Hammer overcomes ERP 'teething issues'

Hammer boss James Ward claims it's 'business as usual' after difficulties migrating to new ERP system

Storage distributor Hammer says it has overcome "teething issues" associated with a recent ERP upgrade, claiming it is now "business as usual".

Channel chatter indicated the distributor had encountered issues with its newly installed back-office system, leading to problems processing partners' orders.

In a statement sent to CRN, Hammer's managing director James Ward (pictured) said: "We migrated to a new ERP system six weeks ago, and although there were some minor teething issues, it has been business as usual for the past four weeks."

Ward also indicated that these issues have not affected Hammer's sales in May and pointed to the recent growth of the storage player.

"We have seen great sales levels this year, and in fact have experienced over 20 per cent growth for the month of May. We are grateful to our loyal customers for their business, and we continue to strive to deliver the best customer experience and levels of satisfaction across distribution," he added.

Major ERP upgrades often cause short-term pain for distributors, with Ingram Micro's botched rollout of a new SAP system denting its profits in 2011 and Westcon encountering operating troubles following an ERP update.

Bruce Hockin, director of storage solutions at Cloud Distribution, said putting in place a new ERP system is a test for any company.

"ERP systems on that pan-European level are a challenge to implement and getting a smooth one running, that doesn't do anything wrong, is nigh on impossible, but obviously the impact can be lessened," he said.

"The larger the company you are, the more currencies you deal with across multiple countries, and the more product lines you have, how integrated that ERP system is in things like operational and HR and finance [means it's] is a big challenge."