Among the most important benefits of an ERP system is the ease of use it brings to a business. The advantages that an ERP offers have led to massive adoption, and now no business is without it to run day-to-day operations.��

ERP systems use intelligent technologies to help organizations transform their mission-critical processes. This is achieved through technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and advanced analytics. Equipped with these technologies, ERP can help transform business processes with intelligent automation that offers real-time processing speeds and a dramatically simplified data model. These advantages of ERP systems allow an organization to improve its operational and functional facets. These include improvements in the operational, managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure, and organizational aspects of a firm.

ERP systems also enable the organization to adapt to changes in the market rapidly. This is especially helpful for big businesses, which are not agile because of their size. ERP systems, such as the one from��, achieve this through features such as-

• Built-in machine learning and digital assistants��
• Advanced analytics
• Continuous innovation and updates delivered via the cloud��
• Flexible, scalable, and maintenance-free platforms
• Fast deployment and ease of use on any device��

An ERP system or module can therefore be handy for any business and help it to deliver

• Better customer satisfaction��
• Improved vendor performance��
• Increased flexibility
• Reduction of lead time��
• On-time shipments
• Increase of inventory turns to over, cycle time, and works in progress
• Reduction in quality costs
• Improved resource utility��
• Improved information accuracy, and��
• Improved decision-making capabilities

But ERPs aren’t for large enterprises alone. Irrespective of whether you are a growing business or a medium-sized enterprise, implementing an ERP system brings myriad benefits. Here are the top��10 benefits��of implementing an ERP system.

1. Helps streamline all business processes

Organizations comprise of multiple functions that need to work in coordination with each other to ensure smooth operations and profitability. However, achieving synergy among the different departments of an organization is not easy. As the processes going on in different parts get more complex, the efficiency of the entire enterprise can get affected. This might result in reduced efficiency.��

Therefore, it is imperative for your business to keep a centralized node where information can go to and from all other parts of the business. An ERP module does just that. As information is shared and work coordinated with others, each department attains optimum levels of functioning. This increases efficiency.

2. Helps improve employee efficiency

By implementing ERP systems, the companies can attain strategic benefits in the human resources department too. These benefits are achieved through��

• Aligning individual and team goals with the corporate goals and strategies��
• Standardizing and better organizing employee reviews and appraisals��
• Effectively identifying and rewarding good performers
• Devising optimal compensation frameworks��
• Helping ensure safe working conditions for all employees in your maintenance department
• Maintaining the reliability of the technical system of an organization

Besides this, by providing real-time access to customer and market data to the employees, ERP systems help them make better-informed decisions. This also increases the efficiency of the workforce.��

3. Helps manage assets better��

Business assets include capital, raw materials, and infrastructure for the workforce as also information and data resources. These assets require a framework under which they can be managed.��

By sharing data and information with the stakeholders within and outside an organization, ERP systems help manage assets better and improve operational performance. As ERP ensures all stakeholders have visibility into the same information and process flow, getting the best out of assets becomes easier. This is done through

• Integrated scheduling to allocate and optimize resources. These resources include people, tools, and materials
• Comprehensive management of environment, health, and safety data. ERP systems also perform response and analysis functions.
• Proactive task identification, management, and execution. These help to improve safety, environmental impact, and operational results.
• Completing planned and unplanned maintenance tasks in an efficient manner
• Addressing emergencies quickly and effectively
• Enabling maintenance planners to proactively monitor important and time-sensitive work across maintenance activities and spare parts inventory
• Enhancing maintenance efficiency with fast access to analytics on costs, breakdown rates, and damages
• Building schedules by simulating scope and workload, and track work status

4. Helps in avoiding wastage of resources

The implementation of an ERP system allows businesses to track demand from customers. The ERP systems make this possible by accessing the data from different departments like sales, service, and marketing. Tracking customer requirements will help manage inventory better. It also ensures that stocks are available, that manufacturing meets the demand, and that the company does not produce too much or too less. In fact, ERP is a boon for just-in-time production, a model that manufacturers are increasingly adopting the world over. ERP systems also provide and process customer behavior data for an organization. This helps the firm to get a better understanding of the customer needs for customized products and services.

Achieving optimum production levels also saves resources and prevents losses on account of wastage. Maintenance operations in an organization are also optimized through ERP systems. This enables the technicians to detect, report, and resolve malfunctions in time. ERP systems also automate processes for inspecting, maintaining, and restoring infrastructure. These help to reduce costs and avoid wastage.��

These systems also allow for the planning, scheduling, and execution of maintenance procedures with integrated and coordinated processes. This reduces reaction time and strengthens the organization’s problem-solving capabilities.

5. Increases customer satisfaction

ERP systems gather and help your organization analyze data from customers. This is done by��analyzing��customer experience strategies. Accurate data about customers’ purchase history, buying behavior and feedback can be used for this purpose. This helps in identifying the product and service mix that best satisfies your customers. It also helps your organization to deliver a better interactive experience for the customers.

ERP modules also allow your firm’s employees quick access to all this data, so that they can understand the needs and serve the customer on the go. Better customer service leads to greater customer satisfaction. This, in turn, develops customer loyalty and helps spread good word of mouth for the company.

6. Ensures compliance with all regulations

Every industry is governed as per regulations. It’s imperative that organizations comply with regulatory and statutory requirements. Violating these regulations can lead to fines, bad publicity, and other adverse outcomes. It can even lead to the shutting down of the business. A sound ERP system can take care of all the regulations by preventing errors and mistakes that can lead to violations. For example, ERP systems can help an organization to ensure compliance through��

• Providing alerts and reminders for all aspects of a business��
• Ensuring compliance with environmental protection regulations by making sure that all equipment is running at optimum standards��
• Creating and managing all the contracts in one solution
• Deploying enterprise-wide legal document management for increased transparency
• Simplifying and automating contracting processes to ensure complete legal protection and compliance.

7. Automatically executes tasks

The data generated by different processes in a company is immense. This data needs analysis, and other functions like scheduling tasks, deciding operations, making amendments, and devising strategies depend on how well the data is processed.

The processing of all this data traditionally required a manual workforce. However, the time and human resources spent on data processing can be saved by implementing an ERP system. As an ERP system automates data processing and executes assigned tasks without the requirement of human interference, precious time and other resources are saved. It also leads to better customer service as automated platforms can interact with them independently.��

8. Provides flexibility and adaptability��

ERP systems centralize data processing and sharing between multiple units of your business. This infuses agility and flexibility in your business. As each department knows its own functions and becomes responsive to the functioning of others, adaptability is also achieved through better problem detection and solution capabilities.

For example, with the help of the data processed through ERP systems, your organization can streamline accounting and finances. This allows for better consolidation, scheduling, workflow management, and collaboration in the workforce of a firm. Using ERP modules, you can also keep track of payments and cash flows. Through analyzing and allocating cash and payments in real time, you can even set up in-house banks or payment centers.

ERP modules also help an organization to increase the agility of its finance processes. This can be done through the end-to-end analytics abilities of the ERP system, which includes

• Unified transactions, analytics, and planning to enhance the entire financial and accounting framework
• Streamlined, intelligent automated processes for greater throughput
• Subscription and usage-based billing models to fit any business’ individual needs
• Actionable insights and recommendations at the point of decision for real-time evaluation.

9. Saves costs

ERP systems also help in cost management through comprehensive analytics, reducing loss and increasing profitability. ERP systems also enable an organization to assess profit and margin contribution with real-time reporting, predictive analytics, and integrated business planning. Other ways through which an ERP system can help you save costs include

• Delivering consolidated invoices, managing credit scoring, resolving disputes with a complete view of the customer, and simplifying accounting and financial processes��
• Combining financial and management accounting and profitability data into a single universal journal
• Managing joint venture accounting and closing your books in real time with less effort
• Complying with new statutory regulations for revenue recognition while supporting existing requirements
• Gaining flexibility by decoupling revenue recognition rules from order entry and billing systems
• Improving treasury and financial risk processes��
• Manage enterprise risk and compliance effectively
• Integrating and automating processes for risk management, compliance assurance, and international trade
• Optimizing space utilization, cost, and occupancy by actively managing lease agreements, investments, and construction projects.

Through better use of data and information, ERP systems also help devise strategies and plans for risk prevention, mitigation, and management. This can be done by better managing investigations and follow-up activities to reduce injury, illness, and incident rates. Other potential costs, penalties, fines, and unplanned downtime associated with environment, health, and safety can also be reduced with the help of an ERP system.

10. Develops better decision-making abilities

Availability of accurate information is an asset in itself. ERP modules not only provide this information, but also help you organize and analyze the information quickly and in time. This helps your company’s decision-making process to become fast and accurate.��

For example, the ERP systems can make available all the data and information of your sales and purchases departments to the finance and accounting sections. With the right data available at the right time, finance teams can make decisions faster and develop prudent strategies, including predicting cash flow accurately, managing liquidity efficiently, and mitigating risk proactively.

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With large, well-known enterprises on one end of the competitive landscape and rising startups emerging on the other, growing businesses face an interesting dilemma.

Every single competitor is working to deliver the best products, 24 x 7 services, and responsive customer experiences. But at a time when time, capital, and resources are extraordinarily tight, growing companies need to make a permanent shift in their ERP strategy to address evolving needs and fuel sustainable growth. Take, for example, this research finding from . Although revenue growth is understandably a top priority for 41% of surveyed small and medium-size businesses, 35.4% identified legacy applications and custom code as top barriers to meeting that goal.¹��And in most cases, the most problematic technology is an ERP system implemented years ago as a system of historical records, outdated insights, and little to no visibility into future opportunities and risks.

So how do you know whether your business is part of the 35.4% that has outgrown legacy ERP? According to��, program vice president of Enterprise Applications and Digital Commerce, growing businesses should watch out for any of the five warning signs.

Sign #1: Massive data left unused

Every organization collects large volumes of data every day, internally and externally. But when growing companies move from a legacy ERP to a more intelligent one, they are usually caught off guard when they see how much valuable, much-needed intelligence is left unused. Worse yet, frustration across the leadership team intensifies when it considers opportunities missed from not tapping that wealth of knowledge.

Understanding the importance of getting the most value from all data,����quickly realized that its legacy ERP couldn’t generate the comprehensive insight needed to increase profitability and gain a substantial edge over the competition. The consulting firm, which helps clients digitalize their operations throughout Spain and beyond, gained total visibility over its customer projects – standardizing processes, increasing profitability, simplifying system maintenance, and accelerating the introduction of new innovations.

Sign #2: Disconnected user experiences

Connecting employees, suppliers, and customers to relevant resources and data points is critical to meeting everyone’s expectations. Unfortunately, most organizations have spent years developing and adopting different ERP tools, such as custom functionality and spreadsheet-driven analytics. In return, the ERP landscape becomes so overly complex that applications, processes, and data are challenging to maintain and integrate.

Most times the only way to unravel these challenges is to start with a clean slate. For��, this line of thinking led to the implementation of a cloud-based intelligent ERP.

To energize rapid growth, the home furnishing holding group enabled responsive order-based production, visual traceability of product quality, an integrated management center powered by personnel, data, and target process and real-time financial online processing. Furthermore, IT costs were reduced with the ease, efficiency, and standards of a cloud-based intelligent ERP while engaging employees in innovative, well-rounded work.

Sign #3: Delayed actions and process bottlenecks��

Every employee wants to think, understand, and move swiftly with data-driven insights and confident decision-making. However, most legacy ERP systems are batch-oriented, limiting real-time information availability even if an add-on is designed to augment the system with real-time data.

Data timing is of the utmost importance, especially when managing the finances of a high-pressure business like that of�� The expanding bio-venture research organization streamlined its finance processes by enabling automatic updates between a cloud ERP solution and its banking software and automating the reporting of business partner details to tax authorities.

Sign #4: Inflexibility to scale operations up or down on demand

Businesses that respond to the ebbs and flows of operational performance and market demand with balance and ease are well-positioned to lower costs, optimize employee engagement, and yield a high rate of customer satisfaction. When using an ERP that is intelligent enough to keep up with every twist and turn, organizations can scale business needs – such as production capacity, pricing models, and workforce augmentation – with precision.

��has seen firsthand the value of replacing a highly customized business solution with a modern ERP from a trusted provider. The specialty business of high reliability, harsh environment connector design, manufacturing, and supply chains gained dramatic efficiencies that will serve as the foundation for scaling operations to support sales growth set to double current revenue within five years.

Sign #5: Decisions that routinely lead to less-than-optimal outcomes

Without the effective use of Big Data, companies can get swallowed up by their competition quickly.��They must make decisions by sensing what is happening now and what may occur in the future and setting the right course of action to take on opportunities and mitigate risk.

Without access to a real-time, complete data set, guiding the business is extraordinarily tough. Instead, people require a combination of transactional ERP data and data from the applications of other organizations and third parties to feed their analytics tools and derive insights that inspire timely and productive action.

Take, for example,��. The parent company of a food industry group implemented a modern ERP to increase its steady annual growth sustainably, ensuring social, economic, and environmental responsibility. With company-wide integration and oversight, its workforce engages in better decision-making at all levels.

Is it time to move to Intelligent ERP?

Ultimately, having the right technology goes in hand with moving a business forward proactively, automatically, and in real time with situational intelligence and data-driven analysis. And when your operations run with such efficiency and effectiveness, your organization has the strength of its employees, suppliers, and customers behind it as it conquers the next challenge as an interconnected team. That’s the beauty of moving from a legacy ERP to Intelligent ERP – gaining critical capabilities to ignite present-day and future growth.

To learn more on how deliver critical business capabilities that current systems lack,��.

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Supporting a technologically maturing workforce will always be a priority for IT leaders. But lately, a new test is emerging that can put them front and center of a recovery from an anything-but-certain economy.

In recently published research,����revealed that sustained growth and strong customer relationships are increasingly urgent for medium-size businesses seeking operational resilience as a competitive edge. Approximately one-third of surveyed IT leaders are getting the message – prioritizing strategic priorities around growth (35%) and the customer experience (33%) ahead of traditional concerns such as innovation, productivity, efficiency, and business transformation.

Elevating the role of IT

When investing in new technology to support the ability to scale customer experience to drive business growth despite wild fluctuations in demand and market dynamics, medium-size businesses have an endless array to consider. Approximately half of IT leaders shared with Oxford Economics that their organizations are using a mix of ERP software, mobile technology, process automation, and e-commerce platforms either at scale or for some applications or projects. Meanwhile, less than one-quarter are using artificial intelligence, machine learning, or the Internet of Things in some areas.

A variety of solutions work together to provide the online experience that customers increasingly demand. But to deliver such advanced digital experiences, IT leaders and the senior managers they support should consider moving away from siloed organizational management.

When organizations hold total control of specific responsibilities and data, medium-size businesses cannot fully realize the full potential of connected technologies. For example, letting the finance team exclusively hold the reins on transactions and reporting eliminates any opportunity to lower spend and ensure compliance across the business. The same can be said for marketing organizations that do not share customer data outside of themselves and their sales counterparts, which often leads to inefficient management of functions such as the supply chain and HR.

Connecting every business function is essential to enable the process improvements and innovation needed to build a resilient, long-term foundation for a scalable customer experience. Oxford Economics research indicates that more than half of surveyed IT leaders use ERP software to some degree – whether scaled business-wide or in some applications or projects.

This approach enables IT leaders to deliver on a range of requirements to expand into new markets, introduce new products, and increase headcount. They include strengthening 24/7 service availability and cybersecurity; improving data collection, storage, and analysis; and integration with market-standard interfaces.

Consider how����keeps up with the pace of its already explosive growth and expansion across eight markets with an intelligent ERP explicitly designed for merchandise management. This approach helps the Southeast Asian online fashion retailer automate and streamline its processes and support future innovation across multiple businesses and delivery models. The company is also leveraging real-time reporting and analytics to stay ahead of trends and give millions of customers what they want along each step of the shopping journey.

By using an intelligent ERP solution, companies such as Zalora Group, benefit from a comprehensive, yet flexible, platform to navigate unforeseen challenges and sense new opportunities. The entire business – from sales and finance to supply chain management and logistics – can scale up and down, when needed, to adapt to changes in demand, supply, and operational scope without significant resource investments.

Setting the foundation for long-term resilience

Without question, IT leaders have a tremendous opportunity to prepare their medium-size companies for a sustainable recovery. Choosing the right digital strategies and investments can encourage all business functions to play a role in scaling the customer experience for growth today and in the years ahead.

One such move is adopting intelligent ERP platforms and other digital tools that connect the dots across all data sources and processes. This first step is much more than consolidating data into a unified system. It’s also the gateway to the continual process improvement and intelligent innovation necessary to enhance customer experiences – no matter the economic condition.

Find out how your IT organization can give your medium-size business the resilience, connectedness, and agility to strengthen the customer experience. Read the Oxford Economics study, “,” sponsored by SAP.

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Intelligent enterprise resource planning (ERP), such as 51����S/4HANA, is ready for the challenge.

The current economic and societal turbulence has unquestionably affected us all. But we have faced similar economic challenges before, ��even though, in technology terms, it happened almost an eternity ago. So much as changed since the Great Recession of 2007.

Any best practice, cost-alignment strategy, or technology used to navigate uncertainty back then are no match for today’s challenges. The workforce is dynamically adjusting to a new world of ��remote work, life-balance changes, new income models, activism, and rising pressure to run sustainable and responsible operations. Meanwhile, traditional requirements still need to be addressed, including keeping costs low and efficiency high, which may seem counterproductive.

How can companies transform in ways that fulfill today’s social expectations and drive the speed and agility to handle economic uncertainty without adding risk? According to��, the answer is turning to intelligent digital tools and advanced analytics – such as those found in intelligent ERP – to bolster productivity and boost growth.

Evolving the Mindset on Digital Transformation

For a long time, companies have implemented various technologies to increase their speed and agility by focusing on one or more of the following:

• Internally focused ERP capabilities for financial operations
• Point applications that serve specific functions, such as customer resource management (CRM) and human resources (HR)
• Business intelligence tools
• Custom solutions designed to enable unique industry and regional processes
• Business networks to manage procurement processes and contingency labor
• EDI and connectivity engines
• Support of multiple databases
• System of spreadsheet, email, and productivity technologies
• Security processes and software

These elements have served businesses well. However, the world has changed dramatically since 2007, and a fragmented architecture cannot provide the speed, agility, and tight and seamless integration needed to remain competitive today. A multi-vendor road map and ongoing maintenance upkeep, testing, and integration can create a series of system delays and inconsistent capabilities that make the application landscape rigid, fragile, and high risk.

Competitive differentiation happens only when the technology framework supports continuous innovation, always-on availability, and consistent processes across internal and external systems and provides the intelligence and insight to seize opportunities. While this goal may appear lofty, businesses can acquire the demanding depth of digital capabilities across a wide variety of disciplines, working together harmoniously.

Delivering a Much-Needed Edge with Intelligent ERP

Intelligent ERP solutions such as����are designed to provide a holistic approach to unite the entire system infrastructure with integrity, innovation, integrated data, and security. Organizations benefit from a simplified architecture, end-to-end processes, and industry and business model innovation — all enabled by seamless, out-of-the-box integration and a built-in intelligence platform.

The seamless and consistent experience of intelligent ERP gives a harmonized, 360-degree view of the business and its customers. Users benefit from instant insights and a range of automated planning, forecasting, and simulation capabilities. Real-time analytics are embedded along every step of the decision-making process. Leveraging advancements such as predictive and artificial intelligence within an in-memory database provides decision-makers with the means to respond and adapt flexibly to evolving organizational needs.

The more decision-makers rely on intelligent ERP, the greater the need and urgency for data security and integrity. But a business intelligence chain is only as strong as its weakest link. By focusing on points of integration and making them consistent and part of the ongoing road map, companies can help ensure the integrity of their current system landscape as well as future evolution.

For example, 51����S/4HANA runs on the 51����HANA in-memory database. It is a complete ERP and equipped to extend integrated cloud solutions and out-of-the-box integrations, which unlocks the enterprise’s intelligent IT backbone. Analytics capabilities immediately pull real-time insights from Big Data, tapping into embedded machine learning and artificial intelligence. Then, with process automation, that knowledge becomes action across the value chain. Furthermore, deployment in the cloud provides the secure setup and operations needed to manage tasks, a consistent business model architecture, and central identity provisioning and authentication.

Building Resilience by Redefining Intelligence and Transformation

Companies that evolve and value business intelligence are often well-positioned to emerge stronger from any degree of economic uncertainty. They are the ones that rely on a highly connected intelligent ERP — especially 51����S/4HANA — to extend coveted digital capabilities beyond the enterprise and enable a competitive edge with speed and agility.

By delivering competitive differentiation through the system integrity of intelligent ERP, organizations can help ensure every point of integration is no longer limited to the technical exchange of data. The entire enterprise landscape can share a single source of information and consistent user experience that matches the way people work, harmonizing every resource serving employees, customers, and supporting network operations.

Discover how ��can help you build secure and maintain a system platform that strengthens a company’s resilience to and plan for whatever comes next. Read “,” from the��Harvard Business Review.

David Sweetman is senior director of Cloud Global Marketing at SAP.

This article was originally featured on Global 51����News Center.��

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