isn’t right. Rarely is it an outright disaster like a missed customer order or production shutdown either. More often than not, it’s the quiet frustration of production teams who’re struggling to shoe-horn their ways of working into a generic system that wasn’t built for discrete manufacturing. 

There are plenty of reasons why ERP projects don’t deliver on expectations, from low adoption rates to unexpected high costs due to delays and over-customisation. The question is, how do you know your ERP is failing, and what can you do about it? 

The sooner you address an ERP failure, the less likely it is to damage your business performance. 

In our previous article Your ERP implementation is failing. Now what?, we looked at the common failures and what you can do to get back on track. Our handy guide below tells you how to do this in just 48 hours, or two working days.

Key takeaways

• The first 24 hours are for auditing how your teams currently use the company ERP, asking questions to understand its positives and negatives.
• The second 24 hours are about drilling down to the root causes of a chaotic shop floor so you can get on track again.
• ECI’s ERP Rescue Audit makes the process easier – download your copy, answer 20 simple questions, and receive a diagnostic score. 

Day 1: Audit – Identifying the cause behind the chaos 

When an ERP isn’t working, it’s easy to start scrutinising specific features in the software. However, the starting point is usually an open and honest conversation with staff. First, observe how they use it – if they’re using it at all. Then, ask them to talk you through how it handles specific processes, such as scheduling. Where are the barriers that slow them down and frustrate them, and what’s behind the chaos they are experiencing day-to-day?

Here are four typical responses you might get. 

1. “We don’t trust the data”

If your ERP implementation was rushed, the data contained within it might not be accurate and up-to-date. Duplication, gaps and inconsistencies in how information is inputted hamper decision-making. Either managers make poor judgements or they revert to spreadsheets, manual checks and/or gut instinct rather than their ERP. 

2. “We prefer the old way of doing things”

It might be satisfying to tick off a task on a spreadsheet, whiteboard or paper – but this way of working is slow, error-prone and relies too much on assumed knowledge. A fully-functional ERP, with a good user-experience, naturally encourages teams to adopt – and makes the ‘old way of doing things’ less attractive. 

3. “It’s hard to use”

Modern software should make life easier for teams, not harder. If they are struggling it could be a sign that the software is perfectly fine for other forms of manufacturing but not the discrete processes of engineers and machine shops. This is where hidden failures happen: employees develop their own ‘shadow’ processes, and adoption drops. That can mean there isn’t enough data in the system to make good decisions, so it doesn’t deliver a strong ROI.

4. “Why is it costing us so much?”

It’s not just production teams who can flag concerns about an ERP. Your finance team’s feedback is invaluable too. Having secured their buy-in at the start of the project, they’ll be keeping a close eye on whether it’s delivering value or adding unexpected customisation costs. So, while the initial outlay might have been relatively low, the high cost of maintaining bespoke features over time drives up the total cost of ownership. 

Day 2: Analysis – What are the causes of failure?

Having spoken to and observed your teams, the next step is to look at why your ERP is failing. Again, there are common causes which reflect the feedback you may have received on Day 1.

Here are four typical causes manufacturers encounter. 

1. Digitising bad processes and data

ERP implementation isn’t just a case of transferring data and processes to a new system. It’s a major change management project involving multiple teams, as well as IT. Unchecked data and outdated processes are scaled up when added to an ERP without scrutiny, which increases both inefficiency and risk. 

2. Relying on customisation

A small tweak here or there might not sound like a lot. But it’s expensive to maintain and pushes up the overall cost of your investment. If an out-of-the-box solution doesn’t offer all the features you need, it’s better to ask your vendor whether it can be configured to your workflows rather than choosing one that certainty requires expensive customisation. 

3. Creates admin instead of cutting it

Linked to the above, systems that don’t support multi-level Bills of Materials (BOMs) or direct CAD integration as standard create a headache for your team. Similarly, lack of integration with other systems, such as Sage or Xero accounting solutions, leads to limited visibility across teams and the risk of error due to double keying in data. 

4. Training trails off

Your super-users may have had the most comprehensive training – but as the system is rolled out, fewer people received first-hand guidance on how to get the most from the new system. New starters are left to figure it out for themselves, while those who’ve used it from the start might not be aware of the latest features and updates. 

Get ahead in your ERP rescue

To help guide your ERP rescue check, we’ve created the ERP Rescue Audit – a quick 20-question diagnostic tool to help you understand how your software is performing today. The audit covers financial performance, operational efficiency, vendor support and system integration. All you need to do is answer the questions with insights from your team to see where the hidden gaps are.

Fill in the form below to receive your ERP Rescue Audit which will give you one of four outcomes:

1. Optimal performance: Your ERP is working well, teams are using advanced features and it can grow with you.
2. Performance gaps: The software is functional but teams admin overheads are high, while excessive customisation is likely to be impacting ROI.
3. High risk: Software inefficiencies are costing more than the licence itself. 
4. Urgent action required: Inefficiencies and errors are costing more than starting from scratch and replacing the system. It’s time to go back to the market and find a replacement.

Once you’ve completed the ERP Rescue Audit, you’ll receive your diagnostic score within 24 hours so you can act quickly.