Signs that your business might be ready for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution can be a little difficult to spot, if you don’t know what to look for. Sometimes, the ERP-sized hole in your business will make itself know through indirect indicators like the number of Advils you take each week. If it’s more than four, you probably need ERP.
In our experience as an Acumatica cloud ERP partner, a business will demonstrate its readiness for ERP through proxy problems, such as inventory tracking difficulties. Or, you’ve might just feel stuck, that your business can’t scale any further. Adding an ERP system before reaching that stopping point will help your business continue to grow without stressing out customers and employees.
You might also be thinking, wait, no, I don’t need ERP. That’s for huge corporations dealing with industrial logistics. Not anymore. While ERP of course still works in global supply chain situations, the software now also offers a host of features that help small-to-midsized companies grow revenue and earnings. Acumatica customers use the solution for accounting and finance, warehouse and inventory management, sales management, operations management and more.
With that in mind, here are four signs that your company needs ERP software.
#1 – You’re having trouble keeping track of inventory
Often, inventory problems are among the first signs that your company needs an ERP. This is one of those root issues that causes trouble companywide. If old, obsolete, or damaged inventory is still in warehouses, it takes up valuable space that can be used for relevant inventory. If your company is manufacturing products, and the inventory on hand is either too little or too much regularly, or if it has become a struggle to track inventory, it’s time for an ERP System.
Acumatica’s cloud-based ERP can help manage and track inventory through a central information hub. Accurate counts are available in real-time. Detailed reports help managers make better raw material purchasing decisions.
#2 – You’ve got unsatisfied customers
If customer complaints have increased because orders are taking longer to fill, shipment tracking isn’t accurate, or for any number of other reasons, it’s time for ERP software. ERP improves customer service by making one view of the customer and their orders available to all users. The information can be provided in real-time for better communication about orders and deliveries.
An ERP can also analyze and report on areas causing problems between order and fulfillment. Customers will be much happier if your employees are armed with more accurate data about the company’s workflows, improved scheduling and automation that decreases or eliminates human error.
#3 – Your manual, non-integrated systems are slowing things down
Automating systems reduces opportunities for human error. If too many workflows are still being conducted by hand, using tools like Excel, the margin for error increases. An ERP solution can be configured to ingest order information and proceed to schedule manufacturing, create packing slips, handle complex accounting processes for the cost of materials and revenue, and much more.
Non-integrated systems also slow things down. When one system doesn’t work with another, it often causes frustration for employees and can lead to vital information being lost or mishandled. An ERP brings all business functions from accounting, manufacturing, regulations, and so forth into one centralized system.
#4 – You’re having difficulty accessing information
You and your people need accurate data to make timely decisions. If employees have to log in to several different programs to extract data, it will make managing your business sluggish and vulnerable to erroneous information. If the programs in question are only available in the office, that compounds the problem in today’s hybrid work environment. With a cloud-based ERP like Acumatica, information is available anytime, anywhere, from any browser, and on any device. And, the data is centralized and clean—a single source of truth that drives effective decision making.
To learn more about how ERP might be a good fit for your business, contact us for a demo of Acumatica.
Additional ERP Resources
How Acumatica Cloud ERP Enables Business Growth