Below you’ll find answers to our most commonly asked questions about ERP systems.
In this chapter, we will answer some of the ERP frequently ask questions to help you get answers on your own without the need of contacting ERP vendors.
Do you have any more questions? Drop them to our experts in live chat or leave an inquiry and we will try to answer it for you.
We consistently add new questions in this section making it more comprehensive for you.
What is ERP and how does it work?
ERP is an acronym that stands for “enterprise resource planning” system that works as a centralized database for all your business data and processes and data can be distributed across departments with permissions. It helps to normalized data input to remove data duplicates or redundancies. ERP systems focusing mainly on back-end departments like finance, accounting, purchasing, manufacturing, supply chain. However, it can greatly enhance your CRM data and improve and streamline processes at the front-end part of your business.
Read more: What is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)?
Why do companies use ERP systems?
When ERP is successfully implemented it can greatly enhance business processes, reduce human errors, streamline, and automate processes, helps standardize data and share clean data across organizations, and creating a leaner and more accurate and efficient operation. ERP system provides a 360-degree view of your core business departments with the possibility of integrating with other third-party tools. ERP systems are becoming vital for businesses to effectively store, analyze and use their data to make quick and informed decisions.
Read more: What is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)?
What is ERP used for?
ERP system is mainly used to help employees to do more with less which means organizations use ERP to manage more effectively day-to-day business tasks and activities across different sectors such as accounting, procurement, project management, sales, supply chain operations, reporting, etc. ERP system gives employees tools such as reporting, analytics, automation, etc. to help them to become more efficient and productive.
Who uses ERP?
Almost every company within every industry that uses some kind of process can use an ERP system to improve their business efficiencies. Especially the more common the industry is, the more useful the ERP system is as they are designed to handle day-to-day activities to help you improve your operation. However, it doesn’t mean that specialized industries cannot use ERP, and quite the opposite.
Every company regardless of the industry has departments that are common such as finance, marketing, or sales that can use ERP systems for day-to-day tasks. And their more specialized processes or systems can be still integrated with ERP systems to streamline data and other processes.
What are the benefits of ERP software?
There are several different benefits when implementing ERP software depending on the module you choose. However, all the modules are designed to help employees to improve their efficiency, and productivity and reduce errors by streamlining, automating, or simplifying day-to-day tasks. ERP software helps employees adopt new processes quickly and do more with less.
Learn more: ERP Benefits
How ERP helps businesses?
ERP system helps businesses to have greater and real-time insights and visibility into their operations across all of their core departments. It helps to reduce human errors, eliminate duplication and manual entries. It helps to automate and streamline business processes and tasks that cost employees a lot of their time, so they can focus on more important things and do more with less.
How do I choose an ERP system?
Selecting the right ERP system can be a complicated and tedious process. You must know what your business is looking for to improve, especially the business processes and outcomes such as faster reporting, better access to data, automated receiving and put away, etc. It’s very important that your business does the gap analysis to recognize what needs to be improved and then select the right ERP software that can help to solve your challenges.
Learn more: How to Evaluate ERP Vendors.
Which ERP System is Best?
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits ERP system that will perfectly fit your business. The important aspects of an ERP system are that it fits your needs, requirements, business processes, the outcomes you expect, the size of your organization, and the number of users. The right ERP system can help your business to effectively enhance your business outcomes, yet adapt to your business process. Of course, some level of change will need to be introduced for the business’s good.
Read more: Best ERP Software 2021
Are ERP Systems Expensive?
ERP systems are getting cheaper comparing to old Legacy ERP systems that needed robust IT deployment. Modern ERP systems are becoming affordable even by small companies as they are charged per user which comes around US $100.
However, often these systems need to be implemented by experts. The implementation service costs depend on many aspects such as customization, modules, integration, etc. These charges are often one-time and are charge per men-day. So, the bigger and longer the project the higher will be the cost of implementation services.
So ask your local vendor and their partners to get the pricing for their implementation services.
Are ERP and CRM Systems the Same?
Both systems are fundamental for businesses to improve efficiencies and productivity, however, the main difference between ERP and CRM is that ERP is focusing on the back-end part of your business such as finance, human resources, operations, project management, etc. while CRM is focusing on the front-end and customer data such as sales, customer service, and marketing. Integrating these two types of systems will give companies an edge over their competitors and improve their businesses outcomes by providing better customer service, improving their sales, financial planning, and more.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP Applications are standalone business apps that allow you to improve financial dexterity, operational proficiency, and project-centric services success so you can unlock the insights needed to adapt faster, work smarter, and perform better.
Dynamics 365 Business Central is an all-in-one enterprise resource management System for Small-Medium Size Businesses to centralize, simplify and automate your business processes across Finance, Supply Chain, Sales, Customer Service, Manufacturing, and Projects.
Dynamics 365 Commerce empowers your business to deliver unified, personalized, and seamless buying experiences for customers and partners. Unify back-office, in-store, e-commerce, and call center experience to increase productivity and optimize store operations.
Dynamics 365 Project Operations get the visibility, collaboration, and agility needed for your project-centric business. Empower your teams to win more contracts, optimize resource utilization, accelerate project delivery, and get business insights from sales to project financials.
Dynamics 365 Finance automates, simplify and centralizes your global financial operations, maximizes financial visibility and profitability and monitors global financial operations in real-time, predicts outcomes, and makes data-driven decisions to drive business agility and growth.
Dynamics 365 Project Operations get the visibility, collaboration, and agility needed for your project-centric business. Empower your teams to win more contracts, optimize resource utilization, accelerate project delivery, and get business insights from sales to project financials.
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