Customer Support from Your ERP Provider – 6 Essentials
For those of you who don’t know what ERP (Enterprise Resource Management) is, it is software designed to help run your entire operation. Everything from sales to inventory and anything in between. For more information on what an ERP is and how it can help you, CLICK HERE.
So What Are The Advantages?
There are lots of advantages to working with an ERP provider. First and foremost, you know you are using a product that has proven value. The market does a good job of weeding out the bad ERP products. You also get expert assistance throughout the implementation process so that you can take advantage of a customized ERP faster. But the greatest advantage may be the ongoing customer support you receive.
Make sure you are getting the level of support you deserve by looking for a provider who offers these 6 Essential Elements:
1. Automatic Updates
If you are paying for an ERP you want to use the best product available. An ERP provider that provides automatic updates helps you take advantage of all the latest features and capabilities. Plus, they spare your in-house IT team from having to add the updating process to their workload.
2. Training Resources
An ERP is a complicated piece of technology that has a fundamental impact on all your staff and all your workflows. That can create a lot of confusion and consternation if users are not adequately prepared. Expect your ERP provider to offer you an extensive library of training resources to take advantage of at any time for any reason. Not only are these the best instructive guides available, they spare you the time and cost of creating your own training tools.
3. Phone Support
When one of your users has a question, they don’t want to dive into a manual to find the answer. Phone support remains the preferred delivery method for IT information. Not only is it a faster way to get information, an actual human is much better at explaining complex ideas. Your ERP provider should make phone support available and take steps to prevent wait times and a backlog of calls.
4. Support Tracking
If many of your users have the same kinds of questions it suggests that you need to hold more training or tinker with the setup of your ERP. Unfortunately, tracking these trends is hard without a top-down view of support requests. Expect your ERP provider to allow you to monitor and track your support cases through an online interface.
5. Community Queries
You can get a lot of useful, actionable information by speaking to similar ERP users rather than just support professionals. For instance, if you have questions about a particular aspect of ERP, for example, manufacturing companies, the best responses might come from other manufacturers. As part of their customer service offering your ERP provider should plug you into a community of fellow users.
6. Information and Updates
Since ERP is so central to everything you do, you will want to know everything there is to know about your ERP provider. There could be big changes and exciting new features coming down the pipeline that will fundamentally change the way your company uses the ERP. The provider should keep you abreast of all changes, both good and bad.
The quality of your ERP is directly related to the quality of the ERP provider. Do not partner with any provider who turns their back on you once the ERP has been implemented. The best providers want your ERP to work perfectly from day one and on.
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