ERP System Development: Key Features for Australian Companies

What is ERP?

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions are robust, integrated systems that streamline and manage an organization’s daily business operations, including areas such as accounting, finance, procurement, project management, supply chain, and manufacturing.

These platforms, available both on-premises and in the cloud, cover all aspects of running a production or distribution business. ERP systems provide comprehensive support for financial management, human resources, supply chain operations, and manufacturing processes, all while maintaining core accounting functions. They ensure transparency by tracking every facet of production, logistics, and financial activities.

As a central hub for an organization’s workflow and data, ERP system development systems enable seamless access to information across various departments, improving overall efficiency and coordination. They are designed to cater to the needs of enterprises of all sizes-large, medium, and small, and can be tailored to suit specific industry requirements.

12 Core Features of ERP system development 

In the competitive business landscape, companies must harness the power of technology to stay ahead. And that’s where a robust ERP system comes to play the following 12 key features:

Integration

Data silos result in inefficiency, lost opportunities, and departments working against each other. One of the main, and perhaps most crucial, advantages of ERP system development is the centralized access to critical financial, operational, and business data, enabling near-real-time sharing across the entire organization.

With ERP systems, businesses can generate valuable insights by converting raw data into comprehensive reports. These insights enable companies to reallocate resources more effectively, identify and act on new market opportunities, and make informed strategic decisions.

Automation

ERP system development allow for the automation of repetitive business tasks such as payroll, order processing, invoicing, and reporting. This automation not only saves time spent on manual data entry but also reduces errors and frees up employees to engage in more value activities. The integrated design of an ERP system also ensures that data entered by one user becomes instantly accessible across the organization. 

Read more: SmartOSC Adds Cloud-Based ERP Solution to Portfolio

Data Analysis

Effectively harnessing data is an ongoing priority for CFOs and business leaders. The power of data analysis enables employees to gather a wide range of information and convert it into actionable insights. These insights can help identify new business opportunities, improve current operations, cut costs, detect fraud, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Reporting

Improved reporting is almost as vital to executives as effective data usage. ERP reporting modules consolidate information on business operations into comprehensive reports, empowering stakeholders to make informed decisions, optimize processes, and detect issues before they affect the business. These reports often include visual aids such as charts, graphs, and dashboards, which can highlight trends and patterns, ultimately enhancing business performance.

Tracking and Visibility

ERP system development platforms empower companies to monitor, uncover, and analyze business metrics, presenting a significant advantage. They accomplish this by ensuring near-real-time data accessibility across the entire organization, eliminating information silos, and providing detailed reporting and analysis for every aspect of business operations.

Accounting

ERP accounting features offer robust capabilities to track, store, and analyze financial data such as accounts payable (AP), accounts receivable (AR), general ledger (GL), budgets, and forecasts. Additionally, these systems can execute advanced tasks like tax management, fixed asset management, revenue recognition, and multi-currency reconciliation.

Given “time is money,” the prolonged duration of month-end closes is a common pain point for CFOs. ERP system development streamlines the reconciliation and closing of monthly financial statements, drastically reducing the time needed for these tasks. 

Financial Management

Financial management is a multifaceted endeavor that involves planning, organizing, and determining the optimal allocation of a business’s funds. Financial leaders need to compile and utilize financial data from all departments to make informed decisions on capital projects, funding sources, cash flow management, and financial controls.

ERP systems play a crucial role in aiding finance teams by tracking, analyzing, and reporting essential business data. In large, complex organizations, these systems are vital tools for ensuring effective and sound financial management.

Read more: Fintech Digital and the Future of Financial Services

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

ERP systems with built-in CRM capabilities enhance the business perspective by integrating customer relationship data. This combination provides a comprehensive database that includes customer contacts, order histories, purchase orders, and the status of prospects – all in a centralized, easily accessible location.

With CRM features, companies can automate various processes, such as filling out purchase orders, generating accounts receivable reminders, and alerting account executives to follow up when prospects reach specific points in the sales pipeline. This automation not only improves efficiency but also ensures a more cohesive approach to managing customer relationships.

Sales and Marketing

ERP system development with integrated CRM capabilities provides substantial benefits to marketing and sales teams by streamlining processes such as selling, upselling, creating quotes, generating purchase orders, forecasting, managing commissions, and tracking critical metrics like profit margins and ratios.

For marketing teams, these systems enable more efficient lead generation, rapid campaign development and execution, and detailed tracking of customer activity throughout the sales cycle.

By using ERP features, Sales and marketing teams work closely with finance and operations colleagues. This ensures a seamless and superior customer experience from the initial contact through the entire sales pipeline.

Human Resources (HR)

The HR component of an ERP system functions as a comprehensive employee management solution, overseeing payroll, recruitment, onboarding, compensation management, and timekeeping. By automating complex HR tasks like tax and benefits deductions with ERP-integrated HR software, businesses can save time and money while significantly reducing the likelihood of errors. This automation streamlines operations and boosts overall efficiency in managing human resources.

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

ERP systems deliver crucial insights into a company’s supply chain management (SCM) by tracking demand, inventory levels, manufacturing processes, logistics, and distribution. With a fully automated and integrated supply chain, these systems can optimize operations by automatically generating purchase orders, work orders, and transfer orders across multiple sites.

Furthermore, SCM capabilities assist in establishing inventory targets and simplifying the planning of distribution resources. Real-time access to supply chain data allows businesses to pinpoint inefficiencies, providing improved control and oversight of inventory management.

Manufacturing

ERP system development has its roots in the manufacturing industry. Now, morden ERP solutions streamline manufacturing processes by supporting product planning, raw material procurement, production monitoring, and demand forecasting. These systems encompass modules for assembly management, bill of materials, work order management, shop-floor control, distribution planning, and product tracking.

When integrated with SCM features, ERP manufacturing tools greatly enhance an organization’s ability to manage and automate critical inventory planning and forecasting tasks. So, it results in more efficient resource utilization and optimized operations.

The Bottom Line

ERP system development is essential for businesses looking to streamline operations, enhance efficiency, and remain competitive. By integrating various business processes into a single system, ERP solutions provide the tools needed to manage resources effectively, make data-driven decisions, and achieve overall business objectives. 

As a global, full-service eCommerce agency, SmartOSC has also added Cloud-Based ERP Solution to our portfolio. Then, we have been taking various businesses to the next level with our ERP solutions.

So contact us now for a demo and uncover how ERP can transform your business!