In recent years, ERP technology has made leaps forward, which has enabled many businesses to better manage their operations. Enterprise resource planning, through the use of the newest technology, has brought many benefits to different types of businesses. Let’s check out the main principles behind cloud ERP technology innovations.
What is cloud ERP technology?
Advanced business software solutions like cloud ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) help companies manage and automate their fundamental business activities. These procedures include financial management, procurement, inventory management, sales, and customer relationship management.
Cloud ERP differs from conventional ERP systems in that it is a web-based solution that is hosted and administered by an external source and can be accessed over the Internet. Be careful to do your homework on the many cloud solutions available today; they will vary according to the nature of your organization and its unique requirements.
Main functions of cloud ERP
When companies choose cloud ERP, they can better manage their finances, purchasing, inventory, sales, and customer service. As the folks at Oracle NetSuite ERP say, companies first need to find the most suitable ERP system and then implement it seamlessly. This will help them quickly get meaningful insights from their data once this new centralized source is running. Here are some of the main functions that ERPs handle and in that way make business operations much easier.
Financial management
Businesses can use robust financial management tools, such as general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, and cash management with cloud ERP. They can also improve their financial management and decision-making with these useful features.
Procurement management
Cloud ERP allows businesses to streamline their procurement process, from purchasing to vendor management. This includes purchase order management, vendor management, and supplier performance monitoring.
Inventory management
With cloud ERP, companies can see their inventory levels, demand, and supply, which can help them improve their inventory management.
Sales management
Sales orders, quotations, price, and discount management are just some of the powerful sales management tools that cloud ERP offers to companies. They help businesses improve customer satisfaction and streamline sales operations.
Customer relationship management
Most cloud ERPs come with many amazing CRM tools, like contact management and lead management, which can help companies manage their interactions with B2B and B2C customers.
AI integration
Like the whole tech world, ERP is also leveraging the advancements to their benefit and one great example of that is the use of AI. Artificial intelligence has come a long way in the last few years and almost all cloud ERP systems utilize it to automate tasks, predict outcomes, and provide insights. Analytics powered by this technology can analyze historical data to forecast what is going to happen in the future. When it comes to ERP, it can handle demand fluctuations, optimize inventory levels, and do many other things. Also, every entry can now be automated, as there is no need for someone to do the work manually. All the repetitive tasks are also automated, which saves time and money. Also, it can detect anomalies within the system and point them out so that they can be processed and dealt with.
Use of blockchain for security
Blockchain technology has become popular with the popularity of crypto coins. ERP cloud systems utilize this technology to protect data and enhance transparency. By creating digital records, using blockchain minimizes fraud and ensures the protection of data. With blockchain technology, every participant in a transaction can investigate every transaction that was done using those assets. With this in place, it is considerably harder to misuse assets because the chain can be easily traced back if anything were to happen to the assets. This enables fairer transactions to be done, and it is much easier to enforce the regulatory laws that are set by the government.
IoT integration
ERP systems and IoT devices have a great connection, which gives companies the opportunity to make great real-time solutions with their products. What happens is that all the devices give information about many different important things. This data is then transmitted to an ERP system, which takes it and then provides insights into the condition of different assets. The information gathered also helps with the monitoring of the equipment which enables preventive maintenance to be done which will prolong the life of the devices. Also, businesses can monitor the quality of their products, which is crucial when it comes to making the customers who use those devices loyal.
Remote access
Ever since the pandemic, more and more businesses have explored remote work as an option. This means that there is a need for remote access for everything that these workers use and that is the same case with ERP systems. Companies have made mobile apps and other solutions so that people can use them wherever they are located, and of course where there is a network connection. This means that people from around the world can work together on the same platform and the distance won’t give them any problems whatsoever.
How to choose the right vendor?
As a first step in choosing the right ERP vendor, businesses need to assemble a project team, often including department heads, senior executives, and IT. There is also a project manager who will oversee the whole process. The project team’s first task is to learn about the present and future ERP use cases of the company, followed by collecting stakeholder needs. This planning phase is the groundwork for gathering information from potential ERP software providers and asking for proposals from the most qualified ones. The project team then chooses a few of the best providers and arranges a demonstration. When the project team chooses the best one, the buyer and seller enter into a legally binding agreement once they discuss and agree upon the price and conditions. By embracing all the new technological advancements available ERP systems have enabled businesses to utilize all the tools that they need. By using them, they have enabled innovation, efficiency, and many other qualities to develop within their business, which is something every company should look for.