Why standardize your ERP system for your subsidiaries and how to choose it

The cost of disparate systems

There's no way to avoid wasted dollars when subsidiaries use different solution than their parent companies. Cobbling processes, data, and communication together between multiple systems burns hours in the workday. Using different systems prevents you from implementing repeatable processes that make working together more efficient. As a result, you and your child companies are constantly reinventing the wheel.

Beyond dollars and cents, using disparate solution leads to decreased and ineffectual communication between you and your subsidiaries (though communication problems deplete the bottom line too). In order to unite multiple organizations around the same ideas and mission, communication must be constant and efficient, and a seamless part of everyone’s workday.

There’s also an opportunity cost in terms of the lost time and energy you and your child companies could be devoting to bettering the business, instead of wrestling with administrative tasks that should be optimized or automated. A strong ERP software suite resolves these problems by standardizing processes and practices, which increase and improve the quality of communication and decrease cost.

Choosing the right ERP system for you and your subsidiaries

Most importantly, the right ERP software provides a seamless user experience for your subsidiaries, and between you and your subsidiaries.

Strong ERP software offers a comprehensive suite of products from enterprise level all the way down to small or mid-sized business applications. Though as the parent company you may need an enterprise-level solution, your subsidiaries can opt for a less-sophisticated application within the suite (one more appropriate for their needs and budget). All the while, your two systems still communicate and integrate with each other.

Beyond this necessity, here are 3 things to consider when choosing the right ERP for you and your subsidiaries:

1 - Scalability
As companies grow, they also outgrow software. It's critical that the solution you choose is appropriate in terms of the feature set it has to offer to your subsidiaries now, but can also meet their needs as they expand. Once your subsidiaries outgrow the basic feature set, can they can easily migrate to the next level in the suite?

2 - Rapid rollout + customizations
Powerful ERP software can be rapidly deployed and implemented. You can take advantage of a single deployment template for implementing and training all your subsidiaries. Likewise, you can develop new tools and procedures one time, then deploy them everywhere. Additionally, good ERP software has strong customization capabilities out of the box. For instance, can the software you’re considering support multi-country localization?

3 - Ease of use
The right ERP software will be easy for your subsidiaries to learn, use, and administer. The feature set will empower your companies to complete their most common daily tasks more efficiently. And strong ERP software provides an intuitive and consistent user experience (UX) across different screens and sections of the tool.

Where to start? 

If you’re ready to move forward with your search, taking stock of your existing IT systems is a great place to begin. We can help perform an audit, and when you're ready to make the big move, guide you through an ERP implementation that gets you and your subsidiaries on the same page. 

At VISEO we recommend SAP solutions, as it provides international coverage for medium and large companies with subsidiaries. If you're interested in such projects check out our L'Oreal or SEB success stories. 

Let's talk! Email us at information@viseo.com to get rolling.