ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It is true that ERP solutions change the way small businesses work. Basically, ERP software takes care of all the essential processes in running a business such as order management, accounting, human resources, customer relationship management etc. ERP is a system that helps to make all the processes work in an order and in an organized way.

The main goal of ERP software is to make different systems work with single software. The business ERP solutions run all the processes by sharing a shared database. People and employees working in the different sections of an organization can access the same database which makes the work for the employees.

There are a number Enterprise resource planning software vendors and the one which suits your needs and requirements can be chosen. The leading ERP vendors are SAP, Oracle, Sage, Microsoft, Net Suite etc. which provide ERP software to leading organizations.

Cloud ERP is the most popular of the business ERP solutions and all the organization or businesses are going towards cloud ERP looking at the advantages of the system. ERP software helps the employees of an organization to access the information which is non-redundant and reliable. The access to the data by all the processes helps to improve the business and fastens the pace of doing things. All these advantages make ERP software a favorite among all kinds of businesses.

Business ERP solutions are software that makes the work of employees easy as the software helps in automating and making all the processes to work in an order. Preparation of reports is one process which takes a lot of time and ERP software helps in preparing reports.

Especially the sales and finance sectors that need a lot of time and manual power to manage the records and financial details. The ERP software can make the work easy by sending the sales details to the financial system without the help of an employee to enter the details. The syncing of the processes makes the work in all the departments easy as the data flows from one process to another.

Business ERP solutions have seen a lot of development.  Business intelligence is a new development along with the functions of taking care of front office work. The developments in ERP and new ways of using the software make it a successful one which is sought after by even small businesses.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) also known as cloud computing has also helped in the growth of ERP as the SaaS made the ERP a more affordable software. The combination of both SaaS and ERP is a successful one as the businesses whether it is big, medium or small find it easy to implement and manage. Cloud ERP makes the real-time reporting a possibility which is really useful for the business systems.

Advantages of ERP

• ERP system enables the employees in all the sections to have the same instance of data which eliminates the redundancy gives a scope for improvement.
• ERP software helps a great deal in managing the finances and sales. The risk is reduced as the standards are followed by using the software.
• ERP software helps in automating the main processes in the business such as ‘from receiving an order to the shipment of the order being done’, ‘receiving an order to the payment being deposited in the bank’.
• Customer service is one department which gets a great deal of improvement as the payment and other inquiry details are taken care of a single process.

Common ERP Modules

ERP software is a collection of enterprise software modules which can be chosen needs and requirements of the business or organization. The modules are based on the product, sales, finance and marketing of the product. There are ERP solutions that are cloud-based for small businesses.

The ERP modules which are popular are the ones which are used for managing the inventory, purchasing the materials required for manufacturing the product, distributing and marketing the product etc. Accounts management, Human resource management also play a crucial role in managing an organization.

The popularity of ERP software with product-related organizations has increased the usage of the software in other sectors. The other areas of the business such as CRM, business intelligence are also added to ERP making it into a single software.

Mobile ERP is used to prepare reports, design business processes and to access the information from the database. Basically, mobile ERP helps in accessing the real-time information.

The Cloud ERP is the collection of data, software or information which can be accessed by anyone based on the needs and requirements. The business and organizations used to have inhibitions in placing their data in the cloud but gradually these inhibitions are decreasing.

The addition of social media to ERP has become an advantage for vendors and they started using social ERP to improve their business.