We are witnessing a rapid transformation from a robust economy to stagflation with rising costs impacting businesses from every angle. The cost of fuel is driving up shipping costs. The shortage of labor is driving up wages and lowering productivity. Too boot, consumers have become more demanding, leaving little tolerance for backorder delays, high prices or less than stellar customer service.

Given diminishing returns and little wiggle room to tolerate further disruption, businesses need to tighten their belts by eliminating waste and streamlining processes wherever possible. For many businesses, getting everyone on the same page with communication and data sharing is a big part of that transition. Many companies turn to ERP solutions to tie together sales orders, manufacturing, shipping, finance, etc.

Software

One of the biggest barriers for smaller businesses is that the onus for handling the transition typically falls on one person. The transition from working with siloed information in different departments requires a software designed to manage the tasks of each department and present it in an easy to use and understand format. If the software is too cumbersome to implement, you’ll have staff pushing it off for when they have more time and, ultimately, the transition will get delayed indefinitely.

Many ERP systems are simply too complicated and packed with features a small business will never need.

Smaller businesses usually need these important features:

  • Track inventory and costs across departments
  • Connect company income and expenditures to a general ledger
  • Provide insightful reporting
  • Integrate different departmental information
  • Offer remote access from any location
  • Provide user roles for different levels of access to groups of information

Address Bottlenecks, Waste, Theft, Etc.

But even the best software can’t solve everything. Communication with managers in each department can reveal bottlenecks or suggestions for improvement based on their individual experiences. If the problem stems from vendors, resulting in longer lead time or higher costs, then researching alternative vendors is part of a sound backup plan.

Analyzing product performance reports can help to identify areas of uncertainty. Together with your team you can strategize to reduce slowdowns, whether by rearranging workflow stations, updating equipment or hiring new staff. 

Waste caused by breakage, spoilage and obsolescence eat away profits. While it is difficult to reduce them to zero, you can work to diminish them over time. If your products have expiration dates, tracking them is a must to ensure you are using materials in the order they arrive at your facility and that you move them quickly enough to deliver fresh product to your customers. 

Waste caused by theft is a sticky situation that could entail firing staff. You can deter theft with a security system which will protect your property both from internal theft and break-ins.

Automation can speed up processes and save time to reduce costs and make businesses more profitable. If a repetitive task can be handled by software, you can reduce error caused by manual entry.

Business survival today is about adapting to new issues and coming up with completely innovative solutions.