Why do you need Enterprise Resource Planning system?
An Enterprise Resource Planning system is often viewed as an extra expense by small to mid-sized companies, sometimes even by large ones. This comes due to the fact that the management sometimes believes that company operations are simple enough to be controlled through a few separate systems or simply by looking at a couple of spreadsheets of data. This is unfortunately one of the areas these companies can give the edge away to the competition. Running a tight ship without an ERP system in most cases is merely an illusion.
The bottom line is that the implementation of an ERP software should be looked at as a long term investment not as a cost. In the end the benefits will outweigh the initial time, effort and cost associated with the incorporation of the software into your organization by far. That is why understanding the benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning software implementation is the key step towards taking a big leap in front of the competition.
Cost effectiveness with Enterprise Resource Planning
ERP packages don’t seem cheap on the first glance, seeming unlikely the company is going to be able to save money while implementing them. However, saving money is usually the most likely outcome of the implementation. An ERP is going to unify all of the systems in your organization, starting from the management and manufacturing, to logistics and inventory, as well as IT support etc. By this merger of all the systems, business processes are usually becoming more time and cost efficient, and what is more important the information in the system are far more accurate and closer to real-time, enabling faster and better decisions to be made on the spot. The centralization of data is only the beginning. Your organization can actually save money by eliminating the need to train different employees on different systems, and sometimes train the same employees in multiple systems. Using one software in the entire company is both cost and time saving.
Information speed and interdepartmental cooperation
The problem with running separate marketing, finance, accounting and sales systems comes in plain sight when you realize how much time and effort it takes to keep the data all of these systems provide up to date and to correlate the data from all the different systems together. Another thing is that no matter how much time and effort you put into the data integration, the data will never be as accurate nor as fast as it would be if all of these company sectors were served by just one data center.
Without it simple processes like setting up a new customer are usually done in multiple places bringing up data redundancy issues, and the risk of data inaccuracy is increased with every new entry you make. Automated integration can help, but bringing the data in the right format can be a bug hassle. Data speed is not always the main issue. Certain data is simply owned by certain teams which can be reluctant to share it. Special procedures are in place in order to acquire that data, and sometimes your key employees don’t have the information they need in order to make the right decisions. A single system will let everyone access the data they need, while keeping the confidential information available to those who need to know them.
Imagine the time and cost savings if this was all done in a single system?
Client satisfaction
Even though an Enterprise Resource Planning is an internal system within the company it is astonishing how much it can help you keeping your clients satisfied. One of the greatest benefits of using an ERP system is improved customer relations. This comes as a result of better business processes that include lead generation and customer acquisition to late-phase customer service and customer retention. Ultimately, it will improve your communication with your clients through all stages of the process.
System expandability
No matter what size your company is, nor how fast it is growing, an Enterprise Resource Planning system is very adaptive to the changes your company is going through. Upgrading the initial system is very fast and easy making it cost effective and practical. New processes can be easily added to the primary system, and old processes can be easily upgraded in order to satisfy the current needs of your company.
Not acquiring an ERP system at the right time can be a lot costlier then implementing one too early.In fact, there is no too early when it comes to Enterprise Resource Planning software implementation, as it would only help your company grow faster and readily welcome whatever growth level your company might have. It is a mandatory investment for most companies who are willing to keep the edge in front of the competition in the modern ruthless times of global competition.
