Nearly half of CFOs lack confidence in their current reporting tactics. Combined with today’s focus on managing a business through key metrics – finding “one source of truth” has become more and more important. One source of truth means one business system that provides the framework for all important business data.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is business management software that enables organizations to use one system to manage business processes. ERP is accounting and operations oriented and features one database as a master source of enterprise information.

ERP has tools for business users, and not just the IT team. Reporting tools in a modern ERP system are easier to use – end users can respond to complex data requests more easily and without the having to put in a request with the IT department.

You know how important inventory turns are to your supply chain. Inventory turnover reports provide insight on the “speed” of the product. Too much inventory can take up too much space and too little inventory can decrease sales, both resulting in loss of revenue. With money tied up in a warehouse, it is important to have timely and accurate information based on the movement of your inventory.

If handled properly, financial reporting can be key to improving your inventory turnover ratio. A good ERP system improves reporting on inventory management by providing:

• Increased certainty of demand, improved forecast accuracy, and increased visibility into financial ownership of inventory
• Improved customer service and on-time delivery, while reducing administrative expenses
• Flexibility to track inventory balances and create mixed orders

Reports pulled from a modern ERP system can be done so at any degree of detail – from leveraging output at the shop floor level to gaining a high level overview of the business’ performance. Using ERP, business leaders can use statistical data to make continuous improvements and tie dollars back to key performance metrics.

Cash is the best friend of every business. Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) affects how your company operates financially. As you know, the lower the DSO, the faster your company collects cash and the more flexibility you have to invest in your business. The key people on your team need access to accurate and timely data to lower the DSO. With the implementation of a modern ERP, multiple financial reporting solutions are provided including:

• Real-time intelligence with automated proactive alerts including notifications when a customer invoice is overdue, so customers can be contacted and cash can be collected quicker
• Custom reports that provide detailed understanding of where your dollars are going
• Faster turn collections based on better visibility into accounts and fewer billing/delivery errors
• Empowered end user ability to easily create report layouts that match their business process and requirements

How much confidence do you have in your company’s revenue reporting? Revenue recognition is critical when evaluating performance. A modern revenue report gives you real insight to help you understand your revenue sources. Without a reliable data source to organize and produce sales data, accurate revenue information can get lost in the clutter. A modern ERP system improves sales reporting by providing information on:

• Sales order history, purchase order history, and shipment order history
• Trends and predictive sales forecasting
• Order placement, order scheduling, and invoice activity

Users also have to ability to customize reports through the use of categorization – a way to truly define your business requirements. Custom categorizations can be done on various product offerings and reported upon in tandem with various types of orders offered. By creating custom categorizations, your business can better understand the different types of orders and how these orders makeup your revenue.

At the end of the day, your business is working towards one collective goal: to better serve your customers. Finding one source of truth for your business eliminates confusion, enhances the strategic direction of your company, improves overall company performance, AND increases customer satisfaction. Modern ERP provides better business information as well as the reporting tools you need to define the key performance indicators essential to your business performance and growth.

ERP software implementations are complex projects. To make a case for an ERP implementation you need to ensure the project is successful and that the system will reduce costs and increase revenue in the longterm. Learn more about:

The Real ROI of ERP

ERP Project Success Factors