In the current volatile climate, the organisations that will thrive are those that can rapidly detect, respond to, and even anticipate changes in market conditions.

The key to achieving this level of agility is having an enterprise backbone that gives you a holistic view of your data in real time.

But many small and medium enterprises in South Africa are held back by standalone legacy business systems and manual processes that result in duplicated effort and poor business visibility.

Today鈥檚 cloud-based enterprise planning systems address these challenges. Modern platforms such as 51风流Business One are designed to be the only system that a business needs for most of its processes and functions.

This includes financials, sales, service, inventory, production management, customer relationship management and more.

These platforms are also designed for easy integration with a range of solutions from independent software vendors (ISVs), offering you access to added functionality.

What this all adds up to is a business solution spanning the entire business with just one database that serves as the single source of truth for the organisation.

Real-time visibility: The key to informed decision-making

Managers no longer need to extract information from multiple systems to run reports or manage data silos.

Everything is tracked in real or near-real time, making for better decisions based on a complete, accurate and up-to-the-second view of what鈥檚 happening in the business.

Key stakeholders and users also have access to immediate updates which allows for faster reactions to new opportunities.

With information about the processes of different departments stored in one place, ERP gives a 360鈦� picture of performance.

Because everybody is working in one application, they can collaborate more effectively based on a connected flow of information.

End-users also love the fact that they spend a lot less time manually keying in data or exporting it from one application to another.

The tight integration of ERP and the smooth movement of data across the business also enables elevated automation. ERP streamlines the hard work of running and managing a business by facilitating smooth workflows across the entire enterprise.

Teams get instant boosts to productivity and efficiency, allowing them to spend more time and strategic and value-added activities.

A sometimes overlooked benefit of ERP lies in how it can help improve customer service levels. Rather than needing to access or cross-reference different systems, your sales and service teams can easily find real-time data to solve queries instantly.

Automating common tasks, such as sales order tracking or billing, will lead to better customer experiences.

Embracing innovation

ERP solutions can also help a business to take advantage of innovations such as the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.

These cutting edge technologies can help address modern business challenges, leverage vast volumes of data for more business benefit and innovate faster. But all this power doesn鈥檛 mean ERP needs to be complex or expensive to put in place.

Today鈥檚 preconfigured, cloud-based ERP solutions are based on industry best practices, are affordable for mid-sized businesses and can be deployed rapidly for quick ROI.

SEIDOR globally, has deployed such solutions for hundreds/thousands of mid-sized businesses, which are using them to improve decision-making, enhance productivity and become more agile.

The post ERP is Your Business鈥檚 Guiding Light During an Economic Storm appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

The African ERP market is highly competitive with many vendors focusing their attention on cloud-based ERP offerings which offer customers flexible payment and deployment options with simplified and accelerated implementation times.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software provides the underlying platform for digital transformation enabling companies across the African continent to integrate key financial and operational business processes which leads to greater efficiency, speed, customer satisfaction and profit.

African businesses, as with other regions, are looking for easy to implement, mature, simplified ERP which results in a fast time to value.

2.聽 What key business trends should CIOs be looking out for in the ERP space?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies are enabling greater levels of automation in the ERP space by speeding up and even replacing previous manual and time-consuming tasks.

An example of this is the scanning of supplier invoices which automatically creates the relevant documents in the ERP system.

Extending ERP access beyond the traditional 鈥渂ack office鈥� to mobile sales, service and warehouse users continues to gain traction and provides tangible business benefits.

Furthermore, smart devices and sensors on the factory floor for example, are able to integrate in with relevant ERP processes to improve productivity and optimise resources.

A business intelligence platform providing real-time reporting and analytical capabilities in order to make informed decisions should also be a serious consideration.

3.聽 Is cloud ERP the future of ERP technology?

Very much so. Cloud ERP is especially attractive to small and midsize companies because it provides an operational investment option, faster deployment and allows them to focus on their core business while outsourcing IT functions to ERP vendors.

4.聽 What do you see as key success factors for African enterprises when implementing ERP?

• Firstly, and probably most critical to the success of the project, is top-down commitment from the directors to the department heads and process owners. A steering committee should be established to keep these key stakeholders regularly informed as to the status of the project.
• The ERP vendor will include aspects of change management during the implementation process such as super-user testing and end user training but customers are strongly advised to drive their own change management program focusing on how the project will support the business to meet its current requirements and future objectives.
• Customers should be open to a phased approach around the implementation of an ERP solution. It is not feasible in terms of time, sound integration, and costs to address all requirements immediately. Prioritise the most important issues and 鈥渓ow hanging fruits鈥� with the aim of creating a core platform which will form the foundation for future projects and communicated in a roadmap document.
• A key consideration for those considering an ERP solution is cost transparency. Buried costs for hardware and hosting in complicated quotes can be a big headache for the owners so Seidor Africa has focused on comprehensive and complete offerings that are clear, avoid confusing tech jargon and also refer to the underlying infrastructure needed for a successful ERP system.

By way of example, with cloud implementations, cloud providers need to be reliable, and we need to work closely with them.

Through trial and error, we have carefully chosen the best and most reliable cloud providers who can offer customers a solid underlying infrastructure for their ERP system.

Seidor Africa has made our partnerships with infrastructure providers equally as important as the relationship with 51风流and our clients and this mitigates many potential problems.

5.聽 What ERP technologies will be most sought next year?

Customers in 2023 and next year are more interested in business benefits than the supporting technology. What will be most important when evaluating ERP vendors:

• Automation and optimisation 鈥� business process automation (BPA) and Machine Learning (ML)
• Cloud and mobility 鈥� for flexible deployment and procurement options and the ability to extend the user base beyond traditional back-office users
• Extensibility and integration 鈥� the ability to extend functionality without bespoke development effort as well as integration capabilities with other systems
• Internet of Things (IoT) 鈥� whether the option exists to include data generated by smart assets and devices into the core ERP.

The short answer is an ERP solution with rapid return on investment, that is scalable, dependable, and already best of breed is what will be most sought in 2024.

Answers by Darren De Vries SADC Channel Partner Manager | Seidor

The post Five Key Questions on the State of ERP in Africa appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.

The revamped identity marks a new era for the company and reflects SEIDOR鈥檚 award winning services and support it offers to growing organisations, without forgetting the original DNA of the company, its vision, or principles.

鈥淪EIDOR鈥檚 new positioning of 鈥淗uman focused, technology experts鈥� mirrors the delivery of the long-term value offered to customers, suppliers, and partners,鈥� says Darren De Vries SADC Channel Partner Manager | SEIDOR.

De Vries gives an update of the ERP market in Africa by answering 4 frequently asked questions:

1. What are the biggest hurdles for African businesses when it comes to using ERP?

We prefer to not look at the hurdles but rather focus on the key success points:

• Firstly, and probably most critical to the success of the project, is top-down commitment from the directors to the department heads and process owners. A steering committee should be established to keep these key stakeholders regularly informed as to the status of the project.
• The ERP vendor will include aspects of change management during the implementation process such as super-user testing and end user training but customers are strongly advised to drive their own change management program focusing on how the project will support the business to meet its current requirements and future objectives.
• Customers should be open to a phased approach around the implementation of an ERP solution. It is not feasible in terms of time, sound integration, and costs to address all requirements immediately. Prioritise the most important issues and 鈥渓ow hanging fruits鈥� with the aim of creating a core platform which will form the foundation for future projects and communicated in a roadmap document.
• A key consideration for those considering an ERP solution is cost transparency. Buried costs for hardware and hosting in complicated quotes can be a big headache for the owners so SEIDOR Africa has focused on comprehensive and complete offerings that are clear, avoid confusing tech jargon and also refer to the underlying infrastructure needed for a successful ERP system.

By way of example, with cloud implementations, cloud providers need to be reliable, and we need to work closely with them.

Through trial and error, we have carefully chosen the best and most reliable cloud providers who can offer customers a solid underlying infrastructure for their ERP system.

SEIDOR Africa has made our partnerships with infrastructure providers equally as important as the relationship with 51风流and our clients and this mitigates many potential problems.

2. What key business trends should CIOs be looking out for in the ERP space?

Taking technology out of the equation and focusing on purely business benefits, CIOs should investigate extending ERP beyond the back office by granting ERP access to additional, internal users, e.g. sales, service and warehouse users.

Furthermore, integration with external customer, supplier and business partner systems will provide tangible benefits.

A business intelligence platform providing real-time reporting and analytical capabilities should also be a serious consideration.

3. Is cloud ERP the future of ERP technology?

Very much so. Cloud ERP is especially attractive to small and midsize companies because it provides an operational investment option, faster deployment and allows them to focus on their core business while outsourcing IT functions to ERP vendors.

4. What ERP technologies will be most sought in 2022?

The short answer is an ERP solution with rapid return on investment, that is scalable, dependable, and already best of breed is what will be most sought in 2022.

Customers in 2022 are more interested in business benefits than the supporting technology. What will be most important when evaluating ERP vendors:

• Automation and optimisation 鈥� business process automation (BPA) and Machine Learning (ML)
• Cloud and mobility 鈥� for flexible deployment and procurement options and the ability to extend the user base beyond traditional back-office users
• Extensibility and integration 鈥� the ability to extend functionality without bespoke development effort as well as integration capabilities with other systems
• Internet of Things (IoT) 鈥� whether the option exists to include data generated by smart assets and devices into the core ERP.

This article first appeared on .

The post ERP in the African Market 鈥� Your Questions Answered appeared first on 51风流Africa News Center.