ERP Selection: Water Gremlin Case Study

Water Gremlin also needed a bar code inventory management system. “We wanted a real third party, out-of-the-box, up-and-running situation,” Schulz says. The company also needed to track labor and material movement on the shop floor.

Testing the Waters

There are hundreds of ERP packages, each serving businesses of a certain size in specific industries. ERPs come with varying combinations of software tools for managing financial information and tracking orders, manufacturing processes, sales contacts, and other company data. If Water Gremlin was going to get the right system, Schulz decided they would have to apply due diligence to the selection process.

Schulz talked to friends, colleagues, and business contacts to get information on the different brands of ERPs, learn how best to assess his company’s needs, and understand how other companies chose ERP software. After spending about three months researching, he engaged company executives in a discussion to get them to “buy in” to the idea of the new ERP. This was crucial because “I knew going into this that this was going to be a six-figure kind of project,” Schulz says.

Armed with his research and motivated by the promise of better processes and accurate financial data, Schulz wrote a four-page memo in which he boiled down his findings and provided estimates for price, length of time for implementation, needed staffing levels, and outcomes of a successful implementation.

Water Gremlin’s president, Robert Neal, was convinced of the need for a new ERP, having initiated discussions on the topic. But Schulz had to convince managers that the new system would make the company’s processes more efficient. He also explained his detailed plan for choosing an ERP. The process would be collaborative and include key employees in making decisions.

Schulz says the Water Gremlin executives had crafted a new business strategy and needed a new platform to support it. They were ready for the challenges and commitments and decided to move ahead with the project.

Schulz also outlined his comprehensive three-prong approach to selecting the new system: internal research at Water Gremlin would help define what each department needed in an ERP; a needs assessment using software would help narrow down the ERP product choices; and hiring a consultant would provide an objective guide throughout the selection process.

Neal, Schulz, and Water Gremlin’s vice president of operations, comprised the selection committee for the project. They wanted real-time management tools, enhanced financial reporting with better budgeting and forecasting, and transactional support that would bolster the transfer of data between Water Gremlin and its distributors.