Those who don’t think about the future of their business likely won’t be around to see it. The growth phase of any business is a critical one—it’s not just about increasing revenue and company reach. It’s also about being able to simultaneously adapt day-to-day business practices with growth. The question to ask yourself is this one: “Is my ERP or CRM equipped to handle the coming changes as we grow and expand?”
What follows is a brief list of traits that a scalable ERP will have and should aid you in answering that question.
Customer Account Management
This is a simple concept. As your business grows so does your customer base. Your existing cloud CRM system must be able to handle this increase in accounts and customer information. And not only store the contacts but update across applications for all to see. What works in a smaller business may not have the capacity for a larger one. If your software has a limit on data entries, has trouble with several end users accessing it at once, starts to slow down or error under heavy workloads, doesn’t update in real-time or doesn’t correlate across applications, we hate to tell you, but you will have a hard time keeping up with growth.
Information Flexibility & Attainability
Dynamic and real-time reporting capabilities are crucial for growth. By using an outdated business management solution, you are preventing yourself from having access to the business intelligence you need to make smarter and more informed decisions. The CFO will have a hard time forecasting the company’s financial status and sales won’t be able to communicate closed deals if the ERP can’t keep up. Look for an ERP with highly customizable reports that seamlessly updates records across the entire organization. This means no matter what information is needed, or how it is in need, the software can produce real-time reports.
Mobile Platforms
Does your cloud ERP software work on smartphones and tablets or from various locations? If the answer is no, your employees will be held back from today’s highly mobile workforce. While the media’s predicted death of the desktop computer may be a bit premature, the increased usage of mobile devices is not. As your company grows, so does the technological variety you’re going to see in your office. Your ERP has to work on any device to be scalable. This allows for a great deal of flexibility and mobility for your employees.
Multiple Languages
It may not seem like much, but having software that only works in one language can be a breaking point for if and when your company starts to expand into international markets. The business world is getting smaller and more globalized so your ERP platform needs the ability to process many different kinds of currencies, tax rates, and work in different languages.
Did You Know? NetSuite supports 20 languages and 190+ currencies.
As you can see the true measure of a scalable, cloud-based ERP system is its adaptability. The need for an ERP that will adapt to growth, provide customized information, integrate with proprietary business applications, and work in different countries are essential.
