ERP Development

WHAT IS ERP?

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can be defined as a system that helps organizations automate and manage their key functions like financials, supply chain, manufacturing, operations, reporting and human resources. These systems can be either deployed on-premises or in the cloud.

ERPis designed to be used by big enterprises and requires exclusive teams to handle the management, customization and deployment. Whereas smaller ERP applications are lightweight solutions customized to automate your businesses as per your requirements. The whole idea is to integrate all the main business functions at one common place so as to manage them effectively and easily.

For Example, if an order is placed by a customer, only an ERP system can successfully let you know transparently all the stages it will go through before finally reaching in the hands of the customers simply because it’s one common system that is accessed by all the departments.

The data is shared amongst all the departments like Finance, Marketing, Sales, Purchase, Accounting etc.

ERP Software Modules

ERP Software consists of multiple modules that are purchased based on a specific set of requirements. Each of these modules would focus on one of the business functions like sales, HR, accounts etc.

ERP has helped a great deal in eliminating the need to have standalone computers in each of the departments like Finance, Sales, and Accounts etc. and instead integrate them all at one place. These departments still have their own software’s but they are all connected to one another so that any department knows what is happening in the rest of the departments. Therefore, depending upon the requirement a company can go for only an ERP finance or HR module and add on the rest later.

ERP modules help to improve the data flow across the organization with the help of a central information repository.

ERP Trends

ERP field has witnessed many changes from last couple of years. In fact, it has evolved to a great extent. Following are the categories:

TYPES OF ERP

The right ERP software for your business will help you keep all your business functions aligned leading in profitability and efficiency. ERP was traditionally meant to be used by big players only but then with time and demand vendors came up with ERP software’s for small and medium scale companies too. Following are the categories:

How is ERP beneficial for a business

ERP is often referred to as “Back-Office Software”. It doesn’t handle the front-end selling part, rather handles the process of automating the different steps involved right from receiving a customer order till its delivery. This ERP system tracks and records all the information like customer’s credit rating, order history, inventory levels, shipping schedule etc. Whole credit goes to the ERP software for improvising the order fulfillment process. People in all the departments see the same information and can update it as the order passes from one stage to another. People from the respective departments can track where the order is at any point of time with the help of ERP system. This speeds-up the order delivery and minimizes the scope of error.

With the right ERP software, all your business processes are aligned resulting in effective decision making to enhance the team’s overall productivity. Below are some major benefits of why companies undertake ERP:

1. Integrate all the business processes

   Financial Management – Each Department has their own set of numbers to present when it comes to the company’s overall performance whether it be Finance Department, Sales Department, Purchase Department etc. It is the system of ERP which creates a single version of the truth that cannot be denied as every department has access to this one common system. It also takes care of the organization’s assets, cash flow and accounting aspects.

   • Supply Chain and Operations Management – Streamlines purchasing, manufacturing, inventory and sales order processing
   • Customer Relationship Management – Strengthens customer services as all the departments access centralized data which helps to increase the cross-sell and upsell opportunities.
   • Project Management – Better billing and project monitoring helps you deliver within the set budget and time frames.
   • Human Resource Management – ERP’s HR module tools help in good hiring, time management,employee’s retention, attracting new employees, managing and paying them.
   • Business Intelligence – Helps in better decision making through smart reporting, analysis and business intelligence tools.
2. Integrate Customer Order Information – ERP system is one place where you can find and track complete information about different stages / departments an order passes through before finally reaching in the hands of the customer. It keeps all the data centralized at one place rather than being scattered among each department’s individual system. Hence it promotes stronger communication, coordination and efficiency within the departments to deliver in multiple locations as well.
3. Reduce Inventory – As ERP system centralizes the data at one common place, all the departments of a business access the same data. This promotes transparency within the system and improves communication and coordination amongst the systems. This whole process leads to reduces levels of work-in-progress and finished goods inventory and better planning in customer deliveries hence avoiding any form of wastage.
4. Increases overall performance – By bringing together different processes of a business, ERP promotes coherence, avoids redundancy and discontinuity among people working in various departments.The collective effect of this approach is the overall superior performance by everyone.
5. Automation enhances productivity – The automation of business processes by the ERP system increases the overall efficiency, reduces the scope of errors and speeds up the entire process of order delivery resulting into satisfied customers which is a crucial part of any business.