Automation in ERP: Benefits and Trends

Enterprise Resource Planning software, or ERP for short, is a business software created to unite all departments in a single system. ERP solutions have been on the market since the early 90s. Initially, those systems were adopted by manufacturers to help the industry with its complex multi-stage business processes and wide-sprawling supply chain with globalization on the rise. 

Eventually, ERP systems developed more and branched out to all business industries and avenues, and if originally they were used by large enterprises and corporations, nowadays there is a shift towards midsize and smaller companies getting on board. ERP developers and vendors are moving in the same direction, making a new generation of business automation solutions more budget-friendly, easily deployed, and customized, with a shorter implementation cycle.   

How does ERP Software help Businesses?

Often can happen that each branch or department operates in its informational system, creating a "closed box" environment, affecting employee collaboration and business performance in general. ERP software creates a seamless flow of information across the organization by having its different Functional Modules interact with each other in real-time. Every data entry transaction is traceable to the point of creation. All departments are working on a single platform, sharing information, reducing communication gaps and overdue tasks and activities, which overall makes them more effective and increases the company's financial output. 

Another challenge ERP software implementation can help with is scalability, especially if we are talking about Cloud ERP systems. Businesses are not required to invest heavily in in-house IT infrastructure when they are opening new branches and regional offices. ERP implementation creates a framework for company processes, allowing them to train and onboard new employees in a shorter time.       

What is ERP Automation?

ERP systems can provide users with different automation tools to make their life easier. That might be something like various data uploaders - to be able to import data from Excel sheets in bulk, or OCR, to capture information from PDF files. Or it can be automated workflows, where the process can be configured in the system to trigger special events and notifications based on certain conditions. Another option for ERP automation is electronic approvals, where an approval matrix can be set up to make sure that the entry complies with organizational policies.

Some ERP systems can generate and distribute reports to concerned employees based on a schedule. Integrations with popular communication channels like e-mail, SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. allow companies to send automated notifications to their customers and suppliers based on user activities in ERP software. Inventory management and supply chain is another popular area for automation - the system is monitoring minimum stock levels and alerts users when something needs to be reordered. Employee expense tracking and expense reports processing is a labor-intensive task for many companies ERP systems allow to switch to real-time expense approvals using mobile devices, eliminating bottlenecks and further keeping things on a budget. Automated billing and payment followups can help reduce Accounts Receivable aging and improve business cash flow.     

Benefits of Automation in ERP

Apart from saving time and reducing errors, there are some other benefits, which are not so obvious. You can see some common examples of ERP automation used by companies in the UAE:

• Reduced time for approvals, no more time wasted waiting till the signatory arrives in the office. Cloud ERP software allows its users to log in from web browsers or mobile phones to make their inputs and approvals in real-time. 

• Reduce internal paperwork by switching to electronic approvals functionality.

• Increases data transparency and employee accountability. 

• All information in ERP software can be traced to the point of data entry and approval history. 

• Increases productivity by automating routine and repetitive tasks and freeing up key resources for more challenging tasks.

• Reduce human factors by introducing automatic reminders, access controls, and notifications to employees and their managers. 

• Helps to complete tasks on time and maintain process deadlines.

• Improve customer experience with automated notifications about updates on their order status. 

• Reduce data entry errors and helps to keep the information up to date, reducing the amount of redundant data. 

• The time saved on requesting reports from different departments and cross-checking data between multiple systems benefits employee productivity during working hours.  

Which Industries Will Benefit from ERP Automation Most?

ERP systems are relevant now for all types of companies, including mid-size and small businesses. Industries, where the process should go through multiple departments with human intervention required in each stage like construction, manufacturing, and wholesale, would benefit the most from ERP automation. Businesses will be able to reduce the workload previously required to complete routine and repeated tasks to new projects and activities. 

Another case, where ERP software is required can be industries, with unique operational business processes. In that case, it is important to have software customized to fit company requirements or to find an industry-specific solution on the market.  

For Businesses operating in multiple locations, it becomes very important early on to have a centralized ERP system for finance, administrative, and HR departments to be able to interact with employees in each business location. Having business intelligence and graphical reports, and consolidating information across multiple locations gives management a bird's eye view of what is going on and helps identify gaps and operational bottlenecks.     

Conclusion

Covering the whole business process from planning to fulfillment and analysis in a single system, ERP software provides data visualization tools for management to make better business decisions on time. 

If an industry has a high percentage of companies using business and finance automation software it increases the overall efficiency of the industry. ERP systems so far had been a reliable tool for businesses to streamline internal processes. Emerging technologies like AI and IoT are also being adopted by ERP developers to bring more benefits to their users. AI is used to further improve routine task automation and analyze vast arrays of data to identify new trends and get better insights for decision making. IoT is used to connect equipment to ERP systems to get online usage data and helps businesses increase assets' service life. Contrary to a common misconception that automation replaces people more often companies will use the time, their employees previously spent on routine tasks, toward new initiatives, which can make their business more successful. 

FirstBit ERP is a Cloud ERP system with advanced business automation features, developed in Dubai in compliance with UAE’s laws and regulations. For 9 years it helped hundreds of companies to streamline their processes and create a single platform to unite all their departments to achieve better business results.  

Connect with our experts to understand how FirstBit ERP can help your business automate routine tasks and free up resources for growth!