Blog > To ERP or not to ERP?
Volatility, the certainty of change, public opinion, lack of funding, transition to renewables, a price war and a global pandemic. It’s difficult to think of a set of circumstances that would demand a greater need for agile systems that can be scaled up or down at will. The need to reflect and act on changing business process and working practices quickly and cost effectively is now paramount.
The oil and gas sector is suffering and the broader energy sector is suffering. We are yet to see how the scale of the global bail out packages will affect investment in renewables, how that will impact on traditional sources and when demand will start to rise. It is a perfect storm that will require quick thinking, planning and execution and not least a dose of luck and a trailing wind.
ERP systems are big beasts that mean to be all things to all people. They are the proverbial oil tankers that have enormous scale and technical merit. They can do everything that was asked of them on the drawings at great cost and subsequent to a lengthy build process sail the seas emboldened by their scale, but you try turning one.
One only needs to look at the sheer speed and scale of change in the sector over the last few months to bring into question the validity of vast and expensive systems where deployments and changes can be measured in years and months.
ERP deployments require enormous upfront capital expenditure and very long deployment timeframes. The projects carry enormous risks or the client and delivery partner whether that be the vendor, a system integrator or a combination of both. The need to mitigate these risks creates complex and lengthy contracts that tie both parties in for the long term and to a business outcome that could in fact, given current circumstances, be no longer fit for purpose very quickly. This is not in any way to imply that they cannot be adapted, these systems are almost infinitely customisable but at great time and cost which unfortunately are far from plentiful resources at any time, especially now.
Many people will have experienced expensive ERP projects that have failed to meet stakeholder expectations be this through unrealistic or misaligned expectations in the first place, deployment challenges, politics and of course product design. All of these are uncomfortable truths that to a greater or lesser degree affect all system rollouts. These challenges are exasperated given the difficulty of predicting scale, timing and market conditions at present.
A successful system must deliver real productivity benefits, cost effectiveness and above all drive and support operational excellence. All stakeholders should derive a personal benefit from using such systems which will ensure adoption and aggregate that benefit across the organisation. Business applications must sit comfortably with good process, not ‘shoehorn’ process into a predetermined functionality set.
There is now an immediate need to support disparate workforces, maintain onsite operations, optimise process and cut costs. New ways of working are needed now.
Our Microsoft cloud-based platform takes a different approach. We have preconfigured best practice into the system and target an 80% functional fit for finance, supply chain, plant maintenance, reporting and information management right from the start. This enables an extremely rapid deployment and keeps upfront CAPEX to a minimum.
Our platform has been designed to support most of your core business processes at all stages in the value chain in one single scalable platform. We deliver fit for purpose finance, procurement, contracts, inventory, logistics, plant maintenance, management reporting and information management in a secure, single Microsoft cloud-based system. You can adopt the various modules as you move across the value chain, seamlessly.
This modular approach will enable you benefit from our built-in best practice from day one saving you significant time and resources for supporting your day-to-day operations.
Our pre-configured and configurable financial, operational and KPI management reporting will get you the information you need quickly. This is ably supported by our information management portal that combines business data, reports and documentation through a single portal with configurable user or departmental access.
The fact that all this is delivered through the Microsoft cloud and integrates fully with Office 365 creates a genuinely collaborative environment. This includes, for example, mobile support for approval workflows in line with your Delegation of Authority that can be accessed through any connected device.
The Lumos 365 system benefits from and facilitates the entire Microsoft technology stack. We deploy our finance and supply chain system through Microsoft Business Central that sits within the Dynamics 365 suite of products and leverages the Common Data Model. This database model creates a single repository across your applications and can be extended as your requirements evolve.
We have built a fit for purpose platform that can utilise the other Microsoft applications that you already have or can easily procure, such as field service tools and HR.
When circumstance requires you to make the most of what you have it is important to have most of what you need.
The Lumos 365 platform delivers tangible business and bottom-line benefits through its inherent design and functionality to support control, compliance and cost recovery through best practice.
The platform defines the way people work together and through effective process and better collaboration operational efficiencies are increased. An example of this can be found in the mandatory cost allocation to the correct Approval for Expenditure (AFE) at source of spend or transaction. This means that a warehouse operative retrieving an inventory item is supporting the cost recovery process, which is just one example of why the Lumos 365 platform can generate a Joint Venture billing statement in just a few mouse clicks. Likewise, the ability to highlight an existing contract and facilitate a call off at the point of request creation alleviates the need to involve the supply chain team.
These very basic examples speak for the true benefits of designing a single platform to deliver what the business needs.
The Lumos 365 platform will provide a framework that your business can grow into, not out of, at a very affordable entry point. Our 80% fit templated approach will reduce upfront CAPEX, increase speed of deployment and reduce costs whilst also introducing best practice. There is no need for third party applications for consolidation, time writing, workflows or for that matter additional hosting costs.
You only pay for what you need, when you need it, with our ‘cost-effective’ subscription- based pricing. You decide when to introduce new modules as you move across the value chain with every stage benefitting from our 80% ready templated approach.
Please contact hello@lumos365.com for further information.
