Infrastrcture ain't a liability, it's an investment

Data has become a prized possession for businesses because it’s so critical to making the best possible decisions, and ERP software can help protect that asset. The fact that all this data is in one place, rather than spread across multiple systems with varying levels of security, increases the level of protection. It replaces spreadsheets and other documents sitting on employees’ desktops and being passed around via email.

Much of the value of ERP can be traced back to the fact that all information from different departments is stored in one place. Without such a system, data is often spread far and wide across an organization in various applications and spreadsheets, making it harder for staff to track down whatever it is they need. Additionally, this approach often results in duplicate data in inconsistent formats, posing more challenges.

There are countless ways an ERP system can give a major boost to productivity. One way is that it automates many basic, repetitive tasks, freeing up employees to work on other projects that bring more value to the organization. It can also allow them to complete a variety of tasks faster by making processes more straightforward and reducing the time spent searching for the information they need

Visibility is another one of the broad, fundamental benefits of ERP — everyone having visibility into various aspects of the business is a powerful thing. It enables faster and better decisions because managers have all relevant context that can assist them.

The beauty of leading ERP systems is that you can use the functionality you need now while leaving the door open to add more capabilities down the road. In that sense, the system can scale with your business as it grows and evolves.

Employees have become very comfortable using smartphones and tablets instead of computers to complete many tasks, and in light of that trend, today’s ERP systems are mobile-friendly. Since users access cloud systems through the web, they can pull up all the dashboards, reports and other information they need to see in a Mobile Browser and with Mobile Apps for quicker overview.

For business owners and leaders, the most convincing reason to buy an ERP system is that it lowers overall costs, often in a big way. The automation we’ve already discussed can reduce or even wipe out many administrative and operational costs. Manual data entry or processes that require long paper trails, for instance, are often eliminated with this software.

Reporting is without question one of the biggest and most immediate benefits of using an ERP system. The possibilities are endless with the ability to customize reporting across all functions — finance, inventory, orders, procurement, sales and marketing, HR and anything else you can dream up.