As we entered the new millennium, the cost of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems was out of reach for small to mid-sized companies. However, as technology continues to grow at an exponential pace, times are changing.

Have You Optimized the Productivity of Your Office Workers?

Just as the cost of every-day technology, such as mobile phones and computers, is a fraction of what it was a few years ago, the cost of ERP has plummeted and is now in the ballpark for small companies.

When it comes to the industrial worker, business managers have been working to improve productivity for years—measuring outputs and tweaking processes until costs are cut efficiently.

But how about those office workers tapping away at their keyboards in cubicles, or strategizing in corner offices? You might have a feel for whether they’re working hard or hardly working, but have you given them every opportunity to be as productive as possible?

Small Businesses now have the opportunity to improve their business processes by implementing ERP systems that circumvent the three main productivity killers.

List of Three Productivity Killers

• Inefficiency: The Money Shredder

  
  

  Because managers may not have a good way to manage and calculate the efficiency of the tasks done by, for example, marketing, purchasing and human resources managers, they likely don’t focus on streamlining them. After all, if they don’t know time is being sucked into a vortex of waste, how would he determine the urgency to cure these problems?

  Do you know what steps it takes to process a sales order? Is delivery of your service or product ever delayed because the order isn’t transmitted from the sales rep to customer service efficiently? Or, perhaps, customer service representatives spend too much time searching high and low for a project code as they need to process the order.

  If these types of issues occur, then your production team has to jump through hoops to cope with lost time and poor planning. They’re working overtime to make up for broken processes, and your customer service may not be meeting their expectations. These minor process leaks can deter business growth to a great extent, especially in the long run.

  Time is money, and as time is frittered away on ineffective processes, it’s like putting your money through the paper shredder.




• Decision Making in the Dark

  
  

  Efficiency alone, however, won’t get you where you want to go if you’re going in the wrong direction. And that’s what happens when managers are forced to make decisions in the dark.

  With ERP, decisions can be made soundly with access to company information. Again, the success of a decision highly depends on data gathered, and how it is acted upon when it’s the right time.

  When information is either untimely or incorrect, managers cannot be blamed for choosing a path that leads the wrong way. For example, consider a manager who perceives a market segment appearing to grow, and makes the decision to focus marketing efforts on that segment. With the correct systems in place, that is a great decision with little risk. However, if proper systems are not set up to handle the data, and the information turns out to be incorrect, than that was a poor decision that was informed by inaccurate information. In this case, it doesn’t matter how efficient associates are, because their systems are failing them.




• Auto Wreck or Auto Pilot?

  
  

  Do you handle your business like a manned machine or one on autopilot? Too often, managers get wrapped up in hands-on processes that they forget automation can free up resources and streamline processes for all of their employees. They are not comfortable taking a day off for fear a wreck will occur.

  If a task is dependent on you, however, it’s a sign you’re working in your business rather than on it. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the company running on auto pilot while you’re planning for strategic growth, or even basking in the sunshine on a tropical island?

  By defining logical streamlined processes, methodologies and developing an ERP system that assures they work like clockwork you can increase efficiencies, make better decisions and even take a zero-tension vacation.

Call us at 484-892-5713 or Contact Us today to learn more about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.