08 Oct What is the Purpose of ERP in Small Companies?
Nowadays many small and mid-sized organisations are implementing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in order to improve productivity, increase efficiency, reduce costs and optimise their business processes.
A major purpose of using an ERP solution in a small or mid-sized business is that you can bring together the various functions of the organisation into a single system environment and make the operations run more efficiently. Typically, ERP consists of key functional categories such as;- financials, discrete manufacturing management, purchasing, inventory control, quality and sales management.
Implementation of ERP In Small Companies facilitates the flow of information between all business functions within the organisation and links to external stakeholders such as systems of customers and suppliers.
Key Purposes of ERP:
Efficiency:
ERP solution eliminates duplicate processes and greatly reduces the need to manually enter information. The system also optimises business processes, facilitates and efficiently collects data, regardless of which department they operate.
Flexibility:
Modern ERP is flexible and configurable. They can be tailored to the unique needs of any business. ERP systems also can be adapted to the ever-evolving needs of your business, ensuring you will not have to buy a new solution once your needs change or your business grows.
Forecasting:
ERP systems provide users and managers with the tools they require to create more accurate forecasts. Since the information within the system is accurate, all types of businesses can make realistic estimates and receive more effective forecasts.
Costs savings:
With one source of accurate information, ERP reduces administrative and operations costs which allows manufacturers to proactively manage operations, prevent disruptions and delays, help users to make decisions more quickly.
Collaboration:
ERP tools contain solutions that can manage the collaboration between remote locations in real time. This facilitates better integral communication and resource allocation. As a result, departments build stronger relationships through closer teamwork on projects.
Scalability:
An ERP system should be easily scalable. You can add extensive functionality to the system as the business needs change.
Integrated Information:
Since all information is stored in a single location there are no more issues with data spread across separate databases. Even functions like CRM can now be found to operate inside ERP, keeping all data consistent, unique and accurate.
Streamlining of Processes:
Prior to implementing an ERP system, organisations/companies have to reconsider all their business processes and workflows and rethink what can be improved. By running the ERP, your organisation/company can gain speed, accuracy, and efficiency. An ERP integrates all the processes across all the departments and meets the specific needs of each individual business.
Reporting:
Reporting made easy with ERP implementations. ERP software will help to make reporting easier and more customisable. With improved reporting capabilities, your organisation can respond to complex data requests more easily. Without relying on help from IT your employees can run their own reports saving time.
Productivity:
The integrated business software can enable all the departments to work efficiently and thus help the organisation to improve production cycles across the enterprise. This saves time and improves productivity levels.
Business Analytics:
Having quality data allows companies to harness the power of intelligent analytics tools to reach better business decisions. Many powerful ERP systems have built-in analytics functionality to allow easier data analysis.
Regulatory Compliance:
ERP facilitates control over reporting processes and ensures compliance with regulatory requirements, upholding data integrity and facilitating full traceability. Powerful ERP solutions are able to keep track of regulations within the industry and monitor changes in compliance.
Customer Service:
After the successful implementation of an ERP system, orders get dispatched faster and more accurately. Customer Service improvement occurs with providers having direct access to better information to advance the customer experience. Consequently, the entire organisation becomes better placed to respond more quickly to changes in customers’ purchasing policies.
Conclusion
ERP is a widely applied software in all types of industrial fields including small and mid-sized organisations. Improved Inventory control, better team satisfaction, heightened customer relationship management are among the key benefits of implementing ERP systems. When thinking about how to choose the best ERP software for small business, consider which pros and cons will exist in your business. Decades of success stories proves that proper implementation of ERP, according to business needs, delivers many measurable advantages. Implementing ERP in your business can accelerate operations and bring greater likelihood in achieving your goals. Once you know why an ERP system is so important for your business, all you need to do is choose one that can suit your individual business model.
