CIOInsider India Magazine
Threefold Advantages Of ERP
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Whether it is a growing single-site specialty manufacturer or a large multinational organization in question, data remains the greatest differentiator in this fast-growing digital age. The way one collects, mines and interprets data, and the actions taken based on that data can be the defining factors behind one's profits and efficiency in the long run. Enterprises are now beginning to apply the principles that tech start-ups have known for long: the ability to make effective use of technology to drive the productivity of each sphere massively.
There is a constant need to grow, seek new opportunities, and react to emerging competitive threats along with changing market conditions. While there are many factors an organization’s response to market conditions is determined by many factors, one key driver of success is the flexibility of software infrastructure. This is where trusted ERP solutions come into picture for supporting rapid innovation and growth, while also providing a framework for operational efficiency.
Easy Configuration Supports Innovation and Growth
The creation of innovative products and services is usually driven by new business models. For example, companies that were originally selling products directly to the end-user are now offering subscription-based services that require a different approach for managing customers, revenue, and inventory. One such example is that of a cold-pressed juice company that used to sell and deliver single orders for juices to its customers online. Now, with new processes in place, their business model is being altered in a way that they can take subscription-based orders online and offline, while automation the process of billing the customer remains monthly. This new model has potentially enabled the company to increase the customer lifetime for their products.
Importance of Extensibility
Most manufacturing enterprises that have been in the business for years have developed their own versions of ERP. Despite taking all the benefits of cloud ERP into consideration, it’s often impractical to be able to replace the existing systems all at once. This is the reason cloud ERP includes extensive integration points and application programming interfaces (APIs) to ensure that the legacy data flows freely between new cloud apps and the respective systemof-record. Likewise, the extensibility, which includes the ability to quickly integrate a new workforce during an acquisition or partnership can also be used to integrate new, complementary applications.
In the case of on-premise ERP, there would be new hardware to install, software to distribute, and weeks of extensive training to bring the new workforce up to speed. However, with cloud ERP, one just needs to set up sign-in security and all the users have access to it via their desktop browser or mobile devices. Intuitive browser-based apps have facilitated minimization of training to understanding business processes, instead of memorizing menu navigation and reporting toolsets.
Intuitive browser-based apps have facilitated minimization of training to understanding business processes, instead of memorizing menu navigation and reporting toolsets
Real-time Visibility
'Transactions by day, reporting by night' is the work cycle of legacy ERP. For example, in case a report is needed to make a pricing decision while the customer waits, one has to place a request in the IT queue and hope for the best. If there is a need to understand the yield on one's production line in Taiwan right now, a conference call needs to be set up and one can only hope that everyone with the right information can attend.
With cloud ERP, there is real-time visibility into a business when required. Even with a global organization, all the data is updated in real-time on the cloud, so one can drill-down to the single source of truth using intuitive reporting apps and analytics. Being able to monitor the flow of goods and services within your organization helps react quickly to changes in customer orders and supply chain bottlenecks, letting one innovate as needed, to adapt and keep on top of the challenges for the day.
Conclusion
Data is gold and efficiently harnessing, collecting, mining and analyzing data is one of the biggest drivers of innovation that a business can have. Technology plays an important role in business operation as much as it does in everyday life. A business can be grown effectively by discovering various ways of applying technology in various departments.
Choosing an ERP solution for small and medium businesses can be quite a challenge. In case one chooses an off-the-shelf solution over custom-made software, there is a risk of spending money on a solution that doesn’t fully reflect the features of the business. In case of a ready-made ERP solution, there is a possibility of meeting a lack of important features.
To meet the requirements of the business, and expectations from it, custom software development companies spend the time to know a company better and provide software solutions for various business troubles. Hence, it is important to objectively evaluate the potential of ERP developers, so that the final choice is a confident and best one that will meet your foreseeable needs with the least risk.
