Successful manufacturing today hinges on reacting quickly to changes in market trends by accessing information for business-critical decisions. Because of this, never before has ERP been more mission critical for manufacturers.
Month: April 2015
Flexible ERP Delivering Value
Recently, a colleague’s daughter travelling between South Africa, England and the US bought, a return train ticket for £48 but missed the departing train due to a flight delay. The result: she was charged the full price of a new ticket (£65), even though she was still going to be catching the return train – and even though the train was almost empty.
ERP Procurement can make Companies more Profitable
Is your Procurement Department living in the 21st century? Gone are the days of procurement existing simply as a purchasing function – although its roots are in purchasing, modern procurement makes organizations smarter and more profitable through sourcing diversification, whilst improving both input costs and cash flow.
Information on your Doorstep
I’ve reflected recently on the classic depiction of someone waking early, walking out their front door down the driveway and picking up the newspaper delivered in the early hours. This notion still holds a certain appeal, but nowadays everyone operates on the premise of information on demand. You just need to appreciate the sheer number of travelers, whether it is for business or leisure, at an airport pouring over their laptops and mobile devices, translating information and tirelessly capturing information onto spreadsheets or similar tools, producing reports, and extracting information.
Tips on Optimizing Procurement
It’s a long time since the sales team got all the glamour and recognition for being the business heroes, now it’s just as likely that the buyers are out celebrating with the champagne. The impact of procurement to the profitability and sustainability of a business is dramatic. Consider a distribution business with a revenue turnover of $100m with a cost of sales of $70m and operating costs of $20m, net profit is $10m. A 1% decrease on the cost of sales translates to a whopping 7% increase in net margin.
A Common ERP Misconception: Installation vs. Implementation
When purchasing a new ERP system, it is not only important to consider the software’s functionality and if it is a proper fit for your business, but to also take a close look at what the vendor’s implementation processes entail. Often, we find potential customers asking us the inevitable question, “Why can’t you implement the software in under a week like your competitor offered? They make it sound so simple and cheap.” To a buyer, a quick, low-cost implementation sounds like a winning plan but can result in astronomical errors, ERP project failures, and future major financial repercussions.
