What is Oracle ERP system?
An Oracle ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system is software that integrates the core day-to-day business operations such as accounting, human resources, order management, inventory, and customer relationships. It streams all these business processes and information, increases efficiency, and better coordination among various departments.
The central feature of an ERP system is a shared database with different functions used among all the departments in the same organization. It makes sharing of information faster and reduces the chances of errors as all the departments utilize the same information. A complete Oracle ERP Suite also includes an Oracle EPM Cloud (enterprise performance management) system. It helps with planning, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting an organization’s financial results.
Industries popular for using ERP
Over time, companies in various industries have realized the benefits of using ERP systems. It resolves working issues and brings a quick solution to the desk. These are the few industries that have benefited from ERP!
- Education: Accumulates all the scattered data in one place and reduces complexities.
- Advertising and media: It lines workflow and maintains client records and accounting.
- Food and beverages: The ERP cloud system is the leading technology for inventory management, order management, and managing finances in the food and beverage industry.
- Healthcare and life science: Helps in adapting to changing healthcare landscape, lowers costs, and improves visibility across locations.
- Transportation and logistics: With technological advancement comes the challenge of faster deliveries at low costs. Logistics and transportation companies use ERP systems to overcome this challenge in the ever-changing environment.
- Energy: Implementing an ERP system can fuel the energy business. It makes business agile, helps in responding quickly to market changes, and modernizes systems to accelerate growth.
Advantages of Oracle ERP system
- Integrates information among all departments: To achieve the maximum efficiency level, all the teams need to work together with the same information.
- Increased efficiency for business processes: Transparency among departments and accessible data support the fast decision-making process.
- Transparency and shared information among departments:
- Improved reporting and planning: The software comes with the reporting tools and the same information in all departments.
- Customer services: Access to real-time data means faster response to customers, faster orders, and delivery services.
- Better security: The ERP system eliminates the need to install multiple software for every task and allows data transfer across numerous servers, thus enhancing data security.
- Cost-effective: Going for an ERP system improves inventory planning, procurement, managing finances, and integrates data which leads to higher customer satisfaction, thus increase in profits. Implementing the oracle integrated cloud ERP system will further cut the cost compared to implementing an on-premises version.
Disadvantages of Oracle ERP system
- Customization process: Customization takes a lot of time, effort, and expertise. It also requires a fair amount of monetary investment.
- User participation: The successful implementation is complete when every employee adopts the system, which in turn requires a training learning session. Hence, making it a challenging and time-consuming process.
- Requires training to use: Utilizing the ERP system effectively, training and learning sessions are required, which consumes a lot of time. In addition, employees might not feel comfortable using the system because of its complexities.
- Change in staff: Change in staff is a normal trend in the corporate community. Hiring is an ongoing process. But the change in staff means changing trained employees. The training process has to be kept going every time someone new comes aboard, as training must be in line with the business processes.
- Resistance to sharing information can affect efficiency: In some organizations, there could be resistance to sharing internal information with other departments, which directly impacts the performance of the ERP system.
- Long-term results: Implementation, customization, and training process take a lot of time and money, but the impact of the implementation can be observed in the long term only.
How to decide if your business needs an ERP system?
Measure your company’s performance based on the following questions:
Q1. What is the accuracy level of your business data?
When all departments utilize the same set of data from one platform, the chances of errors are reduced. Hence, efficiency increases.
Q2. Is the collaboration among the departments of your organization strong?
Implementation of Oracle ERP Cloud integrates data from all departments, making it simpler to share and communicate data effectively. In addition, better coordination among teams increases efficiency and reduces time consumption.
Q3. Is there a need to cut costs?
ERP system solution improves overall working in an organization by increasing efficiency and reducing time consumption and errors. In addition, it eliminated manual data entering in some departments that required daily updates. Hence, it proves itself a cost-effective solution.
Q4. Are your customers satisfied?
Disability to gather required information in time increases the time taken to solve a customer query. As a result, it might disrupt supply, which affects customer satisfaction. An Oracle Integration Cloud ERP system bridges the gap, which leads to higher customer satisfaction.
Product Modules to select from
If you decide to get Oracle ERP Cloud for your organization, these are the modules you can select from according to your business needs.
- Financials module: In this module, you get solutions to four types of financial problems. It enables you to view and analyze account balances in real-time, manage payments, bank accounts, and fixed assets, manage receivables such as customer invoices, payments, account balance, and data, and increase effectiveness by pushing work towards collectors.
- Procurement module: It simplifies sourcing and negotiations, makes contracting easier by standardizing business policies, highlighting contract risks, streamlines processes by shifting focus on strategic activities that help employees to serve customers faster and better, and looks into supplier management by managing qualifications, improving information accuracy and enabling supplier collaborations.
- Project management module: From collaborating and planning a project to its execution, the Oracle ERP cloud Project management module assists the employees in everything. Be it procuring resources, budgeting, or billing.
- Inventory module: Helps in end-to-end inventory management. Material flow to and from warehouses is cost-cutting and provides a multidimensional analysis of product costs and margins.
- Order management: Automates the ordering process and gives end-to-end visibility in inventory, shipment, supplies, invoices, etc. It also automates and fastens the problem resolving process and keeps the customers fulfilled.
Conclusion
Implementation of the Oracle ERP Cloud system indeed is a great solution. It has proven its efficiency over time and in multiple industries. Having said that, it is also essential to analyze your business requirements thoroughly before implementing the software. What is suitable for other companies in the same industry might not suit your business as its effectiveness depends on many factors and business processes. The successful implementation of the ERP system mainly depends on teamwork. Other than this oracle software, Oracle IAM and Cloud HCM could also prove to be exceptional choices for your business. Make a wise decision and choose what is best for your organization’s growth. The above-stated points will give you an idea about how to proceed. To get detailed information and advice on implementing the ERP system, book a consultation call with us today.
