FAQ

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) focuses on managing core business operations — such as finance, supply chain, inventory, and HR — while CRM (Customer Relationship Management) manages relationships with customers, sales leads, and marketing interactions. When integrated, ERP and CRM deliver complete visibility — connecting back-office efficiency with front-office engagement for smarter, faster decision-making

ERP software centralizes and automates your business processes. It eliminates duplicate data entry, improves accuracy, and provides real-time insights into performance. For SMEs, an ERP system ensures scalable growth by aligning finance, operations, and supply chain under one digital platform — improving productivity and profitability.

ERP and CRM systems benefit a wide range of industries, including Construction & Engineering, Manufacturing, Logistics & Transportation, Professional Services, and Renewable Energy. Arvant’s experience across these industries helps deliver tailored solutions that match your operational realities.

The best ERP solution depends on your company’s size, budget, and workflow requirements. When evaluating ERP platforms, consider ease of integration, industry-specific features, cloud options, scalability, and vendor support. Arvant helps evaluate and implement ERP systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365, Odoo, and SAP — ensuring the best fit for your goals.

For small and mid-sized enterprises, cloud-based ERP platforms offer flexibility and affordability. Popular systems include Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, Odoo ERP, and SAP Business One. These systems provide modular functionality, easy customization, and lower upfront costs — ideal for growing businesses.

You may need an ERP system if you’re using multiple disconnected systems or spreadsheets, reporting is slow or inaccurate, manual processes cause delays, or your business is expanding. If any of these apply, Arvant can assess your readiness and recommend the right ERP roadmap.

Choosing the right ERP depends on your business model, size, and industry. Arvant begins with a needs assessment and process mapping to identify the best-fit platform — whether Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, or Odoo. Our team manages everything from configuration to user training for a smooth rollout.

Discovery and Planning: This first phase begins during the sales process and then continues post-sale. During this period, the project team will be created. There will be initial meetings and documentation developed as the team works to identify current issues and potential solutions. An important part of this phase is constructing the project plan, which will serve as a guide throughout the rest of the project. More detail on the Discovery and Planning phase.

Design: We’re not talking about painting the office or rearranging furniture. Instead, what will the new enterprise-wide system look like and how will it be used in the organization? In the ERP Design phase, the project team and implementation team will be working out the various configurations for the new system, defining roles, and documenting standard procedures. Read more on the Design phase.

Development: The purpose of the development phase is to prepare the entire system for going live. This includes activities such as completing any necessary customization, developing user training, and importing data. With ERP implementations like any custom software development projects – “First, Solve the problem. Then, write the code.” Get a better look at the Development phase.

Testing: Is the system’s functionality aligning with the set requirements for the project? The Testing and Development phases will often overlap, as the implementation and project teams jump between the two – constantly fine tuning the configuration. By the end of this phase, project team members will be comfortable doing their jobs in the new system. This is the final step before diving into the live system. Check out more on the Testing phase.

Deployment: The project team and implementation team will assess the situation and make the final go or no-go decision. Prior to going live, the final data will be loaded and validated. The project team will train other employees who will then start working in the new system, and completely stop using the old one. Read the article on the Deployment phase.

Ongoing Support: Once the ERP system has gone live, the purpose of the project team will shift. Over time, as the way the users work within the system evolves, adjustments and changes to the system configuration may be needed.

There are three types of professional services that are provided when implementing an ERP system, they are Consulting, Customization and Support. 

Contact Us at Arvant to provide you obligation free advice.

The main reason why ERP implementations are challenging that it changes the way a company works. Not its business processes but the way the process is carried out.

Another challenging aspect is the amount of money, effort and time involved. Any approach, from big bang to phases, there are considerable amounts of resources required to make it happen.

Then you have reluctance from the employees. They are used to the current process that they carry out today. Implementing ERP means that they will have to come out of their comfort zones and learn (make effort) a new thing aka reluctance to change.

Once a company has decided to implement ERP, then the challenging thing is to manage the implementation. Most of the times, the teams over grow and result in too much of cost and at the other times the team is not sufficient to finish the task in target time. Both cases lead to loss of money and / or time for the company.

Once the company has a optimum sized team, then the challenging thing is to manage the team, delegation of tasks, keeping sub-teams in sync etc.

If the implementation runs for a significant period of time, then attrition also poses challenges. Any new team / business personnel will take some time to come up to the speed and most certainly will have different views than existing. Managing harmony within the teams is quite challenging.

All in all, its a big step for any company, it will definitely be challenging. If the challenge is tackled efficiently, you are in for a sweet reward.