In the manufacturing business, success depends on how well the businesses manage their Supply Chain Management process. Because they move on a tight schedule to complete the order, they need their partners and suppliers to supply them with the right type and amount of resources at the necessary time.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) ensures the flow of raw materials of a manufacturing company. From production level to finished products at the distribution level, these raw products are used.
However, the SCM process is time-consuming and cumbersome. If not managed efficiently, it can slow down production.
97% of respondents report supply chain management consumes a significant amount of employee’s time.
The Manufacturing Report
To prevent any time-wasting, An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system plays an important role in running the SCM process. It helps businesses achieve operational efficiency by automating the SCM process. So, rather than relying on separate systems to manage Supply Chain Management, an ERP solution easily consolidates them into a single dashboard.
An ERP system enables the integration of various business processes into a single platform.
That is why almost 50% of businesses are using the ERP system. As they both are quite similar systems, you will see a lot of businesses using an ERP system for SCM.
Today in our guide we will talk in detail about how the ERP system plays an important role in managing the Supply Chain and the usage of ERP in SCM.
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.
Importance of ERP system in Supply Chain Management
Both Supply Chain Management and ERP are valuable for business. When combined together, they can have a valuable impact on your business. If you look closely, you’ll see the laws of Supply Chain Management are changing every day and getting more complicated.
And this is happening because of the changes in customer behavior, shorter product life cycle, fluctuating demands, and implementation of new regulations in the market. All these things are making traditional supply chain management more difficult and challenging over time.
Anyone running a business knows about these facts well. A good ERP system can add value to the system, starting from procuring raw materials to complete production and delivering those products to the customers.
And when all the departments function systematically, the Supply Chain Management system provides the best output.
Role of ERP in supply chain management for Manufacturers/Wholesaler/Marketers
Adding an ERP system to the Supply Chain Management can be a game-changer. It can provide you with clear insights into your workflow so you can take the right decisions and enjoy competitive advantages. We’ll now take you to explore the key roles of ERP in Supply Chain Management for various businesses.
1. Create an Efficient Plan for Supply Chain Process
An efficient Supply Chain Management system requires careful planning and consideration. If you can create a detailed Supply Chain plan, the mechanism will help you with the critical elements for operational success, including material management, waste elimination, and working capital optimization.
When you are creating a Supply Chain plan, you need to consider a few things:
- What marketing channels to use
- Determine the type of promotion strategy
- Determine the quantity of stock and inventory required for production
- Lastly, you need to ensure production process and policies are capable enough to cope with the demands.
This looks like a lot of work. Managing them manually is undoubtedly hard. An ERP solution in the Supply Chain Management system can help you out of this crisis.
2. Manage Demand and Procurement
When you have an ERP system in place, managing demands and procurement will be easy. Because whenever you receive an order, the software will automatically schedule a demand. And the centralized dashboard system will help keep the team members in the loop about how the resources are being used.
With real-time information, they will be able to plan production jobs, how the resources will be used, and the estimated time of delivery. Warehouse resource management, transportation of materials, and other supply chain tasks can be automated or optimized to improve efficiency as well.
3. Handling Purchasing and Execution
It is very important to measure the supplies you are buying. Otherwise, you will end up with too much and too little. Both are a waste of time and money. An ERP system with enough features will help you automate the supply of the goods, services, and other resources that are needed across the supply chain.
From manufacturing to delivery, the ERP system will offer cross-platform visibility across all aspects of Supply Chain Management.
4. Monitor Process and Documentation
The ERP for Supply Chain Management can help you create detailed invoices you can send your customers after delivery. Also, the ERP system makes it easy to create import-export documentation for cross-border shipments.
The system automatically collects and archives shipment and delivery data. This reduces errors and ensures on-time delivery with better customer service.
5. Real-Time Data Tracking
ERP offers a centralized dashboard system that enables real-time tracking and reporting. This simplifies system control and management, facilitating smooth information exchange and enhancing coordination between departments. It minimizes decision-making delays and improves overall efficiency.
ERP systems provide a wealth of real-time data, making calculations and analysis easier. The generated reports offer insights into various events and enable accurate forecasting, aiding in effective business planning.
5. Increase Transparency to Enhance Collaboration
The ERP system will create transparency among the team member involved in the Supply Chain process. It enhances the collaboration between businesses and vendors. Suppliers can connect to the ERP dashboard to work more effectively. This enables them to predict when to refill the inventories.
Moreover, with more visibility and transparency, businesses can create smart strategies around how they use their resources. Because ERP will give your team a detailed, real-time look into your operations so you can see where things are going well and where they’re not.
6. Set Measurements and Conduct Assessments
Measuring all the real-time data against projected goals and targets is quite impossible. Especially, for those who rely upon a Supply Chain that utilizes multiple stand-alone systems and workflow processes.
However, if you are utilizing an ERP system in Supply Chain Management, you can easily find all the necessary information to create a detailed report. Then you can conduct your assessment perfectly and find out the gaps in your business plan.
7. Track Orders and Retain Customers
A crucial aspect of successful Supply Chain Management is timely order delivery. ERP systems make order tracking seamless, allowing businesses to monitor the progress of each order and keep an eye on new orders.
Detailed order information also helps in understanding and meeting future consumer needs. This can enhance customer satisfaction, leading to improved customer retention rates and increased chances of repeat business.
This is how an ERP system will help you easily manage your whole Supply Chain operations. But, finding an ERP system with the necessary features can give you sleepless nights.
Don’t worry. We got you. We will list the things you need on your ERP system for Supply Chain management.
Things to Look For When Selecting an ERP Solution for Efficient Supply Chain Management
Choosing the perfect ERP system to handle your Supply Chain Management process is tough but not impossible. There are numerous ERP systems in the market right now that will make any business owner confused.
Because every system has some unique features that make it hard to choose one over another. We have made a list of features that every ERP solution must have to fit your Supply Chain Management needs. Take a look at them below.
a. Functionalities
As SCM is a very complicated process, you need to choose an ERP system that is adaptable to your company’s needs. Inventory management, document management, asset management, etc., should be present in your ERP system.
Also, the solution should have various features that connect different departments. This will increase transparency between team members while enhancing productivity. Finally, your ERP system should be flexible and give you enough opportunity to customize it.
b. User Fit
You are not the only one who will be using the ERP in the Supply Chain Management system. The team members related to the SCM process will also use it. If you choose a complex system, your employee will take a long time to understand its ecosystem. This will ultimately slow down your productivity.
So, you should choose a user-friendly ERP solution. It must have proper documentation, easy to understand dashboard, and intuitive navigations so employees can adjust them with it faster.
c. Compatibility
If your selected ERP solution isn’t compatible with your existing Supply Chain Management system, it will be useless, no matter how user-friendly it is.
Unless you are overhauling all your systems, you must make sure that the new ERP is compatible with your existing systems. Data migration should be easy. Plus, exporting and importing documents should be fairly simple.
You will find that most of the ERP systems in the industry offer a trial version. You can give try a few of those to be sure. Or you can set up a call for a demo version to learn about the features of the ERP system.
d. Adaptability
We have said before that the Supply Chain process is ever-changing. And the focus of your business is growing, not remaining still. So, you need to adapt to the changing rules of SCM.
Therefore, you should choose an adaptable and easily scalable solution that seamlessly handles business expansion. Moreover, your ERP system should make you more competitive by adapting to real-world situations as it pertains to the market, your industry, and your company.
e. Support
Whatever solution you are using must come with a 24/7 support system. That is non-negotiable. When your solution has a solid support system, it ensures it will be maintained and configured according to your need.
These are the main features you will need to have on your ERP solution to run your Supply Chain Management process.
So, as we said there are quite a few ERP-based solutions in the market. However, if we consider all the above features, only a handful of them come close. One of them is the WordPress-powered solution WP ERP.
Let’s talk about the features of WP ERP so that you can understand why it is one of the best ERP Supply Chain Management systems.
WP ERP – Your Secret Tool For A Healthy Supply Chain Management of Business
WP ERP is one of the most feature-enriched business management solutions, with three key yet separate business department modules ( HRM, CRM, and Accounting).
This WordPress solution has a centralized dashboard from which you can simultaneously manage Human Resources, Customer Relationships, and Accounting. This would give complete transparency and allow you to have all data at your hand.
But when it comes to managing the Supply Chain process, WP ERP can become your ally. Along with these three core modules, it has some great extensions to help manage your SCM process. For example:
These extensions will help you create a smart strategy regarding your Supply Chain process. However, along with these extensions, this plugin has some other features as well, including,
- Asset management
- Recruiting new employees remotely
- Detailed status and employee reports
- View customer status and activity logging and respond appropriately
- Schedule a meeting or a call with customers and representatives
- Payment gateways
- Track expense transactions
- Double-entry accounting
- Smart Payroll system
- An internal cash transfer system
- Ledger reports
- Perfect calculation of expenses & bills and more.
That is why WP ERP is the smart choice to manage your Supply Chain Management.
FAQ on ERP in Supply Chain Management System
Hope you are enjoying this article. We’ll now answer some questions commonly found online on the topic of ERP in Supply Chain Management.
Yes, WP ERP has a good number of CRM and Supply Chain Management modules.
The most useful Supply Chain Management modules WP ERP have are payment gateway, deals, workflow, reimbursement, custom field builder, inventory, document manager, SMS notification, and training.
1. Integrate various functions and departments involved in the management. 2. Providing real-time data about supply chain management activities. 3. Streamline operations, automate tasks, and reduce redundancies. 4. Enhance demand planning and forecasting capabilities. 5. Improve inventory management and optimize stock levels. 6. Facilitate effective communication and collaboration between stakeholders. 7. Ensure customer satisfaction through order management and timely delivery.
ERP helps optimise the stock level, reduce carrying costs, and minimise stockouts by providing real-time visibility into inventory levels. Streamlined procurement processes through ERP automated workflows to improve purchasing practices and reduce errors. Effective production planning in ERP minimizes production downtime and optimizes resource allocation, resulting in cost savings.
The cost involved in ERP for Supply Chain Management depends on various factors like the size of the organization, the number of SCM modules they need, and the solution they bought. Although some initial costs are involved in any ERP software, you can take it as an investment as it will save you considerable time and money over time.
Start Using a Reliable ERP Software to Improve Your Supply Chain Management Today!
Supply Chain is the lifeline of a company’s business, and it is ever-changing. Therefore, you need to make smart decisions in order to stay competitive and adaptive to the changes.
One is by integrating an ERP solution into your Supply Chain Management system. It will multiply the efficiency rate of your SCM process.
WP ERP is a great solution to undertake in order to get the best results. And if you can use this software smartly, it will ensure growth for your business. If you need any help regarding the software, contact us today.
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