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REAL ISSUES. REAL ANSWERS: Transitioning To New Business/POS Software

“Would like to know what they pick. We are going through the same process now, but still deciding on the best path and software company.”

“Communication, communication, communication and training.”

“Understand, and expect frustration from your employees. Remember, you can’t break it.”

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“Before changing, have personnel from each area, i.e. A/R, A/P, sales, inventory control, etc. see an actual demonstration to allow them to express their opinions and concerns about what the new system will and/or won’t do. Then make sure enough time is allowed for training. If possible, run your old system and the new one parallel until you’re comfortable that the new system is ready to roll.”

“A) No transition to a new software system is ‘smooth’—there are just varying degrees of pain. B) No one will be completely satisfied with the final result of the software transition!”

“Make sure you have a clearly defined plan for data transfer. Also, if the data in your old system is a mess— the new system will rarely be a fix. The learning curve is probably steeper and longer that you might expect. Be sure to allow for this.”

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“Spend plenty of time with your staff in the training mode before you go live. Give them the chance to be comfortable with it before the customers see it or have to experience the change.”

“Plan on the training and preparation taking twice as long as you expect.”

“Good luck. Plenty of headaches on staff side and with your customers. Talk with several other yards that have transitioned to whatever system you are switching to—ideally yards who also transitioned from the same system you’ve been using.”

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“First, do your research. Know what you want to be able to do and how you might be planning to grow. Second, buy up. Don’t limit yourself by going with a product that does not offer growth potential. Look for products with an excellent training program and a lot of support. Make sure you have or get the equipment to run the software at its optimal efficiency. I think we bought a great software program and we only use a miniscule amount of it because the corporate office did not turn all the bells and whistles on. It is a great system but it could be used so much better.”

“First and foremost, everyone in your company has to be involved in the process. If they have input and understand why decisions were made, it’ll be easier to work through issues that emerge. And last, know that it will be difficult no matter what anyone tells you.”

“Doing as much of the prep and data grooming in-house is the best way to ensure the best transition. All POS vendors offer transition services, but they don’t know your existing data or business issues as well as you do. If you have the resources in-house, or can hire someone for the project, it is in your best interest to do the majority of the preparation work. For our last system conversion, we took 12 months and had many internal meetings to get the end result we wanted. It can also be helpful to ask your vendor the same question multiple ways to be sure you understand how the new system will work. If possible, get a demo system that you and your team can work with on your own to understand the software.”

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