Each link of the modern supply chain requires seamless integration with the others—activities such as order fulfillment, inventory management, warehouse management, production, and transportation logistics. But an outdated ERP can cause a host of problems in each of these interconnected areas.
If you’re experiencing any of the situations below, it might be time to consider a new ERP. Take a look at these five signs you’ve outgrown your ERP system.
1. You’re Simply Operating Inefficiently
If you or your team find themselves completing mundane manual data entry throughout your organizational processes—there’s a better way. The system should be making your jobs more streamlined. So, if you find yourself bending to its will and entering data that should already be populated, it’s a very clear sign that you’ve outgrown your current ERP.
Data entry might be the least of your worries. An outdated or ineffective system causes botched orders, technical failures, missing inventory, and so much more. An ERP like Microsoft Dynamics 365 automates and streamlines supply chain management with predictive insights that proactively respond to your business’ demands.
2. You’re Using Multiple Platforms
It can be difficult to meet supply chain and planning needs when using multiple disparate systems. It’s like playing a bad game of telephone—except missing or incorrect data can lead to a logistics nightmare for your company, vendors, and customers.
If your organization is using a collection of third-party systems to manage all your business functions, then there is undoubtedly crucial data slipping through the cracks. Information scattered across different programs decreases output, efficiency, and performance.
Upgrading to a new ERP system pulls together disparate parts of your supply chain.
3. Low or No Real-time Data Visibility
With vast stores of data generated by supply chain operations, plant-floor systems, connected products, and customer-facing activities, achieving visibility is a huge challenge. That challenge can turn herculean if you don’t get data in real-time. There’s no way you can make informed decisions with outdated information.
Without an up-to-date full picture of key production assets, resources, and activities, you can’t have a true understanding of your organization’s strengths and opportunities to improve.
Utilizing a modern ERP system allows you to take advantage of IoT machines and devices that create a digital feedback loop, using business data from the shop floor to generate business events and actionable insights.
4. Poor Inventory Control
With an outdated ERP, you don’t get a heads up about potential inventory problems. If you find your company selling items you don’t have in stock or overcompensating with overstocked items, it’s likely for lack of synchronized information across logistics, sales, fulfillment, and purchase management.
Through inventory management capabilities like intelligent demand and capacity, your inventory headaches can fall to an all-time low by making distribution and replenishment processes more efficient. Inbound and outbound inventory operations, quality assurance, and better inventory control all lead to faster product delivery. And in our time of instant gratification, that means happier customers and higher returns.
5. Chaotic Asset Management
Your plant simply can’t run without your assets operating at top performance. Asset management doesn’t have to feel like a game of whack-a-mole. Fixing equipment needs as they pop up or consistently replacing assets that should have had a longer life is no way to run your business.
We don’t need to tell you how much every hour of downtime could cost your business. Your ERP should make managing the full lifecycle of assets much more straightforward. You can track and strategically deploy assets to maximize longevity and performance. Reduce costs and production downtime through multiple types of maintenance, including predictive, corrective, condition, and preventative maintenance.
Bonus: “We’ve always done it this way”
If you find yourself or others uttering this phrase, it just might be the only sign you need. In order to compete in the world of digital transformation, you and your organization have to be open to innovating and adapting. There will always be business and industry disruptions, but there will also always be agile business leaders ready to harness rapid changes to their company’s advantage.
So perhaps, if you’ve found your way to this article, you’re already open to innovative possibilities.
Your software solutions should work seamlessly together to grow and support your business. Rangeline Solutions, a Nexer Group Company is a boutique ERP solutions provider that drives digital transformation for manufacturing and distribution organizations. Our services guide our clients through an ever-evolving world and position their supply chains for continuous improvement into the future. Leveraging our specialized supply chain and Microsoft technology expertise, our team designs a tailored solution to increase efficiency and optimize processes.
We would love to chat more with you about bringing your software up-to-date to meet your company’s needs. Contact us today.