Affordable Erp Software Systems For Small And Medium Business Companies

By Author: Jeramey Smith
Total Articles: 19
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Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a collective term used for software based planning systems that automate and integrate processes across various domains of a company to achieve a smoother and more efficient functioning. With the large scale expansion of the industries in 60's, a need to optimize processes related to manufacturing in order to enhance both efficiency and production had surfaced. Methods proposed for the same by research in this field were initially grouped under material resource planning or MRP. Over the course of time, the scope of research extended from just manufacturing to various other domains and functions of the companies, thus laying foundations for ERP. The advent and rapid growth of computers and IT in turn facilitated development in this field and helped it grow into its seamless, grand modern day form which encompasses processes from virtually all domains ranging from accounting and finances to supply chain, sales and human resources.

In today's competitive world, an efficient ERP solution is critical to the sustenance and growth of a company and its importance cannot be over stated. At ...
... the same time it's also equally important to select the ERP solution carefully, taking into consideration the specific requirements of the company and other crucial factors such as cost, credibility of the solution provider etc., before reaching a decision. With a lot of work having been done in this field, there are a wide range of ERP solutions available in the market today, both open source and proprietary and choosing the most desirable option while at the same time keeping expenses within budget can be a demanding task. For Small and Medium Business Companies balancing the ERP Software system and price becomes very necessary. There is much ERP software available and making a choice does not seem so easy. All have their benefits and advantages and a close inspection is required before taking a decision.

The process of selecting the ERP requires a systematic approach involving a thorough study of all prospective options, their qualitative as well as cost based comparison and involvement of responsible people from all concerned domains of the company. Size of a company plays a huge part in this choice as there are many solution providers which are dedicated to serving companies of particular commercial scales like for instance Lawson and Epicor are firms that target the middle sized organizations while Exact Globe serves Small sized companies. Also, a company would ideally like to keep expenses to a minimum and well within the allocated budget so the final choice has to be the most affordable package amongst those which fulfill all other criteria.

Since an overall ERP system is usually a combination of several individual modules, each of which provides solutions for a particular kind of operation like generation of work orders, payroll, inventory management etc; while selecting various software's it should be ensured that they can operate satisfactorily alongside each other so that the system solves the purpose entrusted to it of integrating different departments and smoothening interchange of information between them.

Read about Causes of ERP Failures. Also know Success Factors for ERP Implementation. Read about ERP Training for Jobs.