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Along with the development of the company, the management often comes to the fact that electronic spreadsheets and paper orders are no longer enough. The conclusion is obvious: software is needed for management planning, optimization of procedures and acceleration of development. Planning in the management system is the key foundation and necessary element of the company's growth. What do modern systems offer?
What you should know about planning systems
There are thousands of different programs and applications on the market. What solution to choose? Most company owners have heard about specialized systems, but they do not know exactly what the method of effective planning of management of all company resources is and whether this system is suitable for their company. What is the ERP system, how does it work and how to choose the optimal solution?
ERP is an English abbreviation (Enterprise Resource Planning) referring to the general system of enterprise resource planning and management. This is the definition of IT systems used to support enterprise management:
- a team of employees,
- material resources,
- finances.
This support can cover all or some levels of management and helps to optimize the use of company resources and the processes taking place in it.
How does the planning system work?
Planning systems use one integrated platform to collect in one place key information about the organization and all data necessary for effective management. This means that the data entered in one department, for example, is immediately visible to other users - the production manager, as well as in accounting or warehouse workers. As soon as the information enters the central database, the management of the organization has an overview of what is happening at all levels in the company structure, so they can analyze various scenarios and improve processes, thereby increasing efficiency. This, in turn, leads to savings and increased productivity, since all data is immediately available in the system.
Today, the system for companies has turned from a method used mainly to manage human resources into a complex IT tool used for management planning at various levels of the organization.
Individual modules and system efficiency
The ERP system belongs to the category of modular integrated IT systems. This means that individual modules are independent, although they interact with programs integrated into one database and one business platform, where there is no data exchange between modules, since all functionalities use the same data in real time.
The names of individual modules vary depending on the manufacturer, but most of them offer:
- Sales, marketing and distribution;
- Warehousing and stock management (MRP);
- Management of fixed assets and services,
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM);
- production management,
- Documentation (orders, purchases, invoicing, purchase of materials, etc.);
- Transport management,
- Project management.
Professional automation and project management track the time spent on a specific task and the use of resources. In addition, the billing module simplifies the invoicing system, thus improving interaction between different departments of the company.
Each module sends and receives information from a central database, which is a key component of each planning system. It is an information "reservoir" that provides insight into the work of various departments of the company, thanks to which the organization's management can make informed decisions and monitor changes from a global point of view.
