In today’s fast-paced business environment, it seems like we’re juggling knives when trying to manage several systems and processes simultaneously. It’s too important to drop one blade—even one blade can destroy everything. An ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution can come in and save the day at this point. So when is your business ready for this big shift?
Here’s how we break down 5 telltale signs that indicate your business is ready to cry out for an ERP solution.
1. The data is scattered and not easy to access.
What would happen if you were forced to make a business decision and the linchpin piece of information was buried in another software system, or a spreadsheet—or even by, god forbid, handwritten notes? If you spend hours line by line copying and pasting different information across multiple sources, you know you need to use an ERP.
Symptoms of Scattered Data:
Different software systems for accounting, inventory, sales, etc. with their dataset.
Each department has its way of tracking information, leading to inconsistent reporting.
A lack of centralized data makes it hard to track business performance.
An ERP solution allows you to put all your business processes on a single site. As everything is happening in real-time, you get clear and concise insights into every single piece of data.
2. You’re Slowing Down Because of Growing Pains
Growth is awesome, but you’ll be exposed to the cracks in your current systems. If your business is growing fast and your software can’t keep up, then it is time. But as your business grows, so do your operations—they become increasingly complex—and the handoff of when, how, and what gets worked on manually or across multiple systems can become quite messy and become a serious bottleneck.
Signs Your Growth is Hurting You:
Processes from the past that worked for a small team have become delays and mistakes.
Your shipping times are getting slower.
In general, you’re not sure what to do about the inventory; you either have too much stock or you constantly run out of things.
An ERP solution helps these growing pains along by automating processes and keeping all things in sync. ERP takes care of everything from your inventory to your customer orders so that even when your business grows, it runs as a well-oiled machine.
3. You’re Trying to Keep Your Business Up and Running Despite Rapidly Evolving Compliance and Reporting Expectations.
The more businesses grow, the greater the regulatory demands become. Even for basic tax laws, labor regulations, or industry-specific compliance, it’s a full-time job to keep updated with these rules. If your current systems aren’t up to the task, you put yourself at risk for costly fines, legal trouble, or damage to your reputation.
Red Flags in Compliance:
Errors in tax filing because of outdated or inaccurate financial data.
Difficulty creating reports auditors or government agencies can use.
Financial and operational processes do not possess transparency.
An ERP solution can help you keep records up to date and in order and help you maintain compliance through automating reporting processes. It takes care of everything, from taxes to labor law compliance, so you cut down on risk while you rest easy.
4. Customer satisfaction is slipping.
Any business is a happy customer’s revenue lifeblood. However, if your processes are slow or your employees can’t see the right data, customer satisfaction will fall eventually.
Warning Signs of Unhappy Customers:
Incorrect shipments or order delays.
Lack of customer information, limiting access to customers, reducing service to the lowest level possible.
Communication with customers through various channels in an inconsistent manner.
An ERP system can transform the customer experience. ERP helps streamline order fulfillment and makes sure sales reps have everything they need at their fingertips so customers don’t have to wait or do much of anything. Just like this, it increases loyalty and reinforces your brand growth.
5. You can’t forecast accurately.
It is important to forecast to make smart, data-driven decisions. Whether it’s forecasting next quarter’s inventory, predicting sales trends, or determining future investments, forecasting is often critical to your strategy’s success or failure.
Signs Your Forecasting is Off:
Your sales projections just don’t match up with actual results.
Lack of accurate inventory forecasts, either over- or understocking.
You tend to rely mostly on guesswork rather than the insights from data.
An ERP solution brings everything together under one roof so that you can have better analytics for more accurate predictions. Not only does this allow you to predict future demand, but it also means you’re making decisions with real data and not based on instinct and emotions.
Do you need ERP for Small and Medium Businesses? See how MetricsERP can add value to your business.
Summary: Is It Time for an ERP?
If any of these signs sound like you, it’s time to give an ERP solution some serious consideration. Of course, it’s time- and resource-consuming to implement an ERP system, but its long-term benefits are endless: fixed processes, better management of data, and more customer satisfaction. An ERP solution isn’t about just making your business more efficient today; it’s about making your business ready for tomorrow’s growth or challenges.
