Spring cleaning took on new importance in the face of the pandemic crisis, with new reopening guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting public spaces, workplaces, businesses, schools, and homes. Any location that hosted someone who was infected or presumed infected was encouraged to take extra care when cleaning and disinfecting.

The same should hold true of our ERP data. Data is vital to businesses, with analytics turning large volumes of data into information that can be used for making important decisions and future plans. If you haven’t run any spring cleaning on your ERP software data yet, here’s why you should consider doing so now.

How healthy is the data?

Clean out your data and get rid of redundant information. Dispose of old stock items, remove customers who have not bought from you in years, and even purge suppliers who are no longer in business.

Check the accuracy of the information in your system

Are your price lists and discounts up to date? When did you last run a BOM implosion and did it give you the results you expected? Do you consistently get a large difference between expected and actual costs in WIP? How well are your suppliers performing? Do they deliver what they promised, when they promised, and the quality you ordered at the price quoted? How well are you servicing your customers?

Use the full power of your ERP software to cleanse your data

Extract a few reports from your system and work through some of the above elements. The benefits will be a cleaner, more accurate, up-to-date system that can operate efficiently. By ensuring accuracy of the BOM, waste is reduced and replenishment more exact. In addition to those using their data to perform Analytics, your decisions will be based on current, relevant information only.

Are your processes streamlined and efficient?

Look at optimizing your business processes. You can either take this time to do this yourself or contract the services of a consultant. Either way, it is important to review each and every business process in your organization to establish if you are being as efficient as you possibly can. Are there any redundant processes? Are there things you could do differently? Maybe there is an opportunity to digitize some of your processes and the supply of information to your suppliers, customers, or even just internal staff.

Are you getting a good ROI from your ERP software?

How much of your ERP software are you actually utilizing? Your staff could be working according to limitations from an older version and have not realized there are better ways of performing the same task within your current ERP. Check this yourself by accessing the information about all new features released in each new version/release, or call in a consultant to review your usage and adoption.

The added benefit of performing these reviews and providing improvements in operational efficiency is enhanced productivity and ultimately bottom-line results.

You may also want to consider:

• How well is your infrastructure and SQL server performing?
• Are your inventory levels accurate and enabling you to maintain high service levels? Which are your best-performing products, most valued customers, and top salespeople?
• What plans do you have to implement digital transformation in your organization?

ERP data cleansing doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Break the process down into manageable chunks, starting with highest-value issues. Distribute the work across teams and over time, and you won’t just have clean data now, but an organizational culture of continuous data improvement.

Get started now with the right ERP software solution—such as SYSPRO or Sage 300—and a team of consultants who can get your data cleaned and into shape for whatever the future holds. Talk to a software consultant at PositiveVision now.