Digital transformation is critical for maintaining competitiveness and scaling your organization. At Digital Fusion Consulting, we have compiled 8 main types of software (also referred to as ERP or Enterprise Resource Management) solutions to consider, depending on the type of business you are in.
DOCUMENT WORKFLOWS For businesses in the financial services or any other segment that has a large volume of document workflow, an ERP system that specializes in workflows can save massive amounts of time on redundant tasks. There are ERP systems out there that have a document management system as a part of the workflow.
FIELD SERVICES are notoriously paper-based businesses ripe for digital transformation. If you have crews that are doing work or capturing data in the field, such as repair technicians, HVAC, trades, etc., you need to find a system that can do functions like scheduling, quotes, invoicing, payment processing, and logging parts well. Work to hone in on the systems that can streamline the management of field services and optimize things like cost tracking and time reporting.
ASSET MANAGEMENT Is your organization capital or asset intensive? If so, asset management capabilities will be of critical importance to gauge and monitor the most important attributes of your business. Not all Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have asset management functionality, and the ones that do vary in their level of functionality. Some things to consider include how you manage depreciation of assets, how you identify which assets need to be replaced or repaired, and the financial implications of these assets.
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE (BI) Having a robust business intelligence tool with predictive analytics and other sorts of data analysis tools can be the real differentiating factor in increasing your net profit margins. The better the BI capabilities, the more opportunities there will be to optimise and better monetize complex operations.
MANUFACTURING EXECUTION If you’re a manufacturer, you want to take a close look at the level of shop floor automation and manufacturing execution software available within the software you’re considering. In order to have a grasp on what is happening on the shop floor and be able to optimize workflows from station to station throughout the manufacturing process, you have to evaluate software on a more granular level when it comes specifically to manufacturing execution functionalities.
HIGH-VOLUME DISTRIBUTION If you are in need of warehouse management, then efficiency of cross-docking to get goods in and out of the warehouse as efficiently as possible will save time and increase profitability of your organization. For high volumes of consumer products or lower-cost items that you are selling at bulk, you need to consider the capabilities that are specific to high-volume distributors. Warehouse management softwares are a must for organizations looking to scale across locations.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT & CONSULTING If you’re an organization that specializes in large scale contracts, then a project management solution would be able to effectively manage things like project plans, costing, and resource allocations. For example construction companies building new developments fall into this category. A robust project management software can streamline operations and keep your contracts on track for completion in a timely manner.
PROJECT & REPAIR If your organization has extensive Maintenance Repair Operation (MRO) functions, then it’s important to understand the potential for AI and machine learning to help identify assets that will need to be repaired before they break. This enables a more proactive approach rather than reactive, so you’ll be able to focus more on revenue generating activities.
At Digital Fusion Consulting, we provide business leaders with a short-list of softwares that enable their digital transformation and a strategy for implementation.
