01 Oct WHAT’S DRIVING SMEs TOWARDS ERP SYSTEMS?
In the last few years small organisations and SMEs have adopted ERP systems as a one-stop solution for the effective management of all business processes. It’s not a secret that implementation of an ERP system by definition is a time-consuming and complex procedure, but the amazing results it brings and general outcome for business owners encourage more and more professionals to implement it in their businesses.
Whether you deal with financial industry or with wholesale distribution or with the technology industry, or any other industry, implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is going to be the best decision you have ever made for business development and growth.
Which business processes can be managed with the help of an ERP system?
Almost everything you might need for your organisation – from finance management to inventory management, manufacturing, quality management and sales management etc.
If a company doesn’t have one stop solution for management of all these key areas, without which the company cannot function, each of the departments might use different software to manage information flows. Here is where all the management problems occur – you may have to face departmental communication problems, data duplication, difficulties in a decision-making process, etc. These and many more problems make collaboration within the company more time-consuming, bureaucratic and difficult.
With the implemented ERP system all the business processes can be managed within the same platform for all the departments. When considering the best ERP system for small business, take into account general benefits you can have and then choose which are crucial for your business. Check the list of benefits your business may attain with the professional implementation of resource planning software.
-
Easy Collaboration
ERP system reduces expenses on personnel, as well as errors, which occur in the exchange of data and documents between organisation departments. Having different information systems within the company dramatically increases the chances that some data will be lost or processed with delays. ERP integrates information flows between business processes in the company in real time. There is no need to re-enter data or export data to transfer them between departments, which is inevitable in most business processes – starting from sales orders, payment processing, shipping, invoicing etc.
Each department can have access to unified information stored and processed within the same ERP system within a few seconds, and all changes are directly visible to everyone from employees to senior management.
-
Fast Decision Making
ERP systems provide real-time data which can give the possibility to make fast decisions in sales, management, marketing, and accounting departments and dramatically decrease overdue deadlines. Business owners can react very quickly to changes in highly demanding business environments. Moreover, if key information is available 24/7 and if employees are operating away from the office, critical decisions can still be made, faster and better informed.
-
Increased Data Security/Data integrity
ERP solutions have intrinsic controls to safeguard your business data. An ERP software improves the security consistency and accuracy of data, all through built-in firewalls and resources. Cloud ERP systems have multiple layers of encryption to enhance the security level of your business data, ensuring they are safely stored.
-
Increased Productivity
You can save time and increase productivity levels when all data is easily available at once to all departments and the employees do not need to waste time contacting departments for the required information.
-
Decreased Operating Costs
An ERP system can help reduce the overall operating costs of your company. Having all your business data in one software application, business owners can save money on the individual software and management systems that they were paying separately for in each department. True Cloud solutions offer the added attraction of side-stepping unnecessary network and IT staff overheads – WiFi is all that is needed in house. Expansion through system roll-out consequently brings only minimal incremental costs to the business.
-
Improved Data Accessibility
It is very important for the right people to be able to access the right data at the right time. Equally, it’s important to be able to prevent some users from accessing certain types of information. ERP systems provide the advanced access control and user management features allowing you to arrange everything down to the finest detail. Simultaneously, they provide you with easier access when you need it through mobile devices and the cloud.
-
Continuous Support
An ‘on premise’ ERP system requires support from IT personnel to retain the efficiency while the vendors of cloud-based ERP own the server and support it continuously. Besides, service providers keep all the solutions up-to-date and there is no need to think about hardware and software updates as all users benefit from them automatically.
-
Superior Scalability
In order to ensure the ongoing success of your business, you have to keep an eye on the future. Sometimes businesses fail to plan correctly and as a result they experience serious pains that create serious obstacles for any progression they enjoy. Having a system which can efficiently accommodate the growth of your company is extremely important, and the right ERP system makes it easier to work.
With the implemented ERP system all the business processes can be managed within the same platform for all the departments. A single platform can enhance internal communication processes, ensure data accuracy and transparency, ease business management and ensure successful decision making.
