Is your building materials supplier software holding your business back instead of driving it forward? Having worked with more than a thousand builders’ merchants over the past 33 years, we know you’re not alone.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the 6 most frequent implementation challenges and the practical ways to overcome them.
One of the biggest ERP implementation challenges is securing early buy-in from your staff and stakeholders. Whether it’s fear of change, scepticism about ROI, or simply a lack of understanding, new building materials supplier software can initially be met with resistance. Stakeholders may worry about cost and disruption; staff may feel anxious about learning a new system or may be concerned about their roles changing. This is a situation that needs to be dealt with quickly, because without without full support across the business, even the best builders’ merchant software can struggle to get off the ground.
The key is to tackle these concerns head on, and to do that you’ll need to back your business case with hard facts. Demonstrate how the building materials supplier ERP will deliver tangible improvements in efficiency, productivity, and long-term growth. Involve stakeholders from the outset in the ERP selection and planning phases to give them a clear view of how the system aligns with business objectives.
It happens more often than it should: a company decides they need an ERP system, picks one that looks impressive, and then wonders why everything feels so clunky afterwards.
Before diving into features and demos, take a step back. What are your biggest pain points? Where do you want to be in five years? Choose a system that not only solves today's problems but also supports your future growth. For building materials suppliers, this means looking for software that understands trade counter sales, complex pricing, and stock control.
Equally important is getting your team on board from the start. Your staff need to know why the change is happening and how it benefits them. A clear, consistent message from leadership helps build trust and reduce resistance. When people feel included, they're more likely to support the project and spot opportunities to improve it.
Working with consultants who understand your industry can make a huge difference too. They'll help translate your day-to-day needs into system functionality, so you avoid over-engineered or underwhelming setups. Sam Herd from STS experienced this firsthand:
When your software truly fits your business, adoption is faster and ROI is higher.
One of the more underestimated ERP implementation challenges is underfunding or under-resourcing the project. It’s tempting to focus on software licensing alone, but there are other costs involved – training and consultancy for example, or hardware and hosting costs if your product isn’t cloud-native. Failing to allocate enough budget or internal resource can delay the rollout, reduce user adoption, and limit the long-term success of your system.
Start by clearly mapping out the total cost of implementation, ensuring it’s aligned to your business vision. This includes upfront software costs, ongoing support, staff training, and any new infrastructure or integrations required.
When it comes to resourcing, make sure your team has the capacity and capability to manage the project effectively. Assigning a cross-functional team, led by someone internally who really knows their stuff, can help keep the project on track. But don’t forget - these people still have day jobs. Make sure their roles are backfilled, or workloads adjusted, so implementation doesn’t stall under pressure.
A well-resourced and realistically budgeted ERP project is far more likely to stay on track, meet expectations, and deliver value.
Downtime and business continuity can stand in the way of any new software implementation. But with proper planning, clear communication, and smart resource allocation, these disruptions can be kept to a minimum.
To avoid disruption during peak periods, phased implementations are becoming increasingly popular. This approach allows businesses to go live with new systems module by module - starting with inventory management, then progressing to purchasing, sales, and eventually accounting. It gives your team time to adjust and reduces the pressure of an all-at-once switchover.
With the right implementation partner and a strategy that fits your business rhythm, you can ensure your builders’ merchants software is rolled out smoothly - without throwing your daily operations off course.
Moving data from legacy systems to your new platform requires meticulous planning and execution to maintain data integrity. For building materials suppliers, this is particularly crucial as inaccurate product information, pricing data, or customer records can lead to operational issues.
Before migration, conduct a thorough audit of your existing data, cleaning out obsolete information and standardising formats. When implementing building materials supplier software, pay special attention to product codes, unit of measure conversions, customer-specific pricing, and credit terms. For builders’ merchants handling thousands of SKUs across multiple categories, investing in thorough data migration pays off in the long run by preventing pricing errors, stock discrepancies, and delivery issues once the system goes live.
The amount of planning that goes into launching a new system is critical and directly affects its success. Training your team on your new business technology is essential and should begin from the very start of your software implementation.
Once your vendor provides a test version of your new software, relevant users must take every opportunity to identify and resolve any issues early on. To help your staff adapt easily to the new system, ensure every user can complete their tasks effortlessly without needing specialised software expertise.
Basic training before launching the system is required and included in your initial investment cost. In our experience, builders’ merchants that also invest in ongoing training after the system goes live see returns from their new system much faster.
Implementing new software doesn’t need to be a headache. By planning ahead and learning from common pitfalls, builders' merchants and suppliers can ensure their ERP system delivers long-term value.
Ready to take the next step? Our builders’ merchant software is built to help you grow faster, run more efficiently, and deliver a better customer experience.
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