Enterprise resource planning systems, better known as ERPs, have gained a reputation for helping manufacturing businesses to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in numerous ways. By integrating financial data into one comprehensive system, ERP solutions can bring together all of an organization’s financial reporting. Plus, they can incorporate order management, which results in simpler and error-free order taking, manufacturing, inventory control, accounting, and distribution processes.
ERP is a software solution with various modules, all of which serve to link the various departments together while providing real-time data updates. The software is also highly versatile, and organizations can decide which of these modules are the most relevant to their needs.
ERPs can help your food, beverage, and chemical enterprise achieve its goals and extend its reach across five key areas: supply chain, customers, growth, productivity, and data. Here are those five areas in detail.
Manage your company’s supply chain with ERP
Your supply chain consists of suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and customers. The goal of supply chain management (SCM) is to plan, execute, control, and monitor all of the activities along the chain. ERP provides benefits in the three types of flows in SCM:
- Material flow signifies the movement of products from suppliers to customers.
- Information flow includes capacities, order tracking, and a delivery schedule.
- Financial flow represents invoices, credit terms, and other financial arrangements.
A supply chain that is managed successfully through ERP will provide the following advantages:
- Better efficiency
- Order-tracking
- Improved decision making
- Increased productivity
- Fewer errors
- Optimized inventory
- Reduced costs
ERP can enhance your customer service efforts
The customer service module of an ERP solution has much to offer. It can help your company with order processing, managing customer relationships, distribution of products, and invoicing. Senior managers can create sales and order forecasts and devise shipping schedules. The module can also monitor customer buying trends, manage random orders, and assist with managing key accounts.
Some of the other features of the customer service module include:
- Automated flexible pricing
- Online orders and order history
- Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) processing
- Credit limit management
- Managing both blanket and regular orders
ERP adjusts to your company’s growth
ERP systems integrate your different business functions and processes into a unified platform, storing the information in a single system. As your business grows, it will experience higher transaction volume, which means more sales orders to process, inventory to control, and customers to manage. Because your information is centralized, you can access it and put in new data with greater efficiency throughout the organization. The result? You free up workers to efficiently handle the demands of your growing business without bringing on more people.
ERP helps to create a productive manufacturing environment
You’re probably familiar with the principles of lean manufacturing. In a nutshell, it’s all about creating a lean environment that focuses on customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction while working towards reducing costs by minimizing wasted time, effort, and supplies.
Having an ERP solution in place makes it much easier to create a lean business environment with increased productivity. The system allows you to communicate with suppliers, customers, and even remote employees. You eliminate slow production cycles and inefficient purchasing of materials with the help of an efficient ERP.
Manage data with ease
There are numerous reasons for an organization to centralize their data in an ERP system. Here are some of them:
- Saving time: Employees will no longer have to look in multiple areas for information.
- Saving money: One system at one cost runs four separate systems for accounting, inventory, sales, and shipping, saving you money.
- Visibility: Everyone in the organization can now see everything in the system.
- Inventory control: Knowing what inventory you have leads to improved efficiency and happier customers with realistic expectations.
- Job tracking: You can view the progress of any job from the quote to the delivery.
The ERP experts at Decision Resources, Inc. are on standby to provide the information you need to streamline functions, improve productivity, and introduce and maintain an integrated and more efficient way of doing business within your food and beverage manufacturing environment. If you’re ready to take a step toward transforming your business with an ERP, please get in touch through our online contact form, call 412-562-9660, or email us at info@decision.com.
