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What is ERP: a Beginner's Guide What on Earth is ERP? You’ve probably heard the term tossed around in every business IT meeting - but what does it actually mean? ‘Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are designed to address the problem of fragmentation of information or “islands of information" in business organizations.’ International Journal of Operations & Production Management ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a software suite that automates and decreases the manual labor. It allows your company to perform in a cost-effective manner. ERP systems include a set of software modules, which manage the information for a separate business function or a group of those. It connects departments to one internal database and centralizes all the information. The database in turn exchanges data flow with the modules. For example, every month we have to inform the payroll office how much has each worker done. Employees should concentrate on their direct duties. By means of ERP automatization we minimize their involvement to the task and its tracked implementation. ‘I don’t see how any company can do effective supply chain management without ERP.’ ERP - Making It Happen To see the whole picture of what can be done by Enterprise Resource Planning alone, enjoy the graph: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software So, make a step forward and simplify the process by implementing ERP systems: ERP analyzes the functional side of your enterprise and along the way automates and/or removes the irrelevant business functions. Each department has its own unique software that automates simple processes. Simplified working process. The info is already in the database, ready to be used. That will make the information exchange between the inner systems simpler and more robust. The modules have an access to each other’s outputs, while reduced time and effort consumption please the eye. Increased performance and stable implementation These make all segments of the company system fruitful; removes the spots of possible mistakes (e.g. human factor) and saves a great deal of time. Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software So, the main reason why people involve so much effort and money into the software of ERP is the need for constant improvement. The enhanced performance will push business processes increasing the efficiency and drawing customers’ attention. Visually, the influence of ERP systems looks like that: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software Cloud-based ERP Today, a number of modern companies prefer this type of ERP. And BelitSoft isn’t an exception. However, because the security here is still questionable, some would prefer to have their data behind the walls. People still are suspicious of the Clouds. According to the Panorama report, 72% of respondents were frightened of the possible risks of data loss, and 12% of a possible security breach. Pros: Fast and easy data sharing+the access is seamless and handy. Saves money (no need in servicing and specific equipment) Good choice for small companies that are looking to start without going into too much technical aspects of setting their own hosting Cons: Deprives a full control over the data (hosting-provider is the one responsible for stable work and data integrity) Data security is in the hands of the vendor Still expensive: the price of VM in the Cloud is higher than in the local data-center Belitsoft provides expertise in modernization of business-critical applications, including ERP systems. We help you transition to secure, scalable cloud environments that meet your compliance, performance, and integration needs. On-premise ERP On-premise hosting means using your own resources for the software deployment (you need your equipment to make it work). However, you may also use VPS (Virtual Private Server) or VDS (Virtual Dedicated Server). As my interlocutor noticed, “To keep the machine working you need to hire people that could manage fixing whenever it breaks. Moreover, the space taken is also a reason to think your choice over". So, to make sure nothing will spoil “the moment of truth", the on-premise ERP holder should think of: Pros: Maximum security for your corporate data Full control 24/7 (physical access to any data on the server) Excellent for large and mid-sized enterprises which have a data control and safety in the first place Cons: Additional expenses (hiring specialists for servicing the equipment, space, safety, electricity) Complexities with data access for the distant branches OPEX (operating expenditure) is more profitable than CAPEX (capital exp.) you have buying facilities Ready-to-go vs ERP from scratch: Pros, Cons, and Cost Factors Today you can purchase everything effortlessly. You may choose the way of the least resistance and check out what ERP software has been developed years ago and is still relevant. Source: https://selecthub.com/erp-software/ ‘However, we can’t say that the purchased product is the cure that works straight away. There are always things to change that make developers remove lots of discrepancies. It also happens that some existing modules that are not necessary anymore may be eliminated.’ Dmitry Garbar So, before the implementation, developers have to straighten everything up, adjust and test the results - to make sure the work is done the way you’ve expected. ‘I've never come across ready-to-use ERP software that fits a client perfectly. Often, they're not entirely willing to change their business processes to fit the ERP product. There's always room for the idea of a customized ERP solution.’ Dmitry Garbar Let’s sum up the information. When Off-the-Shelf ERP Works - and When It Doesn’t Off-the-shelf ERP can be a fast solution but often requires trade-offs in flexibility and long-term ownership. The advantages of the ready-to-go ERP are: Short-term savings (by avoiding high costs associated with customization). Faster implementation Stable knowledge support (lots of outside experts on the software who can provide long-term training and advice) Software Sophistication (few bugs, industry-specific solutions and extensive elaboration) The drawbacks are as follows: The need for adjustments and additional development May be difficult to customize it to your processes You have less control over the product (software vendor holds the rights to the code) Is Building Custom ERP Worth It? Developing ERP system from scratch gives you full control, but it’s not without its trade-offs. Let’s look at the benefits and the challenges you should plan for. Some entrepreneurs may find it much more difficult to wisely develop an ERP core that holds their systems together. Firstly, you need to analyze what and how do people do their job in each department. “Each role that is performed in the company is under the question of automatization", Garbar said. “So to get the ball rolling, business analytics (BA) have a chat with every employee in the company to understand the mechanics better". And after the picture of company’s “back-end" has been drawn, we are ready to discuss the time frame, costs, individual desires, and suggestions. Source: ERP - Making It Happen. The overall process builds a totally unique architecture that is capable to adapt to the further changes in the company’s work. However, that coin has two sides. Pros: You get a unique software tailored to the specific nature of your business You have a full control over the software code You save money on the long-term prospects Intellectual property rights to the ERP increase company valuation. Cons: Long development time High costs compared to off-the-shelf solution May become obsolete by the time of implementation ERP Implementation: Costs, Timelines, and ROI Expectations Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software The final cost for the software is always formed individually and depends on the range of factors. What Affects the Cost of ERP? Speaking of ERP system developing, the price includes: Company size (the number of employees, branches, locations and so on) The industry of the business Solution (industry-specific and customized, or general and flexible) Resources required (external consulting, user training, task tracking, etc.) Specific requirements For instance, if you expect to see a sophisticated custom ERP system, you may not find complete designs and architecture that will fully satisfy your desires. In such cases, the implementation may require heavy customization and third-party add-ons, which will increase the costs. But even if the price was named, it can’t be steady when push comes to the software expected to support your business for decades: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software ERP Cost Ranges by Company Size ERP pricing varies significantly depending on company scale. Industry-wide, ERP implementation costs in the U.S. typically fall within these ranges, broken down by business size: Small businesses: $10K - $150K Mid-sized companies: $150K - $500K Large enterprises: $1M - $10M+ ‘Considering Belitsoft, it’s difficult to name even the average price we offer. The projects we are involved into are diversive and usually require a wide spectrum of services: from the company size and technology team to personal wishes and preferable time frames.’ Dmitry Garbar At Belitsoft, the effort on the project varies from 2000 hours to 96 man-months. And a plethora of those that need ongoing support and constant improvements. The question that doubts is shall the project pay off? Well, let’s see: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software How Long Does ERP Implementation Take - and Why It Often Gets Delayed Time. If only "as fast as you can" would be taken literally and fulfilled right away. But in the real IT world all we have is to nod hearing 25, 32, 48+ months from the developer. But what takes them so long? Size. Same as with the costs. The size of your company, the amount of employees, and many other factors influence the time spent on analysis, chosen technology, the type of data storage etc. The industry you are operating in Types of ERP. The time needed for the final implementation of purchased and adjusted ERP on the Cloud differs from the on-premise solution tailored directly for the business you run. Personal desires. Any additional functions you want to see in the final product need extra time for development and adoption Respect the deadlines. Not many IT companies may boast for their accurate relationship with deadlines and set time-frames. According to the 2017 report, project duration was over scheduled by 59% in total: Source: Panorama report on ERP systems and Enterprise software Is ERP a Long-Term Investment Worth Making? Just face the fact: Enterprise Resource Planning solutions can’t be developed in a day. ERP is a life-time project - one that demands continuous support and adaptation, but delivers deep operational impact over time. It shapes how your organization operates, grows, and even how your people work, reaching everything you care about in your business. The Best Technologies for ERP Implementation Source: https://www.cuba-platform.com/ The choice of technology arises from the size of a company you run. At Belitsoft, we provide PHP solutions for small and mid-sized businesses, and Java or .NET solutions for larger companies. If your project specifically requires Java expertise, you also have the option to hire dedicated Java developers from our skilled team. hire dedicated java developers Developing a desktop application for a Football Federation we’ve chosen .NET - as a prevalent technology - accompanied by C# and PHP. Creation of the ERP system for Granite Industry vendors involved Laravel, HTML and PHP. Angular JS coupled with .NET is a good replacement for Java to build financial software ‘One independent company carried out the technical audit of the project we were going to engage in. The focus was on specifications and architecture. In the end, they acknowledged only Java and .NET as the most secured technologies.’ As a programming language, Java shows itself as a perfect tool in finance and enterprise development. Amongst its advantages, the most substantial one is versatility. Java is essentially reliable and proven partner when it comes to the building software castles, skyscrapers and highway bridges. However, no one stops mid-sized companies to choose Java as well. It is a balanced language with well-oiled filling for the diverse purposes. Conclusion Two words: simplification and automation. Enterprise Resource Planning systems: Is a complex process that requires a distant understanding of the target. Requires re-orienting and teaching staff to work within a totally new environment. Transforms your enterprise into a computerized structural body managed by a set of software. modules covering the entire business. Provides the techniques accompanied by effective forecasting, planning, and scheduling processes. Makes the data exchange between modules much easier and more systematic. Helps to avoid repeated data entering. Automates business functions so that business processes go flawlessly. Still uncertain which ERP path is right for you? Our architects have guided 300+ projects through in various industries. Book a consultation.

The Challenges of Standard Auto Repair Workflows Typically, automobile repair shops use a combination of a legacy ERP or CRM with .xls files, paper notes, and local folders for media files as well as different 3rd-party software to manage the core workflows. Such workflows are manual, time-consuming, and prone to human errors. Accepting a car for repair. A manager takes photos of the damage and saves them in a local folder. Then, they create a new order and manually estimate the repair cost. Then, the manager schedules the repair on a paper or in a CSV table and agrees this schedule with a responsible technician in person. Ordering lacking parts. The manager creates an email to a vendor where they manually indicate all the details (amount, estimated cost, and due date). After receiving the ordered parts, the manager manually notifies the vendor and confirms the final cost. Tracking employees' working hours. When a technician receives an order, they manually enter the start and completion time, lunch breaks, etc. For that, a technician has to write down these data on paper, then bring it to a manager. Calculating the costs of technicians' work, parts, and final repair expenses. A technician or manager goes to the accounting department to manually pass the information about the completed type of work and the number of hours spent on it. A manager also manually brings or emails the details about ordered parts to an accountant. The accountant enters the received data into accounting software by hand. Notifying customers about a current repair status. A customer has to call or email to find out the information about the repair process. Otherwise, a customer knows nothing about the repairing status until a manager calls and asks to pick up the car. Reporting to an automobile repair shop owner. The owner enters the accounting software to get data about cash flows. Then they enter the CRM to get information about customers, employees' efficiency, services, etc. How Custom ERP Automates Key Auto Repair Workflows Implementing a custom or on-demand auto repair software helps resolve a series of challenges typical of auto repair services, decrease costs, and improve customer service by automating every step of the workflow. 1. Advanced reporting tools to give business owners full visibility and control over a single or multiple auto repair shops In order to know strengths and bottlenecks of the business, an auto repair owner needs detailed and simple-to-use reporting to see the full picture. For that, an ERP needs an advanced reporting tool, that may include: financial reports (how much the company has earned from each order or during a certain period) for evaluating the business's financial health and earnings potential; business reports about dealing with 3rd party suppliers for analyzing the profitability of cooperating with each vendor; reports about cost-effectiveness of labor for calculating the auto repair shop's profit, etc. An example of a report illustrating the weekly number of orders and earnings, the parts and labor margins, a sales trend, and other KPIs. 2. Accepting a car for repair and scheduling work to save managers' time While creating an order in the ERP, a manager needs to take photos of a damage, estimate the repair cost, calculate the number of hours for repairing and types of work. All of this can be facilitated and automated by a custom ERP used in a combination with a mobile app. A manager takes photos of a damage using a mobile app. Photos get uploaded to a media storage, such as Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, etc. Then, the media files are synchronized with a corresponding order. A manager estimates the cost of repair directly through the ERP thanks to integrations with collision estimating software (CCC, Audatex, AdjustRite, Mitchell) and with paint-scale systems (PPG Paint Scales, Akzo Nobel, or BASF) estimating the amount of paint needed. A manager plans repairing with the help of a scheduler, where they can see which time slots for each type of work are available. 3. Procurement management to save the time of auto repair shop's managers and accountants To order a lacking part, a manager selects a necessary integrated service (Partstech, Carfax, TireConnect, etc) and gets a list of required parts with pricing. The cost of repairing is calculated automatically based on a vendor's price list. A vendor receives an automated message with all the order details. 4. Tracking technician's working hours to monitor efficiency of work and calculate repair cost A technician selects a type of work to do and starts the countdown. When they need to make a break, or their shift ends, a technician marks the end time of the work through the mobile phone. The ERP contains a detailed timesheet, which facilitates further payroll. 5. Calculating the costs of technicians' work, parts, and final repair expenses to exclude human risks and save accountants' time Thanks to the integration of the ERP with the accounting software, an accountant automatically gets data about: technicians' working hours for calculating a salary; cost of parts and other materials, types of works, and repairing time for calculating a final repair cost; payments from customers (the paid sum, the number and dates of payments, the amount to be paid, etc.). The ERP for repair and maintenance gets all the transactions automatically thanks to the integration with such accounting software as QuickBooks, Sage One, Xero, or others. 6. Notifying customers about a current repair status to improve customer service When accepting a car for repairing, a manager agrees with a customer a preferable means of communication – SMS or email. Thus, a customer receives auto notifications about the repair status changes without involving a manager. An example of how customers can view the actual information. Create All-in-One ERP by Outsourcing ERP Development However, most ready-made car repair database software systems don't cover all the repair workflows. So, to get all the mentioned features, creating a multifunctional custom ERP is the best option. In case you don't want to risk employing a big team internally, choose a good technology partner to rely on who could get up to speed quickly and scale the team up and down as the project progresses. By outsourcing automotive repair software development to Belitsoft, the company with an extended pool of specialists, you get the following benefits: Quick start of the MVP development. Involving an experienced developer into the project from our talent pool without wasting time on hiring allows launching the MVP, get the first customers and start earning in a few months; On-demand scaling of the team up and down based on the current development needs. Not keeping extra developers in the team allows saving budget. At the same time, you quickly receive the necessary workforce on demand from our 300+ developers. Get the business-oriented and highly scalable ERP with unique functionality by partnering with Belitsoft's developers with expertise in the repair industry.

In short, CRM is a part of ERP. ERP handles manufacturing and financial operations, while CRM traditionally deals with customers on all stages, automating marketing and sales activities. In real life, there are several scenarios: a company uses ERP but not CRM; a company uses CRM but not ERP; a company doesn't have either ERP or CRM. Whatever your scenario is, you can get the benefits of both systems and keep all your business's data in a centralized database by developing the ERP with CRM functionality from scratch, integrating CRM into ERP, or customizing ERP adding CRM features. Contact us to learn how we can help you. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Using the ERP, you can reduce operating costs by 11% according to the research from a global research company. That's why the bigger a company is, the more savings in absolute numbers it can gain. Such saving numbers can be achieved on condition of automating key business processes typical of your industry. In practice, it's about implementing particular functionality in ERP. Budget Forecasting and Planning The ERP acts as a single database that provides business leaders with current financial data across the company, including profitability ratios, fixed assets, inventory margins, liabilities, and many more that can be added and customized individually. Using these metrics, business leaders can forecast revenue, expenses, and plan budgets across departments and company-wide. An example of the accounting module of the ERP with key performance indicators and trends necessary for making data-backed forecasts Automating Accounting Tasks The ERP automates all bookkeeping repetitive tasks, such as creating invoices, bills, entries for material costs, collecting data from other departments for calculating payrolls, order costs, or incomes. Now, your finance team can allocate dozens of hours saved monthly to more beneficial tasks, such as analyzing trends, reviewing transaction details, and investigating anomalies. The ERP can replace your standalone accounting software. Or, if you already use one (such as QuickBooks, Sage One, Xero, or others), the ERP can be integrated with it. As a result, all the financial activities will be managed through the ERP solely. An example of the accounting module of the ERP with outgoing and incoming cashflows details Procurement and Inventory Management The inventory is updated based on actual sales data, helping avoid both out-of-stock and excess inventory. The ERP alerts managers when it's time to place purchase orders and assists them throughout the procure-to-pay process. The software simplifies procurement management, saves time, and improves accuracy by automatically creating purchase orders, linking procurement transactions with vendor records, goods receipts, and billing documents. All procurement-related information, such as transactions, a list of approved suppliers, pre-negotiated contracts, is consolidated in the procurement dashboard. An example of the ERP dashboard with monthly inventory trend, orders to fullfill, purchase orders, and other essential data. Here you can also see reminders for purchasing managers Order Management The ERP helps handle the complete order lifecycle, from receipt to delivery. This module can automate and ensure accurate record keeping, covering order readiness status, order release, shipment confirmation, etc. Some ERPs, such as the woodworking ERP by Belitsoft, also support complex processes such as split shipments (when a large order can be shipped in several batches). All of this favors increasing on-time delivery rates and customer satisfaction. An example of a custom ERP dashboard where a split order shipment is applied Manufacturing The ERP grants you real-time visibility into every step of the production process, from production planning and scheduling to order fulfillment. There is a lot of potential for different technologies and features in manufacturing management. Here are the examples of what Belitsoft has implemented in custom ERPs: Quality monitoring by implementing IoT technology on production lines to allow the ERP to get data about the number of quality items and the number of defects. The ability to schedule employee hours, accept sick leave requests, see the projects that staff members are working on to correctly allocate human resources, and more. It streamlines the entire manufacturing process, reducing costs and increasing on-time delivery. An example of an ERP dashboard with employees' workload during the manufacturing process Make faster, data-backed decisions, impacting profitability and efficiency across your company by building a custom ERP as a single, shared database for all financial and operational data. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) According to the research from a consulting group, Microsoft’s partner, every $1 you spend on your CRM implementation returns as much as $8.71 in ROI on your sales revenue. So it's no wonder that over 91% of organizations with more than ten employees in their workforce use CRM. Marketing automation The CRM allows tracking and measuring all marketing campaigns, including emails, multichannel campaigns, events. It gives valuable data about a prospect's activity and helps identify when a lead meets certain buyer-readiness conditions. CRM analytics help marketers pass a lead to a sales team at the right moment. In addition, the CRM allows segmenting leads based on demographics, response patterns, purchase trends, and support histories to deliver personalized marketing campaigns. By aligning marketing with sales in real-time, you can continually fine-tune marketing campaigns, generate more leads, and maximize ROI. An example of a CRM dashboard illustrating the number of gained contacts, deals, the lead target, the list of leads, and other key data Sales and Customer Service Automation A study shows that sales teams spend only about a third of their day selling, while all the other time goes for tasks that could be automated, such writing emails (21%), entering data (17%), scheduling calls (12%). The CRM cuts out manual work from day-to-day sales tasks by managing quotes and invoices, automating follow-up messages, scheduling meetings, and much more. All of this speeds up the lead-to-cash process and boosts overall sales efficiency by shifting your sales managers' time from routine tasks to more beneficial ones, such as improving customer acquisition, upselling, and retaining existing customers. An example of a CRM dashboard with the customer history, including the latest messages, information about previous tickets and deals, contact data, and other helpful things Analytics and Forecasting The CRM can use real-time sales data to more accurately predict future sales and revenue, consequently. Thanks to advanced analytical tools, the CRM allows marketing, sales, and service teams to monitor their performance: Marketing reps can examine acquisition, engagement and conversion metrics for certain campaigns. Sales managers, for example, can access personal goals, such as sales achieved against the benchmark. Customer service teams can measure post-sales inquiries trends and overall client satisfaction. An example of forecasting sales opportunities based on actual sales data Through integrating CRM analytics into your business strategy, you can not only enhance your CRM capabilities and successfully implement them but also foster growth and attain your organizational goals. Make informed decisions on how to service customers efficiently, which customers to pursue for higher revenue, how sales teams are performing, and much more by building your proprietary CRM with a skilled development team.