5 Tips for Small Businesses on Adopting an ERP System for Better Control of Operations

It is inevitable for starters in the business industry to run into a few challenges, mostly because of the lack of a sufficient workforce to do different jobs. These tasks may include managing day-to-day activities, such as project management, accounting, procurement, risk management, and many more. What can be a more helpful way to aid these dilemmas than implementing a system where you integrate essential business functions?

In this case, the best solution is to find an ERP system for small and medium businesses. You might want to check out this article to learn how to optimize your SMB with ERP software as discussed by FinancesOnline. Moreover, you could use a few tips to help you further make up your mind in selecting the best cloud-based ERP for small businesses.

With that said, let’s take a look at 5 tips for small businesses on adopting an ERP system for better control of operations.

1. Identify your business goals

Given the numerous advantages that an ERP system brings about, it gives you an idea of what it can do for your business. These benefits can go from increasing efficiency and productivity to improving and strengthening security. Thus, it is easier to identify whether your ERP system can meet your business goals.

Besides that, it is also crucial that your ERP system’s functionalities align with your business objectives since it makes you confident of the system’s effectiveness. It is easier to use the system’s features and implement the system itself by identifying your business goals and objectives. When you know what a specific function is for, you can quickly adapt and identify the problems that it can solve.

Bear in mind that an ERP system that fits your business needs is more comfortable to implement. On a different note, an ERP system’s implementation process should not be a one-time event; rather, it should be a continuous life cycle process. Check out this article about Trizeri’s implementation process to learn more.

2. Cloud ERP system

Statista’s worldwide 2019 survey shows that 37% of respondents use the on-premise deployment of ERP software in their organization. Yet SMBs need a more affordable and convenient option to match their needs and budget. Adopting a cloud ERP for small businesses can improve business processes and incoming information flow.

Additionally, by streamlining different areas of your operations, you can ensure efficient resource planning and allocation. On top of that, cloud-based solutions are more secured, reliable, and faster than on-premise. It can also help you reduce costs by eliminating the need to maintain and update your system, allowing you to allocate your resources to more important things.

Even more so, cloud-based ERP systems are faster to implement and more scalable compared to on-premise systems. They automatically update new patches and upgrades. Not only that, but it is also cost-effective because it cuts down hardware installation costs. Trizeri is a good example of a cloud ERP system to optimize your business operations. 

3. Maximize your analytics

By using analytics data, you can better understand your customers and gain insights into your past business performances. Then, out of the data, you will gather, you can plan and strategize on how to improve your business operations further.

Moreover, utilize your ERP system’s competitive built-in platform features for maximum efficiency. You might want to check out this article for a list of the built-in features that you can maximize in your ERP system.

4. Data migration

Data migration is one of the most crucial processes in the implementation of your ERP system. Hence, planning it well can reduce the chances for problems like data redundancy to occur. Since data migration is time-consuming, it is essential to prioritize and allocate enough resources for it.

• That being said, here are a few data migration tips that might help you:
• Evaluate and understand existing data
• Understand what needs to be migrated
• Start the migration after the business process are mapped in the ERP system
• Have a dedicated team to work on the migration

5. Automate mundane daily tasks

ERP system’s automation functionality is one of the best ways to help small businesses improve their operations. By automating your business routines and processes, you can always keep relevant information updated, which is of great help for inventory management, order fulfillment, and tracking of order status.

Even more so, the ERP system stores your data in a centralized location, making it readily accessible for other members of the organization at any time. Not only that, but you can also automate daily reports, allowing you to focus on more complicated tasks that robotic processes can not take care of.

ERP solutions for small businesses

Successful implementation of an ERP system requires the effort of every employee in the whole organization. By getting every member involved from the beginning, they are likely to understand how the system can positively affect their daily tasks. Hence, they can experience firsthand the benefits that the system brings.

As a result, they no longer have to continually ask the question, “is ERP appropriate for the typical small business?”. When you get everyone on board in adopting a new system, planning on training can be less of a challenging job. Finally, it is essential to measure the results of your ERP plans over time. But, with everyone’s combined effort and support, the chances of having great results are likely.