Image Credit : https://www.pexels.com/
When your startup grows up to become a full-fledged enterprise, you’ll need a system that can keep up with your company. Your hastily and haphazardly set-up system may have worked when the business was garage-sized but once you’re playing with the big leagues, expect a more complex and demanding environment. What you need is an ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning system that’s scalable and customized for your company’s needs.
Enterprise Resource Planning Explained
ERP is a centralized software system that integrates your different applications and business processes into one location. Think of it as your company’s brain where you can find relevant data and convert it to actionable information for a more productive company. The system integrates different areas of your business such as sales, manufacturing, inventory, purchasing, and more. Even if you’re using different software for these departments, you can still access the same database.
SAP Business One—ERP for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises
One of the leading ERPs in the industry is SAP (System Applications Products), developed by 5 entrepreneurs in Germany. With over 400,000 companies around the world using the system, it’s proved to be one of the most reliable business solutions for enterprises.
In 2002, SAP acquired an Israeli ERP system and developed it as SAP Business One. This software is a user-friendly ERP application that runs on different mobile devices to give you real-time analytics, reports, and data wherever you are. Its portability and functionality make it a great system for small and medium scale businesses.
How can ERP help expand your business?
Grows With Your Business – ERP is a highly scalable system that upgrades and expands as your business grows. It’s built to accommodate new technologies so you don’t have to worry about it getting obsolete as years go by. What’s more, as your business grows nationally or even globally, you’ll be able to replicate your processes and therefore, your success.
Provides Better Efficiency – With a centralized system, you can implement processes faster with greater accuracy. Better yet, once new opportunities are spotted, you can mobilize different departments in real-time to respond. This fast and accurate response to opportunities in sales, purchasing, and other processes equates to a significant increase in productivity.
Improved Reporting and Analysis – The growth and direction of your business depend on accurate numbers and analysis. With an ERP’s synchronized database, you don’t have to access separate spreadsheets or email employees for reports to get a full and accurate view of how your business is progressing.
Develop Business Relationships – CRM or Customer Relationship Management is built into the ERP system so you can provide great customer service, resulting in long-term business relationships. Aside from customer relationship, ERP also takes care of your SRM or Supplier Relationship Management. The system helps you achieve the goal of streamlining your supply chain in order to maintain a mutually beneficial long-term business relationship with your vendors.
Enhanced Data Security – At its core, ERP is all about data management. And the protection of this data is key in keeping your company assets secure. Different levels of access can be provided among employees to protect data while still enabling a collaborative business environment. And with real-time updates on your centralized database, redundancy and inaccuracies can be avoided.
Flexible and Customizable Solutions – The modular nature of ERP software enables you to customize applications according to your company’s specific needs. You can pick and choose the applications that are beneficial to your organization and get rid of those modules that don’t apply to your business processes. As a result, you get an optimized integrated system that can be improved and upgraded, as your business needs change as well.
Growing your company to reach the next level will always be challenging. But with the right scalable system that matches your needs, you won’t have to feel the growing pains that come with it. Always try to leverage the latest solutions to keep your company ready to take on all opportunities.
