Enterprise Resource Systems (More popular by its abbreviation ERP) ensure proper integration of external and internal management information of an organization. The entire process is usually automated with help of ERP software. ERP software ensures proper flow of information between the different functions of a business inside the organizational boundaries. The software also ensures proper communication to the outside stakeholders of the business.
ERP software can work on different network and hardware configurations; it generally employs a database table as well for proper repository of information. This database is common to all the applications supported by the ERP software.
Different Components
- The different components of ERP software are:
- Dashboard or Management Portal
- Search Function
- Document Management Tool
- Transaction Database
- Business Intelligence System
- Report Customization Tool
- Chatting or Messaging Functionality
- Workflow Management Tool
- Tools which are able to access external systems
Basic Features of ERP Software
· ERP software can ensure proper control on billing to customers and receivables. Thanks to ERP, the entire process can be automated as well.
· The entire organization is treated as a single entity by the ERP software. Hence, the software can easily cater to the needs of the whole organization. This ensures timely, relevant and accurate information flow between different departments of the organization.
· The ERP software uses information that is updated and based on real time data. For an example, if a customer has any question about a specific company product and the documentation of the product has been changed recently; the ERP software will ensure that the updated documentation is used for answering customer query.
· Advanced ERP software generally fulfills the need of organization’s legal requirements as well.
ERP Implementation
In case of an existing business, introducing an ERP software may call for some changes in the business process. These process changes often make way for process modernization. It is important to understand the effectiveness of each process and existing automated solutions available before implementing ERP; so that the functionalities can be optimized. In case of a decentralized business with different rules, decision centers, data semantics and processes, implementing ERP becomes a challenge though.
ERP Software Configuration
ERP software generally brings many parameters which can cause changes in the system operation. The software configuration hugely depends on how an organization balances these two aspects: how the business used to work originally and how the customers want it to work now.
Customization of ERP Software
An ERP software is theoretically supposed to work on an AS-IS business model and follow the best practices of an industry. The businesses can still implement business rules of their own, but, there can be still be functional gaps after the configuration is complete. To bridge that gap, both technical and non-technical approaches can be undertaken. While the former may be costlier to maintain, the latter may introduce changes in the organization policies.
Extending ERP Software
For archiving, reporting, capturing data, resource management or advanced planning, a business can always extend ERP software with third-party software.
Data migration
The data should be copied into the ERP system from existing system and then restructured for proper functionality of the ERP software. This is often overlooked, but for proper functioning of ERP software, this should be thoroughly planned and completed.
ERP systems make the regular business processing smoother and easier to maintain. The agility that it provides a company often makes way for a flexible company.
