In fact, a study by Statista shows that the market for ERP software is bound to grow at around $97 billion by 2023. According to the same research, global businesses will be spending around $462 billion for the implementation of such software into their system by 2020.

The rise in the demand for ERP is massive because it helps manage and integrate the different business processes within a company. This includes accounting, administration, logistics, production, marketing, sales, and more. Doing so helps improve business operations and boost overall productivity.

So, how does ERP improve productivity? Read on to find out.

1. Automates where it can

Before software like ERP was developed, all tasks were done by employees. From the most menial to the most crucial, manpower is the only thing that gets things done within a company. But with the emergence of ERPs, you can finally take off menial, repetitive tasks from your employees’ shoulders and let them focus on more meaningful and value-adding tasks.

Tasks such as data entry, maintaining records, backtracking logs, and updating databases can be transferred to the hands of your ERP software. This saves up time and energy among your workforce since machines are faster in crunching down figures, sorting files, and maintaining records. This allows your employees to take up some more tasks and thus to increase their productivity.

2. Reduce chances of errors

The automation of data-entry jobs means ERPs lessen the chances of encountering issues and problems in business processes in the long run. You can do away with typical errors usually acquired from manual-data entry since the system will do it for you. Likewise, it automatically removes duplicate entries, identifies inaccuracies and faults, and generates summarized reports so that you can act upon these issues immediately.

ERPs also preserve the integrity of data as it is transferred from various aspects of your business operations. It prevents discrepancies in information across departments and automatically updates. This ensures that all data came from a single source so that transactions go smoothly throughout. This also means lesser delays along the way.

3. Streamline processes

One of the most significant benefits of ERP is that it integrates and connects all business processes and enables smooth flow of data in every step of the way. It synchronizes data across all departments and makes them accessible to anyone involved in the business operations.

Doing so ensures that there is uniformity across all internal processes of the company. From data to templates to practices, departments have something to fall into to help them keep the process running in its right course. This will allow them to work together as a cohesive unit, which, in turn, increases overall productivity within the company.

4. Remove paperwork

Paperwork is a bane to anyone’s existence. It messes up office space, takes up too much of your time in organizing and filing them, and it has the tendency to keep piling up on your desks. Too much of your time and energy is spent solely on maintaining documents that are also important to lose track of. And while the task might be mind-numbing and frustrating, its contents are crucial in your business operations.

This is where ERPs come in. Instead of losing productivity to the mountains of papers on your desk, ERP solutions will do it for you. With it, you can do away with physical documents and have all your data and records accessible in a centralized, digital storage. It will manage them for you, keep them organized and easily searchable for you. This means you and your employees can maximize their time with other crucial responsibilities instead of getting drowned by folders and papers.

5. Adds flexibility and mobility

Some ERP uses cloud service providers to store your data. This enables you to have access to your files and documents across different devices and ensures that they are backed up and secured in their servers. This makes it easier to share and transfer data across departments within the company and ensure that every aspect of your business operations is in sync with one another.

Software that is also deployable to mobile phones allows you to be kept updated with your business processes in real-time. This lets you respond quickly to possible issues and make quick decisions in critical moments. This adds flexibility and mobility in your processes by allowing work even outside the office.

Get it started with ERP

Back when ERPs weren’t as popular as they are now, businesses spent too much time, effort, and resources in managing and keeping their operations together. Each unit works almost independently from one another and only reconvenes once in a while to keep their goals aligned. However, this isolation can cause some bottleneck effects in the process and thus reduces the overall productivity of the business.

So how does ERP help improve business operations? It does so by automatically synchronizing data across all departments and ensuring that every aspect of your business operations is in sync. This reduces chances of encountering issues and problems in the long run. Likewise, it helps you form a more cohesive and uniform strategy for your business processes.

Nonetheless, no solution is a one-size fit for all businesses. While ERP can infinitely make your life easier, it may still have some gaps. Hence, don’t hesitate to try integrating it with other systems like those in this list of best inventory control software. Who knows? Maybe this might just be what your company needs right now.