The warning signs that you need ERP
Organic business growth is a dream scenario, but can become a reporting nightmare with disparate IT systems not properly integrated. Brought to you by Liberate I.T.
As businesses grow, most instigate a series of organic changes as they take on more staff and expand their operations.
But problems arise when they reach a tipping point where the quick fixes and system upgrades are no longer sufficient for the business to thrive.
Outdated IT software, manual processes and a lack of communication between different departments means precious time and resources are wasted on admin instead of growing the customer base.
It’s a situation Meera Smith, senior functional consultant with Liberate I.T. has witnessed many times.
“It’s exhilarating to see your business become successful, but there comes a time when you need to stop patching up the problem, and overhaul your processes completely,” she says.
Smith argues that the problem often occurs because the business growth has not been strategic and holistic. Each department strives to add more people, more processes and their own IT solutions - usually based on past experiences or relationships.
“The result can be different IT packages in every area of the business, from supply chain to operations, sales to manufacturing, human resource activities, and even the core finances of the company.”
Single source of truth
The solution is enterprise resource planning (ERP), software that integrate these systems, allowing them to talk to each other and provide a single source of truth for the business - critically with real-time information.
“Often the company has acquired multiple software to handle different business areas over the years,” she says. “So departments are working in silos and management cannot easily obtain a full picture of how the business is performing as a whole.”
Not only does this way of working lack efficiency and synergy, the IT systems in place can be more costly than an ERP solution to run.
“Legacy systems usually require on-site servers that incur high maintenance overheads with costly and time-consuming upgrades, whereas modern ERP software is hosted in the cloud, requires little to no maintenance and is upgraded automatically.”
Without a centralised approach, errors can creep into business reporting as information is transferred manually. Admin staff then face more stress and their morale suffers.
“For companies that rely on multiple systems and spreadsheets that need be kept updated regularly, it can be difficult to obtain up-to-date key metric such as the average sales margin or sales to date,” Smith says. “With the pace of business accelerating with time, so does the need for management to have instant access to key data.”
Eventually the symptoms of poor IT start to show externally and the quality of customer service declines. By that time, it’s difficult to recover.
Liberate I.T. helps companies install an ERP that suits their size and structure, creating one transparent system instead of seven or eight separate ones.
“Rather than wondering whether you can afford it, the question should be whether you can afford not to do it.”
“Rather than wondering whether you can afford it, the question should be whether you can afford not to do it.”
Find out more:
Liberate I.T. is a 5-star dedicated NetSuite partner in Australia and New Zealand, advising businesses on implementing NetSuite ERP.
For more details, visit www.liberateit.com/caanz