With global competition, the increasing cost of human resources and economic factors having an impact on anyone doing business, many companies are looking to improve, evolve and operate in a LEAN way to stay relevant. And so the question arises; how can we streamline our operations and connect the different aspects of our business to operate as efficiently as possible?
A staggering number of intermediate sized organisations still use solutions such as MYOB, Xero and QuickBooks to manage their developing companies, despite having outgrown these long ago. In today’s business community, it’s clear that the ability to manage the complexity of all of your business operations, means additional functionality outside of an accounting package. In an attempt to close this gap, businesses often end up investing in software add-ons, ad-hoc solutions and complicated data-syncing, to have better visibility over the whole business. Rarely does this effectively meet the customer’s requirements and can in fact create more issues with data and process duplication.
Smart businesses realise they need a more robust solution. We work with Australia’s brightest companies to help them leverage business software solutions to achieve successful outcomes.
Some of the more common drivers we see for investigating a mid-sized Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution like Epicor ERP are outlined below.
Growth
Even in enterprise editions, scaled back software vendors have a limitation to the number of user licences, which can hinder growth of an expanding company. This limitation creates dis-economies of scale within the workplace. Employees who need quick and role-based information can be forced to go without, or work around the availability.
Inflexibility of current software solution
The strategy to move to a solution that allows an organisation to capitalise on their core competencies is the most common driver to evaluate software options. Global competitors are using robust and integrated software like Epicor ERP to automate and track their quote to cash process. The seamless flow of information eliminates the manual process of chasing down data, re-keying, and hiring additional accounts payable and accounts receivable administration when revenue fluctuates. ‘Off the shelf’ or basic accounting packages not only lack this complete view of the business, but require their users to operate within the functionality that is offered, leaving vital operations to manual processes, and this lessens the return on investment.
Multi-currency concerns
International trade is the backbone of the Australian economy, however basic software providers have inadequate foreign currency capabilities. If competitive companies are spending resources tracking foreign dealings in separate spreadsheets or files; they look for multi-currency functionality that is standard and automated.
Visibility and insight
Data that is only linked to financials, leaves decision makers with only a partial view of their organisation. The holistic view that is required for leaders to make decisions based on sales, operations, and real time job costing is a necessity that is not delivered in an ‘off-the-shelf’ accounting solution and is best gained by investing in enterprise resource planning software.
Lack of industry expertise in current software solution
Many of the bookkeeping solutions have alliances with additional third party solution providers in the services, manufacturing, and distribution industries in an attempt to remain relevant. However, these integrations rarely do more than scratch the surface regarding the functionality needed to compete on a global scale. Developing companies are looking for industry partners as well as solutions with rich functionality that creates a competitive advantage.
One topic we haven’t yet mentioned is the relative cost of these solutions. There is no doubt that software like MYOB, QuickBooks and Xero are affordable solutions that provide the necessary foundations for smaller companies. As businesses grow however, it becomes far more important to consider the overall return on investment, and a mid-tier integrated ERP solution like Epicor ERP is the smart choice if you are an aged care, manufacturing or distribution company looking to secure your future in the marketplace.
If you’ve outgrown your current business software and you are looking to understand what an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solution can offer, please get in touch. We can arrange a free consultation with one of our industry experts in person, via video-conference or over the phone, from the comfort of your desk. Contact us today for an obligation free chat.