What is ERP?
What is ERP? It means enterprise resource planning, which itself means planning the resources in an enterprise (business). So, this abbreviation simply means, that this is a way of using the resources in a company more effectively. An Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are software systems for business management, supporting areas such as planning, manufacturing, sales, marketing, distribution, accounting, finance, human resource management, project management, inventory management, service and maintenance, transportation, and e-business.
Notice, that this is not some kind of software, this is an ideology. Some companies build applications, that work according to this ideology, called ERP solutions. But there is something more there… the developers of such solutions build their application implementing some best business practices in it, and this is one of the most valuable features of ERP systems. The so called know-how is the most common thing that many of the small businesses to big manufacturing business. And this could be the difference between the successful, fast flowing company and the average company. At some point of the life cycle of an enterprise, the need of such a system becomes inevitable. The earlier managers understand this, the better. As the company grows, its control becomes more and more difficult task. An integrated solution, like ERP software, could be really helpful in this situation.
The purpose of implementing an ERP system in a company is when the company isn’t operating efficiently. Look at it like this, when your body is sick, you know you need to take medicine, you just can’t stand the taste. And in the same matter when your company isn’t operating efficiently, you’ve got to take steps to correct it. Most companies just fear the disruption, the learning, and the cost and the inconvenience of it all. “Another way to look at or understand ERP is cars have dashboards so the driver can get to where he or she wants to go. Airports have control towers to make sure everything and everyone gets to where they need to be. All of your typical individual machines have control panels so you can make them do what they are supposed to do.