How does ERP add value in a property business?

An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can help a property business deliver its strategy. It is up to each business to decide what that means.

How does ERP help deliver strategy?

Strategy delivery may mean

• Basic operating model capability – you may have outgrown your existing software — closing the books take too long, it can’t cope with volumes, things break or take too long
• Fixing inefficient & inconsistent processes
• Better data when and where you need it – reports, dashboards, mobile apps
• Meeting suppliers and tenants where they are with data interchange, e-invoicing, supplier & tenant portals
• Budgeting & forecasting is on spreadsheets and only one person understands them so you can’t create multiple scenarios
• Too many systems create complexity
• You have cybersecurity challenges
• You can’t scale without hiring more people  
• Your customer experience is suffering as it takes too long to get answers or fix issues
• Clear and timely views of service levels and overall business performance

ERP or any system is not a magic bullet

No ERP or other property system is a silver bullet for your business. If your business model is flawed then automating it will just make you fail faster. If your operating model (the back office) is flawed the same thing will happen.

It starts with strategy – clear ideas and a business model based on a sound value proposition. If your strategy is clear you can create an operating model that employs people, processes and systems consistently to deliver on your value proposition.

ERP is the foundation of your operating model – it consolidates and automates your preferred ways of working so your people can focus on investment decisions, delivery, supplier relationships and customer satisfaction.

You need to determine return on investment on ERP for your business. That is a separate blog.

Choosing an ERP

The procurement process often starts too early. Businesses look for a solution before they have defined the problem and the opportunity. Even if you have started the strategy piece it can pay to take a first look at the market then revisit your strategy before committing to an ERP solution. What you think you want may not be what you need.

Implementing an ERP solution

You need a clear plan to implement any ERP solution and it may be a bigger job than you think. Key steps can include:

• Business strategy – start with business drivers
• Business case/investment case
• High-level roadmap – an initial view
• High-level requirements – these will change
• Procurement process
• Vendor selection – contracts
• Implementation project manager selection
• Contract implementation PM if external
• Identify internal project lead/s and team
• Arrange backfill for project team
• Detailed project scoping and planning
• Project initiation
• Design phase
• Data cleansing and migration planning
• Configuration phase
• Software build
• Software test planning
• Deploy test system (iterative)
• Software testing (iterative)
• Data migration testing (iterative)
• Deployment
• Post deployment establishment (months)
• Post project review

Getting ERP done for property

Hague Consulting Ltd helps deliver strategy. We understand Finance, Operations and IT and we can help you optimise your business operations. We are the only New Zealand-based member of the Yardi independent consulting network and we are experienced in Yardi implementation.

Phil Guerin, Consultant/Director, Hague Consulting Ltd. © Hague Consulting Ltd 2024. If you like this content, subscribe to our blog – it’s free!

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