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Businesses today are always looking for new ways to increase efficiency and improve operations. Unfortunately, it’s an extremely daunting task that often requires all the right things to work in your favor. Of course, that’s a lot to ask in today’s society.
As businesses grow, the need for communication, collaboration, and connectivity is enhanced. This means businesses today must search for a one-size-fits-all solution to their daily challenges – something many business owners struggle to find.
That’s where enterprise resource planning (ERP) comes in to save the day. It’s the one-size-fits-all solution that every business needs, despite most business owners knowing nothing of it. Don’t worry; we’ve got the answers you need.
So, what can an ERP system do for you?
Enterprise resource planning, known as ERP for short, is a special type of software that replaces all your other software across your business’ different departments. It takes the information and data your business handles and makes it available to everyone who needs it.
ERP systems also contain features and functions specific to each department. They allow your employees to work faster, smarter, more accurately, and more efficiently.
Not only that, your employees learn to work together under the same roof. They notice the difference, customers notice the difference, and you notice the difference. It’s a win-win-win situation for everyone involved!
The truth is enterprise resource planning does a lot for your business. To give you the full picture of what enterprise resource planning does, let’s go through each of the major functions one-by-one. There’s a lot, so prepare to be amazed.
1. Accounting, Bookkeeping, & Payroll
Imagine how much time you spend managing your financials, balancing your sheets, making sure employees are paid on time, recording expenses, and maintaining revenue on a daily basis. ERP systems are designed to automate as much of these processes as possible.
It’ll free up a large amount of time that your accountants can spend on more pressing issues, as well as give them an easy-to-use interface along the way. When your accounting team has the tools and resources needed, they perform at the maximum level.
Since your accounting module is integrated with the rest of your business, accounting teams directly access every little bit of company information they need. They communicate seamlessly with other departments and improve efficiency across the board.
2. Customer Service & Customer Relations
Businesses are nothing without their customers. They’re who give your company purpose and are the ones supporting your company through thick and thin. That’s why it’s so important to build, maintain, and strengthen your relationship with customers daily.
An ERP system helps ensure you provide a smooth, seamless, and unique experience to the customer. In the digital world we live in today, experience means everything to the customer, and they often hold high expectations that your business must adhere to.
Furthermore, enterprise resource planning continues to learn more about your customers over time. It gives constant recommendations and suggestions for running your business more efficiently.
3. Human Resources & Management
Customers are important, but you can’t discuss enterprise resource planning without mentioning its impact on human resources and managing employees. Since employees are pressured to maintain a quality environment for the customers, it’s important your employees are happy.
Enterprise resource planning not only tracks applications coming in, but streamlines the onboarding process and tracks that employee throughout their tenure with your company. It makes hiring, training, and managing employees easier than ever.
The human resources module is also integrated with all the other departments. This means that your accounting team can access all the new hire data when getting them added to the payroll.
4. Manufacturing & Production
So far, we’ve mentioned how an ERP system helps streamline processes controlled by the accounting, human resources, and customer service departments. While that’s extremely helpful to your day-to-day operations, it doesn’t do much for the goods currently in production.
To start bringing your ERP system full-circle, it’s designed to improve your products’ manufacturing and production. Whether you need more resources or materials for production, need to increase the production rate, or need to decrease the rate of production, your ERP system keeps you honest.
Knowing manufacturing and production are secure gives your sales team, accounting team, and the rest of your departments a clear conscience to properly do their job.
5. Inventory Management
Once you start producing and manufacturing products, you begin to build an inventory that needs to be managed on a daily basis. Working with every other department, your ERP system helps make real-time decisions based on how much product you have, your customer’s buying patterns in the past, and what’s expected in the future.
The inventory management module integrates with your accounting team, manufacturing team, and sales team to ensure your entire company is on the same page. Everyone knows what you have in stock, everyone knows when there will be more stock, and everyone knows what’s currently selling well (or not so well).
6. Analytics, Insights, Analysis, & Reporting
The final major reason businesses need enterprise resource planning is essential analytics, insights, analysis, and reporting. This data not only helps businesses improve their operations over time, but it gives them real-time recommendations on how to excel in your industry.
The great thing about enterprise resource planning is that everything is automated. You’re not running around crunching numbers or running math equations through your head to figure out how your business is doing. Instead, all that information is available right at the tip of your fingers.
It becomes easier to set goals and track your team’s progress on those goals. It becomes easier to manage your team, take advantage of your team’s strengths, and consistently improve your weaknesses. Finally, it gives you and your employees more time to focus on what’s important.
Is Enterprise Resource Planning for You?
There’s no telling what an ERP system can do for you because the opportunities are endless. Unlike customer relationship management software, which only focuses on the customer, enterprise resource planning brings all your departments together – the way business is supposed to be.
All this ERP talk likely has you interested in investing in one for your own team. Trust us; we understand how exciting this is for the growth of your business – that’s why we want to help! As the best software developers in the area, we’re excited to extend our services to you and your employees.
To learn more about how an ERP system helps your business or what our process is for developing one, contact us today. We can’t wait to see your business reach its true potential!
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