{"id":7761,"date":"2022-08-22T08:27:14","date_gmt":"2022-08-22T08:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightpearl.com\/?p=7761"},"modified":"2026-02-10T14:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T14:39:04","slug":"considering-erp-implementation-for-your-online-sme-business-heres-the-data-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brightpearl.com\/blog\/considering-erp-implementation-for-your-online-sme-business-heres-the-data-you-need-to-know","title":{"rendered":"Considering ERP implementation for your online SME business? Here’s the data you NEED to know"},"content":{"rendered":"

When an SME merchant experiences rapid growth its profit margins might go up \u2013 but its back office operations often go into meltdown.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Spreadsheets get used to plug gaps between systems; mistakes and delays become commonplace, resulting in poor customer feedback; tedious manual workflows take up the time and energy of team members; and a lack of visibility hampers decision making. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>This sudden onset of operational complexity has historically been the trigger which prompts retailers to sign up with a traditional ERP<\/a>, or Enterprise Resource Management software, in a bid to streamline workflows, optimize data and improve efficiency.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Introducing a new technology system, such as an ERP, into an organization <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> be a game-changer, helping to boost productivity, reduce costs, support growth and boost the customer experience.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But because implementation is so crucial to the overall success of the system, it\u2019s important to first consider exactly how the system will be implemented \u2013 because not all implementation approaches are created equal.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The research is in<\/b><\/p>\n

New research by leading operating system <\/span>Brightpearl<\/span><\/a> has revealed widespread and significant issues linked to ERP implementation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>For instance, in the UK, a third (34%) of <\/span>all <\/span><\/i>UK firms have experienced a major implementation challenge when implementing an ERP in the last 12 months.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It\u2019s a similar story in the US, with four in 10 (38%) firms experiencing a major challenge when implementing an ERP over the last year.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study, which involved 500 retailers and took place in April 2022, also confirmed that implementing an ERP takes months, and sometimes even <\/span>years<\/span><\/i>, to complete.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nearly 60% of respondents completed their implementation in the projected timeline, which is positive, but 36%\u200aof projects took longer than estimated to get live – with an average 200-day delay.<\/span><\/p>\n

So has implementing an ERP has become a time-consuming, frustrating mistake that causes more problems than it solves?<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not quite that simple. <\/span>Despite ERPs being widely considered dated, slow and inflexible, many merchants still see them as essential \u2013 and every year a new influx of growing commerce companies hit the turning point where they sign up for an ERP implementation experience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And although we\u2019ve known for a while that ERP implementation fails in up to 75% of cases, the prevailing popularity of ERPs means<\/span> they can\u2019t be written off. Instead, we must dig deeper into exactly what\u2019s going wrong \u2013 as well as what\u2019s going right \u2013 with the implementation of these systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s going wrong?<\/b><\/p>\n

Integration issues, data migration challenges and a \u2018lack of training or support\u2019 top the list of reasons for ERP implementation failure in the UK, affecting 24%, 20% and 18% of brands respectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the US, a \u2018lack of scalability and flexibility\u2019, data migration challenges and major operational disruption are the biggest factors, affecting 25%, 23% and 21% of retailers.<\/span><\/p>\n

While issues with ERP tech, which is notoriously complex and rigid, are behind many of the challenges, it\u2019s <\/span>not<\/span><\/i> just the tech that\u2019s to blame.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the US, for instance, it’s (partly) the humans; 15% of businesses say a \u2018lack of expert implementation consultants\u2019 was responsible for a tricky ERP implementation. And in the UK, the businesses themselves were sometimes at fault, with almost one in five (18%) of retailers citing a \u2018lack of priority at an internal level\u2019 as the reason their ERP implementation went awry.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The research has also highlighted the issue of spiraling fees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Brightpearl found that on average ERP projects cost around a third more than predicted. Why are costs soaring? It all comes back to the issues which make it challenging to get set up in the first place. For example, 17% of US brands said their ERP is a \u2018poor fit for retail\u2019 and 15% of UK merchants admitted their ERP was inflexible.<\/span><\/p>\n

ERPs typically lack the in-built functionality and integra<\/span>tions modern brands need to succeed \u2013 and while adding them isn\u2019t entirely impossible, it does incur extra fees and time, driving up the cost of implementation significantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

The post-implementation picture<\/b><\/p>\n

Unfortunately for some retailers, ERP problems continue even after they have overcome the costs and challenges of implementation. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A quarter (27%) of UK brands face post-implementation data sync issues with sales channels or other platforms and one in five (20%) report \u2018endless glitches\u2019. In the US, a quarter of retailers (24%) have to contend with ongoing <\/span>data delays in their reporting and 13% say they experience broken workflows.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Overall, the data paints a clear picture: ERPs aren\u2019t the cure all many brands assume they will be. And just because a brand reaches a level of growth where it <\/span>can<\/span><\/i> get an ERP, it doesn\u2019t mean it should. <\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>By their very design, legacy systems have a complex, rigid architecture which makes it expensive and costly to implement \u2013\u00a0and nearly impossible to quickly adopt new tools and apps (including platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce). Even for the brands that get over an expensive, months-long implementation,<\/span> further issues \u2013\u00a0like slow processing or annoying glitches \u2013 often follow.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Some brands might be perfectly able to live with this. But modern brands that <\/span>want the freedom to grow in any direction they choose will need to choose a different path, and the considerations are clear. They\u2019ll need to prioritize tech partners with in-built flexibility, clear retail expertise, and a\u00a0 track record of successful implementation with similar brands of size, scope and sector.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Want to know even more about ERP implementation projects and how and why they go wrong? <\/b>Grab your free copy<\/b> of our new report: \u2018Implementation Crisis: Are Most Major Tech Adoption Projects Doomed to Fail?\u2019<\/a> now.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When an SME merchant experiences rapid growth its profit margins might go up \u2013 but its back office operations often go into meltdown. Spreadsheets get used to plug gaps between systems; mistakes and delays become commonplace, resulting in poor customer feedback; tedious manual workflows take up the time and energy of team members; and a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7762,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nConsidering ERP implementation for your online SME business? 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