Businesses have transformed over the years with the use of technology. Any technology that offers convenience and cost-saving, is easily adopted by businesses worldwide within a short span of time.
ERP system is a collection of integrated applications used to collect, store, manage, and interpret data for business activities. Business activities utilize various such applications. Earlier, businesses needed a PC and an internet connection and space to install all this. But, the high costs of these apparatus and infrastructure directly affect the future of businesses.
The idea of integrating the complete Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to mobile devices has solved this problem of businesses. Well, this dramatically reduces hardware costs and eliminates the space and immobility issues altogether. The best part is that, in today’s world, everybody has a mobile phone and so you no longer need dedicated devices and spaces for running ERP by integrating it with mobile devices for your business.
How Does Your Business Benefit from Integrating ERP System with Your Mobile Devices?
With data recording and management, time reporting, task management, and report generation, mobile ERP system can contribute to all major processes for business, to include financial management, sales force automation and management, project management, product management, human resource management, inventory management, and supply-chain management. It also helps with decision-making, reporting, and business intelligence.
So, here is an overview of how and why ERP integration with your mobile devices can help boost your business.
1. Increased Transparency and Quicker Turn-Around Time
With ERP on your mobile, you can get real-time access to data anytime. All the people involved in the business can create, access, and share business data in real-time on mobile devices. Real-time accessibility enables quick updates from all the parties involved. This improves data and information transparency and reduces errors caused due to the lack of available information. Any errors can also be caught and corrected immediately on mobile ERP.
In larger businesses, various departments work in collaboration. Inventory needs to be planned accordingly. For example, before getting the new batch of products from the manufacturing unit, a warehouse ideally needs to clear the stocks to create space. Now, if the manufacturing unit receives a timely update of warehouse availability, they can send a batch of the manufactured stock there early. This batch can speedily move through the complete supply-chain at every step just with prompt notification from each unit of the supply-chain. This can be handled very easily and conveniently with the mobile ERP system. This prevents shortage or excess inventory and not meeting deadlines.
In short, with ERP in mobile devices, all the parties involved get real-time data access and updates. This results in quicker turn-around time as there is no interruption or delay in waiting for instructions or data update from different departments or people.
2. Enhanced Efficiency and Productivity
Enhanced mobility means flexibility and easier data management and thus increased efficiency and productivity. ERP for your business on your mobile devices helps expedite the work at all levels. People can work easily even when they are traveling. Thus, a lot of travel time is saved.
In bigger cities, people lose hours in commuting to and from the workplace. During this time, any urgent data, information, or decisions can be shared easily with mobile ERP systems, thus preventing any delays due to the same.
Urgent problems can be discussed and solved immediately when the entire team is available on a mobile ERP system all the time.
Empowered employees can work flexibly, giving more productivity as they can access information easily anywhere, anytime.
Having ERP integration in your mobile devices can enable your team to even work from home. Offering this flexibility will help them work even when they are not fit and healthy, thus preventing loss of productivity.
3. Improved Workflow and Scalability
Mobile ERP integration for your business results in improved workflow. With this, it becomes very easy to seek quick inputs from team members working from different locations. Everybody can work on the same platform from anywhere and thus be aware of all the information and data shared on the common channel. Moreover, it allows for better communication and coordination.
Decision-making becomes a lot easier and quicker. You can share information and clarify doubts that are preventing a quick decision. You can also inform the decisions instantly to all on the ERP channel and they can make necessary changes in their work-plan accordingly.
Improved workflow ultimately eases the scalability of business operations.
4. Team Management and Remote Workforce
Today, businesses commonly have a remote workforce with many team members either working from distant areas or even from the field. With easy access to the ERP platform through mobile devices, everybody gets the feel of being accessible to each other as much as being at the same place.
This has made it easy for businesses to hire and leverage the best skills from all over the globe through remote working.
Earlier, the field-workers faced the challenge of manually entering data in the field and then transferring the same into relevant software. This not only doubled the work but was also prone to errors caused during data transfer. Mobile ERP solutions make it easier and more convenient to enter relevant data directly and accurately into the online data-sheets even while working in the field.
5. Attention Towards Customers
With a mobile ERP system for your business, you can provide timely resolution to customer issues with improved communication channels. The relevant staff can respond to customer queries anytime, anywhere. This will reduce the backlogs and result in happy customers and thus increased business.
With quicker data updates, you get enhanced customer engagement as customers will also benefit from getting timely information or status updates.
Lots of business activities become handy and quick with ERP integration with your mobile. For example, at stores, billing staff can easily scan inventory and get the billing data through the mobile ERP system. This reduces the billing time and helps both the staff and the customers.
6. Streamlining Business Processes
With all the business information at your fingertips and quicker response time, ERP integration with your mobile helps you earn trust from your customers as well as business associates and thus develop deeper business relationships.
With business intelligence in your mobile through ERP in the form of customizable dashboards, graphical charts, and detailed analytics, you gain a competitive advantage for your business with real-time information and prompt action.
You can quickly identify whether the sales targets are met or not.
It helps all the people involved in the business manage contacts, view reports, keep updated about business and get real-time alerts.
Mobile ERP helps business managers plan resources and inventory better. At all stages, the stocks data can be updated on time and this helps the managers replenish the stock as needed, neither too early nor too late. This saves considerable inventory costs. With smooth inventory management, it is possible to achieve better quality control.
The supply chain has many stages and numerous people involved at each stage. The products received and dispatched at each level of the chain, need to be recorded accurately. Any error at any of these steps wastes a lot of time in correction. With a mobile ERP system, the records can be updated on a common platform by different people involved in the supply chain. With this, they no longer need any costly apparatus for recording this data and do not need to take the risk of manual recording that is prone to errors. Thus, fewer people are needed in the supply chain and a lot of time is saved, again resulting in reduced costs.
Wrapping Up
Business success is not easy, but by integrating the ERP system into your mobile devices, success becomes “handy”.
The integration of ERP systems on mobile devices can solve numerous business issues.
“Opportunities don’t happen, you create them!” – Chris Grosser
So, wake up and adopt mobile ERP for your business to create an opportunity to boost your business.