To compete effectively in today’s technology-driven market, an enterprise needs to have constant access to all data in real time, writes Deeana Radley

As a business owner, you know how important it is to track data, for both internal and external uses. The good news is that businesses today can use advanced technology to collect, quantify, and act on any type of statistical data you can imagine. 

However, the sheer variety of software packages and services designed to process this information can be an obstruction to fully realising the potential of this technology. That is where an enterprise resource planning system (ERP) can be a valuable asset to your business. 

An ERP system provides integration of the management of various core processes. Instead of containing separate software applications that either do not interact at all or only minimally, an ERP system comprises a suite of applications that are integrated together. 

These applications can work across a number of platforms and network configurations, and the ERP system will typically house everything together in a database. This system effectively integrates staff, management, equipment, and sales into a single entity. 

The Benefits

It used to be that mainly big businesses used an ERP system, but with the increased use of software and new methods of online communications and marketing, more and more small to medium businesses are discovering the benefits of using these intelligent management systems. 

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Your organisation will operate with greater efficiency, speed, and accuracy across all operations with an ERP system. You will spend less time on manual data entry, have more accurate reporting of data, and employ more efficient cross-departmental information. Your company will gain more streamlined business intelligence with instant reporting and effective tracking of costs and budgets, providing information that can be readily accessed. 

Besides having seamless integration of your business processes, an ERP system can handle the storage and analysis of data that you need for marketing purposes. As the data is housed in a single repository, you can have alerts and actions that will activate based on certain events in your data in order to increase your visibility to your customers. 

You can have emails sent as confirmations or as part of your customer relations-building efforts. And you can have procedures in place to compile statistics to use in social media campaigns and other similar marketing venues.  

What Does ERP Include?

There are as many different types of ERP systems as there are different business types. Depending on the type of business you have and your particular business models, you will need an ERP system that suits your specific business needs. 

Manufacturing companies would do best with a system that manages manufacturing, inventory, financials, human resources, quality control, and sales. Companies that deal with distribution would need a system to handle supply chain, distribution processes, commerce, retail, financials, and human resources. 

A comprehensive ERP system aims to have these applications functioning in tandem. When you have a central system and data repository for your processes, you can conduct your business in an efficient and streamlined manner. Retail and manufacturing companies are just two types of businesses that use an ERP system. 

For a manufacturing company, for example, when a customer places an order, the ERP system will be able to automatically send a transaction file, put in an item request to production and update and refresh the inventory. When these types of processes are handled by separate software applications, there may be errors and delays with the updates in the different systems. An integrated ERP system, however, handles transactions and tracks data automatically. 

By their very nature, ERP systems are designed to be scalable and adaptable. Today’s ERP systems take advantage of data analytics and machine learning and can easily adapt to new technologies. To compete with other businesses, your business must stay abreast of all the current tools that can track and analyse data. 

ERP systems are modular in nature and lend themselves well to adding and changing software components and reworking network protocols. This flexibility makes the ERP system cost-effective because you will not have to completely update your entire system to stay current with new operating systems and programming. 

Vertical And Niche Markets

ERP systems are useful for businesses that serve a vertical market or a specific business niche. A vertical market is a collection of companies in a specific industry, trade, or profession with specialised business needs. With modular ERP systems, your company can acquire a system that possesses the applications that will precisely fit your particular needs.

There are many existing vertically tailored ERP systems for markets such as community organisations, oil and gas industries, higher education institutions, professional services organisations, and community organisations. You can easily customise these systems by consulting with the software vendor for the precise applications and management services you need for your specific business processes. 

No matter the size of your company, using an ERP system that is aligned with your business model will streamline your business processes, increase employee retention, and enlarge your customer base – alleviating your immediate business concerns. 

 • Deeana Radley is a business and technology writer at Technology Evaluation Centers, covering technology trends, software solutions and market developments