During the 1990s and the historic rise of ERP software, Charlotte manufacturing and other businesses played a vital role in adopting bold innovations and moving the business technology intersection forward. Before the arrival of integrated business solutions and manufacturing ERP software, Charlotte firms were typically composed of a variety of departments running their individual functions on separate, isolated software platforms. While each individual system could adequately manage the back office tasks relevant to marketing or accounts receivable, different systems were incapable of intersecting or sharing database access and applications that were relevant to overlapping functions. This architecture was standard before the arrival of ERP software. Charlotte manufacturing firms were additionally challenged as operations managers searched for ways to coordinate scheduling, ordering, billing, and other complex tasks on shop floors before the advantages of software integration.

ERP Software

ERP Software Charlotte

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, with the arrival of the first early forms of ERP software, Charlotte business managers were able to free their employees from outmoded, isolated legacy systems and run every department on a standardized infrastructure centered arounda single or multi-tier server system owned and maintained by the company. With the implementation of ERP software, Charlotte employees could run their applications using interfaces that offered the same look and feel. They could also share access to databases that could be securely housed on the central server and updated by any authorized user in real time. These new enterprise resource planning systems, or integrated business solutions, helped manufacturing firms spring forward by improving efficiency, increasing productivity and lowering error rates on manufacturing shop floors. Even though the new systems were not without flaws, they rapidly increased in popularity, and implementation demand rose exponentially both within and beyond the manufacturing sector. Back office general management tools for integrated software systems, like accounting, human resource and payroll modules, were very popular in other business sectors as well, including government offices, non-profit firms and university systems.

But because of the high cost of implementation, and the costs associated with server ownership and maintenance, integrated ERP systems remained out of reach for all but the largest businesses with the most flexible technology budgets and the highest tolerance for risk. As developers catered to the needs of these large firms, they could afford to overlook rising interest at the smaller and mid-sized business level. But this began to change after the arrival of the new millennium. With market saturation setting in and slowing demand at the high budget level, developers and providers eventually began an ongoing effort to appeal to smaller markets by scaling, customizing and improving their product and service offerings. At this point, the options for small businesses are more capable, affordable and reliable than ever before.

Written by :

kristine H