Use ERP systems efficiently - Part 1

Although the United States is no longer world champion, it still ranks third behind the US and China. The export of goods remains one of the most important business activities of American companies. At the same time, many SMEs are expanding abroad in order to open up markets on the ground.


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Last year, for example, last year's state guarantees totaling 5.2 billion euros for American direct investments abroad, as reported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi). Every fifth new guarantee was given to small and medium-sized enterprises.


But different legislation and accounting rules, languages ​​and banking systems make it difficult to organize smoothly in everyday life. This applies in particular to companies that open branches outside Europe. But even within the EU, not all rules are harmonized. At the same time, the demands of financial and other authorities are increasing worldwide. This applies to reporting as well as compliance with the applicable laws and regulations in the respective countries.


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Many companies still work without or with outdated ERP software. Much is even done manually: with Excel tables or similar tools. This, of course, makes it more difficult to comply with guidelines, as well as efficient, consistent reporting.


The opening of international branches is always a challenge for a company and needs to be well thought out. This applies not only to personnel and strategic questions, but also to IT. Many companies tend to provide the local branches with local products to meet the requirements quickly and cost-effectively.


However, this results in high complexity in the medium term, due to different applications, formats and interfaces. Therefore, internationally operating companies should use a simple, standardized and usable ERP solution for all countries. Such a uniform system helps optimize sales processes across national borders, exchange information faster, manage inventories more efficiently, and improve processes across the enterprise.


However, an international ERP rollout can not be compared with a national ERP implementation because it is much more complex and has to be taken into account. With a good preparation and the right ERP software, however, a cross-country installation can also go without great difficulties.


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Companies should first determine which tasks the ERP software has to deal with, especially in financial accounting, customer management, merchandise management, logistics and manufacturing. Unlike a national system, an international has to deal with different languages, currencies, banking systems and legislation. This is obvious at first sight, but not every software does this by default. Therefore, it is an important criterion for choosing the ERP solution.


Adapting an existing application to such local circumstances can quickly drive up the cost of implementing the ERP solution. A standardized ERP system, on the other hand, contains everything a company needs to achieve uniform, efficient workflows and reduce costs, from purchasing through financial accounting to the CRM system. For small and medium-sized businesses, an easy-to-install, extensible and scalable solution is a one-stop solution.


However, not only do the costs keep up with such a standardized solution, but business processes can also be standardized, for example the reporting of sales numbers or inventories from all sites to the headquarters.