How would an ERP benefit my organisation?

1: Do you currently have a number of disparate systems performing different tasks?

Think hard about how much time you and your teams are spending working with a range of business management systems. Are they using one for finance, another for sales, yet another for ordering and more around HR? The larger your organisation, the more likely it is that you're using even more than that, and it's probably one of the main reasons you're researching ERPs in the first place - your business processes are not running as smoothly or efficiently as you'd like them to. Manual processes generate a higher number of errors, which take time to correct. If you don't have accurate sales data, your inventory management will be impacted, and if your accounting department is working with outdated information, it can affect everything from budgets to payroll.

How does an ERP solution resolve this problem?
By integrating all your systems, including legacy. What this does is create a single source of truth, meaning that all your business functions rely on a central database. This information contains accurate, real-time data which is essential for decision-making. Manual processes are eliminated, which means that errors are greatly reduced and your team doesn't have to waste time fixing them. Your business processes become streamlined and automated, freeing your people up to work on more high value tasks.

2: Is your IT infrastructure becoming too complex?

This follows on from the above. If you have multiple, disparate systems in your organisation your IT management becomes increasingly difficult. They're costly to customise and maintain, both in time and money. This is especially true of on-premise systems, as upgrades can be more trouble then they're worth, because they often over-ride any customisation you might have done and you're back to square one again.

How does an ERP solution resolve this problem?
Again, integration of your systems using a cloud-based ERP solution provides you with the ability - and agility - to respond swiftly to your changing business needs. Customisation is much easier, since you can add new functions as needed. Your team will be spending less time on upgrades and patches, and your IT resources can be better deployed.

3: Do you experience difficulties accessing information about your organisation?

If you don't have access to accurate, up-to-date and real-time data, then how do you know how well your business is performing? Think about how long it takes you to find information around sales data or KPIs. If this information exists in silos or in spreadsheets that have to be manually updated (and by several people) then the likelihood of that information being accurate is pretty low.

If you don't have the right information at your fingertips, then it's probable that you're not making the best decisions for your business either. How can you be, if you're working from outdated data?

And let's face it - you don't have time to go looking for information that should be easily and readily available. There are far more productive ways to spend your time.

How does an ERP solution resolve this problem?
With user-defined access, you and others on your team can view the information you need, when you need it. When an ERP system is implemented, access to information is defined by what role each user plays. For example, your executives or team manages can have an holistic view of the organisation's operations at any time, while other staff see only what they need for their role.

Because you're not spending time trying to find the information you need, you can focus on more productive tasks - like using that information to make proactive decisions about company growth. Not only that, but the information will be based on data that's accurate and up-to-date, so the view you're getting is realistic.

4: Are your accounting processes becoming more complex and bogged down?

One of the reasons you might be reading this is because you're evaluating complaints from your accounting team. If they're still using paper-based processes for activities like sales, invoicing and ordering, they're going to be spending hours doing so. Paper-based, manual processes are time consuming and prone to error. Delays are common when invoices or approvals go astray, meaning more hours lost to tracking them down.

Not only that, but your accounting team is probably also telling you how long it takes them to consolidate or reconcile financial information, which is having a detrimental impact on reporting. And once again there's the issue of accuracy - the more manual the process, the higher the likelihood of mistakes. When it comes to your organisation's finances, errors of this type can be costly in money as well as time.

How does an ERP solution resolve this issue?
If all of your financial information and data is stored in a central database, your accounting team won't have to spend hours cross-posting information, re-keying numbers, or reconciling data manually. Invoicing and approval processes will speed up significantly, while budgeting and payroll will become streamlined and much more efficient. You won't be experiencing delays in financial reporting, and you'll save money by not having to correct mistakes.

5: Are you concerned about the customer experience you're offering?

It doesn't matter what industry you're in, if you have customers there needs to be a focus on what kind of experience they have with your organisation. If your business processes are causing project delays, errors in customer orders, or anything else that impacts on the service you're providing or products you're selling, the customers will feel the effects.

If your inventory management is failing, you may have difficulty meeting customer orders. If a customer calls about an order, and you can't track it, you'll develop a reputation for poor customer service. If you're facing continual project delays, or you're repeatedly busting timelines and budgets, you're not going to get repeat customers.

A poor customer experience will lead directly to significant reputational damage, because word-of-mouth is one of the most effective tools customers have. If they've had a wonderful experience with your organisation, they'll tell others about it and recommend you to them. But they are just as likely to warn them off if you've disappointed them, and when they use online reviews to make their feelings known, word spreads very fast.

How does an ERP solution resolve this issue?
By ensuring that all your business processes are running at optimal levels. Automation speeds these processes up, which means less delays. You'll have up-to-the minute information which you can share with your customers if they make enquiries. You won't run out of product, because your inventory management will alert you when you're running low on anything. Industry-specific ERPs will ensure you don't bust timelines or budgets, and approvals processes become streamlined and efficient. And once again, an ERP system greatly reduces the likelihood of errors - meaning you'll gain customer trust and increase your number of repeat customers.

Finally, if your customers are aware that you're leveraging the latest technology to improve their experience, you'll enhance your reputation as a leader in your field. In today's digital world, customers want to know you're keeping up with new developments and harnessing them for their benefit.

If you've answered 'Yes' to any or all of these questions, then it's time to seriously consider making some big changes and bringing an ERP solution on board. By streamlining your business processes and operation, you’re enabling your staff to spend more time focused on what they do best. Not only that, but having the right systems in place, tailored for your organisation, mean that you’ll achieve scalable growth, and you'll be running at maximum efficiency.

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