A proper ERP system selection methodology

To address the common mistakes that lead to a poor ERP system selection it is important to apply key principles to the process, some of which are listed here under:

Structured approach

The first step in selection of a new ERP system is to adopt a structured approach to the process. The set of practices are presented to all the stakeholders within the enterprise before the system selection process begins. Everyone needs to understand the method of gathering requirements; invitation to tender; how potential vendors will be selected; the format of demonstrations and the process for selecting the vendor. Thus, each stakeholder is aware that the decision will be made on an objective and collective basis and this will always lead to a high level of co-operation within the process.

Focused demonstrations

Demonstrations by potential vendors must be relevant to the business. However, it is important to understand that there is considerable amount of preparation required by vendors to perform demonstrations that are specific to a business. Therefore it is imperative that vendors are treated equally in requests for demonstrations and it is incumbent on the company [and the objective consultant assisting the company in the selection process] to identify sufficient demonstrations that will allow a proper decision to be made but will also ensure that vendors do not opt out of the selection process due to the extent of preparation required.

Objective decision process

"Choosing which ERP to use is a complex decision that has significant economic consequences, thus it requires a multi-criterion approach.". There are two key points to note when the major decision makers are agreeing on selection criteria that will be used in evaluating potential vendors. Firstly, the criteria and the scoring system must be agreed in advance prior to viewing any potential systems. The criteria must be wide-ranging and decided upon by as many objective people as possible within and external to the enterprise. In no circumstance should people with affiliations to one or more systems be allowed to advise in this regard.

Full involvement by all personnel

The decision on the ERP solutions must be made by all stakeholders within the enterprise. "It requires top management leadership and participation… it involves virtually every department within the company". Representatives of all users should:

• Be involved in the project initiation phase where the decision making process is agreed;
• Assist in the gathering of requirements;
• Attend the Vendor Demonstrations;
• Have a significant participation in the short-listing and final selection of a vendor.

Source:Wikipedia

Document control using Document Management System

Government regulations require that companies working in certain industries control their documents. These industries include accounting (e.g., 8th EU Directive, Sarbanes–Oxley Act), food safety (e.g., Food Safety Modernization Act), ISO (mentioned above), medical device manufacturing (FDA), manufacture of blood, human cells, and tissue products (FDA), Healthcare (JCAHO), and Information technology (ITIL). Particular industries are also held to a higher level of documentation control, for privacy, warranty and insurance purposes. For example, in the construction industry, it is common that project documentation is held on record and adequately controlled for warranty periods ranging on average for 5-10 years.

Documents stored in a document management system — such as procedures, work instructions, and policy statements—provide evidence of documents under control. Failing to comply could cause fines, the loss of business, or damage to a business's reputation.

The following are important aspects of document control:

• Reviewing and approving documents prior to release
• Reviews and approvals
• Ensuring changes and revisions are clearly identified
• Ensuring that relevant versions of applicable documents are available at their “points of use”
• Ensuring that documents remain legible and identifiable
• Ensuring that external documents like customer supplied documents or supplier manuals are identified and controlled
• Preventing “unintended” use of obsolete documents

Source:Wikipedia

Components of Document Management System

Documentmanagement system commonly provide storage, versioning, metadata, security, as well as indexing and retrieval capabilities. Here is a description of these components:

Metadata :	Metadata is typically stored for each document. Metadata may, for example, include the date the document will be stored and the identity of the user storing it. The DMS may also extract metadata from the document automatically or prompt the user to add metadata. Some systems also use optical character recognition on scanned images, or perform text extraction on electronic documents. The resulting extracted text can be used to assist users in locating documents by identifying probable keywords or providing for full text search capability, or can be used on its own. Extracted text can also be stored as a component of metadata, stored with the image, or separately as a source for searching document collections.
Integration :	Many document management systems attempt to integrate document management directly into other applications, so that users may retrieve existing documents directly from the document management system repository, make changes, and save the changed document back to the repository as a new version, all without leaving the application. Such integration is commonly available for office suites and e-mail or collaboration/groupware software. Integration often uses open standards such as ODMA, LDAP, WebDAV and SOAP to allow integration with other software and compliance with internal controls.
Capture :	Capture primarily involves accepting and processing images of paper documents from scanners or multifunction printers. Optical character recognition (OCR) software is often used, whether integrated into the hardware or as stand-alone software, in order to convert digital images into machine readable text. Optical mark recognition (OMR) software is sometimes used to extract values of check-boxes or bubbles. Capture may also involve accepting electronic documents and other computer-based files.
Validation :	Visual validation registration system and important data. E.g. document failures, missing signatures, misspelled names, this can be printed on paper documents or images on paper.
Indexing :	Indexing tracks electronic documents. Indexing may be as simple as keeping track of unique document identifiers; but often it takes a more complex form, providing classification through the documents' metadata or even through word indexes extracted from the documents' contents. Indexing exists mainly to support retrieval. One area of critical importance for rapid retrieval is the creation of an index topology.
Storage :	Store electronic documents. Storage of the documents often includes management of those same documents; where they are stored, for how long, migration of the documents from one storage media to another (hierarchical storage management) and eventual document destruction.
Retrieval :	Retrieve the electronic documents from the storage. Although the notion of retrieving a particular document is simple, retrieval in the electronic context can be quite complex and powerful. Simple retrieval of individual documents can be supported by allowing the user to specify the unique document identifier, and having the system use the basic index (or a non-indexed query on its data store) to retrieve the document. More flexible retrieval allows the user to specify partial search terms involving the document identifier and/or parts of the expected metadata. This would typically return a list of documents which match the user's search terms. Some systems provide the capability to specify a Boolean expression containing multiple keywords or example phrases expected to exist within the documents' contents. The retrieval for this kind of query may be supported by previously built indexes, or may perform more time-consuming searches through the documents' contents to return a list of the potentially relevant documents.
Distribution :	A published document for distribution has to be in a format that can not be easily altered. As a common practice in law regulated industries, an original master copy of the document is usually never used for distribution other than archiving. If a document is to be distributed electronically in a regulatory environment, then the equipment tasking the job has to be quality endorsed AND validated. Similarly quality endorsed electronic distribution carriers have to be used. This approach applies to both of the systems by which the document is to be inter-exchanged, if the integrity of the document is highly in demand.
Security :	Document security is vital in many document management applications. Compliance requirements for certain documents can be quite complex depending on the type of documents. For instance, in the United States, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements dictate that medical documents have certain security requirements. Some document management systems have a rights management module that allows an administrator to give access to documents based on type to only certain people or groups of people. Document marking at the time of printing or PDF-creation is an essential element to preclude alteration or unintended use.
Workflow :	Workflow is a complex process and some document management systems have a built-in workflow module. There are different types of workflow. Usage depends on the environment to which the electronic document management system (EDMS) is applied. Manual workflow requires a user to view the document and decide whom to send it to. Rules-based workflow allows an administrator to create a rule that dictates the flow of the document through an organization: for instance, an invoice passes through an approval process and then is routed to the accounts-payable department. Dynamic rules allow for branches to be created in a workflow process. A simple example would be to enter an invoice amount and if the amount is lower than a certain set amount, it follows different routes through the organization. Advanced workflow mechanisms can manipulate content or signal external processes while these rules are in effect.
Collaboration:	Collaboration should be inherent in an EDMS. In its basic form, collaborative EDMS should allow documents to be retrieved and worked on by an authorized user. Access should be blocked to other users while work is being performed on the document. Other advanced forms of collaboration act in real time, allowing multiple users to view and modify (or markup) documents at the same time. The resulting document is comprehensive, including all users additions. Collaboration within Document Management Systems stores the various markups by each individual user during the collaboration session, allowing document history to be monitored.
Versioning :	Versioning is a process by which documents are checked in or out of the document management system, allowing users to retrieve previous versions and to continue work from a selected point. Versioning is useful for documents that change over time and require updating, but it may be necessary to go back to or reference a previous copy.
Searching :	Searching finds documents and folders using template attributes or full text search. Documents can be searched using various attributes and document content.
Publishing :	Publishing a document involves the procedures of proofreading, peer or public reviewing, authorizing, printing and approving etc. Those steps ensure prudence and logical thinking. Any careless handling may result in the inaccuracy of the document and therefore mislead or upset its users and readers. In law regulated industries, some of the procedures have to be completed as evidenced by their corresponding signatures and the date(s) on which the document was signed. Refer to the ISO divisions of ICS 01.140.40 and 35.240.30 for further information. The published document should be in a format that is not easily altered without a specific knowledge or tools, and yet it is read-only or portable.
Reproduction :	Document/image reproduction is key when thinking about implementing a system. It's great to be able to put things in, but how are you going to get them out? An example of this is building plans. How will plans be scanned and scale be retained when printed?

Source: Wikipedia