Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has always been key to helping businesses make better-informed business decisions, but thanks to a year of digital advancements, the software’s ability to dramatically impact decision-making has advanced considerably.
In fact, one could easily say 2018 was a particularly exciting year for ERP providers like SYSPRO. Let’s take a closer look at why.
Cost-effective Cloud Solutions
There isn’t a business around today that doesn’t need ERP. The ability of ERP to take a company’s vital information and seamlessly integrate it to provide real-time information is invaluable.
But, sometimes businesses are not in a position to afford the cost implications and maintenance of hardware or in-house IT departments.
This is where cloud-based ERP systems, which can be offered through a pay-as-you-go subscription-type model, have made a massive difference to the accessibility of ERP. Because there is no up-keep of on-premise hardware, it’s easy to maintain a cloud-based ERP system.
ERP that is cloud-based can also be accessed from any device, making it easy for employees to access the system from any location.
SYSPRO Cloud, for example, is an infrastructure-as-a-service offering that provides a consistent user experience of SYSPRO for end users, wherever and however they choose to access the ERP.
Quicker Decision-making through Mobile Applications
It’s no secret that over the past year companies have increasingly looked to mobile solutions to help enhance their operations. In fact, a study conducted by World Wide Worx, in partnership with SYSPRO, showed that 38% of South African companies look to mobile software to help them make quicker decisions.
This is particularly the case when it comes to ERP, because it is such an important source of business information.
As such, the advancement of mobile ERP systems, such as SYSPRO Espresso, was an important trend in 2018.
SYSPRO Espresso, which features advanced big data and mobile ERP capabilities, gives companies complete control over the planning and management of all facets of their business. It enables them to access business information as easily as if they were sitting at their desk
Because employees are able to retrieve up-to-date information as and when they need it, they’re able to improve customer engagement through real-time sales and service information. At the same time, the supply chain is streamlined because supplier and inventory data is accessed so much more quickly.
At the end of the day, mobile ERP has been helping companies increase their revenue /profit opportunities.
More Valuable Insights with IoT
The integration of IoT into ERP systems was another a major trend in 2018, largely because the combination of these powerful technologies provides businesses with extremely valuable business insights.
Technology like that found in SYSPRO’s ERP business solution MOM (Manufacturing Operations Management), for example, allows manufacturers to connect their factory equipment to their shop floors as well as to other ERP technologies in use. By feeding this wealth of unstructured data into the central ERP system, companies are provided with more accurate information, more quickly.
The end result is that companies can acclimatize more quickly to new business requirements and adapt their offering accordingly. This can be applied to any area of the business, from customer service to forecasting or inventory management.
In summary, IoT increases the volume of data entering a business’ ERP system, at the same time improving the quality of that data.
Business Predictions that Impact the Bottom Line
Artificial Intelligence, much like IoT, has been a major buzzword in the tech industry for some time now.
Because businesses have access to so much more data, they also need new ways of analyzing that data. This is where AI and machine learning come into play. Together these functions enable businesses to analyze data more effectively, allowing them to gain the valuable insights needed to make significant business improvements. As the amount of unstructured data being fed into a company’s ERP system grows, so the application of AI becomes increasingly important.
Once companies can predict things, such as their profit for the month, they have a much more solid platform from which to drive business growth.
There’s no doubt 2018 has been a year of exciting advancements where ERP is concerned. Businesses are making better-informed decisions more quickly and cost-effectively than ever before, which bodes incredibly well for another year of cutting-edge business developments in 2019.
