Your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is essential for your business. These systems provide an integrated view of core business operations, such as cash flow, orders and purchasing, payroll, HR, and more. More importantly, ERP systems allow healthcare systems to understand their finances and allow them to link supply-chain to revenue. After years of neglect, ERP systems are coming to the forefront of healthcare organization’s strategic plans and with that, the realization that their current system is antiquated and costing more money than saving. You have two options: Upgrade your ERP system or replace it.

1. Costs are too high: The most obvious reason why an older system should be replaced is that the costs to operate are too high. Older systems are expensive to operate, especially if the vendor no longer supports the version that is installed. If your hardware is antiquated, then it is increasingly unreliable, and the maintenance costs are high. If incrementally increasing maintenance fees and limited-user license fees are adding up as the team’s headcount grows, you may be dealing with an ERP system that doesn’t scale well. ERP should support and streamline your team’s growth, not hinder it or generate more work.
2. Productivity: With a modern ERP system, there is new functionality that your older system probably lacks, it is faster, more flexible, and could even be in the cloud. If you use built-in best practices, your organization can enjoy a significant productivity boost without much effort.
3. Maintain the Bottom Line: In healthcare, everything comes down to dollars and cents. Financial leaders love to hear about how efficient your staff is. Why? It usually means a cost reduction as well as a potential decrease in the amount of time and labor needed to complete tasks. When deciding to upgrade your ERP system or keeping your existing one, your organization can make a cost-based decision that best aligns with budget and strategy.
4. Availability and Security: Everyday, hackers advance their abilities to hack your systems illegally. The older the technology, the more susceptible it is to security risks. As an organization, you need to be aware of what security risks you face:
   • Outdated, unsupported software can lead to crashes and integration issues
   • Insufficient reporting capability can lead to external reporting and a loss of data control
   • Delayed updates can lead to software vulnerabilities
   • Lack of compliance with security standards

An ERP system should enable efficiency and effective operations of your healthcare organization as well as accurately track supplies and provide clear insight into the financial management of the organization. If small inefficiencies are adding up, the hidden costs of an out-of-date ERP system become evident. Do you understand the ERP Lifecycle?

In the modern workforce, your employees may be mobile and need to access real-time information remotely. If your employees cannot access the system remotely or they have to dig for up-to-date information, then critical decision-making will be slowed. Healthcare organizations need business intelligence capabilities to know what areas of the hospital are doing well and which aren’t – and how to fix any issues as quickly as possible.

If any of the above applies to your organization, it’s time to update your ERP system. Having accurate, timely, and useful information is imperative to the financial health of your organization.