ERP is a complete business solution which undertakes all the functional requirements of an enterprise. Its major goal is to integrate all the functions of an organization in a well-knitted manner so as to effectively and efficiently pave-way for growth of an enterprise.

It facilitates Company-wide integrated Information Systems covering all functional areas and performs core corporate activities which increase customer service augmenting Corporate Image. ERP helps in organizing & optimizing the data input methodologies systematically so as to have a fully harmonised online system, which can integrate with Back Office. To introduce proper systems and processes in which tasks are not performed manually but automatically. It ensures full security by introducing adequate controls, checks and balances and also by maintaining audit trails. It also helps in minimizing data redundancy by eliminating duplicate entries. ERP’s enable the organizations to provide its customers more value added services. Thus, ERP creates a flexible system, which ensures future needs; changes in the business flow and integration of Systems across the Functional Departments in a Company as well as across the Enterprise as a Whole.

Drivers of an ERP investment

Technology

The advancements in field of technology and need for an infrastructure that can provide information across all functions and locations within the organization facilitates the deployment of ERP in an organization. The difficulty in maintaining existing legacy systems and integrating acquisitions can be managed through neoteric advancements in technology. Obsolete hardware need to be updated with the technology so as to ensure the growth.

Business processes

Business processes is another driving force for ERP. Complex, ineffective business processes can be easily managed through ERP. Business processes which are not integrated need a set of tools for planning and monitoring the various functions and processes in a company. Opportunity to reengineer business processes can be effectively done by ERP.

Strategy

The globalization of industry, new products, services and growing competition in market pave way for deployment of a technique which efficiently manages these issues. The organizations need to be more responsive to customers along with managing high cost of structures.

Functions of ERP

Planning

Plan Materials instantly with Dynamic MRP

• Dynamic MRP facilitate responsive environment enabling the planners and schedulers to create and modify material plans on the basis on user requirements rather than on prior basis. This helps in customizing the products on basis of customer requirements.

Available To Promise (ATP)

• The availability of items in our system is an important piece of information that is necessary for planning future production and making sales commitments.  The ERP available to promise (ATP) functionality answers the question: “How much can I promise to a new demand on any day, given our current production plan?”

Inventory and Material Management

Control Inventory

• ERP’s robust and structured inventory management system allows us to maintain optimal levels of items, whether raw materials, work in process, or finished products. A skillful ERP automatically tracks inventory levels to provide us with consistently accurate, updated information — right when one needs it. One can see graphs on inventory usage or check  inventory transaction history with ERP’s extensive inventory management reporting.

Ship and Receive Goods

• Packing slips, internal bills of lading, Performa and commercial invoices, and serial number tracking are included as part of the shipping process. Tools to cancel, add, or reverse shipping transactions give complete control over shipping processes.  ERP offers a one-step receipt process that automatically records receipts against purchase orders, creates receiver records to be processed by accounts payable, and updates average and last costs for items received into inventory.

Track Material Information

• Multiple warehouses, databases, stock locations can be well integrated and information regarding the material and keep the track of all activities can be well managed by ERP.

Cycle Counting & Physical Inventory

• ERP maintains a count of items which are manufactured in an enterprise. The faster-moving items are high valued and lower valued items are counted less often. The ERP cycle counting functionality manages a full count of inventory items which are in stock or under manufacturing process.

Finance and Accounting

Budget and Cash Flow

• ERP ensures distributed and efficient enterprise-wide budgeting through a tool which automatically creates, distributes, and collects the budget input and organize in a simplified way so as to ensure an optimum plan. This also helps in generation and distribution of customized budget templates throughout the entire organization.

Accounts Receivable

• ERP contains tools for invoicing, cash application, full reporting, multiple accounts, credits, and more.

Accounts Payable

• ERP skillfully manages A/P invoice entry debit memos, recurring A/P, automatic and manual selection of invoices for payment and bank reconciliation.

Reconciliation of Financial Accounts

• ERP bank reconciliation functionality allows to reconcile one’s record of deposits and withdrawals with the statement received from the bank. It provides a convenient means to verify that the deposits one has made and the cheque that one has written have cleared. It also provides one with a way to verify the accuracy of general ledger’s cash accounts.

Tracking of Material, Labor and Production Cost

• ERP’s costing features track standard, average and last (actual) product costs and allow choosing which costing type one wish to use as the accounting value for each item in inventory.

Purchase

Vendor Information

• A unique vendor ID is assigned to each company one does regular business to track and report on. A pre-defined miscellaneous vendor ID is given to parties with whom one doesn’t do regular business.

Inspection

• The ERP purchasing functionality provides a one-step process for recording receipts against purchase orders, creating receiver records to be processed by accounts payable. A useful report available in ERP lists all the items flagged for inspection that have been received but have not yet been inspected. After inspection we can have a detailed report.

Manufacturing

Tracking of Work Order

• Skillful ERP automates the process of tracking the work order and prevents from additional overheads of typing and feeding the information on each level ; hereby reducing discrepancies based on information mismatch.

Production Planning and Scheduling

• A work center consists of machines, labor personnel, or a combination of the two. Routing sequences move across work centers while the product is being created. Using ERP, one may maintain costs for each work center, define the work center’s capacity and utilization, set it for finite or for infinite loading, and enter other work center specific data.

Production Status Monitoring

• After work orders, both planned and released, have been successfully loaded, one wants to check the load and ensure that load on the work centers is even and that there are not any overages. The ERP shop status report allows us to view the status of all work centers at any time.

Inspection of Finished Goods

• Full receiving and inspection modules provide complete quality control tracking, including both scrap and rework for both raw materials and finished goods.

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