In enterprises across the globe, the move toward greater adoption of mobile solutions has been nothing short of remarkable. These apps, deployed on tablets and smartphones whenever employees want and wherever they are in the world, have greatly impacted almost every business function there is, and enterprise resource planning is certainly no exception.
In this post, we’ll aim to go behind the hype to show you exactly how mobile ERP solutions can drive greater efficiency across the enterprise. With greater efficiency, organizations will get more of a return from their ERP investments, driving better results in a number of key business areas.
5 Ways Mobile ERP Drives Efficiency
1. Operations managers can find out about potential issues as soon as they arise
Imagine this: one of your key suppliers has a huge shipment of raw materials stuck in transit. These materials won’t arrive as scheduled, meaning that portions of your plant will end up idle and you’ll be unable to meet your business’ commitments.
Your ERP system exists to warn you about situations like these as they arise, but when your operations managers can only access the ERP platform through a fixed workstation, that means they may not find out about the situation until it’s too late.
With mobile ERP, you can be sure these managers will be informed immediately, no matter where they are. This will ensure that they have ample opportunity to assess the situation and implement a backup plan to keep things running smoothly.
2. Employees can stay engaged and satisfied
When employees have access to your ERP platform on their mobile devices, this means that they’ll be able to submit expense claims, track their time off, and stay connected to company documentation no matter where they are. This increases efficiency by ensuring that these kinds of low-value administrative tasks don’t eat into an employee’s dedicated work hours.
In addition, employees who have the option to use a mobile ERP platform are often more satisfied and productive in their job roles, as most employees have now grown accustomed to using powerful, convenient mobile apps in their lives outside work. Being able to do the same thing at work will feel natural for these employees, leading to rapid adoption and quick results.
3. Leaders can make important decisions quickly
We are living in a period known as the Information Age, and that term certainly has important connotations in the business world. The ability to capture the right information at the right time has given business leaders everywhere the ability to make informed decisions they can feel confident about. Those organizations that continue to rely on guesswork instead of hard data risk being left behind.
ERP systems can provide the kind of information that finance and operations managers need to make informed decisions about how to maximize value or cut down on waste. Adding mobility to the equation ensures that this information is always available whenever these business leaders need it, so that they never find themselves in a situation where they’re “flying blind.”
4. Salespeople can stay connected to the right information
Information also plays a critical role in the sales process. Consumers appreciate working with people who seem knowledgeable and confident, and giving salespeople access to customer and financial information at the tips of their fingers is one of the best ways to create that feeling.
With a mobile ERP app, salespeople can carry important information about the products they are selling and the customers they are selling to. This will make it easier for them to craft their sales pitch specifically for each individual customer, selling the value points that matter most to them. They’ll also be able to compute the financial impact of any potential deal, letting them identify high-value deals where they can focus their efforts.
5. Organizations can avoid time-consuming infrastructure investments
Perhaps the best thing about mobile devices for ERP applications is that they have the potential to provide so much value to the enterprise with minimal disruption from large-scale infrastructure implementations. In fact, organizations may even be able to deploy the application as part of a bring-your-own-device program, allowing employees to access the ERP platform on the personal devices they already know and love. In these cases, the uptake time for employees to start benefiting from the solution will essentially be nonexistent.
Final thoughts
Simply put, deploying ERP on mobile devices increases efficiency no matter how you look at it. By providing up-to-date information and resources to the people who need it no matter where they are, mobile ERP can drive value in a variety of business contexts.