Enterprise Resource Planning helps business grow
by Rohana Jayalal
As businesses in today’s global markets seek to reduce costs and meet
rising customer expectations, the need for up to the minute,
cross-departmental information visibility has become fundamental in
supply chain operations. Well implemented Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
can deliver the efficiencies that every business needs to compete,
Business Solutions Adviser, IFS, Sean Fernando told a seminar on
‘Creating Business Value through ERP Transformation’ at the Ceylon
Chamber of Commerce last week.
 “With multiple issues impacting on margins, flexible and scalable ERP
solutions provide major benefits to companies. From an ERP perspective,
the challenge is, how to integrate the latest workflow technologies in a
flexible, scalable solution, to reap higher levels of operational
efficiency and streamline avenues of communication between otherwise
disparate areas of the business,” he said.
“Businesses often see automation as a way to improve efficiency
across the board. There are gains to be had in standardising business
systems, applications and protocols, but when a business wants to move
to the next level and integrate diverse systems, from human resources to
IT, into one workflow, the only feasible way is with ERP,” said
Fernando.
“Developing an effective ERP for business is not to be taken lightly.
Costs can be high for the systems, even if they are bought off the shelf
and little modification. But most businesses will need to make some
changes to accommodate the details of their operations,” he said.
“Here lies the major issue with ERP. It is not a panacea for rising
business costs, but one way to mitigate expenses if it is approached
with care,” said Fernando.
According to him, an ERP system isn’t only a software application. It
is a platform upon which businesses are run. ERP helps organisations
improve efficiency and productivity across almost every department and
business function.
Great things happen to business processes when an entire organisation
shares a single system that always contains accurate, up to date
information.
“By combining ERP with cloud computing, you can realise the benefits
more quickly while lowering IT infrastructure costs.
Like any mission-critical business asset, it’s important to make sure
your company is squeezing every ounce of value out of it.
For many companies, partnering with an outside ERP managed hosting
provider, brings significant benefits and can ensure your ERP system
does precisely what you need it to do, all day, every day of the year,”
said Fernando. “In today’s business world, virtually every company uses
enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
We have all seen ERP systems become a fundamental aspect of doing
business. While in some industries ERP systems represent the price of
entry, they are anything but a commodity,” he said.
“At its core, ERP helps employees do their jobs more efficiently by
breaking down barriers between business units. It gives a global, real
time view of data that enables companies to address concerns proactively
and drive improvements, Improves financial compliance with regulatory
standards and reduces risk, Automates core business operations such as
lead to cash, order to fulfillment and procure to pay processes and
Enhances customer service by providing one source for billing and
relationship tracking,” Fernando said.
“When you add up the advantages, the value of ERP particularly cloud
ERP is clear. With an ERP solution, employees have access to accurate
information that enables them to make better decisions faster.”
Pic: Courtesy maestrano.com
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