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ERP Challenges & Opportunities for
Start-ups

erp-start-up-company

Discover how start-ups in the DACH region can gain agility, speed and compliance without sacrificing scale. Dreher Consulting helps founders turn early challenges into measurable business outcomes.

Identify Your ERP Success Factors
"It's often more difficult for start-ups to find the right ERP solution and then implement it due to such company's having a strong growth mindset." - Dr. Harald Dreher.
The Industry

Start-Ups have different needs and problems than more established companies.

Start-Ups have different requirements and needs when looking for an ERP solution compared to long-standing, more established companies.

The implementation time for a new ERP solution can often be shorter for Start-Ups, however greater emphasis should be placed to ensure the right solution can scale with the anticipated growth and development of the company.   Additionally, supporting programmes are often more diverse and used as individual solutions rather than as part of a larger IT landscape.

Analyse Your Growth Pain Points

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Why digitalisation is not software. It is the future of your company.

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Common challenges for Start-up Companies

Special requirements are placed on an ERP system:

Your Challenges
  • Balancing current and future requirements
  • Speed of implementation
  • Scalability for the future 
Dreher Solutions
ERP Implementation (1) ERP Selection: Ensures a scalable and adaptable ERP choice that aligns with both current needs and future growth.
Process Optimisation ERP Project Management: Overseas a streamlined implementation process, prioritising speed without sacrificing quality.
It Strategy Consulting Process Optimisation & Management: Establishes adaptable, efficient workflows that can evolve as future needs become clearer.
Process Mapping IT Strategy Consulting: Develops forward-thinking strategies, incorporating scenario planning to anticipate and address future challenges.
Your Challenges
  • Managing device registration and UDI/EUDAMED data
  • FDA and GDPR data compliance
  • Cybersecurity threats and consistent data flow
Dreher Solutions
It Strategy Consulting Process Optimisation & Management: Streamlines workflows, ensuring consistent and accessible data across platforms.
Process Optimisation ERP implementation: Centralises data by integrating systems, eliminating scattered tools like Excel and Google Sheets.
ERP Implementation (1) IT Strategy Consulting: Crafts a tailored strategy for cohesive data integration, aligning all digital tools.
Your Challenges
  • Ensuring accuracy amid scattered data
  • Maintaining consistency across diverse financial sources
Dreher Solutions
ERP project management ERP Implementation: Consolidates financial data into one platform, enabling accurate, streamlined reporting.
Process Optimisation Digital Transformation: Shifts systems to unified digital platform, resolving data inconsistencies.
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Why Industry
Context Matters

Start-ups are often lean, fast-moving and highly ambitious, but also resource-constrained. ERP systems must not only support rapid growth and pivoting business models but also build in compliance, financial control and scalability from day one. Dreher Consulting ensures your ERP is not just built but fully aligned with your start-up’s vision, regulatory environment and long-term roadmap.

  • Real-time financial insights — to manage cash flow, burn rate and investor expectations.
  • Scalable infrastructure — so adding new product lines, channels or teams doesn’t break processes.
  • Compliance & audit readiness — GDPR, tax, ESG & investor requirements from the outset.
Curious which KPIs matter most for your role? Try our Pain Point Analyser
Pain Point Analyser

Key KPIs and Challenges for Start-ups

Start-ups in the DACH region face unique pressures: growth expectations, regulatory demands and tight resources. At Dreher Consulting, we help you focus on the KPIs that matter most, turning early-stage constraints into strength.

Feature / Need

Key KPIs (measurable targets)

Typical Challenges (pain points)

Financial Control
Key KPIs (measurable targets)

Monthly cash-flow forecast accuracy within ±10 %

Typical Challenges (pain points)

Lack of visibility into actual vs projected spend during rapid scaling

Monthly cash-flow forecast accuracy within ±10 %

Lack of visibility into actual vs projected spend during rapid scaling

Speed to Market
Key KPIs (measurable targets)

Reduce product or feature release cycles by ~30 %

Typical Challenges (pain points)

Long development or setup times hampering responsiveness to customer or market feedback

Reduce product or feature release cycles by ~30 %

Long development or setup times hampering responsiveness to customer or market feedback

Scalability & Flexibility
Key KPIs (measurable targets)

Ability to scale users/products/customers without >25 % increase in support or IT overhead

Typical Challenges (pain points)

Technical debt or rigid systems becoming bottlenecks as the start-up grows

Ability to scale users/products/customers without >25 % increase in support or IT overhead

Technical debt or rigid systems becoming bottlenecks as the start-up grows

Compliance & Investor Readiness
Key KPIs (measurable targets)

100 % compliance with local regulations (tax, GDPR etc.) and investor due diligence standards

Typical Challenges (pain points)

Start-ups often neglect audit, security or tax requirements until too late

100 % compliance with local regulations (tax, GDPR etc.) and investor due diligence standards

Start-ups often neglect audit, security or tax requirements until too late

Curious which KPIs matter most to your business?
Pain Point Analyser

Support for process improvement

It is often the case that staffing levels in start-ups are normally just sufficient to manage the business operations.

Very often, they don't have the time or resources to deal with inefficient processes or search for a suitable ERP software.

Start-ups know time and money can be saved by streamlining your business processes, but they don't always know where to start.

The solution: Process Excellence and the knowledge of standard best practice can support you. Experts in the field of process management can help you streamline your business processes so you can focus on what matters most - growing your business.

 

Schedule Consultation

start-up-company-dach-region
What we do

We develop solutions that shape the future of companies, increasing competitiveness & unleashing potential.

Integral first step:

Process optimisation should be considered before ERP implementation as it ensures the system operates on streamlined, efficient workflows. Without it, ERP systems risk magnifying inefficiencies instead of resolving them. Process optimisation

  • Prevents automating flawed processes
  • Identifies key inefficiencies to address early
  • Aligns system configuration with optimised workflows
  • Maximises ERP’s potential for improved performance
  • Sets the foundation for long-term operational success

Learn More

Future Focused:

Building regulatory compliance capabilities within ERP, especially for sustainability and CSDR, ensures the system is equipped to handle evolving regulations. Early integration minimizes future disruptions and enhances long-term sustainability efforts. The integration of regulatory compliance

  • Embeds compliance tracking into system functions
  • Ensures CSDR capabilities are built-in early
  • Supports automated compliance reporting
  • Reduces future costly system modifications
  • Strengthens sustainability and regulatory alignment from the start

Learn More

A Crucial Foundation:

The selection of an ERP system is fundamental to long-term success. The right system ensures operational efficiency, compliance, and scalability, reduces future costs, and enables sustainable growth. A structured and professional selection process:

  • Aligns system functions with business objectives
  • Reduces future costs for unplanned system changes
  • Supports scalability and future business expansion
  • Ensures the system's adaptability to evolving industry requirements
  • Supports scalability and growth by adapting 
  • Secures stakeholder buy-in

Learn More

Crucial Transformation:

ERP implementation is crucial for transforming business operations by integrating key processes into a unified system. It enhances efficiency, streamlines workflows, and provides real-time data insights, driving overall business success. The implementation of an ERP-system

  • Unifies business functions into a single platform
  • Enhances decision-making with accurate, real-time data
  • Streamlines processes, reducing manual tasks and errors
  • Increases efficiency by automating repetitive operations
  • Supports scalability and growth by adapting to evolving business needs

 

Learn More

Future Foundation:

The AI and Automation module focuses on leveraging technology to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making. Built on a foundation of standardised processes and clear data, this module helps businesses harness the full potential of AI and automation for sustainable growth. The integration of AI-technologies.

  • Automates repetitive tasks, increasing efficiency
  • Enhances decision-making with data-driven insights
  • Improves productivity by streamlining workflows
  • Scales easily to adapt to growing business needs
  • Personalises customer experiences

Learn More

stack layer one stack layer one Process Optimisation
stack layer two stack layer two Compliance
stack layer three stack layer three ERP Selection
stack layer four stack layer four ERP Implementation
stack layer five stack layer five Automation & AI

Process Optimisation

Integral first step:

Process optimisation should be considered before ERP implementation as it ensures the system operates on streamlined, efficient workflows. Without it, ERP systems risk magnifying inefficiencies instead of resolving them. Process optimisation

  • Prevents automating flawed processes
  • Identifies key inefficiencies to address early
  • Aligns system configuration with optimised workflows
  • Maximises ERP’s potential for improved performance
  • Sets the foundation for long-term operational success

Learn More

Compliance

Future Focused:

Building regulatory compliance capabilities within ERP, especially for sustainability and CSDR, ensures the system is equipped to handle evolving regulations. Early integration minimizes future disruptions and enhances long-term sustainability efforts. The integration of regulatory compliance

  • Embeds compliance tracking into system functions
  • Ensures CSDR capabilities are built-in early
  • Supports automated compliance reporting
  • Reduces future costly system modifications
  • Strengthens sustainability and regulatory alignment from the start

Learn More

ERP Selection

A Crucial Foundation:

The selection of an ERP system is fundamental to long-term success. The right system ensures operational efficiency, compliance, and scalability, reduces future costs, and enables sustainable growth. A structured and professional selection process:

  • Aligns system functions with business objectives
  • Reduces future costs for unplanned system changes
  • Supports scalability and future business expansion
  • Ensures the system's adaptability to evolving industry requirements
  • Supports scalability and growth by adapting 
  • Secures stakeholder buy-in

Learn More

ERP Implementation

Crucial Transformation:

ERP implementation is crucial for transforming business operations by integrating key processes into a unified system. It enhances efficiency, streamlines workflows, and provides real-time data insights, driving overall business success. The implementation of an ERP-system

  • Unifies business functions into a single platform
  • Enhances decision-making with accurate, real-time data
  • Streamlines processes, reducing manual tasks and errors
  • Increases efficiency by automating repetitive operations
  • Supports scalability and growth by adapting to evolving business needs

 

Learn More

Automation & AI

Future Foundation:

The AI and Automation module focuses on leveraging technology to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making. Built on a foundation of standardised processes and clear data, this module helps businesses harness the full potential of AI and automation for sustainable growth. The integration of AI-technologies.

  • Automates repetitive tasks, increasing efficiency
  • Enhances decision-making with data-driven insights
  • Improves productivity by streamlining workflows
  • Scales easily to adapt to growing business needs
  • Personalises customer experiences

Learn More

Get in Touch

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