Making The Leap: 7 Reasons it’s Time to Invest in an ERP System

MAKING THE LEAP: 7 Reasons it's Time to Invest in an ERP System It's a familiar tale: your business has expanded rapidly and the current staff is being pushed to the max. Every working body is buried in paperwork, deadlines are being missed, and you operations are a tangled mess. If you are nodding your head, it might be time to invest in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. ERP Simplified Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software consists of a suite of integrated applications that provide a real-time view into core business processes and facilitate information flow between business functions. ERP systems help businesses manage everything from product planning to shipping and payment, along with other capabilities like tracking resources, project statuses, payroll, and more. ERP systems can be an out-of-the-box solution or completely customized. ERP Applied Financial accounting Management accounting Data services Customer relationship management Manufacturing An ERP system can benefit businesses in the following functional areas. Project Order management Processing Supply chain management Most Popular ERP Software Providers There are many ERP System providers, but below are the main players. EPICOR. ORACLE infor Business Inspired" SAP dda Microsoft Dynamics 7 Signs it's Time to Adopt an ERP System There are hundreds of reasons that your business may be ready for an ERP system. We've compiled the main reasons most business determine they are ready to invest in an ERP software. 1 Accounting takes longer and is more difficult. ERP Without ERP, accountants are forced to reconcile across different systems and manually enter information. With ERP, you can communicate across departments with ease with real-time information at your fingertips. Sales and the customer experience are suffering. 2 If you're using different processes across the company, it becomes nearly impossible to have the correct inventory. And if you don't have the necessary number of products in the correct location, you can significantly affect a customer's experience. 3 Your software system is too complex and time-consuming. ERP Using different software systems for each process creates unnecessary work and confusion. For example, if sales, accounting, and the warehouse all use different software to manage operations, man hours must be spent filling in the gaps and coordinating the information flow between departments. Spending is out of control. 4 ERP An effective ERP solution is a large investment of time and money in the beginning, but in the long run it will save your company big time on both. The philosophy behind ERP systems is that streamlining the many components that go into business operations and having access to invaluable data cuts inefficiencies that lead wasted time and money. 5 Only specific people have access to important data about your business. ERP systems increase and improve interaction internally, as well as between customers and suppliers. ERP systems make reliable information available at each person's fingertips. You have a lot of outstanding cash. 6 A faster order-to-cash cycle usually results in more cash flow. Outstanding cash flow results in less cash flow. 7 There is a disconnect between departments. Without ERP to bind everything together, departments aren't coordinated. This allows for mistakes to be made, and without a system in place, there are slow response times for correcting these mistakes. Brought to you by 8 me technologyA design ctnd.com Sources: http://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/erp/business-erp-system.shtml http://www.inc.com/software/articles/200810/erp.html http://smallbusiness.chron.com/implement-erp-4486.html http://www.syntax.com/4-proven-reasons-to-implement-erp/ http://www.govirtualoffice.com/solutions/erp-accounting/erp-accounting-benefits/ http://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/enterprise-resource-planning-erp/