Five Process Fixes Before You Touch Your ERP

• 2 min read

2 min read

1. Shadow Systems: The ERP Killer

If your teams still rely on spreadsheets outside the ERP, you have a shadow system problem. 

This means your ERP is either: 

A. Too complex 

B. Outdated 

C. Doesn’t match real business needs 

Fix: 

• Find where teams bypass the ERP. 

• Reconfigure business workflows or rethink the system setup. 

2. Approval Bottlenecks That Slow Everything Down 

Approvals should take hours, not days. Yet in most companies, invoices, POs, and expenses get stuck in “pending” limbo for weeks. 

The real problem? Too many unnecessary approvals. 

Fix: 

• Automate rule-based approvals 

• Cut unnecessary checkpoints 

• Stop adding layers of approvals “just in case” 

3. Reporting That’s 90% Manual Work 

If your finance team spends more time pulling reports than analyzing them, your ERP is just an expensive database. 

A system should deliver insights, not create extra work.

Fix: 

• Standardize key reports & dashboards 

• If users still export data to Excel, your ERP reporting is failing 

4. Dirty Master Data = Bad Decisions at Scale 

Duplicate vendors. Incorrect GL codes. Outdated customer records. 

Unreconciled data. If your data is a mess, your ERP is useless. 

Fix: 

• Clean and structure master data before any ERP upgrade 

• A weak foundation = guaranteed failure 

5. Customizations That Spiral Out of Control 

I’ve seen companies turn ERPs into Frankenstein systems with hundreds of customizations, then wonder why they’re slow, expensive, and impossible to upgrade. 

If you’re customizing more than 20%, you’re fighting the system, not using it. 

Fix: 

• Stick to industry best practices 

• Do not touch ERP engines like inventory and accounting 

• Customize only when absolutely necessary 

Final Thought 

An ERP won’t magically fix processes. It just makes them more visible. It’s a good idea to sort out how things work first before assuming the system is the problem.  Need help with consultation? Contact us today and we can look into optimizing your system flow.