Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions offer organizations a one-stop-shop for managing daily operations. The business management software has gained popularity in the business world as organizations try to keep up with the changing landscape. As with most business solutions, there are advantages and disadvantages of ERP systems to consider.

 

It’s important to understand how enterprise resource planning can work for an organization and its capabilities at a granular level. Here are some key benefits an enterprise resource planning system can bring when managing all aspects of the business.

 

Advantages of ERP

Improve customer service

The business world is hyper-competitive and that’s no different when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. The customer service experience is a vital part to an organization and an ERP solution can help advance customer relationship management. Since a new system like ERP software puts all customer information into one place, it can facilitate quicker customer service and a more personalized approach.

 

ERP stores contact information, order history, past support cases and more in one simplified system. Separately, since ERP will track past orders and real-time inventory the customer is much more likely to receive the correct items on time. If those factors are in place, it’s much more likely a customer leaves happy and will return for more down the road.

 

Customize reporting

Real-time data reporting is one of the highlights of an ERP solution and why it’s a serious advantage over other business management systems. With ERP reporting tools, organizations can customize reporting across many different functions, such as finance, inventory, procurement and human resources and be able to calculate it depending on what matters most to the organization. This tailor-made approach lets the business measure whichever KPIs they find most important and track performance of different business components.

 

The other advantage is ERP offers the latest data in real-time. This means if an employee is trying to assess an issue, they don’t have outdated data to analyze and instead have the most accurate and up to date numbers to refer to. The customized reporting can help an organization make informed decisions, which is critical when the business environment is ever-changing.

 

Expand collaborations

The way that ERP solutions are built make for excellent collaboration across different departments. With integrated applications and data storage all under one solution, teams get a clear picture into how each is functioning and contributing to the business.

 

With the enterprise resource planning system in place, teams across the organization can communicate freely as they aren’t functioning on separate platforms. The integration on the back-end is extremely important and helps employees integrate and work as one. With access to all data, one employee on a completely irrelevant team might be able to point out a malfunction or something that cuts down on duplicate work. This expanded collaboration can increase decision-making, while being a single source of truth for all data entry.

 

Greater sustainability

The fast-paced ever changing business world has seen a big emphasis on sustainability. C-suites are facing pressure from boards, investors, customers and others to regulate the negative impact of their carbon emissions.

 

To find out how organizations use ERP implementation to attain sustainability goals, the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) and SAP, in collaboration with Oxford Economics, surveyed more than 2,125 senior executives involved in their organizations’ environmental sustainability strategies—around the world and across industries. The surprising result: those who outperform their competition in both environmental and financial outcomes also boast the most deeply engaged ERP implementation.

 

Improve transparency and insights

One of the benefits of ERP is that it offers full access to every business function and process in an organization all in one place. With the implementation of ERP, data from every department can be accessed by executive-level employees. The ERP solution monitors data daily and can provide day-to-day information, helping an organization be as precise as possible when it comes to factors such as inventory levels and business operations.

 

The complete visibility ERP provides gives organization leaders better functional business insights and more accurate business forecasting. As a result, this can streamline tasks and make clearer, more concise workflows. In addition, having accurate forecasting models is a competitive advantage, as they allow for improved data-driven strategy and decision-making. As ERP can monitor each department and keep all data in one place, there’s an opportunity for more efficient processes and improved cross-collaboration. In addition, ERP can improve business data security across the whole organization for both on-premises and