When enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems first broke on to the scene, they were a big deal in tech. But they weren’t the first to get here. In fact, they weren’t even called ERP’s. They were called material requirements planning (MRP) systems and they debuted back in the 1960’s. “While they were expensive to create, required a team of experts to maintain and took up a lot of space, early MRP systems enabled businesses to track inventory and production”.
They were the initial early promises of a better way to run your business. But pretty soon, businesses realized that the restrictions of the MRP system, didn’t serve their business as well as they needed it to. They needed something more robust which led to the birth of the ERP in the 1990’s.
Since then, ERP’s have become the backbone of many successful businesses with it’s ability to bring together various aspects of one business. But just like in the 1960’s, businesses today are realizing they still need more. Unlike the 1960’s however, there isn’t a need to reinvent the wheel. Just a need to upgrade it.
If your business was a part of the early onboarding of ERP’s, where internet-enabled systems weren't a norm or easy access to cloud benefits and AI technology was a distant dream, it’s important to know that things have upgraded dramatically since then! So if you have an outdated ERP that you struggle with, here are some reasons an ugpraded ERP system like that of NetSuite might just be the thing for your business!
No More Surprises
Older ERP models didn’t have the capabilities to think ahead. You may still have had to do a lot of the work when it comes to pulling together reports and understanding things that are happening in departments like accounting, or accounting. But with NetSuite ERP, you never have to go looking for a problem. WIth real-time dashboards that are visible to you when you login to your account or open any specific department, you’ll get a full over arching insight on what’s going on with your business, problems that are arising and solutions that are working well. With updated ERP systems like NetSuite, there are no surprises!
No More Paper Cuts
Another old tell-tale of your ERP system? It’s inability to be e-friendly. If your old ERP system still has some departments tied to paper documents and spreadsheets, then this is a clear sign that it’s time to upgrade! Another sign is if your employees can only access the systems they need to from one computer –which we’re sure was a real hassle during the early days of the pandemic! With upgraded systems, however, everything that your business relies upon can be accessed from a cloud backed service. Which means that you’re no longer tied to paper docs, everything is available online. And when your employees need to work from home or work on the go, this is no longer a problem because the system can be securely accessed from ANY computer or even mobile device.
No More Delays
One of the final ways you’ll know that it’s time to upgrade your ERP systems, is when you spend more time fixing it than using it. Many early ERP systems needed a lot of hands-on assistance to keep things updated and working (if it could) with the changing needs of your business. But today’s ERP system is dedicated to saving you time! Systems like NetSuite, for example, release updates to common system bugs regularly. Additionally, their tech support is always available should you need it and with a worldwide community of users, there’s often no need to go digging for answers to a system problem. Often enough, the problem has already been solved! All in all, this keeps your business running smoothly on a system it can rely on rather than glitches and errors you waste money and manpower diagnosing and fixing.
Ready To Upgrade?
If you feel as though your system is holding your business back rather than pushing it forward, then it's time to upgrade your ERP. With NetSuite’s ability to foresee issues and provide solutions to fixing it without you raising a finger, it’s easy to understand the growth your business can experience with such an easy move. Additionally, with features that allow your business and employees to adapt to their needs, an upgrade could help your business scale faster than most business decisions!
Does upgrading your ERP system scare you? It doesn’t have to be a scary experience! With Ekwani’s NetSuite implementation service, we make NetSuite upgrading a seamlessly easy process. Click here to book a call!
