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1. Business Intelligence

Many ERP systems are equipped with advanced business intelligence that enables strong data management. These tools display real-time data in interactive charts and customized dashboards, allowing organizations to identify trends and make predictions. 

ERP business intelligence gives you full visibility into your company’s operational, financial, and business-related data. With a few clicks, you can access that data and use it to develop reports, create forecasts, and make informed business decisions. 

If the platform that you’re eyeing doesn’t come equipped with these business intelligence capabilities, then there’s a good chance that your data will become siloed and go unused. 

2. Financial Management Tools

Some ERP tools are simply nice-to-have or are best suited for specific industries. Financial management, on the other hand, is much more universal. 

These tools help automate much of the work that your in-house accounting team handles. With the right tools, you can use ERP to:

  • Manage assets
  • Track business income
  • Make more informed spending decisions
  • Plan for future growth
  • Create detailed financial reports

3. Sales Tools and eCommerce Features

One of the main benefits of ERP software is that it makes it easy for companies to personally target and connect with prospects, and then quickly close deals.

Before a sale occurs, users can access the platform to analyze historical data and recognize customer behaviors. In partnership with the marketing team, they can then brainstorm campaigns that appeal to these buyers.

Some ERP systems even include point-of-sale capabilities that facilitate both online and in-person checkouts.

Speaking of online, many systems also include essential eCommerce functionality, such as order processing and customer support.

4. Customer Relationship Management

A customer relationship management (CRM) system allows your sales staff to store and organize every single detail about past, current, and future deals.

When CRM functionality is native to an ERP system, this can result in a range of benefits, including:

  • More effective prospect identification
  • Reduced costs associated with customer information management
  • Opportunities for customer upselling

5. Supply Chain Management

Modern ERP systems, as we know them today, actually began back in the 1960s. At that time, manufacturers were the primary adopters. They used early supply chain management software to track inventory and manage orders.

Decades later, you can still find these functions, but instead of being exclusively available in standalone solutions, they are also within end-to-end ERP solutions.

Before you begin ERP selection, we recommend making note of your must-have supply chain requirements. These might include:

  • Purchase order management
  • Demand planning
  • Supply chain planning and execution
  • Inventory control
  • Sales forecasting
  • Vendor and supply chain management
  • Warehouse management
  • Approvals management
  • Real-time order