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Running a business is tough work. There are a lot of assets and people to manage along the way. It goes without saying that the larger your business is, the harder it is to actually run it. The good news is that the advent of digital solutions is making the lives of entrepreneurs worldwide a lot easier. If you’re close to becoming an enterprise, then it’s high time you consider investing in ERP.
What is Erp?
ERP or enterprise resource planning is basically the integrated management of business via the use of proprietary business software and technology. It falls under the category of business management software but it’s a lot more than that. You see, whereas other business management software focuses on specific aspects of running a business, ERPs are focused on running a business as a whole.
This means that ERPs are often all-in-one solutions that can help you manage the various aspects of running a business. Mostly, the software tracks vital business resources such as inventory, payroll, pending orders, and much more. As it is an all-in-one system, ERPs are often shared and used by multiple departments in a company.
Currently, this has become a multibillion-dollar industry. As it helps enterprises run more effectively, investors are supporting the industry as they see value in it. When it first started, ERPs were mainly focused on helping large enterprises. Now, small businesses can effectively use it as well.
Of the many names in the ERP industry, one that truly stands out is NetSuite ERP. If you want to add more value to your business or if you want to run it more efficiently, then it is a must that you try NetSuite.
What is NetSuite?
NetSuite software is an online service focused on enabling ERP. The platform has many benefits. For instance, it requires no hardware, large license fees, maintenance fees, and even complex setups. This makes it the ideal solution that enterprise – both big and small, can get into.
A lot of companies are turning to NetSuite to help them manage their operations more properly. Experts at Liberate I.T. believe that NetSuite is the best avenue for growth for small to large businesses. It’s an investment that you might want to consider if you think that your business has more room for growth. Here’s how NetSuite ERP adds value to your business.
World-class customer service
In this day and age, it’s no longer enough to give quality products and services. Customers have become more discerning when it comes to the companies they transact with and rightfully so. Instead of fearing the customers, you should use them as an advantage to help your company grow. The only way to do that is through better customer service.
ERPs unlock new potentials for better customer service. Some of the benefits you can expect from having an ERP include faster response times, better order accuracy, and on-time delivery. Most importantly, ERPs also give you better access to customer information thus allowing you to improve your services even further.
As per a study by Bain and Company, companies with a customer-centric mindset can drive their revenue by 4-8%. If adding value to your company means driving revenue to higher degrees, then it’s true that ERPs do a great job at helping your business grow even further.
Better Customer service goes a long way. As more people are satisfied with your customer service, you’ll be able to attract even more potential customers. Improving your reputation via your customer’s reviews is important in your bid to gain more followers. On the other hand, it’s easy to lose more customers if your customer service is poor and slow.
Accurate business reporting
The tools you want to invest in once your business grows are those that help you organize and create reports. By reports, we are referring to sales, retention rates, conversion rates, and more. Organizing such meticulous data without the help of any ERP or solution for that matter makes it tough work.
When it comes to business reporting, it’s a must to have the data reported in real-time so that the numbers are up-to-date. It’s also important for updates to come fast as key business strategies will need to be altered to cope with whatever the result of the business report is. NetSuite comes with business reporting tools that make the process easier.
Business reports not only help you create better strategies, but it also helps you reach out to more investors. The better and more detailed your reports are, the better chances that an investor is going to take interest in you.
Cost-efficiency
Running a business takes money. You’ll have to spend some of your earnings on replenishing your inventory, paying for salaries, upgrading systems, investing in research, and many others more. Companies that are cost-efficient with their sales will end up getting a tiny portion of net income in return.
NetSuite also gives you access to solutions that improve your company’s cost-efficiency. This means better inventory planning, improved vendor relationship, and better order processing. While these are something you can do manually, NetSuite is capable of getting the job done faster. Moreover, the platform is capable of giving you even more opportunities to make your business cost-efficient.
How does this add value, you ask? Being cost-efficient allows your company to run at maximum without having to spend excessive amounts. It will increase your net income, allowing the company or business to get better revenue eventually. You can use the larger revenue to invest in more upgrades and services, thus increasing company value substantially.
Improved data and cloud security
People now look into how companies handle their data and assets as well. With hacks and ransomware becoming more prevalent in the business industry, this shouldn’t come as a surprise that people want companies who are responsible for their data. ERPs also put data in mind.
NetSuite’s selection of solutions includes those that help improve data and cloud security. Whether it’s better security resources, data management, or better protection from malware, such features are a necessity in safeguarding your important data from potential hacks and cybercriminals. Even small businesses are now being targeted by these attacks.
Companies that don’t act on their cloud security put themselves at risk of having their customer’s data compromised by security breaches. This results in major legal complications on your end as well. Just this year, BBC reports that Marriott Hotels were fined millions for a security breach that resulted in their customer’s data from being exposed.
Some of the data contain valuable personal information like addresses, contact numbers, social security numbers, and even bank details.
Cybercriminals target such data as they sell for high value on the black market. No one is safe from these data breaches and even the biggest companies are now falling victim to them. If you want to protect yourself from a tainted reputation and a hefty legal fine, then it might be time to invest in ERPs that value cloud and data protection as well.
Better supply chain and inventory management
NetSuite also provides access to tools that allow you to manage your inventory more properly. The pandemic has made inventory management and production more complicated as there are a lot of issues concerning manpower and shipping. While ERPs can’t fully solve such issues, it can at least try to lessen the impact of the pandemic.
ERPs give businesses access to better demand forecasting and lean inventory. This basically means that ERPs prepare you for sudden surges in demand so that your stocks are always capable of meeting them. It’s a crucial benefit to consider as the pandemic is really putting a dent in supply management in most companies.
NetSuite ERP also helps reduce the number of production bottlenecks. As we’ve said, such issues are a common problem nowadays because of the pandemic. The more bottlenecks your supply chain faces, the harder it will be for your company to keep up with the demand.
Additionally, NetSuite lets you get a better understanding of your inventory. This is a valuable asset especially if you are in the food industry. Sometimes, businesses tend to overstock on certain items that they need. If the demand for those items suddenly drops, then the stock will be put to waste if they are perishable.
NetSuite ensures that you have just exactly what you need in your inventory. Being unable to meet the demand paints a bad light on a business but wasting goods because of overestimating the demand is just as bad. As such, proper inventory management adds value to your company as well.
Competitive edge
Do not be mistaken, a lot of small and large enterprises are already investing in ERPs. They’ve seen the merits in doing so and lagging behind means being unable to keep up with the latest trends. To summarize it all, NetSuite gives your company value by adding a competitive edge that allows you to take on your competitors both locally and internationally.
ERPs are all about improving your services and basically just about every other aspect of your business. In today’s world where everything is more dynamic, you have to keep up with the rising standards of consumers. What better way to do it, than with the help of technology that’s also just as dynamic – if not a little bit more?
Challenges with NetSuite and Other ERPs
You have to keep in mind that there are challenges and cons when implementing ERPs in your business structure. On the bright side, these challenges are not long-lasting. Instead of being perpetual challenges, these are simply small hurdles that you’ll have to go through before being able to fully realize the potential of ERPs.
For starters, ERPs aren’t free. They aren’t expensive as well. What you have to worry about are the extra costs that come after licensing. These include third-party software add-ins and maintenance. While optional, these additional expenses are very recommended as they improve and safeguard your ERP.
Another challenge with ERPs is that you have to transition into it. Implementing an ERP like NetSuite into your company’s structure shouldn’t be rushed. You’ll have to allot time and money to your employees so that they know how to handle the solutions properly. Even your IT team will have to adjust to the new upgrades.
Last but not the least, it’s a challenge to make full use of the data you get from NetSuite, at least at first. You see, defining and analyzing data sources also takes time and practice. What’s even harder is converting these data into something that your company can make full use of. Data analytics is a good aid to your company but it’s something you’ll have to work for.
As we’ve said, these challenges are only temporary hurdles that you’ll have to face early on. Getting through them requires a ton of patience and coordination within the company as well.
ERPs Is a Time and Money Investment
ERP software like NetSuite is an investment of both time and money. It’s something that you can transition to overtime, but it does take patience. Although software like these initially does the work for you, you need to keep in mind that everyone in the company needs to be on the same page when making this major change.
It takes a lot of time to help train personnel in fully understanding how to use ERPs or other software. Their learning process has to be consistent as well as regular feature updates ensure that you’ll always have access to neat innovations that overall improve how you run a business. Once all that time and money is invested though, you’ll be surprised at how valuable your business will be.
By using NetSuite ERP, you’ll have a single source or database for all of the data you need. This data is used for various functions such as marketing, invoicing, and others. As the data comes in real-time, you can easily incorporate the data in your business decisions. This benefit is even more crucial for large enterprises as making key decisions in quick time is a must.
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