Small business owners often face a myriad of challenges. These can range from limited resources and cash flow problems to marketing, sales, and everything in between. To overcome these obstacles, it’s often necessary to discover ways to make your business run smoother, faster, and more efficiently.
That’s why Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) was created. With ERP tools like Netsuite, you’ll be able to optimise your operations and run your business more efficiently. That includes all aspects of your work, including finance, HR, sales, inventory, and more.
That said, is ERP really worth the investment for small business owners?
In this article, we’ll explore why Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a valuable investment for your business.
But before going into that, it’s first important to break down ERP.
What is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)?
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is like a super smart assistant that helps you manage your business better. How? By bringing all your key processes together in one place.
You can also think of it as a central hub that connects your finances, operations, supply chain, and more—all so that you can run your business on the fly.
Types of ERP systems
When it comes to ERP systems, there are three primary options to consider:
- Cloud based ERP: This is a cloud based ERP system hosted online, providing anywhere, anytime access and typically offered as a subscription-based service.
- On-premise ERP: An on premise ERP system is installed and hosted on an organisation’s own servers.
- Hybrid ERP: A hybrid ERP system combines elements of both cloud-based and on-premise solutions.
What you should expect from a good ERP system
So, what makes a good ERP system? First, it should make managing your finances a breeze. We’re talking easy accounting, budgeting, and forecasting—the whole nine yards. With a solid financial management module, you’ll have a clear picture of your company’s financial health and be able to make smart decisions to drive growth.
Next up, a top-notch ERP system should streamline your supply chain management. Think automated procurement, inventory management, and order fulfillment. By integrating these processes, you’ll cut costs, boost efficiency, and ensure that goods and services get to your customers on time, every time.
Your ERP system should also help you run your day-to-day operations like a well-oiled machine. We’re talking optimised resource allocation, inventory tracking, and workflow management. With everything running smoothly, you can focus on growing your business.
But that’s not all. A good ERP system should also give you real time insights into your business performance and work perfectly with other business systems, like CRM, HR, and more.
Fact: It would appear that ERP systems have been meeting expectations. A testament is in the fact that in 2020, more than 90% of organisations said that their ERP implementations were successful.
Benefits of ERP for small businesses
Now that you understand ERP systems and what to expect from them, the next course of action is to highlight the benefits that ERP systems have to offer small businesses.
- Streamlined operations: ERP systems integrate various business processes—like HR, accounting, Sales, inventory, and more—into a single platform. In doing so, they allow you to handle everything from one place.
- Enhanced decision making: By providing you with real time data, analytics, and insights at your fingertips, ERPs ensure that you’ll be making informed decisions.
Scalability and flexibility: ERP systems are designed to grow with your business and adapt to your evolving needs. They provide the flexibility to accommodate changes in your operations and offer future-proof solutions that can scale alongside your business growth.
