Integrated Software Systems
The business world today is characterized by higher expectations. Customers, business owners and employees demand faster responses, more refined procedures and better fulfillment, especially in the midst of an unpredictable economy. ERP systems can help companies streamline their processes in order to meet this growing demand by providing:
- Increased visibility to data
- Automated data entry
- Expedited communication between departments
- Flexible reporting
- Tightly integrated functionality
1. Increased Visibility to Data
By breaking down information silos and providing permission-based access to current data, business managers and employees can see the status of interrelated parts of the organization. This results in improved customer service and more accurate goal setting and trend predictions.
2. Automated Data Entry
Without an ERP to integrate processes, employees manually key data into separate systems that fulfill different functions, from sales and purchasing to shipping and accounting. ERP systems eliminate manual re-entry of data, which reduces the potential for human error and increases efficiency.
3. Expedited Communication Between Departments
Companies must continually seek ways to improve employee productivity to remain cost-effective in today’s competitive marketplace. ERP systems expedite the flow of communication and information across all business functions and in turn boost productivity.
4. Flexible Reporting
Powerful reporting tools within an ERP allow companies to create user-specific reports on multiple dimensions as it relates to their needs and objectives. From their dashboard view, business owners and managers can quickly assess company performance with real-time data.
5. Tightly Integrated Functionality
Companies realize increased performance by integrating processes between their divisions and with external applications, such as web stores, automated sales tax management vendors and CRMs. Transactions and communications are able to occur quickly and seamlessly.
These five ERP benefits translate to significantly improved company performance. Businesses are able to automate communications and streamline operations which allows for increased productivity. With the access an ERP provides to data, business owners are able to effectively assess company performance and plan for the future.
Originally published at Trek Global by CEO, Joel Stangeland