Can an ERP system support all levels of management?

8/1/2019

An Overview of ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system that we have spoken about vastly over the last few months because we believe in the benefits of ERP software and what it can offer.

Directly speaking, an ERP system turns the chaos of everyday tasks and workflow into a systematic flow that brings about greater productivity and the ability for staff and teams within a business to work cohesively on a daily basis. The ERP system can be used across a multitude of industries and works in accordance with the needs of each individual industry, with the ultimate goal being a more streamlined, efficient approach to business.

It’s essential to understand the history of ERP and its functionality within various businesses and to grasp how an ERP system can make life easier for any functioning organisation.

To do this, we will need to look at how an ERP system can support all levels of management within a business, which includes:

• Top-level management
• Middle-level management
• Lower-level management

Top-Level Management

Top-level management is the board of directors, the CEO and the company executives, who have the final say in how an organisation runs. They make vital decisions daily, ensuring the company operates effectively and efficiently across all departments.

How Can an ERP system Assist Top-level Management?

An ERP system within an organisation makes it possible for key stakeholders and decision-makers to access information centrally, in real-time, without waiting for feedback from different departments. Their time is generally limited, so the ability to dive directly into company data, daily operational activity and company productivity, is a huge benefit for the successful running of an organisation. An ERP system is beneficial to top-level management in various ways, including:

• Preparing company policies with ease.
• Issuing instructions and guidelines to all departments.
• Analysing company productivity, profitability, and losses, through access to daily reports and feedback from the mid-level management. 

Middle-Level Management

Mid-level management generally consists of the financial department, who are responsible for reporting directly to top management. They make critical financial decisions within a business which can ultimately affect the company’s bottom line. Top-level management is reliant on the information that the finance department serves them to make executive decisions about the business. Mid-level management is responsible for evaluating the performance and productivity of each department in the business. Likewise, their aim is to ensure that company resources are used as effectively as possible to achieve the overall business goals.

How Can an ERP system Assist Middle-level Management?

An ERP system empowers mid-level management to run their daily tasks efficiently by providing information readily and often summarised effectively for them to make decisions. It allows them to monitor the performance of staff, access budgets, accounts, and company spend whenever necessary. An ERP system allows mid-level management, among other things, to:

• Plan budgets for the year.
• Assign tasks to different departments. 
• Create reports effortlessly with a summary of essential information. 
• Coordinate with other departments. 
• Collect reports and financial input from other departments to send to top-level management. 
• Evaluate the performance of staff across all departments.

Lower-Level Management

Lower-level management includes all supervisors, department heads, account managers, and anyone in charge of managing a team within a business. Their role is to direct and control their team and report back to higher management on the daily runnings of their department.

How Can an ERP system Assist Lower-level Management?

An ERP system can assist lower-level management daily by assisting with:

• Planning the weekly and monthly tasks of their department.
• Organise each person’s involvement and activities for the day/week/month.
• Assign work to the relevant person or team.
• Supervise the performance of their team and each employee. 
• Report back to mid-level management efficiently within the central system.

All levels of management can work systematically together when an ERP system is in place, allowing information to flow seamlessly between them. An ERP system allows for a greater level of transparency within a business, where the different levels of management can work together without relying solely on another department for information. The ERP system brings management together, that would generally be divided and eliminates the possibility of confusion and miscommunication between the varying roles.

Learn more about implementing an ERP system for your company and what this entails.

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