QuickBooks, SAP, Sage, Dynamics, Salesforce and other Generic Purpose Packages are rarely (if ever) successfully implemented in a Flooring Business!
Another Big mistake is In-House development!
Flooring enterprises seeking enhanced margin control and business management software should look exclusively at the options available from the Flooring Industry software developers. Forget the generic, one size fits all vaporware vendors. Forget in house development. Flooring businesses need a partner who understands their operational objectives. The best plan is selecting a flooring industry implementation expert who has the resources and qualified personnel to initiate a structured implementation process, with measurable milestones, designed to create a function rich, profitable result. Too often, flooring companies select one of the generic packages based on incorrect assumptions based on size, promises and sales prowess. These companies eventually give up and start over. Their first step after this failure is searching for a flooring industry vertical software developer. The same goes for in-house software development. I have seen in house development efforts last for years, consume significant resources and significantly damage the viability of several industry giants. Generic vaporware vendors as well as in-house development efforts, regardless of resources, size and talent, will never keep pace with the vertical market developers. These generic and/or in-house development efforts disrupt and distract the core business objectives. This interruption has the potential to erode reasonable oversight and control. The results produced by generic vaporwear vendors and in-house development efforts are over spending, never ending consultancy overhead, undocumented software, untrained employees, functionality that is not industry relevant and reliance on a single point of contact for industry enhancements, updates and support. History proves that non-industry and in-house relationships become unproductive and stressed quickly.
Flooring Industry software is strategically directed at addressing the needs of the flooring industry. The generic vaporware and in-house software can be useful to a wide array of functionality (such as CRM, non-integrated specific functionality, word processors, spreadsheet programs etc.), whereas flooring industry vertical market software is developed, updated, documented and supported for and customized to meet specific flooring industry needs.
A flooring software vendor has experience and a systematically structured approach to software implementation. The flooring industry specialist is experienced and focused on effectively integrating flooring software into the workflow of an existing organizational structure or an individual end-user. Costs are identified, controlled and successful results are anticipated. See https://legacy.rmaster.com to schedule a web demo or email info@rmaster.com for more information.
Considerations related to why Generic Vaporware and In-House Development efforts Fail:
The implementation of generic non-vertical and in-house developed software is rife with unanticipated costs. We have seen situations where unexpected, undiscussed and other expenses add 1/3 of the budget of the cost of the initial software purchase.
The complexity of implementing generic non-vertical and in-house developed software differs from flooring specific software on several issues. Areas of complexity are: the number of end users that will use the product software, the effects that the implementation has on changes of tasks and responsibilities for the end user, the culture and the integrity of the organization where the software is going to be used and the budget available for acquiring the software.
In general, differences are identified on a scale of size (bigger, smaller, more, less). An example of the “smaller” product software is the implementation of an office package. However there could be a lot of end users in an organization, the impact on the tasks and responsibilities of the end users will not be too intense, as the daily workflow of the end user is not changing significantly. An example of “larger” product software is the implementation of an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system.
The implementation of generic non-vertical and in-house developed software requires in-depth insights on the architecture of the organization as well as of the product itself, before it can be aligned. Next, the modification and use of an ERP system for a flooring business involves much more dedication by the end users as new tasks and responsibilities are created or will be shifted.
Implementing generic non-vertical and in-house developed software requires customization and business process redesign as well as process modeling to align the software flow and organizational structures, which can be a major distracting, time and resource consuming issue. What we see frequently is that customization of the software and the organizational structure do not align well enough for the software to be implemented. In this case, two alternatives are possible: the continued customization of the software or the redesign of the organizational structure and thus the business processes. Both options are problematic ad very expensive.
Customizing the software transforms the software into tailor-made functionality and eliminates the concept of standardization. This usually results in loss of software support and the reliance on consultants who have to be re-oriented/process explained when issues arise in the use of the software. This is also problematic and expensive.
Modifying business processes to accommodate generic non-vertical and in-house developed software can cause major resistance in the use of the software. Altered business processes modify the tasks and responsibilities of the end users, which can create confusion and create lapses in control. This is problematic.
Implementation of generic non-vertical and in-house developed software leaves more room for situational factors that are not considered or planned. This will result in ambiguity and questions in the execution of the implementation process, which adds issues and complexities. This is particularly problematic if the business is very structured and complex and has staff in place that is dependent on exact and precise functional controls. When you add management change to an already uncomfortable and new operational environment, additional issues develop which must be quickly addressed and always add to the complexity of the process.
There are better options. Selecting a flooring industry software specialists is logical if operational control, financial management and implementation success are considerations. See https://legacy.rmaster.com to schedule a web demo or email info@rmaster.com for more information.
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