ERP, the backbone of the SME’s IS

ERP is the essential motorway interchange on the road to success. It abolishes silos, ensures a better flow of information between departments, and puts the entire internal value chain in the same direction to meet one objective : efficiency !

There is no shortage of metaphors to describe the missions of an ERP. But the one that presents a management solution as the backbone of an SME’s information system is the most eloquent. It illustrates perfectly how an ERP can abolish the silos within a company, but also how it offers the entire value chain of an SME total visibility and transparency on the information contributing to the satisfaction of a customer.

Controlling and managing activity from order to delivery

An ERP is designed to homogenise the circulation of information within the company. This is why ERP replaces or connects to a number of business applications in order to federate key data and circulate it more efficiently within the company. This enables the business to be managed more effectively at all stages of a customer request, right through to the delivery of the product or service. This structuring of access to information makes the ERP the backbone of your IS, since its impact can extend to your supply chain.

Legible dashboards for information sharing

Purchasing, sales, customer service, finance, and all the departments in a company are eligible to use or produce data that will be centralised in the ERP. However, such a large amount of information, which is disparate by nature, makes it essential to have access to readable dashboards designed to share information. This is one of the strengths of SAP By Design. With real-time visibility into your processes, you can achieve significant productivity gains and move towards better financial planning.

Visibility and transparency to anticipate problems

How can you degrade the customer experience and create frustration among your staff ? By not giving them the means to deliver on their promise. With an ERP, you limit your exposure to this type of risk by anticipating friction. The traceability of all your processes, across all trades, allows you to considerably improve workflows for the comfort of your teams and the satisfaction of your customers.

In conclusion : How to choose ?

The question today is no longer whether or not to adopt an ERP. The reality for SMEs is more trivial. The real question is about the choice of the ERP itself. For an actor like CEREALOG, privileged partner of SAP for 10 years, the criteria of choice are clear and articulate on 3 key axes :

Axis N°1

Do not focus on the management solution itself, but rather on your specific needs. These are easy to identify as you are the best experts in your field. From procurement difficulties, through your production cycles, to your logistics organisation, who else but you can draw up a complete specification of your needs ?

Axis 2

By choosing an ERP such as SAP Business ByDesign, you can be sure that the ERP meets 80% of your needs by default. The remaining 20% can be adapted and customised for an optimal user experience. On this 20% of adaptation, CEREALOG’s project managers are also able to accompany you from start to finish.

Axis N°3

In terms of ERP deployment, there is the preparatory phase, the actual integration and the support afterwards. When you choose an ERP, you are committing yourself for a long time, make sure that the publisher of the management solution and the integrator have a long history, reputation and references to ensure that you receive stable and lasting support over time !

If we can consider that the ERP is the backbone of the company’s information system, it is because it is the focal point of a digital transformation project. It is through the ERP that we can now respond to the challenges of mobility, the development of micro-services, and the integration of new technologies such as Machine Learning or IoT. ERP opens up the field of possibilities and liberates uses.