Your Quick and Easy Guide to ERP by Perfect Dynamics

Our 'Ask the Experts' pages are full of specialist advice and information about all sorts of technical or industry-specific areas. In this edition, we hand over to Perfect Dynamics to go over ERP and how it can benefit the efficiency of your business.

What does it mean?

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning, a form of business management software that’s made up of a combination of core business functions in one central database. The concept behind ERP is to bring together and manage operations like accounting, inventory, sales and purchasing, production, supply chain, human resources, and reporting. It can provide a unified view of cross-company information, ensuring that everyone is working to the same standards.

ERP’s core functionality allows it to cover specific requirements across a range of industries, from manufacturing, construction and retail to professional services and wholesale/distribution. It helps people work faster and better, reducing risk while supporting and driving business growth.

What are the benefits to having an ERP solution?

• Reducing inefficiencies in business processes
• Allowing effective planning and allocation of resources and management
• Reducing cost of overheads
• Giving a 360° view of clients’ activity
• Bringing together islands of information into one system
• Increasing productivity by reducing duplication of work and ‘dead time’
• Standardising core processes
• Providing full visibility of how the business is performing against the overall strategic plan

Why would you need ERP?

There are many reasons why businesses are choosing to migrate to a ERP solution and each business is unique but here are a few of the most common motivators behind changing:

• Major changes to your business and its processes will affect the stability and suitability of your existing ERP system.
• Access to information about your business is limited or can take time to collate due to it being stored on many different systems.
• Accounting and other processes take longer than necessary and result in a less-productive workforce.
• The cost of maintenance is spiralling and your existing system is outdated.
• Customer satisfaction and sales are suffering due to the lack of knowledge and information available to your staff to make quicker decisions.
• You are using a bespoke system and the supplier is no longer available.
• There’s a lack of flexibility in the system to support growth.
• You want to trade abroad and have no multi-lingual or multi-currency capabilities.
• Information sharing across the business is by word of mouth.
• Your ageing system is no longer supported by the vendor/ author or by new operating systems.

When will you need to invest in ERP?

There is no definitive answer to that questions but if you are experiencing any of the challenges mentioned above and feel constrained by the functionality of your existing software, then it may be time for you to start reviewing.

What can Perfect Dynamics do to help?

Perfect Dynamics are a business consultancy that deliver solutions built on the Microsoft Dynamics suite of applications. Utilising the latest technology to streamline processes, provide automation and deliver efficiency. The technology is seamlessly integrated with the Microsoft 365 suite, and is hosted on the Azure platform. It gives any business a solid and scalable solution for enhancement and growth.

Our products and services are implemented by a team of specialists who have expertise and experience of the Microsoft product suite.

We believe any customer engagement should be a partnership and we always make our customers feel like they are part of the team.

Contact us today to find out more.