A brief search on the internet about Enterprise Resource Planning will give you over a hundred results, each with its own definition of the phenomenon, it is like the new prospect on the internet with quite a lot of information on it. This now begs the question, why is everybody talking about ERP, what is so peculiar about it that virtually everybody is talking about it and how important is it to the business community.
To get a deeper understanding of how the ERP works and how it can help to transform a business, this article will try to shred into pieces the phenomenon and makes it easy for a layman to understand what it means and how it works.
What is ERP
The business environment is not a single thread as it is a combination of so many things working together to achieve a certain objective for the benefit of the organization. The business process includes inventory and order management, accounting, human resources, customer relationship management and beyond.
At its most basic level, ERP software integrates these various functions into one complete system to streamline processes and information across the entire organization. The central feature of all ERP systems is on shared database that supports multiple function used by different business units.
In practice, this means that employees in different divisions – for example accounting and sales can rely on the same pieces of information for their needs.
Synchronized support and automation are also the basic functions of the ERP. Instead of forcing employees to maintain separate databases and spreadsheets that have to be manually merged to generate reports, some ERP solutions allow staffs to pull reports from one system.
The technology offers the management the chance to accurately identify the flow of sales into the system, accurately position the firm to be more astute and transparent and give it a more mature outlook with every sense of professionalism and accountability.
One very important feature that makes ERP is jolly good form of technology and that it has a portal or dashboard to enable employees to quickly understand the business’ performances on key metrics.
ERP: THE JOURNEY
The term ERP might be the bride of the internet right now, but it has been on the radar for quite a while now. The name was coined in 1990 by Gartner, but has been around since the 1960’s. Back then, the concept applied to inventory management and control in the manufacturing sector.
The concept started when software engineers created programs to monitor inventory, reconcile balances and report on the status. The status changed in the 1970’s when material requirement planning system for scheduling production processes was added to the procedure.
The procedure changed a little bit in the 1980’s when MRP grew to encompass more manufacturing process, prompting many to call it MRP-1 or manufacturing Resource Planning. By 1990, these systems had expanded beyond inventory control and other operational processes to other back-office functions like accounting and human resources, setting the stage for ERP as we know it today.
ERP and the Business Community
One of the major turn on for ERP in the business community is the fact that it helps employees to do their businesses more efficiently and accurately without breaking any barrier between the business units. It also gives a global, real-time view of data that can enable companies to address concerns proactively and drive improvements.
ERP also helps to automates core business operations such as lead-to-cash, order-to-fulfilment and procure-to-pay process amidst other business-friendly processes.
Looking at all the benefits that ERP brings to the table, it is crystal clear that with an ERP solution, employees can have access to the right information that enables them to make informed and data-backed decisions for the betterment of their organization without looking dragging their feet.
The software also helps to eradicate all forms of redundancy and inactiveness within the firm and help to speed-up administrative processes and dramatically lowering the costs of doing business because of its encompassing feature that allows the firm to do all in one package.
Today, ERP has expanded to encompass business intelligence while also handling front-office functions such as sales force automation and e-commerce. With these products advancements and the success stories coming out of the systems, companies in a broad range of industries from whole sale distribution to e-commerce-use ERP solutions.
Owning a business or controlling a firm is not complete without having the necessary tools to build the company into a respectable enterprise and doing so involves a lot of effort, which have been made easy with the advent of relevant technologies. With ERP, the firm can be rest assured that it is not only in the hands of a technology that has been fully tested and trusted, but one can effectively increase the level of efficiency without reducing the desired speed.
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