User Review
( votes)The right technology should pump up your bottom line, not deflate it…
While this statement may seem like a pipe dream, it is a truth all small businesses should strive for. After all, who has resources, financial or otherwise, to waste on technology that makes things less efficient or more difficult?
Never is this truer than with ERP software. You can’t afford a trial-and-error approach to adopting a solution this far-reaching. What you need is an intuitive tool to help you optimize operations and facilitate growth. This is exactly the sort of thing the right ERP solution can help you achieve. But the question is, how do you find this seemingly magical solution that can help you achieve your goals, rather than hinder your success? The answer is simpler than you might think.
To increase ERP value, there are five usability factors every small business should look for. Let’s explore.
Factor #1: Real-Time Data and Smart Visualization
Good usability starts with accessible information. When users have unencumbered access to the data that can help them make split-second, informed decisions, your business can better keep up with customer and market demands. Maybe even achieve a leg up over the competition. However, data points alone rarely provide enough content for people to make strategic decisions or troubleshoot problems that might crop up.
To increase ERP value, look for features like:
- Real-Time views of your business operations.
- The ability to aggregate data from every department for a single version of the truth.
- A wide variety of out-of-the-box reports.
- The ability to build your own custom reports.
- Easy access to historical data.
Factor #2: Personalized Reporting and KPIs
Today’s workers are doing more with less than ever before. This is especially true for those who work for small and medium-size businesses. They often wear multiple hats every day. So, it’s no surprise, most of them struggle to cut through the noise. Information overload has become so common in our world, we may not realize how overwhelmed we feel. But when an ERP system can help you focus on what’s important to your role, in a way that supports your unique work style, it can help you get more done with less stress.
To increase ERP value, look for features like:
- Personalized KPIs.
- Role specific reporting.
- User specific workspaces you can easily customize to fit your work style.
Factor #3: Ability to Engage All Users
Each ERP user has a unique style and level of tech savviness. The right ERP must support them all. Whether they are digital natives (people who grew up with technology) or digital immigrants (those who had to learn technology leader in life), they should all feel comfortable and confident in their ability to navigate the system. Without this, frustration among users is likely to mount and end-user adoption plummet. Either of which spell disaster for an ERP system’s ability to boost your business’ profitability.
To increase ERP value, look for features like:
- Simple navigation.
- Intuitive user interfaces.
- Configurable workflows.
- Personalized notifications.
- Universal search.
- Multiple layers of support.
- Intelligent online help.
Factor #4: Industry Driven Capabilities
It’s easy to assume that sewing together a combination of best-of-breed tools is the smartest way to give your business the industry specific functions it needs. But there’s one glaring problem with this strategy. These are all separate systems that cannot talk to one another. Therefore, they create silos, quickly diminishing transparency and communication between departments. This impairs your team’s ability to make strategic decisions and often negatively affects customer relations and, eventually, profitability.
Instead, consider looking for a single system designed for your industry. One that can support all the basic functions you desire, plus meet your unique industry needs.
Factor #5: Ability to Build Connections with Ease
Despite the robust capabilities they offer, no ERP system can provide all the functionality every business could need. So, the truth is at some point, you will need to add additional capabilities to whatever system you purchase. The question is, how easy will this process be? Some ERP systems make it simple. Others are much more difficult to work with, requiring the expertise of a skilled developer. If you’re looking to boost the profitability of your ERP implementation, make sure the system you select sits on the latter end of the spectrum.
To increase ERP value, look for features like:
- Low code/no code tools that allow you to connect your ERP with the other systems your business already counts on.
- Visual programming tools.
- The ability to schedule data transfers.
- A catalog of existing plug-and-play extensions with other popular business software.
Now that you know the things to look for to increase ERP value, you’re probably wondering — are there any solutions that can truly deliver on all of this? The answer is, yes. One such solution is Acumatica Cloud ERP. Its ability to provide these key features and much more is a major reason it is currently the fastest growing ERP and number one among popular solutions for customer satisfaction.
To see how Acumatica delivers on each of these factors, download the e-book, “Five Usability Factors That Maximize ERP Value.”
Do you want to explore Acumatica further? Visit our website. Or are you ready to take things a step further and see Acumatica in action? Schedule your one-on-one demo with an Acumatica expert today.
The post Transforming Your Business with ERP: How to Increase ERP Value and Performance appeared first on ERP Cloud Blog.
