ERP could be the answer to reduce operating costs

Reduce operating costs

The quest to reduce operating costs is never more pressing than in an era of volatility and financial uncertainty. The challenge for businesses today is to navigate the increasingly competitive waters by reducing organisational costs without comprising the quality of the product, service or customer experience.

Making the decision to deploy an end-to-end ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solution can drive a wealth of optimised efficiencies and cost-cutting benefits that may well make a critical difference between corporate agility and fragility, growth and business failure in a troubled market.

An ultra-unifying ERP platform, such as Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics 365 Business Central, will integrate, automate, optimise and manage every area of your operations. The impact of such an ERP deployment on your budget will go even further to effect transformational change you need.

Six ways to reduce operating costs

These are the six key areas where savings in operating costs can be achieved following an ERP deployment:

Productivity

Enhanced communication between your departments and instant access to your information from a single source prompts increased collaboration and more streamlined processes that you can track easily. Improved job satisfaction and increased productivity is a primary and very welcome by-product of ERP implementation.

Standardised processes

ERP will standardises your procedures, effect consistently automated workflows and harmonise your inter-departmental operations and their functions. Transparency is therefore increased, and any room for errors is minimised. You’ll see a consolidated view of your entire organisation so continuous improvements become reassuringly predictable and straightforward.

Intelligence

Having instant access to real-time operational data from all your departments supports more informed decision-making. An ERP’s unified reporting system coupled with actionable insights and business analytics is a game changer when it comes to analysis of intelligence and subsequent preparation for your evolution and growth.

Accuracy

When mistakes happen during a business procedure, a cost implication will usually follow. Thankfully when your processes are standardised and workflows automated, the risk of human error is mitigated. Other transactional problems can be identified quickly and are nipped in the bud before the issue escalates and further costs ensue.

Inventory and supply chain

ERP is designed to deliver a radically enhanced level of control and nowhere is this more evident than in supply chain and inventory management. Real-time intelligence will accurately predict when inventory levels should be replenished so you buy only what you need to and you’ll avoid lost sales and reduced shortages thanks to an automated calculation of stock levels, lead-time and reorder points. You can make substantial savings when you’re automatically prompted to pay vendors to exploit discounts or avoid penalties.

Customer retention

Delivering value to your customers at every touchpoint is vital for customer retention. Automated workload and service tasks will help your teams deliver an exceptional customer experience and a service that works hard to respond and resolve fast. In the meantime, you’ll sell smarter by keeping track of every interaction so you can prioritise sales leads based on revenue potential and the best upsell, cross-sell and renewal throughout the sales lifecycle.

It’s clear the business case for ERP and its impact on operating costs is a powerful one. If you’d like to find out more about how world-class ERP products such Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central can drive your cost savings, talk to the TVision team.