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Migrating to cloud based erp solution
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Migration from On-Premise to Cloud based ERP System
Migration from On-Premise to Cloud based ERP System 700 500 Xcelpros Team

Introduction

If you are dealing with a legacy ERP system that is slowing down your business productivity or limits your ability to grow, its time to start planning the changeover to a new system. Moreover, if you are struggling to get a grip over the exceeding maintenance cost, it’s no longer an option then, rather an absolute must have to upgrade your legacy system to a cloud-based ERP. Upgrading an ERP system is a critical business decision and involves in-depth research and planning. A scalable cloud-based ERP solution capable of managing a comprehensive set of business functions is what you need.

76%

of enterprises have a formal cloud strategy and 74% of organizations will increase cloud spending to over 20% by 2020.

Source: Per a prediction by Forrester and IDC

2020 has come and gone, with higher cloud adoption than expected. Many companies were struggling to adjust to the new normal with their archaic tools. Companies that transformed prior to the pandemic found it comparatively simpler to work remotely and still keep productivity up, in some cases productivity of a company has gone higher than expected due to remote work. If you take a look at the marketplace of today’s business, it’s a data-driven environment. Any decisions business leaders take based on numbers and insights to get the best results.

If you are operating on legacy systems, your business landscape is not up-to-date to provide real-time analytics or meet a modern business’s requirements. To enable a data-driven organization, you need to revamp your system.

The result is innumerable complexities in business operations such as gaps due to handling multiple databases, duplicate manual data entry, broken data flow between departments, missed deadlines, etc. On-premise ERP systems require a series of hardware updates that make the total cost of ownership (TCO) even higher. Security concerns, regulatory compliance, policy necessities add to the complexities.

60%or more companies still use outdated ERP systems, per Microsoft survey.

59% of respondents expressed they will prefer an upgrade to cloud-based ERP in their next implementation, per the Microsoft survey.

80%of organizations are allocating budget for cloud projects. However, more than half are burdened with legacy systems and lack in-house expertise, per IBM

The journey from ERP 1.0 to ERP 2.0

The evolution of ERP happened over a long period of time. It has taken organizations decades to reach the current shape of ERP. The root of modern ERP lies in older production management models like EOQ (economic order quantity) and MRP (materials requirements planning). After years of relying on old inventory management procedures, the manufacturing industry gets its upgrade, MRP II, a software solution enabling computing power to manage different business aspects. Further scrutinizing the broadened scope of MRP II, Gartner coins the term ERP. Later addressing the key market shifts, Gartner calls the software ERP II, a solution capable of tracking real-time, web-based data.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers Tier 2 ERP solution that offers superior functionality in minimum complexities and cost. It makes the upgrade and integration easier to the latest technologies and provides a transformative experience.

A switch from ERP 1.0 to 2.0 opens innovation areas by increasing your current IT landscape’s flexibility. Also, cloud migrated mainframes produce an approximate 47 percent lower cost of operations spread across five years than on-premise mainframe platforms.

A popular Cisco survey in 2017 showed that 83% of the best performing US businesses planned an effective SaaS strategy and have started collaborating with cloud vendors. Cisco’s Global Cloud Index for the period 2013-2018 showed that 59% of all cloud workflows would be delivered as SaaS by the end of the year. Moreover, Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) will decline to 28% compared to 44% in 2013, and that only 13% of workloads will be delivered as Platform-as-a-Service(PaaS).

A survey report of Harvard Business Review Analytic Services reveals that 36% of 560 marketing professionals reported legacy systems to be one of the biggest roadblocks in implementing real-time analytics.

Legacy systems may offer you a high horsepower and set customer experiences, but upgrading to new software to keep up with the technological and generational growth is essential for ensuring better performance.

Regardless of the advantages of staying in your comfort zone and managing business processes with your legacy ERP system, these factors drive you to switch from legacy to cloud –

1.Operational inefficiencies:When your business expands, migrating to the cloud is an effective solution to keep track of all the real-time data and increase collaboration across your company’s different departments. Clinging to legacy software during business expansion decreases benefits of cloud ERP systems.

2.Growth of business:Growth of a firm often refers to the global expansion, reporting and compliance requirements and expansion of financial services. New opportunities like market growth, acquisitions and disinvestments require stabilized systems with smooth processes to be in place. As mentioned above, streamlining various departmental functions that deal with them for development and growth requires an agile cloud-based platform.

3.Technological Transformation:Unlike the expectations from previously used legacy systems, today’s users demand collaboration and ease. Companies expect essential operational functions like real-time analytics with customized dashboards, social collaboration with increased mobile access, and quick updates. This is easily achieved using cloud ERP systems.

Legacy to Cloud – Data migration challenges

Many companies operate on home-grown legacy systems, comprising both hardware and software. These systems were the foundation of working business systems and managers might hesitate to switch to other alternatives without a transformation plan. Though it is tough to make ERP implementation decisions, every business needs to upgrade to stay ahead of competitors. Some of the fears are also related to Data migration.

Per a report by Bloor Research, 31% of cloud data migration projects fail. Following are a few hurdles faced by organizations today, resulting in migration failure.

  • Insufficient knowledge of source data – A knowledge gap leads to problems such as lack of source knowledge, duplicates, missing information and erroneous data. This gives users a false perspective of data in the new system resulting in an incorrect design. Bad data leads to problems, and companies blame the new system until they figure out what the real issue is. It is essential to understand what information is a business need vs. a system constraint. Such situations make it essential for you to understand the source of data.
  • Unstructured processes – The process of data migration involves disparate technologies used by disparate people. Manual data migration increases human errors resulting in inaccurate, incomplete and outdated information. The outcome of such errors is the lack of technologies and resources to correct data. It is essential to perform an advanced analysis while planning and designing to help you recover these hidden errors.
  • Failure in implementation validation – Ineffective testing during the initial stage of deployment and lack of knowledge about the data sources results in its implementation failures. Running a few tests using the full volume of the data helps estimate the worst-case scenario missed using conveniently available data.
  • Late final result evaluation – This issue usually occurs at the testing stage, where users see only the final data compiled into the system at the end of design and development. Problems like data incompatibility with the new ERP system arise at this stage, which can be avoided with effective testing during the migration process saving the company time, money and delayed data migration time. Users can get involved in the evolving test cases to show them data output’s actual prototypes.
  • Lack of full usage of expertise – Most companies do not use the right expertise. They face issues in decoding large codes, obtaining access to these codes and other functional challenges. Introducing such experts to your project helps make sense of the disparate data for effective data migration techniques.

Figure: 1Benefits of moving ERP to the cloud

Benefits of moving ERP to the cloud

The bigger question – What does the cloud have to offer?

Even though migrating to the cloud might look like a hefty expense, it saves you from the troubles of operational inefficiency, effective demand forecasting, poor customer service and reduced ROI.

A few characteristics and advantages of a new and advanced cloud-based ERP would be –

  • Improved ERP Performance – The switch from on-premise to the cloud helps free up computational power and resources that are essentially necessary while deploying an effective ERP solution. This is one of the most significant advantages offered by the cloud, which eliminates any infrastructural costs, helping smaller businesses flourish and the only necessity is a well-established internet system.Microsoft Azure offers you a flexible cloud platform that quickly adapts to your business’s needs and requirements. It is simple to adjust and provides a host of building blocks that allow you to customize the cloud according to yourself.
  • Reduced Operational Costs – An on-premise ERP software requires a workforce to maintain it. The additional costs on human resources and the ERP software cost can increase operational costs for the firm. Using cloud ERP software gives you benefits like a monthly subscription tailored to the customer’s needs at a low outlay cost. As the implementation costs are much lower, the overall operational costs also reduce.
    The cloud’s added benefit is that it provides a common platform for developing various solutions, negating the developing time for constructing programs from scratch. The aforementioned helps in the allocation of resources for other activities that add a higher business value.Due to its large customer base, Microsoft offers a large volume of discounts to their customers. Azure usually works as a pay-as-you-go model, reducing the input costs for smaller companies. Larger enterprises who sign contracts are offered a more considerable discount as well.
  • Higher Security – The input and output of the ERP systems’ data is generally confidential and requires a well-established and secure maintenance system. Cloud ERP offers superior quality security systems that ensure that the information is effectively protected and encrypted. The user access to such data helps in the effective correction in the areas needed.Microsoft Azure offers you a multi-layered security system helping you detect threats earlier with unique intelligence.
  • Real-Time Analytics – Contemporary software-based solutions make it necessary for industry models to offer real-time data for the process optimization and business intelligence based on which decisions can be made. Cloud ERP software comprises API links to the platform, helping users scale reporting and analytical needs. The instant access to the data on the cloud makes information readily available, which benefits industries like manufacturing, where real-time data tracking helps in process optimization.
  • Enhanced UAT and API testing – An effective User Acceptance Testing and API beta testing has become a more common approach. In opposition to testing in isolation in an engineering setting, UAT and API methodology are more conducive to finding and more responsive to real-world problems.

Figure: 2 Variety of functions offered on the cloud

Variety of functions offered on the cloud

Cloud for ROI

The two main components of calculating ROI for an ERP software are –

  • required investment and savings
  • efficiencies & goodwill

The calculation of ROI for the software does not have a predetermined methodology as the software brings a variety of intangible values with itself. The benefits are primarily in reducing operation cost, optimizing inventory levels, labor cost and improved production.

The ROI is often masked in reductions of operational costs of running the company using transparency in the organization and the activities taking place in it. The benefits can also be reduced administrative costs by reduced paperwork and time information exchange using real-time data tracking. Inventory costs are reduced by optimizing material stock and by tracking the inventory health in turn increasing the ROI of the software.

Azure is the only major cloud platform ranked by Gartner as an industry leader for both infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS).

What does Azure have to offer to you?

As per a Forbes study, enterprise adoption of Microsoft Azure increased significantly from 43% to 58% in 2018, attaining a 35% CAGR.

Raising cloud ERP adoption rates by such a high margin shows the increasing popularity of the software gained from features like increasing flexibility. Azure adopts and adapts other operating systems’ standards and embraces competing for software platforms to ensure it stays relevant to as many people and companies as possible.

Here are a few advantages of Azure –

  • Widespread customer support as Microsoft spreads over 19 regions across the globe and offers support plans in a variety of languages.
  • Offers a hybrid environment that helps you gain benefits from both on-premise and cloud software solutions without any added cost burdens.
  • Visual studio online and application insights helping in developer collaboration and increased options.
  • Offers you virtual systems like Linux and Windows servers, increasing your ability to run virtual machines.
  • Ability to scale on demand
  • Reliable back-ups in case of data loss
  • “Set it and forget it” scheduling
  • Increased automation
  • Reliable data storage and increased security

Figure: 3Cloud benefits to your business

Cloud benefits to your business

Key Takeaways

  • In most organizations, legacy systems are still hovering around because the cost of refurbishing them is too high till they are in working condition and the management sees this as business overhead. On the other hand, the IT department sees it as a can of worms. Due to reeling communication, responsibility and financial problems, the organization are unwilling and initiate this migration.
  • The best thing the organizations can do in such a case is to hire an external vendor or an SME who can assess the situation and make this difficult decision and formulate a pragmatic approach to convince the stakeholders else they will pay for the opportunity cost of losing.
  • Finally, we can’t undermine having a proper cloud alliance that can help the organizations lift-and-shift their legacy systems to the cloud and reinvent these systems’ performance and makes all stakeholders see ERP cloud migration’s long-term gains.

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How Managing Hazardous Chemical Information Solves EHS Challenges
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How Managing Hazardous Chemical Information solves the EHS Challenges
How Managing Hazardous Chemical Information solves the EHS Challenges 700 500 Xcelpros Team

At a Glance

  • Hazardous Chemicals have harmful effects on the environment and people, and it becomes the company’s responsibility to manage the hazards appropriately.
  • With strong risk assessment in place, adhering to best practices, and complying with regulatory norms, companies can potentially reduce the chemical hazards.
  • An information system that holds chemical data helps companies comply with regulatory standards such as OSHA, GHS, etc., to reduce risk and improve safety standards.
  • Safety Data Sheets and Label management systems help chemical companies manage hazard information and safely label hazardous chemicals.

Hazardous Chemicals Are Everywhere

Chemicals are found everywhere around us in almost every consumer product, from household electronic appliances such as televisions, refrigerators, and personal computers to home goods like furniture, carpets, cleaning supplies, and more. We use chemicals to purify our drinking water, increase crop production and simplify everyday household chores.

As beneficial as chemicals are, many chemicals are hazardous and need to be managed safely or can pose a serious threat to human life and the environment. Very few industries and trades in the world are absolved from chemical exposure. Accidents with chemicals can occur during production, storage, transportation use, or even disposal. Your organization and our community are at risk if chemicals are used unsafely or released into the environment where we live, work and play. Hazardous chemicals can lead to serious injury, long-lasting health effects, property damage and, in worse cases, death.

A report from the American Chemistry Council (ACC) stated that more than 96% of all manufacturing companies utilize chemical substances to develop their products.

There are reports of chemical-related accidents in organizations where it was least expected, such as the food industry.

  • Per a 2014 ABC News report a restaurant in Utah, where a woman mistakenly served a tea tainted with Lye. An employee mistook an unlabeled powdered degreaser – containing sodium hydroxide, or lye – for sugar. This degreaser was then accidentally mixed into a cup of tea, causing extreme burns to the customer’s throat and mouth. This led to expensive penalties, lawsuits, and medical bills, as well as severe damage to the business’s reputation.
  • Another such incident occurred when customers of a significant ice-cream chain were accidentally served vanilla shakes tainted with a hazardous cleaning chemical. This happened when an employee unknowingly used what was thought to be a clean mixing container. The container contained traces of a degreaser which had not been adequately cleaned, leading to extreme burns to the customer’s throats and mouths. Again, this led to expensive penalties, lawsuits, medical bills and severe damage to the business’s reputation.

Both incidents above could have been avoided with proper labeling and handling practices in place.

Figure: 1Some points to consider when you are a chemical company

Some points to consider when you are a chemical company

The impact that improper handling of hazardous chemicals have on your company can be severe – causing irreparable damage to your reputation, large penalties, being shut down, or worse, endangering human life. It is these dangers and the growing list of hazardous chemical regulations from agencies like OSHA, GHS, etc. that are driving companies to take corrective measures in identifying and eliminating these hazardous chemicals, which pose a threat to your organization, employees, customers and all other stakeholders involved.

Eliminating hazardous chemicals from common and business use is a significant challenge, and it cannot happen overnight.

  • In 2014, Adidas declared plans to eliminate the utilization of long-chain perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), a chemical type known to cause asthma and osteoarthritis in children and women. Once developed, this took two years to implement successfully.
  • In 2014, the national superstore chain Walmart initiated a policy in which it became mandatory for suppliers to phase out certain hazardous chemicals found in cosmetics, household cleaners etc. This was not a fast transition. They wouldn’t even begin to report publicly on the progress until 2016.
  • Apple eliminated using two particularly toxic chemicals, benzene and n-hexane, from its manufacturing assembly process when pressured during a campaign by Green America and China Labor Watch (CLW). The company ordered detailed testing of substances at the ingredient level to ensure the two toxins are rooted out from the facilities, as reported by Global Manufacturing.

These examples highlight one aspect of the challenges involved in successfully removing hazardous chemicals from your organization. It may not even be possible. So, if eliminating hazardous chemicals is not possible, they should be managed better to minimize or prevent chemical-related accidents.

Managing chemical footprint is not just an OSHA compliance but more a civic duty

On August 6, 2014, in a leading copper-producing company suffered a tank leakage of of copper sulphate acid contaminating two rivers and turning them orange and extremely toxic leaving more than 24,000 people to survive without water.

As a consequence, the company had to bear huge penalties and clean-up costs as well as criminal charges filed by the Mexican Government.

In recent times, this incident was a wake-up call for companies regarding the global concern chemicals have on employees, public and environmental health & safety. It also was one of the driving forces behind more stringent legislation on the use of chemicals.

Best Practices & Ways to remain compliant

Regulatory Compliance is something that cannot be forgotten, as non-compliance attracts unwanted attention from regulatory agencies – often followed by large penalties as well as a threat to your business’s licenses.

In the US in 2017, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) increased the severity of penalties by 80% and imposed heavy fines ranging from $7,000 up to $12,000 for noncompliance to GHS through 2016-17. For serious violations, the penalties could be as high as $70,000 to $127,000.

Organizations can avoid such fines, unwanted attention from regulatory agencies, and better manage the use of hazardous chemicals to remain compliant are as follows:

  • Adhering to regulatory norms and best practices – conducting risk assessments & safety audits for environmental hazards – offering ongoing safety training, reduces humans’ exposure to hazardous chemicals.
  • Companies should comply with the global rules, standards, policies and procedures for environmental, health and chemical safety in the workplace. They need to operate environmentally safe facilities and manufacture safe products.
  • Smart SDS Management and Labeling applications are designed with managing the impact of hazardous chemicals. This helps your organization’s compliance with hazardous chemical regulations defined by agencies like OSHA, REACH, GHS, FDA, etc.
  • Chemical manufacturers need to ensure their products are correctly labeled according to GHS standards.
  • They should also strive to remain compliant with all other regulatory policies, industry standards, and government policies to ensure safety management.
  • Periodic testing should be performed to ensure that chemicals will not cause harm public health, and if they do, they should be either re-formulated or correctly labeled.

Integrated Technology to manage chemical data

Having the right technology in place can simplify everything we do. Thankfully, most of the issues we mentioned can be taken care of with the help of applications that house chemical information designed to efficiently help chemical companies meet regulatory obligations for compliance and safety.

Figure: 2The GHS process for companies carrying harmful chemicals

The GHS process for companies carrying harmful chemicals

What is a Chemical Management system and how does it help Chemical Companies with compliance?

A Chemical Management system – integrated within an ERP like Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform – helps chemical companies with their SDS Management, Label Management and DEA controls in-line with transactions within the operational ERP system. An ideal solution can help with the following:

Regulatory Compliance

  • Helps chemical companies comply with regulatory standards and government policies such as OSHA, REACH, FDA, HIPAA, LCSA, DEA to reduce risks and improve safety.

Key Product Functions

  • Offers SDS Management, Label Management (incl. Private Labels) & DEA Management in one application.

Label Printing

  • An included Label Management function enables chemical companies to automatically print OSHA chemical labels according to the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) labeling standards. These labels can be embedded within the workflow of key operational transactions such as Production Orders, eliminating the need for manual intervention.

SDS Management

  • A SDS Management & Authoring system allows companies to maintain Safety Data Sheets (SDS).
  • Infrastructure to maintain all 16 sections of the safety data sheet – by country, language, major and minor versions.
  • Note that while an application provides the technology, workflows, and infrastructure to maintain chemical data and information, it is essential to verify the information and approve the information before generating the safety data sheet.

Key Takeaways

  • Chemical companies must accurately label chemicals in adherence to regulatory standards related to the storage, transportation, handling and disposal of hazardous materials and waste.
  • Ongoing training and proper labeling ensure chemical health and safety for the consumers and the companies handling hazardous chemicals.
  • Utilizing the right technology reduces input needed when generating labels and helps streamline the processes to ensure your organization remains compliant year after year.

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5 strategies to save big on pharmaceutical r and d costs by going digital banner
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5 Digital Strategies to Save Big on Pharmaceutical R&D Costs
5 Digital Strategies to Save Big on Pharmaceutical R&D Costs 700 500 Xcelpros Team

At a Glance

  • Pharmaceutical research and development is steadily going on the path of digitization and the companies that can leverage this digital transformation will be ahead in the curve.
  • R&D digital transformation is not a goal; instead, it is a journey wherein companies would need to strategize their moves for an effective result in terms of cost reduction and manage quality criteria of the medicine.
  • R&D constitutes a significant portion of pharmaceutical expenses and by automating, optimizing, and expediting processes through digital technology, pharma companies can turn the corner and get better outcomes of the research.

The pharmaceutical industry relies on R&D and clinical research for drug development and efficacy testing. The core of pharma operations lies in the research that goes behind formulating, testing, developing and researching a drug. That’s the reason that the R&D costs in the pharmaceutical industry are in the higher stratum. Companies, both large and small, are searching for one answer- how to reduce cost in the pharma industry? Many experts believe that they need to start with R&D digital transformation in pharma companies. This will not only effectively cut down the excess costs but will also save time and labor.

While going digital is inevitable, many pharmaceutical companies are not yet fully equipped to undergo this change. Even today’s clinical trials have changed, and the pharmaceutical industry needs to cater to this rather personalized, targeted healthcare system. By adopting digital tools and artificial intelligence for faster and more accurate R&D, Pharmaceutical companies can achieve much-needed improvement in tracking test results and performing trending and analysis. Digitized systems also help save pharmaceutical research and development costs by reducing the human effort and error rate in extrapolating the data to adjust ingredients better while producing samples.

According to Investopedia, pharmaceutical companies spend, on average, 17% of revenues on research and development (R&D), making it one of the biggest spenders in this area.

So it is essential to look at some of the ways pharmaceutical and life sciences companies can leverage the latest digital tools and technologies to minimize expenses and maximize R&D efficiency.

5 Digital Strategies for Pharmaceutical Research and Development

1.Leveraging Artificial Intelligence for Identifying Drug Molecule:Identifying a drug molecule for a particular ailment and synthesizing it can take years of research and trials in the lab. However, scientists can run data through systems and identify the potential molecule/s and their plausible effective dosage within a short time with artificial intelligence. AI tools can also help devise the chemical formula and method of synthesis for these molecules to be synthesized entirely from scratch in a laboratory under controlled settings.

2.Using Predictive Analytics for Drug Discovery and Development:Like AI tools, predictive analytics software can be a boon for scientists looking to cut down pharmaceutical expenses and improve their outcomes. With predictive analysis, scientists get to know how a particular molecule or combination of different ones behave in the drug, how long they will take to be effective, and what percentage of ingredients will impact the drug’s potency and life. This will help in deciding drug dosage, its schedule and efficacy.

3.Streamlining Drug’s Regulatory Timeline:Pharmaceutical R&D works in close collaboration with the regulatory bodies to get the drug formulations approved. This involves much paperwork, which calls for time and effort. Digitization can easily create efficient methods of running operations without compromising regulatory requirements. Automated workflows will avoid slowing down your progress and expedite your ability to go to market.

Figure 1:Pharma R&D: Digital Transformation Elements

Pharma R&D: Digital Transformation Elements

4.More Efficient Selection of Volunteers/ Patients for Clinical Trials:The current Covid-19 pandemic has seen clinical trials at a break-neck speed and a large scale across various countries globally. Such speed and scale would not have been possible without leveraging digital technologies to select the most appropriate candidates for the trials. Digital databases can also analyze and prepare best-matched trial samples of the patients to represent diverse age-groups, ethnicities and even people from various socio-economic backgrounds. Such a varied and well-matched selection can yield better and more all-encompassing results.

5.Bridging the gap between pharmaceutical R&D and academia:R&D and academia go hand-in-hand. However, the lack of correct avenues has created a gap between these two research bodies. This data (non-confidential) can easily be made available to academic institutes and even research organizations for further insights and value generation with digitization.

Apart from these strategies, pharmaceutical companies can also leverage digital technologies to streamline their supply chain and optimize operations to effectively support their R&D. The R&D digital transformation journey is not an easy one as it has many challenges and setbacks. However, pharma companies must keep in mind that the long-term benefits of digitization strategies are plenty. With the right roadmap, pharmaceutical R&D can become less resource/ revenue-intensive yet more effective in terms of outcomes.

Key Takeaways

  • While pharmaceutical companies are keen on applying digital technologies, there needs to be a strategy in place for effective implementation as per the companies’ customized requirements.
  • Pharma executives and decision-makers will need to look at digitization as an ongoing journey and prepare themselves for internal resistance, technical challenges and more.
  • Going digital is indeed the need of the hour, and pharma companies need to strategize their R&D infrastructure accordingly.

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