ERP is often considered the backbone of modern business. Decades ago ERP transitioned businesses away from pen and paper spreadsheets. Today, with advanced applications, intelligent technology, and the dominance of mobile, ERP has grown to be a critical business asset as enterprises undergo digital transformation.
The traditional benefits of ERP still ring true today. The software offers all the advanced technology businesses need to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and grow in one scalable and secure environment. But the digital age brings unique challenges, like how to deploy massive enterprise systems with little to no business disruption, manage and analyze the massive amounts of data businesses generate, and access critical systems from all over the world as businesses are increasingly mobile.
For a solution that started becoming mainstream in the 1970s, ERP has also become a more critical tool with the advancement of other intelligent technology. Below are currently the most topical ways ERP can be used in the digital age.
Cloud Integration
As cloud computing continues to evolve, more companies are opting to run their business applications in the cloud rather than on-premise. When cloud computing is combined with ERP, businesses are finding the solution even more beneficial than before.
When it comes to cloud ERP, it can take fewer people to do more work. There’s usually a minimal learning curve on hardware and software issues, and businesses can have all the benefits from cloud technology without having to re-train or dedicate significant resources to manage it, and also freeing up time to work on other projects.
Cloud ERP is also a smart disaster recovery solution. When a disaster such as a hurricane, fire, or flood strikes, if the ERP solution is in the cloud, all critical business data and applications are safe since the cloud always utilizes multiple data centers with geographic dispersity.
Data Management and Analytics
Businesses are collecting more ERP data now than ever, but in order for that data to be valuable, companies need to ensure that information from various sources is collected in the same space in an organized way. ERP centralizes all this data and provides end-to-end visibility across operations, creating the perfect platform to analyze the information for deeper and richer actionable insights and by bringing outside data in for even greater insights.
A truly modern ERP system has embedded analytics that provide organizations with high-level monitoring of overall performance of the enterprise, and low-level monitoring that can focus on departmental metrics. They can also create powerful dashboards and reports so businesses can easily identify any anomalies before they turn into significant business issues, identify opportunities, analyze trends, communicate goals consistently with employees, and monitor performance against targets. Having access to this information is vital to grow revenue, protect margins, and improve profitability.
Business Mobility
Today, nearly everyone has a smartphone, and personal devices have long become integrated into our everyday lives. Organizations have started to make the most of mobility, and now, ordinary mobile devices can be turned into powerful business tools.
Intelligent ERP vendors offer mobile web or applications specifically designed for smaller handheld displays and touchscreen interfaces that synchs directly with the main ERP system. This can give employees access to nearly every aspect of their business at their fingertip anytime, anywhere. Solutions also give users offline access to content when Wi-Fi or cellular data is unavailable, which is particularly useful for employees in the field that are on the go.
Mobile solutions also opens up the opportunity to integrate a number of mobile-specific applications that can enhance overall business operations. For example, businesses can use GPS and proof of delivery applications to replace the paperwork of capturing signatures and logging stops along the route, which then need to later be uploaded into the system. Proof of delivery applications linked with mobile ERP can capture signatures and even photographs showing proof of delivery, and can instantly update the ERP system in real time, saving significant time and resources.
Standing the Test of Time
As time goes on and more technologies are introduced, ERP is unique in that instead of becoming obsolete it evolves in a way that makes it even more valuable to businesses than ever before. ERP will continue to evolve as new, intelligent technology becomes mainstream like IoT, AI, and machine learning. While the systems we see in place today may look a lot different than the ones decades down the road, ERP continues to be a valuable, timeless investment to companies looking to digitally transform while maintaining a competitive edge.