What does ERP do?
Handles processes relating to supply chain, inventory, manufacturing, procurement, risk or compliance and is designed to reduce costs, waste and manual admin and increase quality, safety and productivity. Some big ERP systems include the other software we’ve talked in this guide.
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A collection of software that helps you automate processes in your business
Is it right for you?
ERP could be good
for you if you…
- Hold data in separate bits of software and want to combine them to save money or time
- Want to get a single view of data from across your operations to see what drives performance
- Want to be able to plan inventory more accurately
- Are going after bigger clients who have complex compliance and reporting standards
- Want to integrate your supply chain with a client’s supply chain
- Could use live reporting to make quicker decisions and adaptations
ERP might not be right
for you if you…
- You don’t have any complex, multi-step processes
- You’re a service business or a retailer
Technology Benefits
- Increasing the efficiency of your business
- The integration of services offered by separate systems can reduce the overall cost of IT infrastructure, and the resource required to manage it. Streamlined processes and automation can significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to do standard tasks, and increase capacity for more ‘value-add’ tasks. Processes can be carefully monitored to increase efficiency.
- Increasing quality and consistency
- Increased standardization and automation can improve quality and consistency in processes. Increased consistency can reduce the rate of errors, reducing waste and the costs associated with remedial action. It can also help improve safety, compliance and security.
- Increasing information and transparency
- The creation of a single source of reliable data across the systems it integrates can improve performance management, forecasting, and decision making. This improved understanding can drive process improvements, for example reducing required level of inventory
- Increasing flexibility
- Live performance reporting allows real time decisions and adaptations, without the need to wait for standard reporting cycles. There can be significant scope for customization in terms of what modules an ERP includes. Modules can be added over time
- Unlocking new areas of growth
- An ERP system may enable your organisation to meet new standards of compliance and reporting, allowing you to work with larger clients. It may also enable your business to integrate into their supply chain more fully
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25 %
According to ONS, the introduction of technology such as ERP has been shown to create a productivity premium of around 25 per cent
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