ERP is the abbreviation of enterprise resource planning. While somewhere in these three words we can go deep and understand the meaning of what ERP software is about but as we explore and know the importance and working of the software today we realize that this is a much bigger world than portrayed by its name. This software takes care of all the core processes of a business by automating them and creating a unified platform where all these processes can be managed, reviewed and analyzed. This is a centralized solution for the works going on in all the departments of an enterprise.
From marketing, sales, accounts, human resource to procurement, planning, management and inventory control, everything can be managed with ERP software. The important thing to know about ERP software is that it not only allows a company to manage its internal affairs but external customer relationships as well. The purpose of the software is to bring all departments of a company on the same page where information updated by a person working in one department is visible to the management and other departments in real time. This increases productivity through better communication, less repetition of the task etc.
The management, using the ERP software, is in the position of assigning tasks and roles to the staff working for the company. Recent improvements in the software have integrated business intelligence factors too. This addition allows businesses to take decisions based on the analyses done by the software on the information available to it about the business. Work load can be easily managed with ERP software since distribution of work is possible from one platform. The tools available on the software make it easy to forecast, plan and execute all business tasks and activities.
One of the most impressive things about ERP software is that it allows the integration of many different softwares, applications and tools on it. It can easily gel with the existing system in the enterprise and then become a platform that hosts many other applications. This allows company management to increase the productivity and functionality of their ERP software. Not to mention, it completely removes the need of having different softwares and applications in different departments for performing their particular tasks. Once you have ERP in place all the departments are using this software and information updated by one department is information updated for all departments.
The benefits of ERP software include automation. Automation not only removes the laboriousness of many tasks but also improves productivity by reducing the time of performing these repetitive tasks. The reports produced by the software are much more detailed and not only do these reports give a clear-cut view of the progress of an enterprise to the management but also give the rest of the staff a heads-up on their positions. Web based order tracking has become a piece of cake with ERP software as ecommerce website functions can be integrated onto the software. Lastly, regardless of the department and business type, there are modules available on ERP software for all.