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Businesses nowadays should aware of the benefits of cloud based ERP for mass production and they should be able to implement the right systems into their business process.
Technology has redefined the scales to which mass production can be optimized through advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics.
This has allowed us to witness the digital transformation at lightning speeds. One of the ways in which we are accelerating towards Industry 4.0 is by the increased use of cloud based services and software which rely on cloud networking infrastructure.
An Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is used as a centralized database for storing, analysing and managing all the data that flows through the business. This helps to create strong interdepartmental links and encourage collaboration among vendors and distributors.
Traditionally, ERP systems were mainly on-site frameworks that took a long time to deploy and came with significant costs.
Now, with cloud based ERP systems, the benefits can be reaped much faster and additional benefits apply. For production lines that focus on mass production, this can be very helpful as the saving of time equals to a direct increase in profit margins.
The Benefits of Cloud Based ERP for Mass Production
The benefits of using cloud based ERP systems are manifold. Here are some of the benefits listed below:
- Smoother and faster deployment: As previously mentioned, the rollout of on-premise ERP systems take a lot of time as coordination among various departments becomes difficult to oversee. The complex planning involved in setting up all the required servers means it takes about a year to set up the system. With ERP systems, information is simply uploaded on the cloud, which means it takes less than three months to deploy the platform. This reduces production stoppages and innovation halts as this requires less IT frameworks to be involved.
- Simpler collaboration: Cooperation among departments is a key feature of ERP systems. Clearer communication through project management tools, increased situational awareness due to advanced financial reporting and streamlined allocation of resources in different departments using resource management tools are just some of the significant changes brought by a cloud based ERP. Real-time data can be accessed at any time, anywhere and you can control who gets access to which parts. In this way, third parties such as consultants and vendors get crucial information that would have been harder to obtain by other means. In short, this makes the firm much more responsive to urgent issues and solutions are found and implemented much faster.
- Increased security: Industrialists are aware of cybersecurity issues and choose to stick with a traditional on-site ERP due to the risk of corporate espionage by hacking and other means. However, this view is increasingly changing as encrypted communication, monitoring suspicious behavior and strong password practices are used to protect classified information. Hence, end-to-end protection is ensured by all means, and the modern practice of using two-factor authentication is becoming increasingly popular. Additionally, further failsafes and backup systems are built by the help of cloud security experts. Lastly, natural calamities and power outages cannot damage the data as it is already synchronized and stored away in the cloud, so there is no risk of loss of integrity of the data.
- Faster updates: Updating software to fix recurring bugs and getting the latest tools is very important in keeping up with the pace of the industry. With cloud-based ERP, software updates are automated and, if required, can be scheduled to initiate at times when the software is not being used, such as on weekends. Upgrading on-site ERP systems is a labor intensive process, requiring a significant portion of IT resources and can even disrupt production, which causes losses in revenue. Sometimes updates occur at different times for different departments, so the update is inconsistent and some users may have to wait longer for the latest version to be installed in their computers. This arduous process can be avoided with cloud-based ERP as security patches and new modules are introduced smoothly for all users across the entire firm, causing minimal interruption for any employee or vendor.
- Mobile user interface (UI): The accumulation of all the data under one banner allows the relationship between the enterprise and the consumer to be able to be inspected much more closely. This becomes much more important for apps as more and more people conduct business on smartphones and other gadgets. Thus, the efficiency increases significantly as there are less barriers to access the data from any geographical proximity, and also increases productivity as employees can handle clients and other affairs while they are on their way to work, for instance. This integration of mobile tools provides real-time updates from factories, allowing major decisions to be made in manufacturing and in sales.
- Accurate financing and speculation: Billing and cash flow becomes much smoother with less errors in invoices and other transactions. With automated systems, accountants and financial consultants may become redundant as all the analysis is carried out by the software itself. Forecasting is much more accurate too, as the visibility across the entire firm is much wider. Subsequently, better scheduling is offered, with better lead times and better offers are made by suppliers to purchasers. Thus, this makes it easier to predict the future of the company in each quarter of the fiscal year, and with analysis of the markets and other competitors, the firm has a clearer vision of the strategy to take in order to compete without incurring losses.
In conclusion, we can see that the exclusive features of centralized data and automated reporting systems in cloud based ERP that make adoption and integration of interfaces easier, and increases the overall productivity of the workforce by simplifying the complex procedures and reducing some of the pressure on them.
There are many cloud based ERP systems available in the market. Among all that we have seen, we believe Odoo is the premium choice. Odoo is a user-friendly software built under the same UI which uses one app to do all the jobs in one: streamlining operations, managing invoicing and boosting sales.
It has many different apps including one for ERP, which includes the ability to customize and design a template for your software depending on what you are selling in the market.
Syncoria, a digital transformation company based in Canada, is an official Odoo Ready partner. To contact Odoo, call at +1 (416) 628-5522, or email them at [email protected].
