When I purchase software I have pretty high expectations.  I feel the same about everything that I buy.  I buy things to satisfy a requirement and I expect them to perform as expected.  I don’t buy things then expect them not to work, nor do I tolerate them not working.

So when our recent survey found that as many as 20% of London businesses have Inventory Managements software that doesn’t work or fit their requirements I scratched my head in wonder.  How could this be?My expertise is in the Sage ACCPAC ERP Inventory Management solution so I’m going to share my perspective on this product.

There are a percentage of businesses that ACCPAC Inventory Control is not going to work for, too much, too little; too specific… it doesn’t provide 100% coverage for all business.  For those that it won’t work for there may be a vertical product that fits your needs perfectly and in that case Google or a trade magazine might be your best source of information.

For the majority of inventory strong businesses, ACCPAC fits really well; the Inventory Management module is very sophisticated.  In fact, it may be said that if you have a simple business model the ACCPAC Inventory Control module may be overkill.  Again, it’s difficult to provide 100% coverage.

If you are using ACCPAC Inventory Control already, and you’re not having success then we want to help you.  Here’s the truth: If your ACCPAC Solution Provider is light on the Inventory Management side and strong on accounting you may have a problem.  If your organization is weak in inventory management procedures, then perpetual inventory management is going to be a problem.  Balance is everything.  You need a good strong operations person that can help you through the setup and management of the ACCPAC Inventory Management Module, and who can help you put good practices into procedures.

So, if you are hobbling along with a broken inventory system we should look at the impact this has on your business and try to determine whether or not the problem is worth fixing.  Here are 10 questions for you to ponder:

1. How is your inventory broken?
2. How does this affect your order entry process?
3. How does this affect your purchase order process?
4. How does this affect your receiving process?
5. How does this impact your customer?
6. How does this affect your financial reporting process?
7. How is this affecting your evaluation process?
8. How is this affecting your planning process?
9. How is this hampering your growth of the company?
10. How long can you live with this?

Is it worth fixing?  How can you gauge the answer to this question?  The first thing a consultant will need to determine is “what is your definition of working?”  This means everything.  If ACCPAC can’t do what you want to do that is one thing, if it’s not doing what it’s designed to do that is another thing; one we can address completely.

Once we determine if it’s an ACCPAC function problem or not, how much will it cost to solve it?  Put a price on this – and factor the cost of not solving it into the equation.   Another question you should ponder is, “what’s the cost of not solving this?”  If you can determine that solving this is going to improve ordering, purchasing, customer service, financial reporting, evaluation, planning, and growth – any or all of the above, then you had better get on the phone and find someone to help.  Simple, you MUST FIX THE PROBLEM.

If you can't live with a broken inventory management system any longer then we've got some options for you:

• Register for our Inventory Management Success Workshop
• Call us and we'll give you a free opinion on your options - (519) 455-2724
• Take a look at our blog on ACCPAC issues and see if there's anything there that can help you

Call us.  We’ll help you.  We’re fast, reliable and we guarantee results or you don’t pay.  But this comes at a price.  We want to know more about your business and we want to really understand what you need from us.