Enterprise Resource Planning

We recently conducted interviews with 225 companies who were all looking for enterprise resource planning (ERP). The goal of this survey was simple – listen and learn from what these companies had to say about their individual decision-making strategies. We all agree that this is not a simple task. But we also agree that selecting the best ERP software is a critical factor for business success. Our intent is to analyze all these responses and present the most salient observations in a report that will help assist companies along this selection path to a successful conclusion.

Every business needs sound distribution strategies to ensure that their products are getting into the right hands. With the advent of the Internet, mobile phones, and social media, there are more ways than ever to get in touch with your potential customers. We’ll go over some common types of distribution strategies as well as some you may not have heard of yet.

Enterprise Resource Planning systems, or ERP, streamline business processes by integrating the routine management of multiple departments into one software system. Large companies that need to manage their finances, supply chain management, customer service, and human resources often want to do so in a single centralized, integrated solution. Therefore, these companies turn to ERP integration.

Technology supports and drives innovation. Recent changes in engineering and manufacturing technology have the potential to help manufacturers create better quality goods in less time. Expenses for manufacturers can be reduced by implementing this new technology while also becoming more competitive thanks to greater efficiency. Here are 4 key changes in manufacturing technology that have the potential to be game changers for manufacturing operations:

Those involved in the manufacturing industry know that one manufacturing process is not necessarily like another — and in this high-tech business world, manufacturing operations can vary a great deal. So do the systems that support them. The software architectures that companies use to produce products and materials should be designed to support their specific operations.

For any company that distributes goods internationally, import/export compliance is a top concern. Import/export laws, standards and guidelines in various countries around the world add to complexity for these types of business processes. Customs work, accommodation of international taxes and tariffs, and significant documentation requirements often make importing and exporting rather labor-intensive.

In recent years, the debate about product development software and its role in the modern business world has grown increasingly complex. It often seems like product management is defined more by what it is not than what it actually has to offer.

Project-based enterprise resource planning, also called project-based ERP, is a new approach to enterprise software that’s helping companies change the ways in which they utilize IT. Building on traditional ERP concepts, project-based ERP expands the conceptual capability of ERP tools beyond simple production, into systems that help business leaders plan and complete enterprise projects.

The evolution of today’s technology happens at a lightning-quick pace, and ERP systems are no exception.  What was once an exclusively on-premise solution quickly became a cloud-based subscription service.  This evolution from on-premise business software to SaaS product was initially met with some skepticism, but quickly won them over with its enhanced features and greater flexibility.

Let’s step into the Wayback Machine and take a look at how ERP systems evolved into SaaS products.

The oft-repeated phrase “United we stand, divided we fall” is applicable to more than just war movies and superhero TV shows.  It’s also a great summation of why ERP software integration is key to running a successful business.  As Information Builders puts it: “In every ERP implementation, there comes a time where these wide-reaching, all encompassing systems need to communicate with other 3rd party solutions and legacy applications.”  At a certain point, the more you keep your different types of software apart, the more likely it is that data will be inconsistent and your processes will become inefficient.  This can lead to confusion between departments and an ineffective workflow (the bane of any business’ existence).

What exactly is ERP software integration?  In Layman’s terms, it’s the process of bringing together an ERP system with another type of software to maintain consistent information and automate certain processes.  What makes ERP software integration so key is that it provides a single location to find information on everything from ecommerce to HR documents to sales leads, so everyone in an organization stays on the same page.