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11.19.08
Making An ERP System Your Own
 By Rebecca Gill
A while back, I was in my corporate office reviewing some of the new functionality that was recently added to our Enterprise 21 ERP software. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out "Now I can pimp my ERP"! So maybe Pimp My ERP Software won't be the next MTV hit, but the idea of making an ERP system "your own" is becoming a reality.
While I am young enough to know MTV's infamous Pimp My Ride, I am also old enough to remember the days of DOS-based business software and ever so slow customizations and report changes. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we breathe a collective sigh of relief that the days of DOS are well behind us. Today, ERP software is truly becoming more user friendly. Or shall I say it is becoming more personalized and it is looking much more like how you - the user - would design it. ERP users are no longer a statistic or an unknown customer far removed from the developers. Users are front and center in both global functionality changes and more company or user specific personalization of the ERP package. They are becoming front and center because they are becoming their own developers.
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Ten years ago I would not have envisioned the ERP packages of today. I still viewed ERP software as "the package" that was used to help run operations. I certainly did not view ERP software as a tool that is used to help boost business growth, as an assistant to aid in compliance support, or as an overall driver of enterprise wide operations. I say that because ten years ago you lived with the package you selected during your evaluation project. Good or bad, it was your new found friend and there was little you could do to quickly change it. Now, with many ERP software packages available on the market, the user personalizes the ERP experience by adding bookmarks, designing their own inquiry screens, relocated or deleted columns, sorting data, and adding hot buttons. And when I say personalize, I mean through existing software functionality and not through modifications to the source code. While these features are not within every ERP package, they are in some packages already. As a user, I love the ability to make our package "my own" and personalize my environment to meet my own quirkiness.
While I know not every user will want to pimp their ERP software, many will want to personalize their work environment. I strongly believe the more you "pimp" your package, the more benefit and satisfaction you will derive.
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About the Author:
Rebecca has over a decade of experience in accounting, operations, project management, and enterprise software solutions. She is currently serving as vice president at Technology Group International (www.tgiltd.com). TGI is a leading provider of Enterprise 21 (ERP solution) and related enterprise business solutions for manufacturers and distributors. Rebecca also authored TGI's Software Selection Took Kit, as well as published a number of articles in both technical and industry specific publications. Read her blog at ERP Etc..
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