Panorama Consulting Group Helps Maxon Select a New ERP Software System With Their PERFECT Fit Software Selection Methodology

Denver, Colorado – Panorama Consulting Group, an independent ERP consulting firm, today announced the successful completion of an ERP selection project for Maxon Lift Corporation, a leading manufacturer of lift gates, headquartered in Santa Fe Springs, California.

Maxon Lift Corporation engages in the research, development, design, manufacture, and sale of lift gates for trailer, truck, pick up, and bus and van applications. The company’s products include Tuk-A-Way, Railifts, COLUMNLIFT, slider, conventional, light duty, wheelchair lift, and special purpose lift gates. It also provides parts and technical services. The company offers its products through its distributor network, including leasing companies, private fleets, OEMs, and distributors in the Americas.

“Maxon had had very poor experiences with consultants in the past. I believe that Panorama went a long way to improving the image of consultants everywhere. The big difference that I saw was the usefulness of the team’s deliverables. The Board saw that the deliverables were actionable, which is something they were missing from other consultants,” states Bill Moore, Vice President of Enterprise Improvement at Maxon Lift Corporation. “I appreciate the integrity that Panorama showed. Panorama stayed impartial throughout the process and made sure we were looking at the right data and in the right way.”

Khalid Morris, Senior ERP Consultant at Panorama Consulting Group led Maxon’s ERP selection project. Mr. Morris is a senior member of Panorama’s software selection team and has expertise in a variety of ERP software packages. The ERP selection project was executed using Panorama’s proprietary, multi-step ERP software selection process, which helps each companies find the ERP solution that best fits their budget, timeframe, industry, technological infrastructure and operational needs.

Panorama Consulting Group’s service offering includes independent ERP software selection, ERP implementation and execution, and organizational change management consulting.
For additional information on Panorama’s ERP selection services, please visit Panorama’s website at http://panorama-consulting.com/services/erp-software-selection/.

About Panorama Consulting Group

Founded in 2005, Panorama Consulting Group is a niche-consulting firm specializing in enterprise resource planning solutions for mid-market companies globally. Independent of affiliation, Panorama helps companies in ERP software selection, ERP implementation, and organizational change management to assure that each of its clients realize the full business benefits of their newly purchased ERP system. More information is available at http://www.panorama-consulting.com.

Panorama Consulting Group Promotes Natalie Gray to Director of Software Selection

Denver, Colorado – Panorama Consulting Group, an independent ERP consulting firm, today announced the promotion of Natalie Gray to Director of Software Selection. Ms. Gray will lead Panorama’s expanding software selection team.

Natalie Gray’s expertise includes fifteen years experience in information technology, management consulting, and enterprise software solutions. Her prior positions have included assignments at J.D. Edwards, now owned by Oracle, and Mincom. She attended Regis University and holds a degree in computer science with a minor in finance. She has experience with a host of ERP software packages and is well versed in business processes and operational subject matter with an emphasis on financial management, financial reporting and distribution.

“Since joining Panorama, Natalie has consistently demonstrated ERP industry leadership by adding tremendous value to our clients,” states Eric Kimberling, Panorama’s founder and president. “We are pleased to leverage Natalie’s expertise to lead our fast growth software selection team.”

Panorama Consulting Group service offering includes independent ERP software selection, ERP implementation and execution, and organizational change management consulting. The software selection team helps clients throughout the world evaluate and select a variety of enterprise solutions that includes ERP systems, customer relationship management solutions, distribution software, manufacturing software, warehouse management systems, accounting and financial management software packages.

For additional information on Panorama’s software selection and implementation services, please visit Panorama’s website at http://panorama-consulting.com/services/.

About Panorama Consulting Group

Founded in 2005, Panorama Consulting Group is a niche-consulting firm specializing in enterprise resource planning solutions for mid-market companies globally. Independent of affiliation, Panorama helps companies in ERP software selection, ERP implementation, and organizational change management to assure that each of its clients realize the full business benefits of their newly purchased ERP system. More information is available at http://www.panorama-consulting.com.

ERP Vendor Selection : Choosing Software that is Right for your Company

ERP vendor selection can be a daunting task, and one that is often not given the appropriate attention. CIOs or other executives in charge of making such major decisions often make decisions based on perception or faulty information. For example, the business media often highlights companies that experience failure implementing a specific package. However, information such as this does not necessarily reflect what is appropriate or inappropriate for your specific company.

In choosing an ERP or IT software package, executives need to make decisions based on objective and unbiased information rather than gut feel or limited information. In particular, companies should consider the following:

• Why Do you Want to Implement ERP? Unfortunately, this question is the toughest to ask once you're already on the ERP bandwagon. Many times, ERP is not going to solve your business problems. If your business strategies or key business processes are flawed, even the most advanced IT system is not going to help. Before making a decision as large as implementing a system that will cost millions and affect your entire company, it's important to have a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish by taking on this challenge. There may be more cost-effective and lower-risk options such as improving processes, redesigning your organizational structure, consolidating your global supply chain, or implementing a performance management system.
• What are your Business Requirements? Once you have decided that ERP is the route you need to take, it is important to begin by looking at your desired operational model and using that as a starting point in determining which software to implement. Executives should define and document key business requirements for any package they may select. This includes not only nice-to-haves, but also requirements that are "deal-breakers" if the software is unable to accommodate. And executives should also use ERP business requirements as an opportunity to improve current operations, efficiency, and effectiveness. The last thing a company should do is implement software to automate the same flawed business processes.
• What is your Business Case? This is where many companies fall flat. Even if you complete the first two items discussed above, it is important to understand and document what your costs will be, as well as your anticipated business benefits. This is important in gaining approval from other executives or your Board of Directors, and it is also helps ensure that you realize the potential benefits of implementing the software. All costs, including hidden costs such as internal project resources, data conversion, and lost productivity immediately following go-live, should be included in the business case and ROI calculation. And benefits should be reasonable and not overly aggressive. Ultimately, your business case should be a tool to manage business costs and benefits going forward, not just as a sales tool to justify a decision that's already been made. And if the resulting ROI does not make sense or meet minimum investment criteria for your company, then it's probably not a good idea to undertake the project.
• Who will Be Your Implementation Partner? Have you thoroughly assessed all of your options in evaluating potential external implementation teams? Software companies aren't always the best at implementing their software. You can often find third-party vendors and consultants that can implement ERP more successfully or at a lower cost.
• Do You Have Enough Resources to Commit to the Project? Even if ERP is perfect for your company and you have chosen the perfect software, things will head south very quickly if you don't have enough money or employees to dedicate to the project. It doesn't matter if you have assembled the best team of consultants and implementation partners; it's your employees that will ultimately make the project succeed.
• What's the Contingency Plan? No matter how well-run your project is, you should be prepared for failure. We've all read of the technical glitches that shut down shipping at Fortune 500 companies for weeks at a time, so it's best to acknowledge that something bad could happen. If the project does fail or if the software is not implemented correctly, what is the backup plan? Will users be able to access legacy systems? Will certain processes be performed manually until the system is up? Dramatic failures are not common, but they do happen on occasion, so companies should be prepared for the "what-ifs."

Visit our website for more information on our ERP services and expertise in ERP selection projects.