The Current State of Enterprise Resource Planning

To analyze the future trends of Enterprise Resource Planning, it is first important to look at the current state of this industry. While this tool was originally used for manufacturing and human resources, it is now being used in areas such as customer services, sales automation, and supply chain maintenance. At the moment, it seems that ERP vendors are expanding the capability of their ERP products, and many of them are catering to smaller businesses instead of just Fortune 500 companies.

The advent of the Internet has played an important role in the evolution of Enterprise Resource Planning.
A number of companies are combining their supply chain maintenance functions with the internet so that suppliers can also have easy access to the information. When the supplier is given access to this crucial information, they will be able to understand the needs of their clients. They will have a good understanding of how much they should produce, and they will also become familiar with manufacturing issues. In addition to integrating the processes within a company, ERP vendors are working to merge the collaboration of suppliers, customers, and the companies that work with them. In addition to doing this on a domestic level, these vendors are working on an international level as well.

A number of experts have said that they feel the future of ERP may be in danger. There are a number of reasons why they voice these concerns. First, many ERP vendors have already catered to the needs of large companies. Most, if not all large companies are now using some type of Enterprise Resource Planning system. What this means is that the market for ERP is decreasing with Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. Even though a vendor can expect to make millions off the sale of a system, they will not make any more money beyond this, and once a company has implemented a ERP system, there is little they need from the vendor.

To solve these problems, a number of vendors are focusing on small to medium sized businesses. They are tailoring their products to these companies by reducing the size, cost, and complexity of implementing them. If an ERP vendor wants to survive in this ever changing market, there are a number of things they will need to do. They will first want to pay attention to processes that are not connected to a generic system. They will want to look at things such as customer support and the ability of their clients to make decisions. The last thing they will need to do is target their products towards smaller companies. If an ERP vendor wants to succeed, they must understand the needs of their customers. Their customer service must be superior in quality, and the prices must be decent, especially for small to medium sized businesses.

If a vendor does these things successfully, they can compete in the global market. The business world continues to change, and ERP vendors must be able to adapt to these changes if they wish to remain competitive. As we move further into the 21st century, it will become more important for organizations to integrate both their processes and information. It is critically important for manufacturers and customers to work at a higher level of understanding and coordination. In addition to this, the company must be able to effectively work with suppliers. Overall, ERP is a strategic resource that will allow companies to synchronize processes that would otherwise be disconnected.

Source: www.exforsys.com

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