What is ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning?

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It's a software system that helps you run and improve your business by applying automation and providing insight into finances, staffing levels and more. In this article, we take a closer look at what ERP means and explain the advantages, disadvantages and how the system works. How do you apply ERP within your organization?

What is Enterprise Resource Planning?

What is ERP? Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system that automates insights into administration, logistics, finance, marketing and staff scheduling. The goal is to improve the organization's productivity, manage (lower) costs and increase customer focus.

To reach these goals, you use ERP software. It coordinates the data flows. A good ERP system makes sure all important information is collected, so you can make good decisions based on it that help your business grow in the future. For example, you get more insight into the expected staffing level in certain periods, the stock you need and the expected investments.

How does an ERP system work?

Once the software is set up correctly, the ERP system processes all information about the business processes of the different departments. Data about production, purchasing and sales, administration and logistics is linked together.

Exactly how that works in the background is quite complicated. The smart software is set up the right way and is connected to your current systems by a specialized company, so everything works together as well as possible.

The advantages of ERP

• Centralized information: All information ends up in one place. The biggest advantage is that you can easily draw conclusions for optimizing your operations. You have real-time insight into data.

• Less manual work: Thanks to automation, you don't have to make the logical connections yourself. This saves you a lot of time. You can make decisions at different levels faster, since the information you need is available right away.

• Efficient operations, with less chance of wrong conclusions: An ERP system pulls information from different systems, which rules out human error. This makes it easier to take your business to the next level.

The disadvantages of ERP

• Implementation takes time and money: The ERP system has to be fully set up once. So you invest both time and money in it.

• Users may need to get used to it: Changes within organizations can always lead to resistance. The new way of working may take some getting used to, but it will certainly pay off in the long run!

The Dyflexis Enterprise Resource Planning system

One of the most important factors for success in large organizations is good staff scheduling. Too few hands means you can't meet your customers' wishes. At the same time, too many hands leads to a large, unnecessary expense.

At Dyflexis, we developed our own Workforce Management system that spots trends. It lets you set up your staff scheduling in the best possible way. We can then also connect this system to ERP software.

What are the benefits for you? For example, already during the scheduling process you get insight into the expected daily orders, revenue (forecast), stock and other business information to calculate the ideal staffing level. And that saves you a lot of money. Useful, because it directly has a positive effect on your business results!

Want to know more about our Workforce Management system, the connection with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and how we implement this smartly in your organization? Then contact us.