The practice of enterprise resource planning has been around since ancient times and the basic concept remains unchanged.  Iron Age businessmen planned the way in which they would run their businesses based on material on hand, Iron Age businessmen planned the way in which they would run their businesses based on material on hand, delivery schedules, supply and demand in much the same way as automobile makers plan production for several model years to come.

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning and Business’s Deliberate Nature

Without adequate planning, costs spiral out of control and profits are eaten up by unnecessary waste.  Cave man or rocket scientist, time has passed but business remains unchanged in this very important way.  Accurate assessment of resources and what it takes to produce something or provide a service and get it to market or a task completed in a timely manner is the essence of business success and profitability.

Whichever company does the best job of enterprise resource planning stands the best chance of succeeding.  So it is important that every business knows its market, its customers and its product inside out.  To aid in managing all this information and storing it a way that it is easily accessed at any time, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has been developed.  

Enterprise resource planning systems have become the platform upon which all the information gathered comes together and is distributed throughout an organization.  Data is collected and stored and reports generated that will be used for decision making and direction.  ERP systems have become so sophisticated that data is now gathered automatically and fed into a system via the Internet.  

With enterprise resource planning, ERP software such as those offered by SAP, Oracle, Microsoft and a host of other business software developers, it is possible to plan a company’s operations more accurately than ever before. Direct lines of communication are established with erp vendors, suppliers, shippers and the list just goes on and on.  Information passes instantaneously between departments and the whole process from planning through delivery executed by means of electronics.

With that being said, customer service remains a universal and development and re-development of tools that reduce costs, increase accuracy and aid in on-time delivery of goods or services will only continue to improve.   Shorter lead times and increased accuracy are part and parcel of enterprise resource planning systems.  Quick turn-around means higher production capacity allowing the business to serve more customers and remain competitive.

Business is deliberate at its core.  Planning and intent are of paramount importance.  Time is money as much as inventory management and on-time delivery.  ERP systems marshal all these factors into one database for the use of all who need it from the sales staff to materials buyer to finance officer to CEO.

To be sure, there have been many improvements over the centuries.  Businesses have moved from scratching on cave walls to keep track of the number of animals in a herd to electronic bits and bytes of information calculated at lightning speed to come up with sophisticated projections of next spring’s production numbers.  But it’s the same idea now as in days gone by, healthy growth of the bottom line.

Written by :

Don Cooper