For many software users and vendors, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are well-known software solutions that deal with the many facets of manufacturing. Some industry-standard classifications of ERP solution suites suggest as much: discrete, engineer-to-order, distribution, mixed-mode, and process manufacturing—each of these categories addresses the broad scope of activities essential to the production of various types of goods and the processes involved in getting them to the buyer.
However, it may not be clear to many users (or more importantly, potential users) how the name "ERP for services" relates to the scope of this solution’s functionality.
So how do you know if ERP for services is your ticket to managing your resource needs? And what functionalities do fall under the rubric of "ERP for services"? And, if your business is in the services sector, is the selection process for ERP for services more difficult than that of other ERP suites? If there are any hurdles involved in choosing ERP for services software, you need to know how high those hurdles are, and how your company can jump over them without tripping up and falling on its face.
ERP for … Which Services, Exactly?
Organizations in the services industries provide their clients with billable services rather than manufactured goods, and they are generally involved in project-based activities. Service organizations include but are not exclusive to
* educational and charitable organizations
* transportation
* media and telecommunications
* utilities
* commercial enterprises such as restaurants, and other businesses providing recreation and amusement
* organizations involved in health care and social assistance
* financial and legal organizations, including insurance, real estate, banking, and investment
* IT services providers and IT consultants
Organizations in service industries generally do not need to acquire and allocate vast inventories such as ore, lumber, carrageenan, or copper wire. But attention to resources, and their availability, is no less important to the services sector. Cost, people, and time are the key resources that businesses in services industries need to consider when determining their requirements, in order to provide the highest possible quality of service—and the highest possible level of profit.
Service organizations must manage and track all expenses related to time and people in order to remain profitable (or, in the case of not-for-profit organizations, so that they can stay within budget). To manage people, time, and finances, ERP for services solutions target the functional needs of two streams of service organizations: those that are project-based, or those that are transaction-based.
Project-based service organizations or professional services organizations need diverse project management functionalities as well as other front- and back-office capabilities. Transactional service companies have little or no need for project management capabilities, and would be better served by solutions with back- and front-office functionalities that address the companies' industry-specific needs.
* Accounting modules help address back-office financial management needs, including budgeting, financial analysis, reporting, compliance, and general ledgers.
* Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions can include opportunity management, enterprise marketing automation (EMA), campaign management, partner relationship management, customer service and support, customer accounts, sales management, and sales analytics, to help meet the needs of transactional services organizations.
* Human resources (HR) functionalities deal with the people and staffing needs of both project- and transactional-based services industry organizations. These HR functionalities may include hiring, skills set and competency mapping, project tracking, and training.
* ERP for services marketed for either project- or transaction-based companies may also support functionalities from business intelligence (BI) software, document management systems (DMSs), as well as security features for document or data management or for Internet-based functionality.
Jeepers, Creepers—Where’d You Get Those Functionalities?
"ERP for services" may resist being pinned down for another reason: the dreaded "brand creep." This phenomenon, which involves a product's gradual shift from one branding image or identity to a new one, can also be called "product scope creep," "feature creep," or even "featuritis," depending on the software programming or design or the marketing situation in question (in the IT industry, the evocative "software bloat" has been used to describe a similar phenomenon).
However, it may not be clear to many users (or more importantly, potential users) how the name "ERP for services" relates to the scope of this solution’s functionality.
So how do you know if ERP for services is your ticket to managing your resource needs? And what functionalities do fall under the rubric of "ERP for services"? And, if your business is in the services sector, is the selection process for ERP for services more difficult than that of other ERP suites? If there are any hurdles involved in choosing ERP for services software, you need to know how high those hurdles are, and how your company can jump over them without tripping up and falling on its face.
ERP for … Which Services, Exactly?
Organizations in the services industries provide their clients with billable services rather than manufactured goods, and they are generally involved in project-based activities. Service organizations include but are not exclusive to
* educational and charitable organizations
* transportation
* media and telecommunications
* utilities
* commercial enterprises such as restaurants, and other businesses providing recreation and amusement
* organizations involved in health care and social assistance
* financial and legal organizations, including insurance, real estate, banking, and investment
* IT services providers and IT consultants
Organizations in service industries generally do not need to acquire and allocate vast inventories such as ore, lumber, carrageenan, or copper wire. But attention to resources, and their availability, is no less important to the services sector. Cost, people, and time are the key resources that businesses in services industries need to consider when determining their requirements, in order to provide the highest possible quality of service—and the highest possible level of profit.
Service organizations must manage and track all expenses related to time and people in order to remain profitable (or, in the case of not-for-profit organizations, so that they can stay within budget). To manage people, time, and finances, ERP for services solutions target the functional needs of two streams of service organizations: those that are project-based, or those that are transaction-based.
Project-based service organizations or professional services organizations need diverse project management functionalities as well as other front- and back-office capabilities. Transactional service companies have little or no need for project management capabilities, and would be better served by solutions with back- and front-office functionalities that address the companies' industry-specific needs.
* Accounting modules help address back-office financial management needs, including budgeting, financial analysis, reporting, compliance, and general ledgers.
* Customer relationship management (CRM) solutions can include opportunity management, enterprise marketing automation (EMA), campaign management, partner relationship management, customer service and support, customer accounts, sales management, and sales analytics, to help meet the needs of transactional services organizations.
* Human resources (HR) functionalities deal with the people and staffing needs of both project- and transactional-based services industry organizations. These HR functionalities may include hiring, skills set and competency mapping, project tracking, and training.
* ERP for services marketed for either project- or transaction-based companies may also support functionalities from business intelligence (BI) software, document management systems (DMSs), as well as security features for document or data management or for Internet-based functionality.
Jeepers, Creepers—Where’d You Get Those Functionalities?
"ERP for services" may resist being pinned down for another reason: the dreaded "brand creep." This phenomenon, which involves a product's gradual shift from one branding image or identity to a new one, can also be called "product scope creep," "feature creep," or even "featuritis," depending on the software programming or design or the marketing situation in question (in the IT industry, the evocative "software bloat" has been used to describe a similar phenomenon).
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