What is an ERP system and what is it for?

Updated: 02/03/22

Nowadays there is a need in virtually every company managing large amounts of information and a benchmark for the entire market. That is why having an efficient business management with an ERP system to support it is a great competitive advantage in the face of the great existing competition.

Regardless of the size of your company, it is highly recommended that you have an ERP management systemIt will be of great use for optimal management.

Because of its great importance we will explain what is an ERP system and what is it for?.

What is the meaning of ERP

The acronym ERP is an abbreviation of Enterprise Resource Planningwhich can be translated as a business management system.

In short, it is a technological tool whose main objective is to to be able to integrate and automate the various processes and data of the company on a single platform. This makes it easier to manage data and organise the company correctly.

Thanks to the various software applications that are integrated into the platform, most of the business tasks can be automatedfacilitating the centralisation of information from areas such as:

• Production.
• Logistics.
• Human Resources.
• Commercial and financial management.

Thanks to this centralisation, all those who are part of the organisation are able to access all available information and manage the various data.

One of the main features of this ERP software is its modularity and scalability, since you can implementing the solutions depending on the different needs without limiting the growth of the company.

It is essential to previous consultancy to establish the necessary business model, strategy and information flows between all departments so that all are synchronised and synergies are created.

Advantages of having an ERP system

Although having an ERP system has many benefits, we can highlight the following:

• Optimising management processes: thanks to the interaction of the different areas of the company from the same platform, it allows to increase the efficiency of the company.
• Improved decision-making: The centralisation of information and its availability in real time streamlines and improves the organisation's decision making.
• Modularity: If you decide to invest in a tool, it should never be a brake on the growth of the company. A good ERP software should cover all the current needs of the organisation and should adapt to future needs that may arise.
• Security: The fact that all data is in one place with restricted and, above all, protected access, facilitates all information security tasks.
• Control: any interaction is recorded, so that all available data can be thoroughly checked.
• Automations: more repetitive tasks, such as reporting, can be automated to reduce the human factor and allow humans to focus on other, more productive tasks.

What are the main ERP systems on the market?

Some of the best known ERP systems on the market are:

• SAP: has a very secure system that is constantly updated. Its main objective is to solve problems as quickly as possible with regard to the various processes of purchasing, finance, sales and human resources.
• Oracle: is another popular system that allows a wide variety of tasks to be performed, from reporting to accounting.
• Blue ERP Account: allows integration with other platforms to perform tasks such as payments or marketing automations.
• Microsoft Dynamics: is a cloud-based system that can be fully integrated with all other Microsoft Office products.
• SIGE Cloud ERP: is considered one of the most complete systems as there are different plans with specific characteristics for any business.

Now that you know what ERP systems are and what they are for, choose the one that best suits the characteristics of your company and helps you with the centralisation of processes and information.