2020 turned out to be quite different and difficult for many companies from different global industries. Many businesses have faced unprecedented challenges as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing economic turmoil. There were a lot of changes that had to be made given the situation.
However, the coronavirus crisis has also caused a real boost in the digitalization and modernization of various software systems, one of which is ERP.
In this 2021 the development of the industry continues, and new trends are expected for the next year 2022. These trends already cover a wide range of industries and create great opportunities in the age of digitalization.
Keep reading to find out what they are…
Cloud access – phone, laptop, tablet
Cloud-based software in ERP is not a new trend, but it is growing very much thanks to the crisis that started last year.
Today, it is more than important for everyone to be able to access certain solutions from anywhere on the planet, from any Internet-based device - phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.
Cloud-based ERP has become more important given the pandemic and they are literally continuing to change the game for small and medium enterprises.
Cloud solutions reduce startup fees as well as hardware costs. Constant software updates and expensive maintenance are avoided. Current costs and others are saved.
The cloud offers greater speed, better flexibility and resilience, as well as innovative strength, which are critical factors in today's competitive business environment.
Need to sync with website and online store
Today, many companies expect the ERP system, that they choose, to maintain easy integration and synchronization with their websites and online stores. It is important for them to keep track of their stocks and to find their way much easier so that there are no mistakes.
ERP systems must support integrations with various platforms for online stores - Woocommerce, Opencart, Shopify, BigCommerce and many others.
This means that they must be able to synchronize products, synchronize quantities, synchronize orders and, accordingly, all this to happen quite quickly.
Need to link processes with customer service
ERP systems are no longer what they were many years ago. Today, it is much more closely linked to customer service and it is very important to be able to integrate exactly these processes related to the service itself.
This means that ERP must be able to connect to the company's CRM system.
This makes it much easier for the end customer, because he wants to know immediately whether the order made by him is accepted, whether there are quantities, when the ordered products will be received and others.
Possibility for integration with various other services
In addition to the ability to integrate ERP systems with CRM and various platforms for online stores and websites, it is important that the software can be easily integrated with other types of services.
These are opportunities for telephony, connecting to courier platforms and many others.
It is important to specify that server-based ERP systems allow very difficult integration with such external services, while this is much easier with Cloud solutions
Rapid changes in accordance with company processes
As mentioned earlier, the crisis that started last year has necessitated many changes in the supply and demand of ERP systems.
This made it a must for the systems used to be super adaptive. Once implemented, it is constantly necessary to make changes to the processes and these changes must be implemented as soon as possible.
It is very important that it is implemented easily and quickly, and that the necessary changes are implemented in time.
Support
For many of the points in the article we shared that they are very important for a good ERP service. Support, however, turns out to be perhaps the most important of them all.
But why? Because many software vendors sometimes react quite slowly, which is why support is a very important element when choosing the right solution for your business.
Today, this is what largely separates the good ERP solutions and the bad ones. Very often customers need help and support and a quick and adequate response accumulates a lot of positives
Real-time data, key to making quick decisions
Given the environment and the hectic daily life we have, business owners and managers in the hierarchy strongly demand that the software they use provide real-time data so that they can make quick and adequate decisions.
This is an important aspect of any business, which determines their development and competitiveness in many niches.
Final words
For the first time, ERP systems began to be implemented in large manufacturing companies to help them manage their raw materials and parts. This has changed over time and more advanced efficiency technologies have been added to the systems. Thus, companies from various fields began to take advantage of them.
ERP is now taking big steps forward and drastically changing the way manufacturers and all other businesses operate and grow.
ERP will continue to undergo many changes in 2022. However, we hope that we have helped you to inform yourself and implement ERP software for your company.