Rapid growth.
Two words usually associated with increased profit, improved output and enhanced business performance. Right? Not always.
Unfortunately, for many businesses, the prospect of a sudden increase in sales can be daunting. The list of challenges ranges from the management of extra resources, and the handling of additional data to a bigger customer pool clambering for immediate, excellent service.
Being able to efficiently scale up operations when demand is high or trim down when the market quietens down, is critical for business success and sustainability.
The big question then is: how do businesses make sure they are ready for growth?
One of the most effective ways of managing business growth entails the harnessing of high-performance ERP technology. A robust ERP solution can provide the agility and scalability required to avoid the agony of growing pains.
The Importance of Scalability
A white paper published earlier this year by the World Economic Forum, entitled ‘The Next Economic Growth Engine: Scaling Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies in Production’, describes how the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will potentially deliver up to $3.7 trillion in value for the global economy. The technologies referred to in this paper including the internet of things, advanced robotics, artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing, are already helping to generate massive net productivity increases.
Being able to expand operations means businesses need the ability to adapt quickly and to respond immediately to change in demand in the marketplace. A system with optimised scalability will reduce the complexities associated with growth, and offer an efficiently designed system of reporting and workflows.
What to Look for in an ERP Solution
There are a number of factors that will impact an ERP system’s scalability and performance. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to ensure you are getting maximum benefit from your chosen solution:
- Can you easily expand your ERP ecosystem to include new processes or departments?
- Can you process more transactions, faster when necessary to meet sudden, fluctuating or seasonal market demands?
- Can you extend beyond your enterprise to allow trusted customers and suppliers to link to your own system?
- Is your decision-making and planning facilitated by visibility and accurate information?
- Can you adapt to your changing business needs simply, cost effectively and with minimum downtime?
Many of these issues require internal planning and execution. Whether business growth demands high-transaction volumes or transactional elasticity, having a scalable, future-ready ERP system in place will offer the support necessary to achieve full growth potential.
