Top 10 Tips to Improve Data Analysis with ERP

In today’s world, there is so much data available for individuals as well as for businesses. Organizations generate massive amounts of data – this data tells you how your business has been performing. ERP solutions help you forecast the future requirements for your products and the targets you wish to work towards. Sometimes there is so much information available that it is difficult to cull out the relevant data to make a clear decision that is where ERP helps you out.

Also Read: 7 Reasons Why a Business Degree is Not Important to Run a Business

One common need all businesses have is – how to analyze the data they have in order to come to the decisions they require for operating. You have to be able to sort through the available data to draw the right conclusions. In short, you have to analyze the data in a relevant manner.  This is where Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software comes in handy. ERP is a business software that allows large manufacturing companies to combine numerous business functions like sales, marketing, accounting, and human resources into one integral system. This in turn helps track the processes being followed in each of these departments and monitor the performance of the company as a whole. 

Using ERP to analyze data is important for businesses. It not only gives an insight into the current performance of the company by identifying problems and lauding strengths but also helps utilize this information to plan solutions and improve upon the existing systems to enhance the same. Simply put, ERP takes the overwhelming volume of information available and analyzes it to help you arrive at a clear decision point for your organization.

So how can ERP help you with data analysis?  Here are 10 ways in which improved analysis of past and predictive data through an ERP system can work for your company:

1. More precise business forecasts: 

You can interpret data more accurately to evaluate your materials and human resources requirements as well as sales and marketing targets with ERP. Precise sales forecasts help you better estimate the demand for your products. 

2. Optimizes your supply chain: If you know the estimated demand for your products, you can better manage your inventory and smoothen the supply chain. ERP helps you know exactly when you will need to have stocks coming in. This information in turn gives you the confidence that you can schedule your production more efficiently as well. 

3. Better plans of the company budget as per expected growth potential: ERP keeps you informed about expected maintenance costs and also any other additional costs that may likely crop up to keep your production cycle moving uninterrupted. Your experience may help you do this anyway, but ERP does it far more efficiently.

4. Enhances your business’s core capabilities through standardized data: ERP ensures a standardized flow of data throughout the organization. It lets you easily generate all relevant reports for your customers and suppliers, all of which lead to efficient operations and more productive marketing. Your business can operate at an optimal level.

5. Helps you know your customer better: ERP generates the precise profile of your customer, and this helps you to focus on your target audience and to retain current clients as well as increase the client base. 

6. Ensures that your business operations are flexible: ERP gives you the latest updated information about your processes, which allows you to quickly adapt to changing conditions since ERP highlights any causes for concern. It also predicts future trends, which help you focus on the future growth of your business in the right direction.

7. Helps overcome the weaknesses and focus on strengths: ERP offers data analysis dashboards that help you see all the positives and negatives of your business in one place. Strengths can be built upon, while solutions can be found for the weaknesses. Data alerts can also be set up so that any process that falls below the acceptable standard is immediately flagged and can be rectified at the earliest.

8. Keeps the big picture in the forefront: You can keep the larger picture in the forefront while taking care of the various branches that are an integral part of your business. Departmental scorecards can be managed through ERP and this can help keep track of how each division within the organization is working. ERP systems are flexible and can be easily customized to your needs. They also make departmental, divisional, and consolidated enterprise reporting simple and efficient.

9. Gives predictive data based on past data: ERP systems help you gain valuable business insights and make more informed and smarter decisions that influence future outcomes. They help you to spot and pursue potential opportunities, thus growing your business in new directions. ERP solutions with their predictive analysis help you improve the risk assessment and management of your business. The probability of making the wrong decisions reduces drastically.

10. Gives an edge over competitors: The efficient and timely analysis of data through ERP can so often be just the push your business needs to get ahead of your competition. ERP data analysis leads to faster business processes, which lead to greater efficiency and an edge in the market over time.

ERP and data analysis are integral to all business processes. It tells you what to do and when to do it. It helps you manage the day-to-day business processes such as logistics, project management, accounting, quality control, risk management, and compliance, and supply chain operations. It helps you automate the business and plan future growth. 

In other words, ERP contributes greatly to the smooth operation of your business. Which makes choosing the right ERP solution even more imperative for you. Choose one which best suits your business’s needs and also meets the requirements of your particular industry. Having a cloud-based resource scheduling software like eResource Scheduler which offers efficient scheduling, resource management, and planning as well as lets you optimize your resource utilization report becomes a must for the efficient running of your business in the long run.

Author Bio – Ankit Kumar Sharma is a Growth Marketing and public relations strategist at eResource Scheduler. He is skilled in Communication, Strategy, Growth Hacking, Digital Marketing, Advertising, and E-commerce SEO.