How can an ERP improve the quality of the company ?

There are many reasons why a company may wish to equip itself with an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Growth, reorganization, market evolution… By meeting the needs of all the company’s departments, the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) allows to work on a single platform. Centralization of data, fluidity of communication, simplification of procedures: the advantages are considerable. A resource planning tool can really improve quality and performance within your company. We explain how in this article.

 

Why implement an ERP solution ?

 

To take advantage of a centralization of data

The implementation of an ERP in your company will allow you to bridge the gap between the front office and the back office. Also known as the “front line”, the front office refers to the departments in contact with customers, such as the sales or marketing department. Conversely, the back office refers to the support or “back office” departments. These support functions do not interact directly with customers, but are essential to the smooth running of the organization (administration, finance, IT, etc.). A fluid and efficient transmission of data between front office and back office is therefore essential. Thus, an ERP will be able to connect with :

• productivity tools ;
• e-commerce solutions ;
• customer engagement applications.

The connectivity of all this data will allow advanced analyses of your Key Indicator Performance (KPI).

 

To benefit from a personalized solution

The main advantage of an Enterprise Resource Planning is the use of a single tool for cover all the needs of the company. To do this, ERPs are composed of a common core and then several specific modules for different departments (production, sales, HR, accounting, etc.).

 

To take advantage of a Decision Support Tool (DST)

Using an ERP allows interoperability between the applications of all the company’s departments (IT, sales, customer service, etc.). This connectivity allows to synthesize all the flows in dashboards. This artificial intelligence offers a better visibility of KPIs (Key Indicator Performance) and facilitates data analysis. The monitoring of objectives is then greatly simplified.

 

How can ERP improve the entire organization ?

 

By offering a multi-channel solution

An Enterprise Resource Planning system can meet the needs of both “physical” sales outlets and e-commerce. Therefore, a company combining both activities will be able to manage these two sales channels, as well as the support functions, thanks to a single tool. Thus, the whole organization can take advantage of the information provided by the different points of contact to optimize the management of the company and the decision making within the departments. The software package allows for example :

• To “physical” store managers to manage sales development and HR issues (productivity, recruitment, training, etc.) ;
• To the online store managers to register operations and new contacts on the ERP ;
• Logistics or production teams to process orders in real time ;
• It is up to managers to anticipate periods of high activity and the amount of resources required…

 

By improving your human resources (HR) policy

An ERP is a great ally in managing your employees. In a simple and fast way, you can rationalize :

• payroll ;
• recruitments ;
• monitoring of employee performance ;
• time management.

Thanks to this automation, you have a global vision of your teams’ activities. This upstream management allows you to better visualize the availability of employees in relation to their skills. And therefore to better organize the staffing on the various projects.

Moreover, thanks to the instantaneous mapping of resources, an ERP system facilitates the expression of human resources needs between the various departments and the recruitment teams. This functionality therefore facilitates the decision making process for new hires.

It is therefore particularly necessary for service companies, where the creation of value depends directly on the talent that performs the services for the clients.

 

By enabling real-time project management

One of the specificities of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the real-time updating of data. This feature is a real asset, especially if your company is located in several locations, cities or countries. It avoids double entries, omissions, data loss and the risk of errors. In addition, it eliminates format incompatibility problems between different applications.

Real-time updates also enable greater responsiveness: a manufacturer can adapt to demand immediately and produce accordingly, by adapting resources. This instantaneous updating of information saves a considerable amount of time.

The other feature of ERP that is essential in project management is its collaborative dimension. By sharing the same information with all the entities of the company, we ensure a clearer understanding of the situation and better decision making. Thus, the use of an ERP would reduce operational costs by an average of 23% and administrative costs by 22%.

 

What is the impact of ERP implementation on the performance of organizations ?

 

A fluid organization

By automating your tasks, you optimize your company’s processes. By limiting manual interventions, you avoid the risk of errors and oversights. Your organization thus gains in homogeneity and quality. The reliability of the information circulating in the company increases, which facilitates the missions of everyone.

In addition, thanks to real-time management, collaborative work is significantly improved. This feature offers you great flexibility. According to the consulting firm Panorama Consulting, 49% of the companies surveyed consider that all business processes have been improved by using an ERP system on a daily basis.

 

Increased human collaboration

The implementation of an ERP system promotes the flow of information in your organization. By integrating employees from different departments, they feel more involved. Communication within your company is then more fluid, both internally and externally.

By facilitating data sharing, the conditions for collaborative work are improved. This optimized cooperation has a positive impact on the performance of your organization. According to the software publisher Software Path, 24.73% of companies use an ERP to increase their productivity.

 

Better economic performance

Enterprise Resource Planning is the right hand of business leaders, managers and project leaders. Used as a decision support tool (DST), it allows them to make reliable forecasts to stay ahead of their competitors. The financial management module of an ERP, as well as the integration of other organizational tools, has a strong impact on a company’s results, especially thanks to management tools :

• capital ;
• of assets ;
• discrepancies.

By increasing liquidity, reducing the risk of cargo theft, analyzing costs, connecting tools and software, and automating redundant and time-consuming tasks, managers realize substantial savings.

If your organization uses different tools, which are not mobile and/or have limited functionality, it is probably time to opt for an ERP. This resource planning solution will undoubtedly allow you to improve the quality and performance of your business. But, be careful, not all ERP solutions are created equal. It is important to choose the right solution according to your needs, the size of your company and your budget.

 

You want to be supported in your digital transformation ? Contact our experts. They will help you choose or develop your ERP or custom business application.