4 legacy ERP shortcomings that are holding your business back

We all know that a legacy system should be replaced or upgraded if it becomes the rate-limiting factor in enterprise growth and success. But what are the common legacy ERP shortcomings that lead up to this event and how can we monitor them?

1. Inability to accommodate processing demand

This weakness of legacy ERP is sometimes confused with an overall lack of scalability, but it really has more to do with low-level tactical components such as an inability to identify and apply necessary record formats on demand.

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For example, many legacy ERP inventory modules internally cap record-counts that can, in turn, skew or overrun a module’s ability to accurately calculate and/or deliver information when required. This limitation can quickly lead to misguided decision-making or worse, particularly if an ERP module becomes entirely log-jammed to a degree that processing new transactions is no longer possible.

2. Lack of SaaS system integration

If you are experiencing a legacy limitation derived by one or more closed-loop processes that terminate at the local-reporting level, chances are it’s time for a systems change. Today, third-party SaaS components offer a host of ways to integrate with older systems and therefore extend the functionality of these systems. However, if your particular legacy system defeats the ability to integrate easily and seamlessly, there’s really no other course of action other than to move to a completely new ERP platform.

3. Lack of system-wide scalability

As mentioned earlier, there are significant differences between considerations associated with individual process/module expansion versus a system’s overall scalability. In the case of ERP applications, these variants harbor deep dependencies throughout their respective processes.

if growth is required or expected, every aspect of your legacy ERP needs to evolve at the same rate and level of sophistication

If one legacy ERP module allows for expansion, while another doesn’t (and believe it or not this is more the rule than the exception), the intrinsic limitation can easily create cascading reporting issues throughout an enterprise, ultimately leading to lost time and revenue. So the rule becomes, if growth is required or expected, every aspect of your legacy ERP needs to evolve at the same rate and level of sophistication.

4. Inability to consolidate real-time enterprise data

In concert with earlier comments regarding legacy limitations, when it comes to ease of integration and a lack of data consolidation similar concerns exist when dealing with a growing enterprise data mass.

If your legacy ERP system works fine when driven by a singular processing center with no need to go out of house; good for you. However, typically as a company grows, data grows apace. This critical sensitivity becomes even more important if you are attempting to leverage an ERP platform to ‘measure the past, in order to see future.’ Consequently, if your business suddenly finds itself struggling to manage records derived by more than a single processing center, while experiencing lost or missing information on a regular basis, consider those characteristics as cautionary red flags that will need tending sooner rather than later.