Although ERP software is over 50 years old, it is still a relevant and essential business application. ERP software, or Enterprise Resource Planning, is a system that integrates resources to track and carry out company activities. ERP software was initially developed for large businesses with complex structures but is now truly scalable and suitable for medium-sized and smaller organisations too.
By modern standards, ERP systems are considered old. However, ongoing development has enabled ERP to keep pace with technological advancements, and where relevant, ERP developers have adopted newer technologies making them even more powerful and relevant today.
Understanding ERP Software
ERP software has been around since the 1960s when large corporations first used it to manage their operations. The acronym stands for “enterprise resource planning,” an umbrella term that encompasses a range of functions related to managing company processes and resources.
Since then, ERP has become even more sophisticated and evolved beyond its original goal of helping companies manage their physical assets. You can use today’s modern ERP systems for much more than just asset management. For example, you can use ERP for supply chain management, financial management, human resources management, customer relationship management (CRM), and business intelligence (BI).
According to SYSPRO, a leading ERP provider, “An ERP system automates and integrates core business processes such as taking customer orders, scheduling operations and keeping inventory records and financial data. SYSPRO’s software has multiple benefits to help with overall business performance management for any organisation providing intelligence, visibility, analytics, and efficiency across every aspect of a business. Giving you one source of the truth and enabling the digitalisation of your business.“
What are the Benefits of ERP?
As ERP covers every department within the organisation, the full list of benefits is too vast to document in this blog; however, the following provides the broad benefits you can expect from an ERP solution:
Companies can use an ERP solution to improve their business processes, optimise their business processes, improve data accuracy and integrity and provide greater value for customers (or, to use a trending term, to improve the customer experience).
ERP software offers the following:
- It is the backbone of most transactions–transactions that connect employees and suppliers in all aspects of their businesses.
- It allows companies to automate the processes that change and update the information in their system. Reducing the need for manual data entry saves time and increases efficiency.
- It assists in better decision-making by providing real-time access to accurate data.
- It can be configured to meet the unique needs of your business and can be easily modified as those needs change.
- It can reduce costs and save time by automating repetitive tasks, streamlining processes and eliminating the need for multiple, disparate systems.
- It is designed to scale as your business grows. No need to look for another system because you’ve outgrown the existing one.
SYSPRO ERP is industry-built, making it an excellent choice across manufacturing and distribution organisations. Modules like SYSPRO’s Manufacturing Requirements Planning, aka Material Requirements Planning (MRP), helps plan and manage material needs for manufacturers. By analysing the master production schedule and inventory levels of raw materials and components, it can generate purchase orders or work orders as necessary to meet the production schedule.
MRP considers the lead times of materials and inventory availability, helping you avoid ‘out of stock’ or over-production situations. It helps to optimise the use of resources, including labour, materials and machines.
Advancements in ERP Systems
While ERP software has existed for decades, it is by no means considered legacy software. Developers of ERP solutions keep up with technology trends and incorporate helpful technology where applicable.
Some examples of recent advancements include:
Deployment
Most ERP offerings offer on-premise or cloud versions of their software, allowing the consumer even greater flexibility in terms of affordability and convenience. Cloud-ERP had a slow uptake but has shown growth since 2019.
One of the main drivers of this growth is the increasing adoption of cloud-based ERP systems by small and medium-sized businesses. These businesses are attracted to the cost savings and scalability that cloud-based ERP systems can provide. Cloud ERP systems allow easy integration with other systems and tools, making them even more attractive.
Large enterprises are also increasingly adopting cloud-based ERP systems. The reason is that they allow them to access the most up-to-date version of the software and scale up or down as necessary. In addition, they provide additional flexibility and reduce the need to invest in other IT resources.
Overall, we expect the adoption rate of cloud-based ERP systems to continue to grow in the coming years as more companies recognise the benefits that they can provide and as baby boomers make way for more Gen-Xers and Millenials.
Learn more about Cloud ERP here: https://za.syspro.com/product/business-digitalization/what-is-cloud-erp/
The Internet of Things
SYSPRO define IoT as follows:
“The Internet of Things (IoT) is the concept of connecting any device with an On/Off switch to the internet and/or to each other, in order to create a network of physical devices, vehicles, home appliances and other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, actuators and network connectivity, and enables objects to connect and exchange data.”
IoT has a host of additional benefits for business, which you can learn more about here: https://za.syspro.com/product/business-digitalization/internet-of-things/.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) transform how companies manage and analyse their operations. By incorporating these technologies into ERP systems, companies can gain a deeper understanding of their data, make better-informed decisions, and automate routine tasks. With AI and ML, you can train ERP systems to identify patterns and trends in data, predict future demands, and even generate automated reports. This helps companies to increase efficiency, reduce costs, and improve the overall performance of their operations.
Additionally, AI and ML can help companies improve their forecasting and inventory management and assist in automating tasks such as invoice processing, purchase order creation, and more. Overall, incorporating AI and ML into ERP systems can give companies a competitive edge by providing them with the tools they need to make data-driven decisions, improve their processes and streamline their operations.
With Ai and ML the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.
Learn more about how AI translates into business efficiencies here:
https://za.syspro.com/product/business-digitalization/artificial-intelligence/
User Experience
ERP Developers are constantly improving the user experience, making their systems more intuitive, user-friendly and mobile-friendly.
The more intuitive the user interface, the less training is required, further reducing the costs of implementing a new system.
Providing users with a mobile-friendly interface encourages better use of the system. Customer-facing staff members can have real-time, accurate information at their fingertips from wherever they are, at any time, once again improving the customer experience.
Third-Party Integration
Integrations with other systems, like CRM, IoT, e-commerce platforms and social media, allow you to better coordinate different areas of your business by collecting data from various sources. This also enables data to be shared seamlessly between these systems, reducing the need for manual data entry and improving accuracy.
Third-party integrations can also provide additional functionality that the ERP system may not have out-of-the-box, such as advanced analytics or reporting tools. This can enhance the overall capabilities of the ERP system and make it more valuable to the organisation.
Social Media
Embedding Social Media into ERP systems streamlines business processes and improves communication and productivity.
ERP systems with social media capabilities reduce barriers to communication making collaboration authentic and effective.
Watch the video to see how SYSPRO facilitate enterprise wide collaboration with social media:
https://za.syspro.com/video/facilitating-enterprise-wide-collaboration-with-syspro-harmony/
Security
Modern ERP systems typically employ various security measures to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with industry regulations. Fundamental security measures used in ERP systems include:
- Access control (Roles): This involves setting up user accounts and permissions so that only authorised users can access the system and perform certain actions.
- Data encryption: This involves encrypting sensitive data, such as credit card numbers or personal information, to protect it from being intercepted and read by unauthorised parties.
- Authentication: This involves using techniques such as usernames, passwords, and two-factor authentication to verify the identity of users trying to access the system.
- Backup and disaster recovery: This involves regularly backing up data to protect against data loss due to hardware failure or natural disasters.
- Auditing and monitoring: This involves logging system activity and regularly reviewing the logs to detect and respond to any suspicious activity.
- Compliance: ERP systems typically comply with industry standards and regulatory requirements such as SOC2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, etc.
- Network security: implementing firewalls, VPNs and other security protocols to protect the ERP system and its associated data from unauthorised access over the network.
It’s important to regularly evaluate security measures and update them as new threats and technologies emerge.
Learn more about protecting your ERP system from cybersecurity breaches here:
So, is ERP still relevant today?
Many legacy systems are becoming redundant with the abundance of intelligent systems available to consumers today. Indeed, many human jobs are becoming redundant. This is not the case for ERP.
The reasoning is simple. Your ERP system uses your private data and is structured for business. With the growing amount of data and increased complexity in companies, which are mostly becoming digitised, the use of an ERP system is becoming increasingly relevant
Integrating modern technology, like cloud, AI and ML, Business Intelligence, Social Media, and others, ERP systems are even more powerful, accurate and necessary than ever before.
Conclusion
ERP software is a sophisticated, reliable, relevant business tool that must be carefully implemented and maintained. A well-managed system is a true asset to any organisation.
The team at Intuitive IT Solutions have been working with SYSPRO ERP for decades and is a recognised SYSPRO premium solutions partner. Get in touch to see how we can guide you through the sales, implementation, training and support of SYSPRO ERP.
In addition, we provide anything related to an ERP implementation such as:
- Network infrastructure
- Cabling
- Hardware (PC’s, printers, routers, tablets)
We have a proven track record of success and would love to see how we can assist you in taking your business to the next level.
SYSPRO ERP Software is developed in South Africa and sold in over 60 countries worldwide.
