Every business from a Fortune 100 company all the way down to that small one person craft stand at the local market produces a lot of information. Managing all of that information can be daunting and can be what determines a business’ success or failure. It has long been believed that a computer software package that could manage this information was only in the domain of the richest companies. That has all changed with ERP systems.
The Enterprise Resource Planning system has its roots dating back for more than a century. A paper system developed by Ford Motor Company in 1913 set a schedule for manufacturing and production and helped to make Ford the top automobile manufacturer in the world. The process was computerized by Black and Decker in 1964 and has expanded in the 1990s to be used by nearly every large business. Now thanks to cloud computing ERP systems are available to every business.
ERP systems help to integrate the processes that run a business like inventory and order management, accounting, human resources, procurement, project management, manufacturing, customer service, customer resource management (CRM) and much more. Information is collected and stored in a single system helping to eliminate data duplication. The database is shared among different departments or teams to help streamline the information to make any business run more efficiently. Reports can be generated with real-time information.
Cloud computing has allowed ERP systems to expand to handle business intelligence, sales force and marketing automation and e-commerce. Software packages have become more affordable than ever and the cloud has made them easier to implement and manage.
The value of using an ERP system will be seen almost immediately. Real-time reporting allows for the most up-to-date information available for reports. Financial compliance will be improved to meet regulatory standards thereby reducing your risk. Business functions are automated and your customer service will be improved by having all information in one secure location for billing and tracking. Operational costs will be lowered by improving access to information creating a more streamlined process. Your business will run more efficiently and communication will never be better.
So, which software suite is best for your business? Is it NetSuite or IQMS or Intacct? That we can’t tell you however Software Advice has rated some of the top ERP systems in use. Check it out. Each suite is unique and offers something different and some are even customized to a certain industry.