Confessions of an anxious CXO! And how ERP can help.

An executive title comes with sleepless nights. You need to produce faster, work smarter and grow quicker. You’re probably not the only one losing sleep, though. Much of what plagues the C-suite is common across many businesses, and can be fixed with smart solutions that take the worry off you.

While these might not be the particular situations that plague you or the words you might use, here are some of the more common issues and how a good, solid enterprise solution, tailored for you, might be a good way to fix them.

Confession 1: ‘We rely too much on spreadsheets, and it worries me that they are so prone to error.’

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with a good spreadsheet. When properly constructed they are simple to use, dependable and can solve a multitude of problems. As you grow and expand as a company, manual entry of data and other processes are too time-consuming and prone to error. A minor typing error could lead to severe consequences. An ERP system can help here. Most solutions come with a considerable amount of automation of repetitive tasks, cutting down the chances of error. They also offer the ability to pull reports and forecasts that can help with planning and course correction that you simply cannot get in a spreadsheet.

Confession 2: ‘We have too many separate, stand-alone software systems that are cumbersome, and are quite possibly costing us far too much.’

You know as well as we do now that no good can come of silos. When each department functions on its own, you’re left with an incomplete, maybe even inaccurate, picture of where your business is. Productivity and efficiency are lost. Consolidating sales, operational and financial information through an ERP solution can bring real-time visibility into your business. Centralization of information means you will have up-to-the-minute data, accessible easily. Think of the missed opportunities this can help avoid!

Confession 3: ‘We are expanding globally, and along the way have collected so many systems that we are having trouble integrating.’

Growth is a wonderful thing. With it come a million operational things to think about. Operations in merger and acquisition situations come with risk if they function alone, they way they did before. There’s the risk that lack of knowledge can result in non-compliance with local tax laws. There are challenges in managing complex international customer relationships and supply chains. Through an ERP solution, you can integrate local offices with corporate headquarters, making for greater visibility and better decisions. You can customize for local requirements and stay within the guidelines of the rest of your needs, enterprise-wide.

Confession 4: ‘I wish we knew more about our customers.’

This is a big one! The customer really is at the centre of all things in today’s world. An ERP system can help you keep track of customer records. Many of them come with an in-built CRM (customer relationship management) system that can keep track of all communication and transactions. This makes for seamless service that doesn’t depend on individuals. Service that comes from truly understanding your customer. What problem are you fixing for them? What makes them come back? How can you do more of what you are doing right? Or on the flip side, what have you got terribly wrong that you need to undo. With that kind of data at your disposal, cross-selling and upselling become much easier, improving performance and profitability.

Navigating daily challenges is a hard job. The right ERP solution allows for tracking, inventory control, customer management, real-time data, reporting and much more. Take a good look at your current system, ERP or the legacy apps you may still be using. Is it giving you what you need? If not, you might be surprised at how much is available for relatively little by the way of cost today!