Businesses exist to earn profit and sustain growth for the foreseeable future. This is a uniting goal among businesses of all sizes, whether a from-home business like mine that uses spectrum internet phone to take orders to multinational enterprises with thousands of employees. However, without properly organizing business processes, a firm will always be at a disadvantage because of inefficiencies and inconsistencies. The obvious solution is structured planning, which is where ERP systems come in.
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ERP Systems and How They Can Drive Growth
Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP systems is software that can manage different aspects of your business. Depending on how the software is designed, it can handle anything from production to inventory management. There are several popular ERP systems, in use in businesses all over the world. However, many organizations still cling to the familiarity of doing things the old-fashioned way. If you’re still undecided on how an ERP system can help your business, check out these 5 ways:
- Improved Visibility in The Supply Chain
- Better Productivity in Various Business Processes
- Collect, Store, and Use Business Data
- Decreased Administration and Operational Costs
- Improved Customer Service Functions
Let’s dive right into them.
Improved Visibility in The Supply Chain
When it comes to managing specific supply chain functions, ERP systems can be a huge help. The supply chain is an essential part of most businesses, especially those that ship products to consumers. This makes getting every link in the supply chain to function correctly. ERP tools can manage different supply chain functions like inventory control or purchasing and interpret the results so that you can optimize expenditures.
Most businesses have a number of vendors that support in getting their end product to the consumer. These vendors are an integral part of the supply chain, and managing them correctly is essential for smooth business functioning. An ERP system can offer refined and accurate insights into the supply chain, allowing users to better manage their relationships with specific vendors. At each step, an ERP system can help you see, understand, and optimize the supply chain for a greater competitive edge.
Better Productivity in Various Business Processes
Many business processes can be complex and difficult to navigate, prompting more inefficiencies and errors. A good ERP system can allow you to identify redundancies and inefficiencies in any process workflow. Using this information, you can refine and streamline business processes to ensure everyone’s time is productively used. As a business grows and scales, the ability to optimize process flows and efficiency becomes even more crucial.
Collect, Store, and Use Business Data
The data your business generates is one of your most valuable business assets. ERP systems offer secure and organized platforms to help you gather, store, and use this data to make better business decisions. Remember data-based decisions eliminate a lot of the guesswork and help you take appropriate and timely action whenever the need arises. Using multiple databases, you can even allow remote employees to access the data they need on-the-go, saving the time spent in manually accessing records. As a business grows, it can modify and scale the ERP system to handle more data streams.
Decreased Administration and Operational Costs
Cutting costs is one of the best value propositions software can offer, and ERP can do just that. ERP systems can decrease administrative costs and operational expenses thanks to improved accuracy and productivity. It also allows you to automate processes, streamline operations management, and access accurate and relevant data. All of these translate into reduced costs, which automatically means more profits.
Improved Customer Service Functions
The quality of customer service offered can often be the ultimate differentiating factor for a business. This means the margin for error in customer service functions can often be very low. Luckily, ERP software can make it easier for you to offer a higher standard of service to your end consumers. ERP software can help customer service personnel access relevant customer information and offer appropriate assistance much faster.
This is one of the key elements of many customer service functions such as the ones used by large companies with popular products and services. For example, the new spectrum cable box classifies certain subscribers as VIP customers based on its ERP software. This will allow their customer service staff to prioritize specific calls, offer better deals, and manage the B2C relationship efficiently. Even if you’re a small organization with less than 100 employees, do not underestimate the change that a solid ERP system can bring to your business.
