ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning can be considered as a technical art. Gartner, in 1990 defined it as “the ability to deliver an integrated suite of business applications”. But 1990 was a long time ago, and technology and businesses both have advanced and came a long way. Therefore, it is not as effective to describe Enterprise Resource Planning as delivering a suite of business applications. We have seen the shift towards postmodern ERP and third-party integration.

The businesses face a hard time choosing an enterprise management planning software as the market is full of complex versions of them, but the main principles of the technology, the roots of the enterprise resource planning are basically similar today to what they were two decades ago. The technology and business may have evolved, but the basics remain the same, and with its help we can discuss how this tech is an important need for your business.

Common Functions and Modules of Enterprise Resource Planning

To understand its importance and what this technology brings to the business, below are the modules of ERP.

Accounting and Financial Management

The enterprise resource planning helps with the management of finances throughout the business modules. This tech helps with the processing and organizing of transactions within modules, such as: accounts payable and receivable, fixed asset tracking, general ledger etc.

HR Management

Human Resource management is one of the most important components of any business. The ERP helps with the automation of core HR functions such as: personal tracking, benefits, recruiting, employee evaluation and training etc.

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management/inventory management is also a crucial aspect of any business and with the help of this technology, we can support the planning and executions of supply chain transactions and by that, optimize the whole process. It can also help with meeting the demands of the customers in time and can help with the evolution of raw materials to production and delivery.

Manufacturing Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning helps businesses to keep track of planning and helps them to plan the production effectively, based on the materials, the labor available and the machinery.

Customer Relationship Management

Customer relationship management is also an asset to the businesses and ERP makes sure it doesn’t go under the radar. With modules specific to CRM, it helps with sales and client related processes that include managing contacts, leads and cases etc.

Project Management

In any business, there are a number of projects going on throughout the year, with the help of ERP, the business can manage these projects more independently, which helps them to create plans, schedules, assignments, budgets etc.

With these modules working together, Enterprise Resource Management can give us an eagle’s eye view of everything going on in the business and at the same time, be the labor ant helping with all the processes going on. The integration of all these modules together is the reason this software and technology was developed. The integration helps with the identification of the choke points and bottlenecks in the business with optimization of the whole process.

These were the main basic modules, but the technology evolved and the new phase of ERP has more integrated modules such as:

Third Party Integration

Third party integration helps with optimizing the ERP for the specific business needs with the help of integration of third-party modules.

Cloud based deployment

With the system being cloud based, the vendors can provide their services over the internet instead of having site-based deployment.

Data collection and Analysis

By introducing artificial intelligence, the ERP software can now predict the performance and project future, based on the previous data collected.

Workflow automation

The Enterprise Resource Planning can now create automated tasks for the repetitive processes so that the whole process can be more efficient. It can also send reminders and notifications to the clients for payments and much more.

In conclusion, this technology can boost the business it is integrated in. With its qualities, the efficiency and optimization it brings to the business, it repays its cost tenfold.

To learn more about how iNECTA can elevate your business: 

We Are iNECTA

The Problem with Insufficient ERP