Seeking an ERP system for companies involved in the planning and installation of photovoltaic and wind power systems

We advise companies and are seeking a Mac-based ERP system for a client in the field of planning and installation of photovoltaic and wind power systems.

1. Objectives of the Software Implementation

1.1 Reasons for implementing new software

Currently, planning documents, product data, and business processes are managed using MS Excel and MS Word. Customer support and communication are handled via the CRM solution. This creates unnecessary effort, leads to errors, and does not provide end-to-end capabilities for monitoring core processes (projects).

1.2 Brief description of the project and planning

• Delivery of suitable ERP software
• Customization
• Implementation
• Data migration
• Training
• Commissioning

1.3 Goals pursued or expected with the introduction of the new IT system

• Freeing up blocked resources
• Significant reduction in errors
• Professionalization of marketing and sales

1.4 Rough timeline

• Planned start immediately after contract award
• Expected completion March 30, 2018

2. Description of the current state

2.1 Description of the IT landscape into which the new system is to be integrated. List of planned changes.

• Networks: Yes
• Operating systems: Mac, Windows
• Interfaces: Manual
• Year of acquisition of existing IT systems: 2015

2.2 Affected business processes: Description of the business processes affected by the IT implementation.

Project Planning and Project Execution

• Quotes
• Technical Concept (Excel)
• Project Cost Estimation and Post-Analysis
• Incoming Orders
• Order Confirmation
• Purchasing
• Utility Company Registrations
• Tradesperson Time Tracking
• Overview of Ongoing and Completed Projects
• Invoices
• Scheduling
• OPs: Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable
• Inventory
• Complaint Handling
• Customer Information (CRM): No interface to business processes
• Customer and Business Process Communication (CRM)

Customer Management

• Telephone Sales
• Customer Visits, On-Site Appointments

Supplier Management

• Framework Agreements
• Order Processing

Management

• Lists and charts: Monthly/annual sales
• Lists and charts: Product sales
• Planning
• Plan-actual comparisons

2.3 Processes

Description of the organization of workflows that the new IT system is intended to support. List of sequential activities and the flow of information.

Merchandise management:

• Quotation creation
• Delivery
• Purchasing
• Installation
• Invoicing
• Accounts receivable management
• Posting of incoming payments and collections
• Scheduling / Purchasing
• Complaint handling
• Annual planning

CRM

• Customer master data (incl. industries, customer groups, organizational assignment)
• Project tracking
• Appointment tracking
• Complaint tracking
• Contact notes, reporting, emails, follow-ups, etc.
• Marketing campaigns
• Customer-specific campaigns
• Sales controlling:
• Order backlog
• Revenue: current, previous year, time series, plan, etc.
• Revenue trends: by customer, by customer group, total
• Revenue trends: by product, by product group, total
• Price trends: by product, by product group, total
• ABC analyses
• Customer structure analysis
• Order costing

Operational accounting

• Employee time accounts

3. Requirements for the system to be implemented

3.1 Target group / Users List of target groups (internal / external) or users of the new system

• Internal target group
• Management
• Technical management
• Marketing/Sales
• Purchasing
• Installation management
• External target group - Installation team

3.2 Functions of the new system. Description of the system’s core functionalities that should be available to employees responsible for performing specialized tasks

Core functions:

• All project phases
• Resource management
• CRM
• Email communication and management of communication channels (phone, fax), newsletters
• Management Information System (MIS)
• Traceability
• Compliance with ISO 9001:2015
• DATEV compatibility
• Barcode scanning

3.3 Data in the new system

List of information and data to be stored. Description of the scope and types of data

Master data:

• Customers
• Items (Sales)
• Suppliers
• Items (Purchasing)
• Prices (sales)
• Prices (purchasing)

Transaction data:

• Quotes
• Inventory (sales)
• Outgoing invoices
• Incoming orders
• Purchase orders
• Open items (accounts receivable)
• Open items (accounts payable)
• Complaints
• Customer communication
• Supplier communication

3.4 Outputs

List of information that the software should provide. Description of the target group (to whom?), the format (electronic, paper, etc.), and the frequency (how often?). Specification of additional requirements for flexible information retrieval (e.g., database queries as needed?).

• Target audience: see 3.1
• Format: electronic
• Frequency: see 3.3
• Requirements: industry-specific

3.5 Required interfaces to other programs. Specification of other applications with which the new software must exchange data (name, format, frequency, volume).

• Telephone system

3.6 Compatibility with the existing CRM system

3.7 Requirements for implementation, training, and documentation. Expectations and requirements regarding the provider’s services

• Customer-oriented project management
• User-friendly training materials
• User-friendly documentation
• HelpDesk
• User manual

General conditions for the proposal:

• Proposals due by November 1, 2017
• Contract award by January 2018
• Providing references is strongly encouraged

Approximately five users are expected to work with the system simultaneously.