6 Signs Your Company Needs An ERP System
With the Technology Evaluation Center (TEC) reporting that some 50% of companies are planning to implement, upgrade or update an ERP system soon, our article explores some of the common signs that your organisation might be in need of an ERP system.
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Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions are commonly used by organisations for day-to-day tasks to manage and automate business processes from finance to operations and inventory management. ERP solutions pull data from a variety of sources providing organisations with a single source of truth for all operational data, with a recent Panorama report stating that ERP implementation led to business process improvement for 85% of businesses.
While ERP systems are known to deliver efficiency, many organisations may be resistant to making a change. However, as more and more organisations embrace digital solutions such as ERP to drive operational efficiencies, organisations yet to implement and ERP system could find themselves at a disadvantage. If your organisation is deciding whether it is time to consider implementing or upgrading an ERP system, there are a few things you might consider. When an ERP system becomes essential differs from business to business. The type or size of ERP you might require will also differ based on the organisation’s requirements and budget. To help you assess if your organisation may need an ERP, we have compiled some tell-tale signs that it might be time to make the move.
Using Multiple Systems
Are you currently using multiple software systems across different business functions? Running separate systems can hinder efficiency and productivity by keeping operations dispersed. ERP software can help integrate multiple systems into one platform meaning your organisation can manage everything from one single space. Systems that do not integrate with one another can lead to difficulty in communication with different departments using their own systems with different processes. This means that it is difficult for data to flow across departments in turn creating communication silos along with data silos.
Business Is Growing
Is your business in a state of growth or do you have plans for continued growth? Are you finding it difficult to scale systems as needed in line with business expansion? ERP software is known to provide a solid foundation for growth. Through connecting and optimising all current business processes, ERP solutions provide a framework from which the organisation can scale operations as needed. Cloud-based ERP systems are particularly suitable in this context allowing users to scale on-demand and save on costs while only paying for the storage you need.
Lack of Visibility into Business Data
Can you easily get a clear picture of business performance? Does it take too much time to pull weekly financial reports together? If accessing data easily is not commonplace in your organisation it may be time to consider an ERP system. Organisations paving the way in today’s business environment are those that drive growth and competitive advantage based on data insights and data-driven decisions. If your organisation struggles to harness the value of data, you are likely missing a big opportunity. An ERP system can be helpful in this instance, by pulling data from a range of sources, your team can work off a single source of truth for all data queries.
Too Reliant on Manual processes
Is your team heavily reliant on paper-based invoices or spreadsheets? Is your team spending a lot of time manually entering data, re-entering incorrect data, cross-checking information or copying information across to other systems? This can be a sign that it is time to implement an ERP system to automate and streamline tedious manual tasks freeing up your team to spend more time working on more value-add tasks.
Unhappy Customers or Employees
Customer expectations are on the rise with customers less forgiving than ever. With more options on the market, customers have so much choice for almost any service meaning organisations must prioritise customer service. If your back-end system cannot help you deliver a high level of customer service, it is more than likely a hindrance, for example, issues with accurate inventory numbers or tracking orders. Further, employee satisfaction is equally important. If your organisation frequently hears complaints about the technology systems in place, in particular about what the systems can’t do, then it may be time to fill invest in filling the gap and delivering a better working experience for employees.
Complicated IT Processes
If your organisation is using multiple software solutions to run different parts of your business, it is likely that your IT processes are quite complicated. Multiple systems can become costly when trying to keep on top of maintenance as well as an extra burden on the IT team who have to spend time managing the IT infrastructure. This is where an ERP system can help where your IT team only have one system to maintain. Going a step further, cloud-based ERP issues automatic updates through your vendor, saving the IT team more hassle.
If these signs sound familiar, it might be the right time for your organisation to consider implementing or upgrading your ERP system. If you would like to get started with your ERP journey get in touch to speak to one of our specialists today.
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