Enterprise resource planning (or ERP) holds a lot of promise in today’s data-centric, digitally connected business world. ERP automation can be used by business leaders and planners to improve their business processes and efficiencies.
Not all ERP systems architectures are created equal. ERP automation solutions that automate certain tasks and workloads can be made available to data governance rules. This will eliminate a lot of manual labor.
These five types of automation can help businesses save time and effort after they are implemented. When you think about the benefits of automating ERP functionality, keep in mind all of these benefits.
The ERP System: Workloads
ERP solutions can automate many types of work.
Visualizing workflows and approval processes is a great way to get started. This may require the use of flowcharts or other tools. Auditors can examine how business processes flow through different steps and combine them effectively. With an eye to common outcomes and workload contingencies, the business can implement ERP system automation and reap the benefits of automating.
Regular auditing is also helpful in this type of process. A more thorough evaluation of the workload will reveal where automation can make the biggest difference and how it can be integrated into existing processes.
Also, it is important to keep in mind that not all workloads are created equal in business processes or automation solutions. It is important to identify which workloads are the most sensitive and which can be automated.
Like the discipline of data, security workloads can be assessed individually as candidates for ERP system automation based on variables such as their location in the architecture, and how they interact with the cloud or other systems for automation solutions.
Experts refer to a system as being near to the desired state, and this analysis of ERP functionalities may be useful for workload automation.
ERP systems can be linked to tools that allow for more precise automation of individual tasks.
This type of work can be related to automating the storage structure for workload data. There’s data management in transit and data management in storage. Looking at a whole network-compute-store model and a full stack, those responsible for workload efficiency can apply ERP in the right ways.
ERP Functionalities: Financial Forecasting & Planning
ERP system automation is also a great tool for financial forecasting and budgeting.
Most businesses don’t have the ability to predict their costs. Predictive budget planning is difficult.
This is why budget planning software allows you to store approvals. Automating ERP system automation can allow you to automatically enter estimates into your budget workbooks. These types of estimation can be used by planners:
- Percentage estimates
- Statistic averages
- Ballpark figures
Predictive forecasting can be made easier by having an approval task that is tied to a certain amount of money. These ERP functionalities are often customized to suit the needs of each individual. This ensures that only the appropriate stakeholders have access to the financial information they need to forecast and budget and allows them to take advantage of the advantages of automating.
Tracking expenses
This is another labor-intensive task for many businesses.
One person must be responsible to track all employee and staff expenses and approve or deny expense reports for items such as meals, travel, and other irregular expenses.
This is partly because of human nature. People trying to expense different things to their employer and the reviewing HR department trying to limit expense approval. For example, denying the purchase of expensive hats and antique cars as business expenses is one example.
Here’s where ERP automation shines. Automating has the advantage of reducing the human review staff’s workload. Instead of having to manually review expenses one by one, you can establish rules for data governance. Automating solutions are a great option.
ERP tools can automatically decline any expense that exceeds a threshold and then port the expense data to a visual accounting module. Human evaluators will be able to see and comprehend the expense data more easily. Modern ERP systems that increase transparency for businesses are built on the principle of “digestibility”. You can see things clearly and use them more effectively when you do. Software developers think about this when they create products.
Access is another component of financial tracking. Reviewers can approve/deny expenses from their mobile devices. Many HR departments find this “anywhere review” based on responsive design a huge plus. This capability is revolutionizing business, from BYOD (bring your personal device) to the promise a mobile dashboard.
This allows for expense tracking and approval to be handled in a specific way. ERP automation allows for more review and approval to be done in real-time, using real-time data.
Staff may become bogged down in the review of old expense data. While employees are generating new expenses, they may be reviewing expenses from past work cycles. This can lead to inefficiency or burnout.
The ability to access expense data in real-time allows for easy and effective resolution of expense tracking issues.
Benefits of automating payments
There’s also another way ERP automation and ERP functionalities can help businesses: in their accounts payable department.
Other than employee expenses, all the other payments such as vendor or supplier payments need to be made quickly and efficiently.
Contractor processing is one of the key features of this type of automation solution. Companies that issue tax documents might deal with many vendors, contractors, suppliers, and other outside parties. Documents may be required by anyone selling goods or services to non-employees. Executives are familiar with the tedious process of trying to complete everything by tax time. This can lead to significant delays and other logistical problems.
Again, visualization and imaging of payments make them easier to calculate and solve.
Additionally, ERP solutions often involve changing siloing or de-siloing of data. This allows for business financial data to be moved to the best place and can play the most important role in automation.
Another way to look at it is that payments should be made quickly so that inbox and outbox are clear. Payment bottlenecks can make it more difficult for businesses to run smoothly and avoid financial problems.
Data Visualization and Reporting
ERP automation automates a lot of the work that businesses need to streamline their processes and be more agile, from payroll to product development to accounts payable to invoicing. Experts refer to data as business intelligence. Having that visual information in visual form can make a big difference for a department or company.
Leaders can chart a better course for their business by having a more detailed, or “birds-eye” view of financial data. Combining forecasting, estimates, CAPEX, OPEX, and CAPEX will make everything more clear, allowing for proactive administration and efficiency-seeking.
Conclusion
Companies can reap the benefits of ERP automation by automating repetitive tasks. This innovation can be used to move to paperless systems and reduce fraud and data breaches. It streamlines the approval process. It can also help with the buy-in of various types of expenses and payments, as we have already mentioned. It can also assist with compliance.
Automation solutions can make your business more efficient. Ask an ERP Software company to demo ERP software and help you get the most out of ERP. This type of upgrade allows businesses to achieve more every day.