ERP is the abbreviation for the term “Enterprise Resource Planning”. It is the task of a company to use the available resources as efficiently as possible. An ERP system supports exactly this. For this purpose, all business processes are digitally mapped and brought together in a central database. In this way, lean and cross-departmental processes can be implemented. Ultimately, an ERP system is a tool that a company can use to massively increase its own productivity through various automation.
Companies are often very different in terms of their business processes. The ERP system must be able to cover these individual processes. Therefore, ERP software is always tailor-made and adapts to the needs of the company. Finding the right software and also the appropriate ERP provider is therefore of central importance.
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Because every organization is unique, there isn’t a single indicator that says, “You need ERP from now on!” However, the companies that benefit most from ERP software often struggle with very similar problems. Here are the top five signs your business is ERP ready.
1. You use various applications
How do people in your company collect, track and process information? Does accounting use one system – and sales use a completely different one? Is there another separate solution in stock? And which system actually controls your e-commerce?
When different front-office and back-end systems run separately from each other, it can have devastating effects on the processes. Without accurate sales data, inventory management suffers, and not working with the latest accounting information can have a knock-on effect on everything from marketing budgets to payroll.
ERP software integrates all business functions based on a single database that provides accurate, real-time data at all times.
This helps employees to make better decisions faster.
2. You don’t have easy access to company information
When someone asks you: “what is your revenue margin?” How long does it take you to find out? What about other key performance indicators, like orders per day or year-to-date sales? If your company uses separate systems and spreadsheets that need to be updated and reconciled manually, it can take a long time to obtain such basic information.
With an ERP solution, managers have access to current key figures at all times and thus a holistic overview of business operations. All employees get the information they need to do their jobs effectively.
3. Accounting is cumbersome and time-consuming
Accounting is often the first sign that your business needs ERP software. If your employees have to enter customer orders, delivery dates, and other information manually – and possibly several times – they waste a lot of time with tasks that ERP software can handle in no time at all.
This also applies to financial reporting. With all financial data captured in a single database, accounting no longer has to spend hours collecting, re-entering, and manually reconciling data. An ERP system delivers the reports at the push of a button.
4. Customer experience is compromised
Keeping sales, inventory, and customer data separate can lead to serious problems. If you run out of a popular product that you need to fulfill an order, or if you can’t provide reliable information about a customer’s order, it will damage your company’s reputation.
With an ERP system, employees have access to current information at all times. You can respond to shipping status inquiries without having to check with another department. And, of course, the warehouse manager can see when stocks are running low and reorder in good time. See 5 REASONS EVERY SMALL BUSINESS NEEDS A WEBSITE
5. Your IT is too complex
One of the biggest disadvantages of using different business systems is that sooner or later IT management becomes a nightmare. The adaptation, integration, and maintenance of the complex system landscape require more and more time, money, and personnel so that your IT team is only occupied with somehow keeping the “patchwork” of applications running.
Instead of making an already ineffective system even more complex, you should switch to ERP technology, with which you can support all processes uniformly and react flexibly to new requirements at any time. For this reason, choosing a cloud-based ERP solution is a good decision. Implementation and updates are no longer a problem, and new functions can easily be added as your business grows and the environment changes.
