Choosing a suitable ERP solution for your company is a complex process. Our CEO, Ian Bromley, knows from experience that CEOs regard Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation as a high-risk operation. In fact, according to a 2022 ERP report from Panorama Consulting Solutions, 27% of budget overruns in ERP projects are due to the initial project scope expanding. It’s no wonder that CEOs regard ERP projects with caution.

Engaging the CEO and executives early enough in the process manages these expectations and risks across the business and ensures the best possible results.

Ian Bromley, CEO at Inixion has over 30 years of experience in ERP systems and has managed over 200 ERP projects, globally. Ian advises from a unique position of having implemented ERP systems to now owning and operating Inixion (A Sage X3 ERP business). In this article, Ian shares 5 reasons why CEOs should care about ERP:

1.     Cost Savings

ERP systems may seem like a costly investment up front, but they save money in the long term. ERPs help your business become more efficient, which translates to more money in your organisation’s bank account. For manufacturing and distribution industries, ERP systems help you streamline processes, meaning improved supply chain management and inventory control, as well as lower labour costs. This all translates into greater profits for your company. Ultimately, keeping more money in the company coffers is the goal.

2.     Improved reporting

An ERP solution consolidates data from across your organisation, and in real-time, letting you generate detailed and up-to-date reports. Most ERP systems come with lots of detailed reports and templates built into them, allowing you to create accurate reports quickly and easily. This allows you to analyse and compare metrics across your entire company without needing to rely on multiple spreadsheets to locate information. Better reporting, including financial reporting, lets you know where you are at and allows you to plan and forecast with greater accuracy. After all, better insights into your company are crucial to remaining competitive in today’s fast-moving business climate.

3.     Improved customer experience and satisfaction

An ERP system is a vital tool in creating better customer experiences. It helps you to streamline and make your business more efficient, so you can offer more fair and consistent pricing, deliver a more consistent product, improve your service levels and delivery standards, and increase your customer service response times, leaving you with more satisfied customers. And these happy customers will reward you with repeat business.

4.     Better decision making

Ultimately as the CEO, you must make the tough calls about your business. An ERP system gives you a better understanding of your entire organisation, and with more data and greater insight into your operations, you can make faster and better decisions in response to challenges, opportunities and market trends. You can also be more confident in the decisions you make as you know they are backed by real data.

5.     Complete visibility and transparency

An ERP system will let you and your senior management know exactly where you stand. The visibility an ERP solution provides is one of the most powerful features available. An ERP system enables access to every crucial process in your business by making real-time data from every department easily accessible to you, senior management and staff. When everyone in your organisation has instant access to the most relevant and accurate data, they can push projects forward to completion rather than waiting for updates to be shared.

Ian Bromley says:

“Based on my experience, I have yet to find a successful ERP implementation without sponsorship, leadership and governance from top-level executives like CEOs. As much as some CEOs and directors would like to completely delegate their company’s ERP implementation to their IT department, executive sponsorship must be mandatory, clear and consistent from day one of your ERP project. It’s simple – without this kind of visible executive sponsorship, ERP implementation failure is very possible.

However, as our CEO-to-CEO guide will demonstrate, there are good reasons why CEOs should be involved in this critical decision at the outset. Because ultimately, it is the CEO that stands the most to gain from the success of an ERP system.”

Download our guide: CEO-to-CEO – the role of the CEO in ERP success to hear more from Ian as he discusses the CEO’s roles in an ERP implementation and the key cost and ROI questions that should be asked.