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Water Gremlin started by making lead fishing sinkers and thenexpanded into lead acid battery terminals for agricultural,automotive and marine markets
Water Gremlins old ERP was causing inefficiencies
Delays in manufacturing and gathering financial data
Only one person in the organization knew about the working
of the old ERP which posed a threat
Finding an ERP to fit the manufacturing company requiredexecutive support
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Need of a system which could provide insights into how well thebusiness was operating
With the old system he had to wait till the end of the month toknow the financial standing
Inaccessibility of a lot of valuable data through the old ERP
Insufficient amount of management information out of the existingsystem
Information was isolated and not shared in a timely way
Some departments preferred creating their own spreadsheets ratherthan entering the data into the ERP
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Numerous ERP packages were available
Varying s/w combinations to handle tracking orders,
manufacturing process, sales contacts, and othercompany data
Its a six-figure kind project. Four pg memo
But managers still had to be convinced regarding itsefficiency
Schulz went for a three pronged approach
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Internal research at Water Gremlin to help define the
need
Need assessment used to narrow down ERP productchoices
Hiring consultant to provide objective guide
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Interviewed 4 consultants familiar with ERP s/w and
manufacturing processes and selected Minnesota Tech
First tool-Accounting Software libraryy need analysis program that narrows ERP choice by answering
4000 questions
y Sells for $1400 and evaluates 150 programs
Asks users to define business requirement by ranking
them
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Another s/w program-SoftSelect
It addresses macro-level issues
It produces a printout showing which s/w would work
along with short explanations
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Shortlisted 5 Vendors
User Involvement Provided with demonstrationscripts
Factors being looked for short listing
y Customization
y Demonstrations to include real examples
Based on responses scheduled demonstrations withthree vendors
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Upfront planning : needs assessment, creation of
selection committee, rigorous research, regular updates,
timelines
Delay in purchasing a new ERP
Collaborative approach
Treat only as a software
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Ease of use
Service and dependability
y Software upgrades
y Duration of providing support
y Training after implementation
y Right off the shelf (minimum customization)
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ERP very critical for organization
y Intensive research required
y Consultants can help in selection
y Minimum customization
y Look for aspects like support, installation, training.
y User interaction must Dont let vendors impact
your selection decision
y Manage change in organization