05 Apr 2021
In today’s competitive business landscape, Enterprises Resource Planning (ERP system) has become a buzzword to any business. Enterprises are increasingly adopting this cutting-edge software not only to cut costs by automating manual tasks but also to provide employees a unified centralized database. Since a huge number of companies rely heavily on ERP systems to gain business benefits, it is of importance to catch up with the latest changes in this software industry. In this article, we would like to give you an update on top ERP trends in 2021 for enterprises.
1. Cloud Adoption
In the past, the majority of enterprises chose on-premise ERP software over the cloud-based one, but this preference is shifting rapidly. Many companies are embracing the cloud ERP solution to take advantage of lower cost, shorter implementation, faster response time, less need for internal IT team and the ability to escalate with the business growth. On top of that, cloud-based ERP application stores all data from different departments within a company in an online central platform allowing employees to get access to business documents anywhere anytime with an Internet connection. As such, they don’t need to be in the office but still can get their work perfectly done.
According to Statista, the cloud-based ERP market worldwide is predicted to reach $40.5 billion in the next 4 years by 2025. Hence, it is not an overstatement saying that cloud adoption is one of the most vital factors in ERP trends, especially amid this uncertain time of the Covid-19 pandemic.
2. Internet of Things (IoT) Integration
IoT refers to the Internet of Things – a network of physical Internet-connected devices and digital machines. By using embedded wireless sensors, these self-report objects are able to collect and exchange online data in real-time with each other without any human intervention. Hence, integrating ERP systems with IoT technology will help cut down significantly the amount of tedious manual tasks required.
Let take an example that you are a manufacturing company. Having the IoT integrated in the ERP software means the data of business processes from tracking & monitoring, re-ordering to replenishment will be immediately keyed into the system once generated. Data collected via these sensors help the company build up a solid database for the purpose of closely monitoring the machines’ performances, the stock or material inventory to then fuel the production runs when needed.
3. AI-Powered Insights
Besides IoT integration, AI-driven ERP software is also expected to become a major trend in the upcoming time. AI stands for Artificial Intelligence – is a technology utilizing gathered raw data to analyze business insights and identify common patterns to predict business trends.
For example, the embedded AI technology scans the customer purchases’ history from the ERP system database and memorize all of their old behaviors. Thanks to this companies can save several weeks working with manual number-crunching while still have an accurate comprehensive report. Once the analysis is finished, valuable insights will be brought out allowing top managers to understand more about customers’ expectancy. They will be able to pre-prepare added value for their client’s future needs and establish their next plan based on business trend prediction.
4. Better Visualisation
It is no doubt that our mind absorbs and remembers visual information much easier and faster than long text and numbers. For this reason, software creators continuously commit to developing and providing users a more visualised system.
Gone by the days, ERP systems is full of complex field structures, long text and complicated figures. Modern systems nowadays have been changed and equipped with more clear and user-friendly menus which contain data dashboards, basic icons, graphs and overviews. The software, hence, becomes easy to adapt and users can find information more quickly which helps enhance the efficiency of decision-making when in need.
5. Mobile Application
Historically, mobility is considered as a stand-out feature for any software owning it. In today’s business landscape, it is standard. Many ERP software developers have been started working on their mobile applications to provide users the best experience.
Mobile ERP apps designed with the aim of helping users get the works done anytime especially when they’re not in front of a computer. Using mobile devices like tablets or smartphones, employees can complete many tasks from call logging, time tracking to checking reports. They can also view the approval status for critical requests from their phones. Having this kind of always-on remote access will help companies improve productivity as employees can capture business data faster and more accurately.
These are the 5 top ERP trends businesses should watch for in 2021. As modern ERPs are constantly evolving, companies should continuously catch up with the latest changes if they are about to embrace this software. Recently, to help reduce the net cash impacts on enterprises while adopting the ERP system, the Singapore government has extended the Product Solutions Grant (PSG) which offers a funding of up to 80% of the qualifying cost. Companies can also look into another grant is Enterprise Development Grant for more financial aid. Should you be interested in the ERP system, feel free to contact us for a free consultation!
