Finding an Adaptable ERP for Our New Normal

The current moment has redefined any previous notion of what constituted a normal business environment. With people working from home, a large number of companies operating on a reduced schedule—or not at all—and customers staying home, it’s an extremely challenging time to be running a business. Companies with people and policies that can adapt will fare better than those that are overly rigid.

The adaptability of business software can also make a big difference in how well companies can handle the unprecedented and rapid shifts needed to stay on the job today. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions in particular need to be adaptable to ensure continuity of operations in challenging conditions. Today’s circumstances are extreme, of course, and will hopefully not last too long, but they provide a great point of reference for the adaptability of ERP software. 

What is Adaptable ERP?

Adaptable ERP embodies several distinct qualities that make it suitable for unpredictable business conditions. It is cloud-based and cloud-native. This architecture enables fast changes to configuration, application integration and scale.

For example, as today’s situation demonstrates, a company might quickly have to shift from dealing with customers in-person to handling all transactions online. Overnight, the company may thus need to bolster the scale and scope of its ecommerce operations while connecting additional home-based customer service representatives to the system. At the same time, vendors who are in a comparable state might also be modifying how they engage with their customers.

An adaptable ERP solution should offer an unlimited response to such fast-paced changes.  It’s versatile and easy to customize. Cloud native design makes for seamless, easy-to-change integration with any of its modules as well as with external systems, e.g. a vendor’s order management interface. It’s also mobile-friendly, which is essential for remote work.

Appreciating the Unlimited Benefits of Adaptable ERP

Modern, cloud-hosted ERP solutions are essentially unlimited in the ways they can adapt to unexpected requirements. Such unlimited qualities include:

• Applications—Unlike legacy ERP systems, which tend to be difficult to integrate with applications, cloud-based ERP uses standards-based APIs to make app-to-app connections quick and relatively simple to execute.

• Users—Cloud ERPs like Acumatica allow for unlimited users, rather than the traditional per-seat approach to licensing. As current events illustrate, a business might suddenly need more people working on the system, across different modules, than it expected. A modern ERP solution permits this without costly license upgrades.

• Mobility—Employees can work pretty much anywhere, any time on any device. Today, this is essential for functioning as a going concern.

• Information—Workflow engines in modern, adaptable ERP solutions can route information where it’s needed. For example, in a purchase order approval process, the ERP can send the approval request to the correct person, wherever he or she might be. If the workflow changes, such as what might happen if departments have to change shape in a lock-down, the modern ERP can quickly adapt to this change in circumstances.

• Dashboards and data analytics—A rapid, substantive change in operations, like the one most American companies are experiencing, creates a parallel need for detailed data reporting. Managers need to know how the new arrangements are working and what needs to be done better in order to keep customers satisfied in a trying time. Modern, adaptable ERP solutions offer unlimited, fast dashboard customization.

If you want to learn more about modern, adaptable ERP solutions and what they can do for your business, contact us for a free consultation and product demo.