5 SIGNS YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS ERP TODAY

Many small to medium-sized businesses aren’t sure if Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is right for them.  Whether it be the commonly held misconception that ERP is only for large, fortune 500 companies, or a lack of understanding of what problems ERP can solve, ACC is here to help.

Nearly every business can benefit from appropriate ERP solutions because they bring real-time visibility, control, insight, adaptability, flexibility, and scalability.  Still not sure if ERP is right for your company?

We’ve compiled a list of 5 tell-tale signs that your business needs ERP today. Maybe even yesterday.

1. Lots Of Software “Solutions”

If your company is using multiple software packages or systems for related processes, that’s a sure sign that you should look into ERP.  Think about it, how many software systems does your company use?  Accounts receivable, accounts payable, sales, fulfillment, receiving, HR, customer relationships… are all of these processes run on separate systems?  How many hours do your employees spend manually entering duplicate data?  How much time and money is your company losing to these inefficient, redundant “solutions?”

ERP software has the power to integrate all of these processes so that accurate, real-time data is stored in a single system.

2. Data Silos – Information Isn’t Easily Available

One of the negative side-effects of having multiple software systems are data silos. This means that your company’s data is fractured, split amongst multiple sources, making it difficult to access even basic metrics and leaving you without easy access to comprehensive business data.

With the pace of business getting faster and faster every day, it’s more important than ever that your business data is easily accessible. ERP ensures that executives have access to holistic, real-time metrics on demand.  Departments can share appropriate information as needed because it’s all stored in the same database.

3. A Struggling IT Department

Multiple software systems also mean a strained IT department.  It’s not easy or cost-effective to customize, integrate, and maintain multiple redundant systems.  If you’re a small or growing business, you probably don’t have the time, energy or funds to keep up with an ever-growing list of IT struggles.

If your business is feeling this sort of IT strain, it’s probably time to invest in an ERP system.  An integrated ERP system can make your system more efficient and allow you to stay focused on growing your business instead of keeping up with software demands.

4. Weak Business Processes

Are business processes lacking consistency or efficiency?  Are you following best practices regularly? Inefficiency and inconsistency is often a wide-spread business issue, affecting many business processes.  Below are just a few of the common business processes that suffer when a company has put off upgrading to an ERP system.

1. Inventory Management
   Inventory management is one of the most important and challenging aspects of a growing business.  You must know the right amount of a product to stock in the right location at the right time, or your customer experience will suffer.  However, when sales, customer data, and inventory data are all stored in separate systems, this can become even harder to accomplish.  Here, we see data silos negatively impacting your business processes and potentially your customer experience.With an ERP system, every department has access to the same, up to the minute information, making inventory management more manageable and the customer experience more positive.
2. Manual Accounting
   One of the most common signs that your company is ready for ERP comes from the accounting department.  How much time is invested in manually entering invoices and orders into various systems? Cross-checking information? Have you experienced issues with incorrect data due to manual entry?ERP puts all financials in a single database, meaning that your accounting department won’t have to spend extra time on redundant manual processes.Essentially, ERP offers complete control and efficiency across all business processes.

5. Growth On The Horizon

This one is often forgotten.  Even if your company isn’t experiencing the above pains to a critical degree, if there is big potential for growth on the horizon, your company needs ERP.  ERP means scalability. It means putting a foundation in place for much larger operations.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of ERP solutions and whether your business is ready to move forward on your ERP journey. If you have any questions or would like to discuss ERP consultation, feel free to reach out and our representatives will be happy to help.