Small business ERP solutions

What is an ERP?

An ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution is an integration of business processes and modern technologies to improve operational efficiency and effectiveness in the best manner possible for a business enterprise.

ERP and Small Business

An ERP is a coming together of practices for managing an enterprise, information technology, and the process of working towards a business goal.

Small businesses have serious limitations in terms of financial and human capital resources. Most ERPs were out of the reach of small businesses especially the on-premise ERPs that required significant licensing and resource/facility up-gradation costs. This has thankfully changed significantly with the advent of cloud ERP solutions.

Small business manufacturers and distributors generally want basic functional features in an ERP system that take care of order management, inventory control, CRM, warehouse management, finance, purchasing, manufacturing, and business intelligence. Small businesses can benefit a lot from an ERP solution and those that have a vision for growth should not go without one in today’s competitive scenario.

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Here is what the right ERP can do for small businesses

A perfectly integrated system connecting all functional areas together
The capability to streamline different organizational processes and workflows and identify and tackle pain points/bottlenecks
The ability to effortlessly communicate across various departments
Improved efficiency, performance, and productivity levels
Enhanced tracking and forecasting competency
Improved customer service levels and satisfaction
Faster reaction times to contingencies and issues
Better, more accurate, and faster report generation in real-time
Better archiving and storage of important business data
No significant additional cost burden that disturbs your business model
Provide anytime, anywhere access
Secure storage and control of data
Effective customer support infrastructure to address issues effectively
A seamless migration and capacity building model for switching to it

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A survey of 250 IT buyers, the bulk of which were small businesses was conducted by ERP journalist Forrest Burnson of softwareadvice.com in 2015. The following were some of his findings:

Almost 60% of buyers identified the need to improve the integration of data between different business processes as the top reason for seeking an ERP solution
47% wanted to improve their customer relationship management (CRM) database and cited that as the reason for looking for an ERP system.
Amongst buyers currently using ERP systems and looking for a change, 24 % said that poor support and almost 20 % said that unfeasible cost burdens were their primary reasons for wanting to switch to a new solution

Putting all business data in one place with easy access makes sound business sense and saves a lot of time, effort, and money.

Businesses that link their ERP and CRM systems are seeing the most tangible business benefits and almost half of all ERP buyers were looking to improve their CRM-related competence by acquiring an ERP.

In spite of all the benefits, the penetration of ERP solutions in the market is still not very high due to the misconception that the investment is very high and prohibitive. They are still not aware that the cloud has changed the business model and costs for acquiring an ERP and has made it affordable and within the reach of even the small business owners. Licensing costs are affordable with flexible subscription models of payment, up-gradation costs are almost nonexistent, set up times in a matter of hours, and updates are now automated via the cloud which greatly reduces the burden for a buyer of a cloud ERP.