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Shabra
Plastics & Packaging
7 . Lessons Learnt
Rita Shah learnt a number of lessons during Shabra’s eBusiness project:
- Putting
an eBusiness system in place is a must – In the future, eBusiness
will be a vitally important tool for increasing efficiency and revenues
for organisations.
- Shop
around for a vendor – Two of the vendors asked to quote came
back with outrageous quotes. They were seeing what they could get away,
didn’t really seem to want to do business and were only interested
in very large, lucrative contracts. The only way to get a fair price
is to shop around and take advice from others in the same position.
- Be
involved – Rita Shah was involved in the project from day one.
Not only did this give her an understanding of what was required but
it also brought her closer to the company.
- Undertake
research – Shah visited Musgraves and other clients and, based
on this research, was able to make a better informed decision on what
was required in Shabra.
- Ensure
the software is easy to use – It is vitally important to implement
software that is easy to use. If it’s too complex it just won’t
work “Don’t overcomplicate the solution just because the package
chosen has a lot of functionality”, commented Shah.
- Make
sure the system is future-proof – There are many questions
an organisation should ask themselves when considering a software package.
Will the system still suit the needs of the company in five years time?
Can it be upgraded? Is the vendor likely to be around to provide support?
When spending budget on a project like this, an organisation needs to
be sure that they will get the maximum benefit from it.
8
. Future Plans
Like many of the companies that took part in the eBusiness
Acceleration Fund programme, Shabra’s system development
is ongoing. Specifically in the future, the company
wants to roll out an online system to its wider customer
base, thus giving them some of the functionality organisations
like Musgraves are getting with EDI.
This is likely to happen once the company has moved
to new premises in Castleblaney and can accommodate
a dedicated eBusiness team.
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