If you, as a customer, choose industry-specific ERP software, you usually do so for the following reasons:
- They are proven solutions, tailored to your industry.
- The supplier guarantees proper operation and provides support.
- Upgrades are provided by the vendor and the software continues to evolve.
- And importantly, you no longer want customization.
Despite the above points, during implementation you discover that you are still missing something in the software. Something that absolutely should not be missing. Something that cannot be solved by changing the process. Something that was not recognized during the entire preliminary process. Something that will have to be developed. Customization, in other words.
Is that bad? It depends. Customization doesn't always have to be a problem. Provided you factor the following into your decision-making.
1. Impact
Carefully assess the impact of the desired customization. What is the impact on existing standard processes? Does it interfere with existing financial accounting corridors or logistics processes? Does it touch the heart of the application? Or is it at the edges of the software? Is it just a solution for reducing a large number of manual operations? Is it potentially solvable via reporting?
If the impact on standard delivered software is too great, the supplier will always advise against the customization or possibly even refuse to realize it. Should the supplier still recommend a custom solution, specifications will have to be written.
2. Specifications
Draft the specifications in close consultation with an advisor from the software vendor. This will be able to assess the impact of the desired changes much better and ask further questions where necessary. Because of his experience, he will also be able to suggest the right solutions and thus ensure a better integrated piece of customization.
3.Testing
Customization is costly and important, otherwise it would not have been developed. So test the customization very well after delivery. Depending on the situation, you may have to test an entire process to determine if the customization isn't driving the wheels of standard functionality somewhere after all.
4. Support and documentation
The software vendor will be unable and unwilling to provide support on the customization. And when upgrading the standard software, you will also want to include the customization. Good documentation is very important for both points.
Customization; you shouldn't want to give in too quickly. If you come to the conclusion that you really can't do anything else, keep the above points in mind.
Peter Gerhardt is Senior Lead Consultant Logistics at Dysel and helps customers achieve maximum results with its business software.
