Leverage on ERP to scale new heights in manufacturing

In today's market scenario, operational difficulties are a cause of concern for manufacturing companies. An efficient ERP system can provide a plethora of benefits, says Atul Pimple

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Manufacturing continues to be among the top contributors to India’s economic growth. This has been possible owing to the renewed support by the Government of India in providing tax incentives and proposals for India’s manufacturers. Not to miss out Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious manufacturing program, Make in India. Businesses are recognising this opportunity and are observed making investments in technological advancements such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) software systems to build a competitive edge amongst their peers.  

What purpose is an ERP to India’s manufacturer?

In today’s market scenario, operational difficulties are a cause for concern as it has led to chaos around the various business functions. The need for an integrated solution is the need of the hour where businesses can run without outages. An efficient ERP system provides a plethora of benefits including: 

• Increased productivity: With all the relevant information available accurately and at real-time on an integrated platform, leaders are in a better position to make decisions, and with high speed connectivity, accessibility at all times is possible.
• Empowered employees: The business ecosystem is increasingly getting connected. At the same time mobility of workforce has become a regular phenomenon. This calls for a technology platform that allows quick real-time agile decision-making. This is the modern day empowerment of employees.  
• Impeccable quality in customer engagement: When an ERP system is operated proficiently, the company’s repute is scaled up instantaneously. Products are dispatched and delivered in a timely manner leading to satisfied customers. 

Atul Pimple, co-founder and joint MD, EPPS Infotech

Keeping all the state-of-the-art features of an ERP system aside, it is mandatory for a business to first understand if purchasing an ERP program is beneficial. Key personnel in the organisation should discuss questions such as if employees productivity are affected due to the current system, if it is a struggle to meet compliance requirements etc. Once all the required data is analysed, it should then be followed by making a decision of investing in an ERP program.

What to consider while evaluating ERP systems?

Given are some of the requirements to be considered while selecting ERP systems for your organisation:

• Company goals & objectives: Focus on specific business processes and identify key system requirements aligning it with your company goals and objectives before you start looking at vendors. Carefully defining the scope can result in a detailed proposal from vendor which helps you in better understanding if it reflects the strategy to handle your business processes. 
• Ease of use: Browser friendly systems are easy to use, as the employees already have exposure to work on internet for various other tasks. Training and retaining team is a challenge in every industry. The ERP must be simple and generic. It should not demand for a specific pool of resource to manage the system.
• Implementation, training, support and change management: Explore the implementation process, training cycle, support mechanism proposed by the vendor. Understand the change management cycle which is very critical for success.
• Customisations and configurations: Focus on a vendor who is ready to walk the journey as your partner and not squeeze you out on customisations. Long term benefits & RoI of a good ERP are extensive.
• Total cost of ownership: Understand the technology proposed and map it with your existing infrastructure keeping in mind the total cost of ownership. 

The right ERP software will streamline your business operations and scale it to great heights.  

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Atul Pimple is co-founder and joint MD of EPPS Infotech Pvt Ltd