<!––>It could be the name that does it. After all, shouldn’t software with the word ‘planning’ in it actually help you plan?

In the case of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, that simply doesn’t happen.

ERP systems excel at tracking data as it flows through your organization, and providing immediate access to accurate information. They’re great at alerting you with exception reports when things don’t go according to plan. But they have significant limitations as planning tools.

To prove this to yourself, consider the following scenario. Imagine you could equip your planners with certain key capabilities that enabled them to respond effectively to disruptions. What would those capabilities be?

At the very least, you’d want your planners to have:

• Immediate insight into all the consequences of a disruption
• Suggestions that helped them respond optimally

An ERP system provides neither. It delivers the bad news, but provides little help in responding intelligently.

Then there’s the challenge of quoting a delivery date when a customer calls with an order. Quoting an accurate delivery date involves planning material and capacity simultaneously, while considering everything that affects your ability to deliver the order on time.

And that’s just the beginning.

Safeguarding the promised date, while still achieving other key business goals, requires even more planning and re-planning.

At the very least, planners need:

• Access to automatically generated plans that optimize KPIs and minimize violations of business rules and constraints
• Immediate KPI-based feedback on the quality of decisions – even before they are implemented
• Visibility into all the consequences of a disruption, and insights into minimizing its impact

Trying to plan with an ERP system is like trying to drive with your eyes glued to your rear view mirror. Crashes, in the form of missed delivery dates, are almost inevitable.

To find out more about complementing ERP with intelligent planning, download your free briefing ‘Is an ERP system always enough?’