Tag Archive for: ERP trends

Trends That Will Transform The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Industry

ERP software is essential for a modern-day business. There are professional ERP software solutions providers to help with your requirements. With the breakneck pace at which technology is evolving, ERP is undergoing a host of changes.

The business environment today has become more complex. The level of competition is increasing daily, so are customer expectations. It is essential for businesses to utilize their resources efficiently, this is only possible through the integration of technology with business operations.

Let us take a look at technology trends that will revolutionize the ERP industry as we know it: 

Direct machine integration: This technology refers to the connectivity of computers with machines and other things. Sometimes called “IoT” or “the internet of things”. For example, sensors placed on manufacturing machines can tell the manufacturer’s ERP software everything about the machine’s performance in real-time. The foreman or manager views and interprets the information. He then schedules any needed maintenance during off-hours when employees are not there.

There are much fewer surprise malfunctions and shut-downs when IoT and ERP are combined. That means that fewer human technicians are needed and employees are rarely paid for doing nothing while waiting on machines to get fixed. IoT devices connected to the ERP system can create this kind of communication and efficiency in many different applications within the entire supply chain. This level of visibility all up and down the chain will make companies much more competitive.

Artificial intelligence: To understand AI in an ERP context, think in terms of its practical applications—things like machine learning and natural language processing. AI isn’t any one thing; it’s all the parts and processes toiling away behind the scenes to make something whole, rather than the physical or theoretical manifestation of that whole. AI ERP systems can recognize patterns and automate routine tasks, and they do all of it in the blink of an eye, giving businesses an unprecedented level of efficiency, functionality, and insight into their data. 

If the technology is used optimally, AI will use intelligent software applications to improve the internal management structure and create a smarter technology infrastructure, and thus optimize the business processes in each individual company. To accommodate the new technology, it is important that you are flexible and as a company prepared to review your current IT strategies.

ERP and CRM Data integration: Data has become more complex over the years and it still remains the fuel keeping most organizations in business today. Getting a consistent view of your business performance across a large enterprise could be challenging. Often, global corporations lack a single definitive source of data related to customers or products. And that makes it difficult to answer even the simplest questions.

Not all information needs to be available within five minutes, but certain decisions can only be made on the basis of data that is fully up-to-date. And that is a big advantage of ERP and CRM data integration. With ERP and CRM data integration, you see a unified view of your data, because ERP and CRM data integration software brings your information together, it can include data quality and the process of defining master reference data, such as corporatewide definitions of customers, products, suppliers and other key information that gives context to business transactions.

Cloud ERP: Cloud ERP refers to ERP software and tools that are offered and managed in the cloud, as opposed to the business hosting their system on-premises. While every organization operating today is different, they all face a common challenge—in order to effectively compete in today’s business environment, they need access to technology that helps them innovate, scale, and grow quickly. They need advanced, globally-connected, and continuously updated software tools and systems that allow them to focus more of their time and energy on implementing growth initiatives and less on day-to-day IT management. That’s where cloud ERP comes into play. As technology continues to advance and evolve, more businesses of all sizes are considering cloud ERP software solutions than ever before. This popularity is largely a result of factors such as cost, reliability, speed, and access.

Mobile ERP: Everyone is staring at their cell phones these days. Many people take laptops and other mobile devices with them to restaurants, coffee shops, home, and back to the office.

We live in an era of instant access to information, and today’s mobile workforce expects large-company software to have a mobile app. Apps give executives and employees access to real-time company information and customer communications. ERP is indeed going mobile to meet this need. ERP mobile apps let the workforce send push notifications, create an event, review and approve time, sales orders, and expenses from the local coffee shop.

Apps that are dedicated to just one activity, such as dealing with sales orders or performing customer relationship management, are common. Employees, from the warehouse to the customer’s door, have some sort of real-time information. Companies who implement this technology will have an edge over those who don’t because more work is getting done during the day. That means it gets done faster and customers are happier.

Conclusion

Combining ERP and Smart Tech solutions is a beneficial practice for organizations that want to standardize repeatable processes and increase the visibility of operations across the organization. The ERP system is used as a backbone platform to execute the main transactions and to store the essential data. Smart Tech solutions automate, control, and visualize business processes. As Smart Tech solutions are becoming more extensive and sophisticated,  the number of activities they can replace is increasing. However, to ensure successful use of the ERP and Smart Tech solutions the following considerations must be taken into account:

  • structure of the data
  • alignment of end-users
  • maturity of Smart Tech solutions
  • set-up of the ERP system

The continuous monitoring tool on the ERP platform makes it possible for the employees to gain insights into their critical processes and to turn these insights into actions by managing exceptions. This caused a shift from resolving issues to improving business process activities. Because of the standardized back-office processes.

Contact us today for a free Commercient SYNC demo, and embark on a journey of revolutionizing your ERP system.

How To Improve Your Year-End Reports – The Easy Way

It’s that time of year again when you must generate those valuable reports your manager and company rely so heavily upon. We hope this reporting season went smoothly for you, but we all know that none of us are perfect and there are always ways in which we can improve.  

Finance and sales departments face the same challenges at the end of every reporting period, whether it’s month-end, quarter-end, or year-end. The departments must prepare financial reports and statements such as balance sheets, cash flow statements, income statements, management reports, and provide analysis of key performance indicators. 

During the reporting period, most managers want specific information about their product line, region, division, or stacks of data points throughout the organization. The more data required, the longer these tasks take. Fortunately, the revolution of analyzing data has come upon us, thanks to the availability of powerful tools in today’s digital market. Analysis can now fall in the hands of each user instead of relying on a technical genius or a financial guru to come up with fancy integration and complex formula management. 

For instance, Commercient offers a two-way SYNC app designed to integrate both your ERP and CRM data together, creating one master system for easy data access. Most organizations spend too much gathering the data to prepare reports. In today’s competitive business landscape, companies need to move beyond simply reporting; they need to analyze the data in the reports and adjust strategies based on results. Using Commercient SYNC can help businesses move beyond reporting and spend more time on the analysis of your key performance indicators.

Preparing your financial and management reporting for analysis – A data consolidation process is required. This can often be a complicated process—especially if there are multiple entities, currencies, or legacy systems. There are many software systems in most organizations— different ones for Personnel, Operations, Sales and Marketing, Services, and even Finance. Utilizing tools like Commercient SYNC makes the data avaliable for all departments with a simple click.

Distribution of reports to key stakeholders – Challenges may arise in the process of delivering reports and statements. Often there are different report requirements from different entities. Or maybe there are security issues that do not permit everyone to see the same reports. Multiple reports are required to deliver the same information to different levels of the organization. With a “reporting system” as opposed to a report, the Commercient SYNC integration solution handles this automatically. The application allows you to create a security hierarchy that automatically determines the required information on reports for specific users.

Perform variance analysis against plans and scenarios – During the planning phase, the finance and sales department can create multiple forecasts or plans based on different assumptions. As the results are reported, one can easily create a variance report to see which hypothesis was correct. Which in fact reinforces the methodology used to create the scenario associated with the presumption. Taking it a step further, the application supports re-planning capability at any phase in the reporting and analysis cycle.

Distribute re-forecasted plan and finalize approval – Once a new plan has been established, the system will distribute the new procedure the same way reports are distributed. The specific components of the plan should be distributed to the appropriate person, with security intact. Commercient SYNC will store the procedure centrally, allowing report consumers to compare actuals, a version that is secured and stored in one place. Others may distribute the new plan to all users allowing them to compare their data locally. This makes it easy for all users to access the same data at any time and from anywhere. It also means you don’t have to pay for any additional hardware such as on-premise servers or worry about data management and storage.

Track ongoing results – KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, are performance metrics that measure specific goals for businesses across all sectors. Essentially, all organizations regardless of size generate data in their day to day operations. This data is then used to fuel KPI’s that have been created to measure performance against strategic goals for the business. The data is also used for the day to day management of the business, such as manufacturing-focused performance data or individual performance metrics. 

With Commercient SYNC, the finance and sales teams have much more data visibility making it easier to track KPI’s and stay up to date with changes made in the CRM and ERP system simultaneously.

Would you like to improve your reporting system and eliminate manual processes? Contact us today and ask us how we will be delighted to take you on an integration journey.

Top ERP Trends Every Business Should Know About

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) has become an essential part of the business world, and vendors are continuously creating less complex and more low-cost solutions. Therefore keeping up with the latest trends should be a priority as you’ll be able to get the best of out of your ERP solution. Here are some top ERP trends that every business should know about.

Mobile ERP

Who isn’t going mobile these days? With mobile ERP solutions, your salespeople can access data on the go, no matter where they are. ERP vendors are now looking into ways to build add-ons and extensions to integrate mobility and bring it to the forefront, as opposed to it being just a secondary option.

In addition, mobile-based solutions often prove to be more advantageous than non-mobile-based solutions. This is because they employees the ability to access the information they need in real-time, and collaborate with colleagues, on the move – using their smartphone or tablet. This is definitely an ERP trend that every business should know about and be on the lookout for.

Cloud ERP

You might already be familiar with cloud-based ERP solutions, as they serve to eliminate the cost of hardware, and are also more flexible to companies who prefer managing monthly payments. Cloud-based ERP solutions give you the ability to scale up if your business grows, and scale down as your business needs change.

Placing your ERP in the Cloud also reduces lag times between applications, and empowers you to see an improvement in analytics and reporting. Experts predict that the cloud ERP market will grow rapidly over the next two years. So, it’s important to keep your eye on this ERP trend.

Social ERP

Not only is mobile and cloud ERP part of major ERP trends to look out for, but also the concept of linking social media to ERP is gaining traction. Features like chat and message boards can facilitate better collaboration and social media integration across all verticals is becoming the norm.

Experts believe social ERP might fully come into play if users can let vendors know their exact demands and needs. It’s definitely an upcoming trend in the ERP arena that is worth keeping an eye on.

Two-Tier ERP

Two-tier ERP is another trend that is becoming increasingly popular. With this strategy, a company uses one ERP system at the corporate level, while allowing its divisions, business units, and selected departments at different locations to use a different ERP system.

This is especially beneficial for large enterprises that may be running different processes at different places. This serves to meet the needs of all locations and can reduce costs, as well. Installing smaller ERP systems several times can, for example, be cheaper than expanding one gigantic ERP system.

IoT Pulse

Another ERP trend that you should be aware of is integration. Many businesses are now taking advantage of the ability to integrate their ERP systems with all of their business applications using Commercient IoT Pulse.

IoT Pulse allows you to integrate your ERP system (e.g., Sage Live, NETSUITE, Acumatica, etc.) with all of your other business applications, including Slack, MailChimp, Asana, Magento, etc., to help you automate all your business processes. This is a trend that you certainly want to keep in step with. Also, please check out our Commercient SYNC data integration solution for connecting your ERP and CRM systems.

To learn more about how you can integrate your ERP system with all your business applications using Commercient IoT Pulse, check out our IoT Pulse page.

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