3 key reason’s for SME’s to acquire ERP
As a business owner you may not be sure why you need ERP. What will it do for me and my company?
You may even ask what is ERP? For those that don’t know ERP stand’s for Enterprise resource planning.
Business management software for the whole company. If you still don’t get it spend some time on the ERP123.biz site to educate yourself further.
In my opinion there are 3 key reason’s why SME’s (Small-Medium Enterprise) need ERP. Each one is equally important to the health of your bottom line and quite frankly if you don’t have a handle on these things your business is not likely to grow any larger and may not even survive. Now saying that you don’t necessarily need ERP to do these things but there really is no other more efficient way than having one business system for the entire organization.
#1 Key reason for ERP
Communication
Can there be anything more important in your business than everyone communicating with each other in an efficient, concise manner. In growing companies we often see silo’s of information, meaning each department has there own “software tools” like an accounting package or a scheduling package. This set up also tends to feel like each department is a silo not connected and communicating with the rest of the group.
The communication in an ERP system is not only for each department to share information with one another it is also to communicate to workers and management. Every body sharing the same information, seeing only what they are allowed to see.
As an owner or manager the way to control your business is through effective communication in all directions, ERP gives you the tool do do this.
#2 Key Reason for ERP
Control
If you are not in control of your business who is?
Do you understand what things cost to manufacture ? Do you know what your margins are? Are you sure things are being done the way you expect them to be?
All good questions and ones any business owner should know the answers to.
ERP can help you set up, monitor and correct procedures and processes to ensure things are done in the most efficient manner and the way they are supposed to be done. Setting up an ERP system should ensure you have the level of control you need for your business not only today but in the future as well.
Of course one of the luxuries of setting up an ERP system is that you take the knowledge out of people’s head and putting it into the system, this is to allow the key people in the organization to free themselves of being the only person who knows. Having control of what goes on even though your on vacation in Barbados is something many small business owners can only dream of.
The other issue of course is that if the people with the knowledge in the organization aren’t part of the ownership group, that can pose a problem. ERP is a tool that will harness that knowledge for all in the organization to use both today and in the future.
#3 Key reason for ERP
Continuous improvement
It today’s society anything that stays the same gets past by. As an organization you must always look for ways to improve processes and make things more efficient. There are always ways to to do this when the right ERP package is acquired. One that you can grow in to and utilize in diiferent ways as your business grows and changes. Those in the automotive industry have spent a lot of time trying to improve processes, reduce waste and cost over the years a tool like ERP helped them do that.
ERP provides organizations with tools to improve process in every area. As a small organization you start with basic ERP functionality, maybe sales and shipping, inventory control, accounting as time goes you start to do more things, or want more things out of the system. Bar coding, shop floor reporting, website interfaces, EDI whatever the requirement is the point is that as time moves on you must always look for ways to do things in a more cost effective manner. ERP provides the tools to identify, correct and monitor the poor preforming areas.
If you have been thinking why do I need ERP, think about these 3 C’s communication, control, and continuous improvement. You can do these things with our ERP but not as effectively.
Think of it this way you can use a screw driver to put in a screw or you can use a drill. Both work one is much more efficient than the other.
Visit our site to get more information on ERP at erp123.biz
