Before I attempt to answer that question, indulge me for a moment while I do some research on the ever-popular Band-Aid. Here’s how I conducted my in-depth research. Step One: Opened my browser and Binged the phrase: “Who invented the Band-Aid.” Step Two: The answer popped right up on (have you guessed yet and no it wasn’t Wikipedia) eHow. The Band-Aid is an adhesive bandage that is actually a copyrighted name brand manufactured by Johnson & Johnson. The Band-Aid was invented by Earle Dickson for his wife Josephine in 1921.
Dickson observed that his wife often cut or burned her fingers while cooking. At that time, bandages were sold separately as gauze and tape, but he wanted to make it more manageable for self-application. He cut pieces of adhesive tape and set a piece of gauze in the middle, which he sterilized. The product was passed on to his employer, Johnson & Johnson, who started marketing handmade ones immediately. The first Band-Aids were not well received and did not gain prominence until 1924 when the first machine manufactured Band-Aids were made. With a publicity stunt in which the company gave free Band-Aids to Boy Scouts and sent thousands of them overseas to the soldiers during WWI, band-aids soon because a household name.
For the consumer, Band-Aids provided an easy way to cover small cuts and burns without needing the assistance of another person. The Band-Aid also helped people to continue with their tasks after they had covered the wound and would not be hindered by gauze and tape falling apart.
Going back to our original question, the one in the subject line above, the answer may have more nuances than the inventor of the Band-Aid and yet it’s pretty clear cut (pun intended). As you outgrow your old ERP system, you start to place band-aids in strategic locations. A band-aid for audit trails, and one for inventory tracking, another for improved reporting, and so on. In the end, you have a mess of band-aids some of which are sure to fall off (
Still, we work with many prospects who often say they simply couldn’t afford the time it would take to implement a new system and they also cite the learning curve required to run on a new system when their staff is so comfortable with the old one. But, they’re coming to us anyway, because…the band-aids are decomposing and falling off. I’d be foolish to suggest that there isn’t a learning curve associated with the implementation of a new system. I’d be equally foolish to suggest that there isn’t a time commitment involved in the implementation of a new system. However, when the result is a shiny new ERP solution that will likely last you for a lifetime, one that will scale with you as your business grows, one that is supported by a major leader in the software industry, namely Microsoft, I believe all of that tips the scales in favor of new versus a box of band-aids.
Many of the
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By Marcia Nita Doron, Altico Advisors, Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM Partner serving New Hampshire (NH) and beyond.
Thanks, Amiee. Glad you enjoyed this blog post.
Hi Marcia,
Great article!
Amiee
Thanks, Jordan. I appreciate your comments and look forward to reading your series on ERP: Repair or Replace. We seem to be on the same page!
Good thoughts. I especially like the band aid metaphor. I appreciate that you are being upfront about the fact that ANY ERP switch is going to be a rather painful process – but rewarding.
We’ve posted a series on this topic…
http://www.pcbennettconsulting.com/erp-repair-or-replace/
ERP: Repair or Replace