A successful company runs like a well-oiled machine, with multiple cogs and mechanisms working in tandem. At any point in time, people from multiple departments are performing their individual tasks, communicating with other teams and members, and dealing with customers and vendors. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is built to cater to the needs of a business’ organization, ensuring each component of the machine can perform its task optimally.
Modern ERP systems come with integrated work flow capabilities designed to optimize the productivity of each member of your team. Software functions such as automation, notifications and alerts, and approvals systems ensure quick communication without sacrificing accuracy. Take a look at this screenshot describing some Acumatica work flow capabilities and how they can help improve company productivity.
What are Workflows and how can They Improve Company ROI?
Workflows are automated series of repetitive tasks designed to optimize company resources and minimize human error. A workflow can be a short sequence of tasks or a long-term annual process. In either case, a proper workflow can improve employee productivity and reduce errors and costs throughout the company.
An example of a workflow would be a series of notifications alerting employees and the buyer of the status of an ongoing purchase. The workflow would also notify the buyer of the communication process in case of a problem. Implementing this workflow means staff no longer have to spend valuable time sending notifications to buyers and updating warehouse databases after each purchase.
Modern ERP systems allow you to leverage the expertise of your best team members to design a custom automated workflow around the needs and goals of your company. ERP workflows are invaluable tools to minimize human error and optimize resource allocation throughout your enterprise. A flexible ERP solution also allows for you to analyze the effectiveness of individual workflows so you can best understand what does and doesn’t work for your organization.
ERP Workflow as an Element of Business Process Management (BPM)
Business process management (BPM) is a systematic and holistic approach to evaluating and designing business workflows that are more effective, efficient, and adaptable. A business process is defined as a task or series of tasks created to fulfill a specific goal within a business.
BPM and workflow are already considered essential components of modern ERP systems. Some ERP vendors provide workflow functionalities built into their software, while others allow for the integration of third-party solutions. Third-party BPM/workflow solutions may work in a pinch, but can be difficult to troubleshoot and adapt to updates in your ERP software. Unless your budget or current structure doesn’t allow for it, any long-term implementation of ERP and BPM/workflow functionalities is best taken from a single solution provider.
Read Some Case Studies on how Modern ERP Systems with Workflows have been Used Successfully
Maxtec provides IT services and solutions to large base of users from a wide swathe of industries. Following a management buyout in 2015, the team at Maxtec begin shopping around for a modern ERP system. Of the several ERP vendors that approached them, Acumatica ERP software stood out the most. “First of all, the pricing [of Acumatica ERP software] was very, very reasonable compared to NetSuite [one of their top three frontrunners before Acumatica]. The cost was very attractive to us,” Nicholle Pereira of Maxtec says. “Also, just the way the system worked – it presented us with a workflow that we could design very easily and very quickly.”
Guardian SealTech provides maintenance and repair services to customers in the petroleum industry. They have more than 500 technicians spread across the entire US. With Acumatica ERP software, they can guarantee more accurate timesheet collection and prompt client billings.