Can SMEs afford to operate without ERP?
Small companies often face a dilemma as where to invest for the greatest return. In a pure startup mode, this is but natural. Many small and medium size enterprises ask themselves if they can afford an ERP. In general, the question they should be contemplating is that whether they can afford not to implement an ERP solution.
At a time when smaller enterprises need to be agile, flexible and lean enough, an ERP solution allows an organization to stay competitive and stay stronger in this intense competitive environment. With capabilities to manage every corners of your business an ERP solution is surely a heartbeat of a firm. It can effortlessly manage production lines, monitor expiration dates, stay on top of order processing and sales figures and anything you have ever dreamt of.
“The same software that SMEs are using today, may not get you to the next stage of growth“
So, an organization who is indecisive as where to invest in an ERP must evaluate certain factors as where they are lacking. There are various ringbells that one must watch out. Is reporting supported by manual processes and spreadsheets? Is decision making supported by gut feeling than data and facts? How do you better forecast demand and produce product just in time? Do you have visibility as where you have made the best profit?
All these are decisive factors that small companies must evaluate. Many companies stumble along with some combination of tally or legacy software along with spreadsheets thinking an integrated ERP is not needed. In reality though, rather assuming they can not afford it, small and growing business must evaluate best erp for small business such as SAP Business One.
Downside of having no ERP
The downside of having no ERP is pretty obvious. Think about the time and your team has to invest in just to search for the information that can be literally available at your fingertips. Without full, immediate and trusted data, you risk of delaying decisions or perhaps making decisions based on incomplete data. Spreadsheets and excel sheets are competent tools where you can rest your analysis to some extent but on a larger scale, it becomes difficult to go by the information merely on these. On the other hand, relying exclusively on paper trails or email trails provides an auditable system of record which can be both time consuming and error-prone fraught with risk.
What is holding you back?
Many industry observers focus on failed and expensive implementation, thereby small companies usually escape all this altogether. However, the goal of ERP is often cost savings and to boost profitability, but you initially have to spend some time and money in order to save money.
Focusing exclusively on the cost of ERP will not overcome the reluctance to invest it in. Instead any company irrespective of size must estimate the return on that investment above cost factor.
Often, the timings of investment also plays a major role. Many organization are reluctant to take on this type of project during the economic downturn. But, as companies begin to face fierce competition, further delays involves further risk.
Now is the Time to Invest in an ERP
There has never been an ideal time to embark on technology that bespeaks result. Whether you anticipate major growth in coming years, or want to work more efficiently and productively, several market factors signals now is the right time to meet best ERP company and get the best erp software for small business.
Nidhi Batra as a content marketing strategist at Uneecops Technologies has been writing for digital and next-gen technologies to help businesses improve their business models with technologies like SAP Business One and Business Intelligence Software like Tableau & Power BI. Having done Master’s in English from Delhi University, she likes to spend her time reading avidly about AI, IoT robotics and business automation.
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