Are You There Yet With Your ERP Software?

What does an enterprise do, anyway and what does it mean to a resource or a planning system? An enterprise, by definition in business terms, is the integration across your diverse business operations into a unified computer system that can meet the requirements of your finance, human resources and manufacturing divisions, to name a few.

Sound ambitious? It is. So is the general definition for enterprise an enterprise can be called any venture that is full of purpose, and calls for a spirit of boldness.

ERP Software: To Boldly Go

If you’ve got that spirit of boldness and you’re ready to integrate your business operations, you’ll need to consider some of the basic functions of ERP software. But also consider this: to get somewhere, you’ll have to leave somewhere. So what, exactly, do you need to leave behind to move into ERP software, and how do you know when you’re getting there?

What You’re Leaving Behind

For starters, you’ll have to leave behind the old philosophy that finance, human resources and manufacturing each perform their own processes with their own computer system. ERP software means you’ll combine these operations into one data source, and you’ll move closer to the ability for team members to quickly and almost effortlessly trade information to increase productivity.

For example, a top customer order could be sitting in a pile of other orders, awaiting its turn to be manually entered into inventory, but the customer service team doesn’t know where the order lies in order to talk to the client, and finance doesn’t know if it has been paid for or not. If you’ve implemented ERP, you’ve entered into the ability to have complete knowledge of the customer order process and well-coordinated manufacturing and shipping.

Lighten the Load of Annoyed Customers When You Implement ERP Software

What you’ll leave behind with ERP software, then, is the annoyance of customers when they have to wait for information that should be at your fingertips or when they have to make multiple calls to check an order’s status. Where you’re headed for is the ability to use modules that are interconnected across departments, and even to pick and choose the modules you really want right now.

The Destination Could Be the Map Itself

Where you’re headed with ERP software could actually be considered the map itself. ERP software solutions can lay down the track for your order, accounting for every step, from order submission to inventory, shipping and back-end processes like accounting. You’ll also be able to enjoy the view of your order from every vantage point from department to department as it gets tracked. ERP software solutions that include customer service modules give you even more detailed information about your client’s order history, preferences and opportunities for up-selling.

Other destination points with ERP software are integration of your financials and better-managed inventory. Revenue varies if you’re in sales or accounting, for example, and ERP software unifies revenue numbers from one source. If inventory overflow is something you’d like to leave behind, ERP software can get you there because it gives you a tool for very precise inventory planning at all levels of your workflow, and this cuts down on under-utilized production time, storage and labor.

Get Everyone On Board for the Trip to Implement ERP Software

If these reasons are encouraging you to get going on the road to ERP, know this, your team should be ready for the journey with you by understanding together that ERP software implementation is worth it. Try to create an attitude of change that gets everyone on board. Otherwise, you may be stuck working through differing opinions on where, and how, the software should be implemented, conflicts for how to customize the product, or other serious challenges that will keep you from getting from point A to point B.