Integrated Enterprise Resource Management Helps Control Information Flow
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Posted On :
Jun-17-2010
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Article Word Count :
509
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There is a system for businesses that integrates information flows from different departments into a single, unified edifice. This increases efficiency and profits. Find out what it is here.
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Any business operating today, in the age of the Internet and advanced communications technology has to deal with an overwhelming amount of information. This information concerns both internal and external factors, such as the functions of different departments, the inquiries generated by customers, inventory and/or service data, etc. All of this information needs to be processed, integrated and interpreted correctly in order to build a correct picture of the business. Then management can properly assess the best direction for the business.
Fortunately, there is a system for businesses that can satisfy this requirement, even to the level of tangible assets. The system is known as enterprise resource planning software, or ERP. Actually, ERP is partially a misnomer; the software does no planning, and 'resource' is largely a negligible term. The key term to focus on is 'enterprise'. ERP software is designed to take all of the information flows from departments and the functions of those departments in a given enterprise and integrate them onto a single computer system. This computer system is then meant to aid those department's different needs from the same software program.
As many business commentators have noted, ERP is very ambitious. It seeks to create a single program that can serve the needs of finance as well as human resources and inventory. Before ERP came along, each of those departments typically had their own computer software systems that were designed specifically for those departments. It is easy to imagine the kind of effect a system like ERP would have on a business that recently implemented it.
If installed and integrated correctly, the business would experience a stupendous increase in efficiency. Take the journey of a single customer service inquiry, for example, such as an email. Under the old system, the email would typically be printed out and mailed to various departments using the "in-basket/out-basket" method. This method results in delays, lost inquiries and the introduction of errors as the inquiry is keyed into different computer systems. With customer orders, this problem is even worse: eventually, no one in the company knows where the order went, which leads to the familiar refrain "You'll have to call the warehouse."
An integrated ERP system puts an end to this madness. Instead, a single software system is created that has modules roughly corresponding to the old standalone computer systems. This lets someone in human resources, for example, look into the financial part of the software in order to see if a particular employee was raised to a higher salary, or alternately fired.
Obviously this represents a huge increase in efficiency and a decrease in the time it takes to fulfil customer orders and inquiries. As every business knows, the faster a customer order can be turned into an invoice, the faster it will turn into revenue. Thus, ERP offers faster profits with little to no errors or delays, which makes the customers happy. It represents a great step forward for business information technology and the private sector as a whole.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Integrated Enterprise Resource Management Helps Control Information Flow_22441.aspx
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Author Resource :
To find out about inventory management software and for professional advice, please visit POS software.
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Keywords :
control, information, integrated, ERP, system,
Category :
Business
:
Sales
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