ERP: What Are The Benefits Of Technology For Small Businesses?
If you own a micro or small businesses, you must have asked yourself: “How can I increase the competitiveness of my business?”.
Faced with big brands, it is common for micro and small entrepreneurs to be concerned. After all, you have to compete for the same customer, which can be challenging without investments in innovation and technology.
When we talk about technology, micro, and small companies may think that big brands have the advantage. This is because a large amount of capital is usually required. But is this true? Not necessarily.
Small and micro companies can also automate and organize processes, improve management and service, ensuring more competitiveness. And guess what, they don’t need a massive amount of money to modernize their business.
Do you want to know how micro and small companies can stand out in the market and compete on equal terms with big brands? So stay with us to discover the importance of investing in an ERP and what are its benefits.
ERP: Technology That Transforms Management
ERP, also known as “Enterprise Resource Planning,” is an integrated management system that can unite all company departments. Do you know the areas of finance, purchasing, HR, and even the supply chain, which used to work in isolation? Well, all these sectors can perform their tasks within the ERP. To make the ERP explanation simpler, here’s an example:
Let’s say you have a small industry and you purchased a new batch of inputs for production. Once the goods have been delivered, and the information entered into the software, both the stock department and the purchasing and sales department will be able to access the same data.
This means that your small industry will be able to monitor, in real-time, all the movement of items, processes, and people. And that can contribute (and a lot) to the management of your business.
Until recently, micro and small companies had no choice but to do all the control through printed documents or spreadsheets. The problem is that the methods did not provide the necessary security, much less agility.
As demand for products grew, major brands had to look for new ways to optimize their operations. Of course, today, micro and small industries also need to invest in technologies such as ERP if they want to compete in the market.
In addition, it is essential to emphasize that nowadays, the ERP market is increasingly specialized. Therefore, you can find expert systems for your type of business. For example, Domes ERP Industrial specializes in managing small and medium-sized industries. There are other expert systems in services, restaurants, and so on.
How ERP Can Help Micro And Small Companies
Simplifying management is the main benefit gained with ERP software. However, technology can inevitably help micro and small businesses in many other ways.
Below, see all the advantages:
1- Increase In Productivity
After all information and processes are automated with the ERP, the company can increase its productivity, whether in executing tasks, customer service, or product delivery.
According to research carried out by IDG Research Services, which specializes in market research for marketing and media in the tech sector, small and medium-sized companies that use a management system tend to grow 35% faster than those that do not use technology. In other words, investing in management software can help improve production and stand out.
2- Greater Stock Control
In addition to increasing productivity, micro and small companies can also ensure greater inventory control when using ERP. All information related to products and services can be updated as items enter and exit in a few clicks.
3- Reduction Of Costs And Waste
Once the inventory control improves with the management software, the micro, and small companies can also reduce the costs related to the storage and maintenance of products.
It can also reduce waste, as it knows precisely how much material is needed to maintain production processes.
4- More Information Security
Another way that ERP helps micro and small entrepreneurs involves information security. If before, any unauthorized person could access and change a spreadsheet, for example, now the company can control who sees or even reverses the documents.
Furthermore, the information is saved within the software or in the cloud, eliminating the risk of micro and small companies suffering from lost physical papers.
5- Process Standardization
Can you imagine being able to standardize reports, the issuance of invoices, or production processes? With ERP, micro and small companies can do this since the technology has ready-made modules to simplify the release and transfer of information.
6- Agile And Assertive Decision Making
Streamlining decision-making is a highly competitive advantage in the business world. In this sense, ERP can also help micro and small entrepreneurs since the tool delivers performance indicators and updated reports that amplify the company’s vision.
Also Read: Five Benefits Of Digital Marketing For Small Business
