Introduction
As businesses grow they usually start using I.T. more and more, often in an unfocussed
manner, with many different systems required to support the full range of business
activities.
A typical company may use:
- Microsoft Outlook for email
- Sage for accounts
- Spreadsheets for budgeting and cashflow
- Goldmine or other contact management software to track customer enquiries
- Microsoft Word or Excel for producing quotes
- Sage for stock and order management
- Actinic or other web shop software to sell online
Using all these different systems means that users probably waste time searching
for and re-entering data. For example, when a new prospect accepts a quote, they
will have to be set up as a customer in the accounts system or when a query is raised
about an order users will have to search for the relevant emails, perhaps check
the quote and then look at the accounts system.
Many companies have asked the question: Isn’t there one piece of software that can
tie together all our main activities? There is. It is called ERP Software
What does ERP mean?
ERP means Enterprise Resource Planning. There are many different ERP systems on
the market but they all have one thing in common – they tie together a wide range
of business activities in a single system.
If any of the questions below sound familiar then you may well have been looking
for ERP software without knowing what it is called.
I am looking for a system will:
- Enable my sales staff to see immediately if a customer account has been put on hold
- Allow me to easily track the conversion rate of quotes to orders
- Ensure all emails to and from customers and suppliers or relevant to a particular
order are connected to that customer, supplier or order
- Allow purchase orders to be created directly from sales orders
- Enable me to record specific information about customers and use this to drive marketing
campaigns
- Ensure everyone to work through a single piece of software that mimics the way we
work and reminds staff to do the things they are supposed to do
- Produce meaningful reports about the way my business is performing
- Push drop ship orders directly to my suppliers
Network Places can help your company realise the benefits of ERP software. We understand
that every business is different and ensure our consultants and implementation specialists
work with customers to evaluate their needs before designing and delivering the
best possible solution.
What can Network Places offer:
- Analysis of current systems
- Data conversion services
- Installation and configuration
- Report writing
- Integration with other systems e.g. EDI