How ERP Solutions Boost Your Supply Chain Management
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.
The Importance of Having an ERP System to Manage Your Supply Chain
Both Supply Chain Management and ERP are valuable for business. When combined together they can have a valuable impact on your business.
However, the importance of ERP Supply Chain Management can’t be stressed enough. As the laws of the Supply Chain are evolving day by day to become more complicated. Fast-track change in customers’ behavior, fluctuating demand, shorter product lifecycle, and new regulatory compliances are crippling the competency of traditional supply chains.
And anyone running a business knows that they must learn to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing rules and regulations in order to survive. The ultimate goal is to meet the customer’s demands in the most efficient and practical way possible.
A good ERP system will add value to your Supply Chain Management system. Starting from the material procurement process, product manufacturing going all the way to the customer product delivery process and billing, the ERP system takes care of them efficiently.
And when all the departments and functions work properly and systematically, the Supply Chain Management system performs its best.
Here are some key pointers that will prove the importance of ERP in Supply Chain Management systems,
- As ERP has a centralised dashboard system, it’s real time tracking and reporting simplifies the control and management of system. Exchange of information becomes smooth, enhances coordination between departments, minimizes the decision-making delays.
- The key to success in managing your Supply Chain Management is by delivering each order in time. With an ERP system, tracking each and every order becomes easy as they transit and also keep an eye on the new orders as well. Order details will also help measuring the consumer needs in the future.
- With a massive amount of real time data, calculation becomes easy. ERP systems produces reports that consists of real time data that give insights about each events while making it easy to forecast business.
- Everyone working within the Supply Chain Management system can have direct access to the ERP system dashboard. This improves the efficiency between the departments and the organizations.
- The ERP system improves the chance of customer retention and greater chance repeat business.
- It saves operational cost as everything is automated.
- Last but not the least, ERP system helps businesses adapt to the ever changing laws of the Supply Chain.
ERP makes the Supply Chain process simple, easy, and efficient. And effective Enterprise Resource Planning and Supply Chain Management are critical ingredients for business growth.
How an ERP Software Helps You With Supply Chain Management
Adding an ERP system to your Supply Chain can prove to be a game-changer. Because not having a clear insight into the various process and laws of the Supply Chain can leave you high and dry. You will not be able to produce procedures that will give you the ultimate competitive edge.
That is where an ERP system comes into play. It plays a key role in several aspects of the creation and maintenance of a superior Supply Chain Management process.
Earlier we talked about how important ERP systems are to the success of the Supply Chain Process. Now, we will talk about how ERP Supply Chain Management helps,
Creating 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 planning, 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 planning, you need to consider a few things like,
- 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 up with the demands.
Yes, it looks like a lot of work, and managing them manually is hard. That is why an ERP Supply Chain Management system will help you out from this crisis.
An ERP system will offer you a more efficient and flexible way to alter the parameters that will help you operate the Supply Chian process easily.
Managing Demand & 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 the delivery. Warehouse resource management, transportation of materials, and other supply chain tasks can be automated or optimized to improve efficiency as well.
Handling Purchasing & 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 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 the aspects of the Supply Chain.
Monitoring Processing & Documentation
The ERP for Supply Chain Management will help you create detailed invoices that you can send to your customers after the delivery. Also, the ERP system makes it easy to create import-export documentation for cross-border shipment.
The system will automatically collect and archive shipment and delivery data that will reduce errors and ensure on-time delivery and better customer service.
Increasing Transparency to Enhance Collaboration
The ERP system will create transparency among the team member involved in the Supply Chain process. Also, it will enhance the collaboration between businesses and vendors.
Suppliers will also be connected to your ERP dashboard, so they can work more effectively with you to meet your goals and reduce bottlenecks. They will be able to recognize when the supply inventories are low and they can ensure availability.
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.
Setting Measurements & Conducting Assessment
It is quite impossible to measure all the real-time data against projected goals and targets. 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, then you can easily find all the necessary information you need to create a detailed report.
Then you can conduct your assessment perfectly and find out the gaps in your business plan.
This is how an ERP system will help you manage your whole Supply Chain operations with ease. But, the thought of finding an ERP system with the necessary features can give you sleepless nights.
Don’t worry, we got you. We are going to list the things you need to have on your ERP system for Supply Chain management.
Things to Look For Before Selecting an ERP Solution That Fulfills Your Supply Chain Management Needs
Choosing the perfect ERP system that will take care of your Supply Chain Management process is tough but not impossible.
There are many 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. But, if you know what you are looking for then you can make the perfect choice for your business.
We have made a list of features that every ERP system should have to fit your Supply Chain Management needs.
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 on your selected ERP system.
Also, the solution should have various features that connect different departments. This will increase transparency between team members while enhancing productivity. All in all, your ERP system should be flexible and give you enough opportunity to customize it.
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.
So, your ERP should be user-friendly. If you choose a complex system, then your employee will take longer to learn all the tricks, ultimately slowing down your production. Along with functionalities complementing your SCM process, you need to choose an ERP system that is easy to use.
Proper documentation, easy to understand dashboard, easy navigations will help the employees warm to the new system faster than you expect.
Compatibility
Yes, your system has all the functionalities and is user-friendly, but if it isn’t compatible with your existing Supply Chain process then it is in vain.
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, 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 know about the features of the ERP system.
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 a solution that is adaptable and easily scalable, one that can handle business expansion seamlessly. 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.
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 the system will be maintained and can be 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 features above, then 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, Accounting).
This WordPress solution has a centralized dashboard from where you can manage Human Resources, Customer Relationships, and Accounting at the same time. This would give you complete transparency and you will have all the data on the palm of 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 also has some great extensions that will help manage your SCM process like,
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.
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 in 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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