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The use of ERP in small business

21 Dec 2021. 11:53
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5 min. of reading

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Tags

  • SME maturity
    Middle
    Topic
    1. Planificación de recursos / ERP
    Scope to digitize
    1. Support processes

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Entradilla

Introducing an ERP in your business will provide you with multiple benefits that will help you grow.

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Descripción

Commercial activity is undergoing a major digital transition. There is no doubt that the confinement and restrictions on mobility forced by Covid-19 have been the trigger that has accelerated this digitalisation process, especially in small commerce or retail: initially in search of "survival" and business continuity; nowadays, as a source of growth, competitiveness and efficiency.

Thus, many businesses have begun to digitalise different areas of their business, although the introduction of multiple systems can cause a management problem if it is not done in a structured, coordinated and planned way. For this reason, in this post we would like to talk to you about the ERP or enterprise resource planning system.

 

What is ERP and what benefits does it bring to your small business?

ERP is a business process management and planning software that integrates the different areas of your business, such as supply chain and warehouse management, order, sales and returns management operations, and reporting and human resources activities, among others. In this way, you will have all the relevant information of your business in a single system, giving you a comprehensive understanding of the different activities that take place in your business. This data and its analysis will help you make decisions and even automate some of them. In addition, the access to the same information by all the staff will speed up communication in your SME, favouring an optimal development of your business.

Another significant advantage of ERPs is that most of them, in line with the trend in business solutions, are hosted in the cloud, so you and your team will have access to the overall situation of your SME from anywhere at any time. In addition, these systems hosted on an external server provide you with a higher level of security, as you only have to pay for the hosting service that has the protection your business needs.

Finally, you will be able to integrate the data and management of your e-commerce or online shop and your physical shop in a single system. This system will help you to plan your stock and have a better knowledge of the availability of your products, solve possible incidents that may arise, and manage shipments and the supply chain in both channels. Greater control will give you greater assurance of being able to satisfy your demand correctly, and you will be able to identify consumer trends that will open up different lines of business. In addition, you will be able to manage all the processes related to marketing and the life cycle of your products, boosting the development of your business.

Not only will this allow you to better manage day-to-day processes, but it will help your business grow and establish a more solid and consistent foundation with which to meet any future challenges.

An ERP will enable your business to grow and successfully overcome any challenges in the future.

 

How to choose the right ERP for your SME?

To choose the ERP that best adapts to the characteristics of your business, it is important that you analyse the needs, weaknesses and strengths of your business: which areas do not usually meet the objectives set, what areas do you consider to be most promising for growth and therefore need to be strengthened, where do you require more information and control? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself to make the decision to introduce the ERP that best suits your business. If you only want to digitalise one department, since the rest of the functions in your business are perfectly controlled, you can opt for a vertical ERP that will provide you with benefits in that specific area. However, if there are several departments or areas that you need to manage, improve or boost, a horizontal ERP will offer you multidisciplinary services covering several business areas.

Analyse your business and find out which ERP is best suited to your needs.

 

Introducing an ERP in your small business will allow you to have greater control and establish a solid foundation with which you can address potential opportunities and overcome the various challenges that may arise in the future. Introduce an ERP and enjoy the benefits of having a digitalised business.

 

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