Friday, December 17, 2010

Being a student, I would like to know more about ERP and its benefits

To say in short, ERP systems integrate all business management functions, including planning, inventory/materials management, engineering, order processing, manufacturing, purchasing, accounting and finance, human resources, and more.

ERP software programs are being developed and updated all the time. There are different types of ERP software brands available in the market, but companies must choose the right ERP system to suit their needs. India's leading web-based ERP solution provider eresource ERP even offer mobile capabilities so that you can always have a finger on the pulse of your business activities.

The biggest advantage of an ERP system is with its real time capabilities and the ability to see what is going on with your company as it happens. It is handy when you deal with high volume of business process. With an ERP system, your company will never have inventory shortages or wasted time spent transferring files.

An ERP system provides the solid operational backbone. The system enables the Manufacturers and distributors to function promptly, which will able to improve the volume of production and fulfillment of orders while reducing costs. By optimizing manufacturing and distribution operations with ERP, the companies are also be able to focus on new business opportunities.

Here is a quick look at the benefits the ERP system has to offer:


•Streamlining processes and workflows with a single integrated system.
•Reduce redundant data entry and processes and in other hand it shares informartioin across the department.
•Establish uniform processes that are based on recognized best business practices
•Improved workflow and efficiency
•Improved customer satisfaction based on improved on-time delivery, increased quality, shortened delivery times
•Reduced inventory costs resulting from better planning, tracking and forecasting of requirements
•Turn collections faster based on better visibility into accounts and fewer billing and/or delivery errors
•Decrease in vendor pricing by taking better advantage of quantity breaks and tracking vendor performance
•Track actual costs of activities and perform activity based costing
•Provide a consolidated picture of sales, inventory and receivables

For more information kindly visit : http://www.eresourceerp.com/ERP-benefits.html

Or Contact us at:

TMA House, 1st Floor,
Road No 16, Plot No. 6,
Wagle Industrial Estate,
Thane (West) 400 604, Maharashtra

Phone:

+91 22 25827692
+91 22 25828775
+91 22 65130234
+91 22 41118000 / 8049 (50 lines)

e-mail (Sales): sales@eresourceerp.com
e-mail (Help Desk): helpdesk@eresourceerp.com

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/erperesource

What is the difference between MRP software and MRP module of ERP?

Material Requirement Planning, popularly known as MRP, was developed during 1960s. This was a proactive manner of inventory management. This technique fundamentally explodes the end product demand obtained from the 'Master Production Schedule' (MPS) for a specified product structure (which is taken from Bill of Material) into a detailed schedule of purchase order or production orders, taking into account the inventory on hand.

MRP is a simple logic but the magnitude of data involved in a realistic situation makes it computationally cumbersome. If undertaken manually, the entire process is highly time consuming. It therefore becomes essential to use a computer to carry out the exercise.

MRP successfully demonstrated its effectiveness in reduction of inventory; production and delivery lead times by improving coordination and avoiding delays, thus making commitment more realistic. MRP proved to be a very good technique for managing inventory, but it did not take into account of other resources of an organization. Due to this shortcoming a modified MRP logic, popularly known as 'closed loop MRP' has been developed. A new module called Capacity Requirement Planning (CRP) has been incorporated in this. This module manages the capacity of the organization to produce a particular product. A feedback loop is provided from the CRP module to MPS if there is not enough capacity available to produce.

Later the need was felt to integrate the financial resource with the manufacturing activities. From this evolved an integrated manufacturing management system called Manufacturing Resources Planning (MRP II).

Transition from MRP II to ERP happened some time later because the basic MRP II system design was suffering from a few inherent drawbacks such as limited focus to manufacturing activities, assumption of the mass or repetitive production set ups, and poor budgetary and costing controls.

The shortcomings o MRP-II and the need to integrate these new techniques, led to the development of a total integrated solution called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which attempts to integrate the transactions of suppliers and customers with the manufacturing and service environment of the organization to produce the best possible plan. Today there are further development in the ERP concept and evolution of Web-enabled ERP.


For more information kindly visit : http://www.eresourceerp.com/MRP-software-and-MRP-module-of-ERP.html

Or Contact us at:

TMA House, 1st Floor,
Road No 16, Plot No. 6,
Wagle Industrial Estate,
Thane (West) 400 604, Maharashtra

Phone:

+91 22 25827692
+91 22 25828775
+91 22 65130234
+91 22 41118000 / 8049 (50 lines)

e-mail (Sales): sales@eresourceerp.com
e-mail (Help Desk): helpdesk@eresourceerp.com

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/erperesource
Please visit our blog at: http://eresourceerp-eresourceerp.blogspot.com/

How BPR plays a critical role in ERP implementation?

Processes, organization, structure and information technologies are the key components of BPR, which automates business processes across the enterprise and provides an organization with a well-designed and well-managed information system. While implementing ERP, the organizations have two options to consider.

Either the organization must reengineer business processes before implementing ERP or directly implement ERP and avoid reengineering.

In the first option of reengineering business processes, before implementing ERP, the organization needs to analyze current processes, identify non-value adding activities and redesign the process to create value for the customer, and then develop in-house applications or modify an ERP system package to suit the organizations requirements. In this case, employees will develop a good sense of process orientation and ownership.

This would also be a customized solution keeping with line of the organization's structure, culture, existing IT resources, employee needs and disruption to routine work during the change programmer likely to be the least. It could have a high probability of implementation. The drawback of this option is that the reengineered process may not be the best in the class, as the organization may not have access to world-class release and best practices. Moreover, this may be the only chance to radically improve in the near future and most attention should be paid while choosing the right ERP. Also, developing an in-house application or implementing a modified ERP is not advisable.

The second option of implementing ERP package is to adopt ERP with minimum deviation from the standard settings. All the processes in a company should conform to the ERP model and the organization has to change its current work practices and switch over to what the ERP system offers. This approach of implementation offers a world-class efficient and effective process with built-in measures and controls, and is likely to be quickly installed.

But if the employees do not have good understanding of their internal customer needs or current processes, or if these processes are not well defined and documented, then it is quite possible that while selecting the standard process from the ERP package, employees may not be able to perceive the difficulties likely to be encountered during the implementation stage. Employees would lack process ownership and orientation. Other than technical issues, issues like organization structure, culture, lack of involvement of people etc. can lead to major implementation difficulties, and full benefits of standard ERP package may not be achieved. It may lead to a situation where the organization may have to again reengineer its processes. This could be a very costly mistake.

There is also a third option of reengineering business process during implementation of ERP. But it does not considered to be a practical option and is likely to cause maximum disruption to existing work. It should not be forgotten that during BPR and ERP initiatives, routine work is still to be carried out and customers need to be served.

For more information kindly visit : http://www.eresourceerp.com/How-BPR-plays-critical-role-in-ERP-implementation.html

Or Contact us at:

TMA House, 1st Floor,
Road No 16, Plot No. 6,
Wagle Industrial Estate,
Thane (West) 400 604, Maharashtra

Phone:

+91 22 25827692
+91 22 25828775
+91 22 65130234
+91 22 41118000 / 8049 (50 lines)

e-mail (Sales): sales@eresourceerp.com
e-mail (Help Desk): helpdesk@eresourceerp.com

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/erperesource
Please visit our blog at: http://eresourceerp-eresourceerp.blogspot.com/

How ERP systems improve company's business performance?

Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP) solution enables the task involved in performing a business process quickly and efficiently.

With ERP, when a customer service representative takes an order from a customer, he or she has all the necessary information to complete the order. Everyone else in the company sees the same computer screen and has access to the single database that holds the customer's new order. As and when a department completes their work with the order, it is automatically routed via the ERP system to the next department for the next process.

The order can be tracked any time of point by any department by logging into the system. The order process moves so quickly through the organization, and customers get their orders faster and with fewer errors than before. ERP can extent that application to the other major business process, such as employees' benefits or financial reporting.

The entire gamut of ERP activities are summarized below:


•ERP facilitates a company-wide integrated Information Systems covering all functional areas such as manufacturing, sales and distribution, accounts, payables, receivables, inventory, human resources. Etc.
•ERP integrates and automates most business processes and share information enterprise-wide in real-time, thereby improving customer service and the corporate image.
•ERP provides complete integration of the system not only across departments but also across companies under the same management.
•ERP bridges information gaps across a company and focuses on key issues such as productivity enhancement, customer service, cash management, inventory, quality control and prompt delivery. Etc.
•ERP is the solution for better project management.
•ERP provides business intelligence tools like decision support system, executive information system, reporting, data-mining, early-warning system, enabling people to make better decisions and improve business processes.
•ERP not only addresses the current requirements of the company but also provides an opportunity for improvement and refinement in the business process on a continuous process.

For more information kindly visit : http://www.eresourceerp.com/ERP-system-improves-business-performance.html

Or Contact us at:

TMA House, 1st Floor,
Road No 16, Plot No. 6,
Wagle Industrial Estate,
Thane (West) 400 604, Maharashtra

Phone:

+91 22 25827692
+91 22 25828775
+91 22 65130234
+91 22 41118000 / 8049 (50 lines)

e-mail (Sales): sales@eresourceerp.com
e-mail (Help Desk): helpdesk@eresourceerp.com

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/erperesource

Is the 'flexible' attitude of users hampering ERP success in India?

Success of ERP performance is directly proportional to the adherence to standard operating procedures. However, we find that very common complaint against ERP is its rigid structure and disciplined standard operating procedures. Often there are ridiculous demands and expectations from users, which are conflicting with standard operating procedures. Hence ERP is either blamed or made to fail. When the user says he wants flexibility in ERP, actually he wants the official allowance to deviate from standards set for value generation. The repercussions of such flexibility are tremendous, including the loss of value.

For example, here goes a typical style of customer negotiations. The sales people of a manufacturing company arbitrarily fixed unit price and raised sales orders against customers. After physical material dispatches, suddenly the customer started negotiating with sales and the rates were changed. The sales person then wanted to pass these entries in ERP. No good system will support such incongruous requirements. Here, the user wants flexibility in addressing these issues from ERP and also expected that everything should happen automatically. To settle and account for such changes, one has to pass a number of reverse entries in ERP.

Unfortunately, some consulting companies charge extra from clients for automating such absurd provisions. The same thing happened with the above company also and they landed up with 'auto reverse entry module' supporting the existing system. More ironically, this feature of ERP soon became so popular that the company asked a similar module for purchase transactions. The ultimate chaos is always observed in finance and costing modules where multiple figures of profits, inventory values, sales income, taxes, etc. linked to the same transaction are found. Nobody could really gather any meaningful information from such sets of data over a period of time. At the end the user gets flexibility and the organization gets punishment.

There are also some cases where flexibility going to the extent of unethical business practices and in such cases illegal transactions can also be carried out.

Here is one peculiar requirement that once observed from a user. He asked for various options of selecting report sizes (A3 or A4) to use with different printers for printing the same reports. ERP was expected to be flexible enough to accommodate multiple report sizes based on printer selection. The same user never used in his earlier tenure any computerized output and did not even know how to load paper into printer.

The major flexibility expected by Indian ERP users can be summarized as "I want to do transactions any way, later on it should get corrected." Hence we find demand of provisional entries, temporary databases, notional requirements, etc. The fundamental principle of ERP is doing right things right at first time is not understood and deviations are expected to be regularized. We find many of such cases, ultimately making ERP as unused ornament lying in the bank locker.

For more information kindly visit : http://www.eresourceerp.com/ERP-success-in-India.html

Or Contact us at:

TMA House, 1st Floor,
Road No 16, Plot No. 6,
Wagle Industrial Estate,
Thane (West) 400 604, Maharashtra

Phone:

+91 22 25827692
+91 22 25828775
+91 22 65130234
+91 22 41118000 / 8049 (50 lines)

e-mail (Sales): sales@eresourceerp.com
e-mail (Help Desk): helpdesk@eresourceerp.com

Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/erperesource

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