ERP CHANGE MANAGEMENT
If you are new with this web log we request you to read preface first.
This part is continued of the previous post about how balance sheet will be affected by ERP project. As we have mentioned before you have to disseminate the messages to all of the Inventory people.
ERP Impact on Key Financial Ratios
Ration analysis provides another way to look at the impact of an ERP system. Three ratios illustrate the effect---two related to liquidity and one to operating performance.
Inventory turnover (Cost of Sales/Inventory). Low inventory turnover can indicate possible overstocking and obsolescence. It may also indicate deeper problems of too much of the wrong kind of inventory, which can create shortages of needed inventory for production and sales. High turnover indicates better liquidity and superior materials management and merchandising. Given the example $10 million company, the current number of inventory turns is 2.5. With a 20 percent inventory reduction, the number of inventory turns increases to 3.1.
Days of Receivables (365 * 1/(Sales/Receivables)). This ratio expresses the average time in days that receivables are outstanding. It is a measure of the management of credit and collections. Generally, the greater the number of days outstanding, the greater the probability of delinquencies in accounts receivable. The lower the number of days, the greater the cash availability. With an 18 percent reduction in receivables, the current day's receivable of seventy-three days can be reduced to sixty. This means $356,200 is available for other purposes.
Return on Assets (Profit Before Taxes/Total Assets). This ratio measures the effectiveness of management in employing the resources available to it. Several calculations are necessary to determine the return on assets. In this example, the return on assets can be improved from 5.9 to 12.9 by effectively implementing an ERP system.
Performance evaluation based on ratio analysis can also use comparisons between one's own company and similar firms in terms of size and industry. The Annual Statement Studies provide comparative ratios for this purpose. This use of comparative ratio analysis will use the same three ratios for inventory turnover, days receivable, and return on assets. To perform the analysis, you identify the median and upper quartile ratios for firms in the same industry. These roughly correspond to average and good performance. By comparing the ratios with your firm's current performance, you can calculate how much better your company should be performing to be competitive. The same analysis can be performed using the “BenchmarkReport.com” website.
Using the inventory turns ratio for the example $10 million manufacturer, assume the Annual Statement Studies indicate that the median and upper quartile are four and six turns for other firms in the same industry. Average performance of four inventory turns translates into an expected inventory of $1.875 million ($7.5 million divided by four). If the example firm had this ratio, it would have had $1.125 million less in inventory. With inventory carrying costs at 25 percent, this would produce savings of $281,250 each year.
For the days receivable ratio, assume the Annual Statement Studies indicate that sixty and fifty days are the median and upper quartile. The days receivable in the example $10 million manufacturer is currently seventy-three days; an improvement to sixty days would reduce receivables by $356,200 (using a daily sales rate of $27,400 and a thirteen day reduction). This means that cash is available for other purposes.
Note that the return on assets ratio is 5.9 for the example company. Assuming the Annual Statement Studies indicate the return on assets is ten and fifteen for firms in the same industry at the median and upper quartiles, improving the return on assets to equivalent levels would mean increased profits or asset turnover.
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