Aug 16 :2022

What is ERP? Why Retailers Need Enterprise Resource Planning Software?

Pinesucceed Technology Pvt. Ltd.

What is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System?

A form of software known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) is used by enterprises to manage routine business operations like accounting, purchasing, project planning, risk management and compliance, and supply chain administration. Enterprise performance management software, which aids in planning, budgeting, forecasting, and reporting a company's budgetary results, is also a component of a full ERP package.

As far as the implementation of ERP is concerned, finance requires an ERP to quickly close the books. ERP is required by sales to manage all client orders. To provide the proper goods and services to consumers on time, logistics depend on efficiently operating ERP software. ERP is required by accounts payable to accurately and promptly pay vendors. To make informed judgments, management needs immediate access to the company's performance. Additionally, banks and shareholders depend on precise data and analysis made possible by the ERP system since they need correct financial records.

Which types of retailers tend to buy ERP software?

Many different types of businesses use ERP software. Although almost all industries can profit from implementing ERP systems, some do so more so than others. With the help of a capable and custom-made ERP system all kinds of retailers can add value to their business.

Retailers belonging to the industrial sectors like the following are expected to be immensely benefited from using an ERP system:

Benefits of ERP Software in the Retail Industry

Online stores continue to compete with traditional merchants today, which results in low margins. They have to manage constantly shifting stock, pay several employees' salaries, keep track of discounts and loyalty points used on a variety of products, and so forth.

Today, it can be challenging to run a retail business, particularly one with many outlets. To stay competitive or outperform their rivals, business owners must now innovate, enhance how they conduct their operations, and streamline their procedures.

However, using traditional techniques like charts and manual data entry is not really feasible. Thus, the requirement for retail ERP.

A carefully built ERP can benefit a retail business in countless ways:

  • Enhancing Productivity:

    A custom-built ERP with all the necessary features empowers retail business owners to automate various mundane tasks and hence shift their attention to more important tasks. This results in enhanced productivity.

  • Less Human Error:

    Whenever humans try to complete various tasks and operations there is always a possibility of human error. This does not happen when an ERP system is taking care of such daily operations. With fewer errors, operations get fulfilled efficiently.

  • Revenue Enhancement:

    The goal of any business is to increase revenues and decrease costs. After integrating a feature-rich ERP system all the retail businesses experience an increase in the overall income because of abilities like market trend forecasting, etc.

  • Better Resource Control:

    Retail business owners invest in a quality ERP system to enhance their control of various aspects and the resources of their business. With better control, you can easily understand the loopholes previously hidden within the system.

  • Better Customer Service:

    An ERP system enables business owners to respond to market trends as quickly as possible. You can also control the delivery timings easily. This provides an overall better experience to the customers. A happy customer means healthy business and hence better revenue opportunities.

  • Enhanced Security:

    A business with a capable integrated Enterprise Resource Planning System is far more secure than the businesses sustained on traditional resources. The sensitive data is stored within encrypted databases which improve the safety of the customers.

  • Better Collaboration:

    Any retail business with a decent market share has several teams. The efficiency of the overall business depends on how swift the communication and the collaboration are between different teams. ERP is known for providing a better communication medium thereby increasing the efficiency of collaboration.

  • Cloud Compatibility:

    A decent Enterprise Resource Planning System has integrated cloud compatibility. This enhances the overall accessibility of the resources and also provides other cloud-related benefits like better response times and database management.

Components of Retail ERP Software

Every Retail ERP Software must have some of the most essential components to enhance the user experience of the retail business owner. These components are carefully designed to tackle a specific challenge. Let's look at some of the most essential ones.

  • Customer Management:

    A dedicated customer management module is a crucial component of retail ERP. This module aids retail business owners in gaining a comprehensive understanding of their clients and overcoming all customer service challenges. You can identify patterns and provide individualized services thanks to the information it gathers and stores about customer purchases. Additionally, you can identify your high-value clients and reward them with loyalty program benefits. You may target and customize all of your marketing initiatives and promotional materials to ensure that clients only hear messages that are pertinent to them.

  • Trends Forecasting:

    In order to keep customers rather than lose them to the competition, retailers must go to considerable efforts to guarantee that they live up to these expectations. They need to make sure there are enough stocks of popular products, thus demand forecasting is crucial. Based on prior sales data, client purchasing trends, and other factors, retail ERP software can do this precisely, assisting you in ensuring that your consumers receive what they want when they want and that they are satisfied. Demand forecasting can increase sales, save your inventory carrying costs, and boost your bottom line.

  • Inventory Management:

    Any firm, particularly retail, needs to effectively manage its inventory. An efficient inventory management module enables you to maintain the ideal levels of product stock, a constant flow of products into and out of your current inventory, and guarantees you have enough stock to process transactions and fulfill customer requests. By alerting you as items in your inventory approach the date, the program can also assist you in keeping track of perishable goods that are about to expire. As a result, shops may sell these items for less and get rid of them before they expire rather than tossing them away thereafter.

  • Warehouse Operations:

    Retail ERP facilitates the creation of many stores and warehouses, which can simplify management operations for both. Store operations, which include promotional activities, market research, handling stock, and a whole lot more, are a crucial part of retail chains and are linked to each other and divided into zones into warehouses to handle the materials management process. All of these tasks, as well as a whole lot more, are effectively handled by the software.

  • Management of Finances:

    Retail ERP software may implement and manage your organization's comprehensive budget planning activities through its finance management module. It may manage budgets from the perspective of the project manager, department head, or accountant who is really carrying out the assignment, allowing each of this personnel to examine information pertinent to their function and duty.

  • Supply Chain Management:

    When shipping from online businesses, managing a supply chain is crucial to ensure that goods arrive at their destinations without any problems from vendors to you, from your warehouse to your retail stores, and from your retail stores or your warehouses to your customers. You will be able to monitor where products are located and fulfill customer orders from any warehouse thanks to the integration of your inventory and supply chain.

  • Employee Management:

    Since most retail establishments have a sizable staff, effective employee management is crucial to running a profitable store. Retail ERP software can assist in effectively managing employees by handling and tracking tasks like planning shifts, total hours, time clocks, products sold and earnings garnered for the business, commissions that need to be paid, leaves, time off, and other things that are generally related to the staff and their work in the retail outlet.

  • POS Management:

    Nowadays, the majority of customers pay for their purchases with credit or debit cards, therefore every merchant, big or little, has POS systems in their shops. Integrating your POS system, which consists of both hardware and software, with your ERP program is a fantastic idea. This facilitates stock and customer management as well as the straightforward recording of sales and revenues. POS hardware, which is situated at the checkout and initiates transactions after the customer has finished purchasing, consists of card readers, barcode readers, register screens, cash drawers, recipe printers, etc.

Differences between Traditional ERP and Retail ERP

A capable e-commerce software development company capable of developing retail e-commerce software can deliver both the Standard ERP systems as well as the Traditional ERP systems.

The standard ERP system or the traditional ERP system serves only as the connecting thread between the various organizational functions. It links the many divisions of an organization, enabling users to access business data through a single application with a single interface.

The database always stays on onsite hardware and a server when using traditional ERP software. It requires a substantial initial investment and is often administered by the IT team of the company that implemented it.

Whereas, the management of retail enterprises is much more difficult because there are so many moving pieces in their daily operations. Businesses must manage their inventory, sales, financing, various pricing strategies, discounts, and even customer satisfaction. Retail businesses search for ways to streamline their operations and boost efficiency in order to stay ahead of the curve. Implementing a retail ERP is the most effective approach to go about it. A retail ERP system is essentially an ERP system that was created expressly to meet the unique needs of the retail sector and includes functionality specific to that sector. It enables retailers to manage their business effectively and do away with manual, error-prone procedures.

Traditional ERP software and retail ERP software differ in a few key areas. To start, standard ERP software, which serves a number of industries, is frequently difficult, making its implementation and upkeep a challenging task for firms. This is mostly due to the fact that they frequently feature a wide range of generic modules that were created with the needs of various organizations in mind and contain components that are absolutely unnecessary for retail.

Retail ERP and ERP software both have specific commercial uses. You must recognize which one best meets your requirements as a commercial firm. An ERP software can be a fantastic fit for your company if you work in any sector other than retail. However, if your retail firm has special goals like providing excellent omnichannel customer service, boosting sales, and having insight into stock turnover and business potential, you unquestionably need a retail ERP system to run your company.

ERP Tools for Retail Businesses

There are several essential tools offered by ERP systems with the help of which every retail business can benefit. Some of these tools are mentioned below:

  • Warehouse Management Tools:-

    When used in conjunction with your entire business, including inventory management, sales and order management, purchase and vendor management, customer service, and accounting, an integrated warehouse management feature of a retail ERP should be able to support scanning of the barcodes and QR codes, counts in the inventory and the returned inventory.

  • Return Management Tools:-

    You have the option to decide whether to provide a refund straight away, apply the payment to any open orders, or leave the money on the customer's account balance to be used for future orders if you have a retail ERP system in place.

  • Accounting Tools:-

    The possibility of paying multiple invoices or making mistakes due to manual data entry should be eliminated by a retail ERP. Additionally, it must enable you to take advantage of the appropriate discounts, enhance relationships with suppliers, and generally boost efficiency throughout the entire organization. Additionally, the ideal retail ERP will include all necessary capabilities for retail accounting, like landed-cost and multi-currency.

  • Order Management Tools:-

    Your e-commerce orders from sites like BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify, eBay, and Amazon will be handled by built-in integrations within a retail ERP. However, retail ERP vendors must also be aware of the advantages and potential market that can come with a brick-and-mortar store, so they are likely to offer an integrated point of sale system as a standard feature as well.

Conclusion:

A retail ERP system is an ERP that, in contrast to standard "all-in-one" ERPs, is more specifically designed to meet the business demands of retailers and includes some of the most essential features. It has become an essential investment for modern-day retailers. Because of the easy accessibility of quality ERP developers like us, many clients are investing in the development of custom ERP to tackle the specific needs of their businesses.