What is Enterprise Resource Planning? | ERP Software Guide

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP Software) Guide

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a centralized business management software that integrates all business activities in one place. ERP software organizes all the core functions of an enterprise such as product planning, sales, and marketing, CRM (customer relationship management), accounting, and other business resources that provide data.

How does an ERP software work?

ERP software includes core business components known as modules.

ERP software maintains data across different modules like finance, production, distribution, procurement, CRM, human resource, and manufacturing and stores in a centralized database.

This centralized database allows users from different departments to analyze, maintain and manipulate business information data from a single place. Those changes are directly implemented in a centralized database.

Then the information in the central database can be shared across multiple modules.

The Trends in ERP Software

The history of ERP goes back to when it was created for manufacturing companies to manage their core functions which were not visible to the public. Since then, ERP is often used in the CRM process.

There is a rapid shift in ERP software from desktop-based to cloud and mobile-based systems. This has enabled enterprises to make information accessible to their employees in real-time from any place.

ERP systems have evolved from traditional physical client servers to cloud-based systems over the years.

Major benefits of ERP software

The use of an ERP system enhances the smooth flow of information among different departments and automates the common tasks, thus making business functionalities work in sync.
Here are some of its benefits:

• Reduces the IT cost and increases the business efficiency
• Enhances employee productivity
• Helps lower business risks by better compliance
• Improves collaboration and productivity of different departments
• Helps build better business intelligence by data analytics
• Improved production planning and resource management
• Improved customer relationship management
• Improves supply chain management
• Provides real-time data manipulation and more

Choosing the right ERP software 

Choosing the right ERP software in 2019 and ahead is a test because of constantly evolving business challenges. Before you start looking for vendors a few important factors need to be considered.

10 things to know before choosing the right ERP software that fits your business.

• Your budget vs cost of an ERP
• Vendor reliability and references
• ERP architecture (most prefer cloud-based+mobile-based+AI ) and security
• A customizable system, that is flexible with your business model and functionality is a must.
• Integration with third-party applications such as finance, reporting tools, accounting, logistics tools, and transport should be easy in an ERP you choose.
• Progressive technology: ERP must have future scalability which can easily integrate future technology.
• Compatible across multiple platforms, such as Android, iOS, and Windows.
•  A vendor should provide training and other documentation (could be help articles, working demo and FAQs).
• Learn about their customer support, will they charge for maintenance? Do they provide on-site support during go-live? How do they handle the system during downtime? And so on.
• Ease of use: Learn how easy the system is to use. Since it is to be used by multiple departments, all employees should be able to understand the system easily.

Conclusion

So, ERP is a software that integrates and streamlines key business processes and functions. It incorporates a core business process such as; finance, human resource, supply chain management, customer relationship management, production, and procurement.

Its major usage is to integrate key components of the business process into a centralized database system that can be accessed anytime from anywhere.

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