If you already use ERP and e-commerce, is integration worth it?
Most companies that use ERP technologies also operate an online store for consumers, or use a web portal for B2B sales. However, many of these companies that use both types of digital technology have yet to unify them. Should they? If they did, what should they expect to gain? To what degree would such an investment yield tangible benefits? Thanks to the rise of cloud technologies, digital products that were once out of reach for most small and medium businesses have become affordable web services. Probably the most valuable among these is ERP, which combines an organization’s various internal business processes into a tightly integrated and highly efficient whole. Companies that use ERP suites tend to spend less time managing business documents, customer information, and other internal data, and more time achieving their primary business objectives. As a result, productivity and profitability increase. However, the effects of implementing a traditional ERP solution are almost exclusively felt within the organization, with only indirect benefits spilling over to inter-business processes like procurement and sales. ERP platforms are designed to make information sharing easier amongst company departments and personnel, but not with partner companies or other external stakeholders. That’s where e-business technologies come in. These web-based (and increasingly cloud-based) technologies are designed with extra-organizational coordination in mind, and help companies securely and efficiently share critical business information across the supply chain. Procurement platforms help with bidding and RFQs, vendor management tools simplify replenishment and supplier relations, and e-commerce platforms provide an easier and more effective way to engage and do business with customers. The first two examples of e-business technologies share information ‘up’ the supply chain with suppliers, while the third communicates ‘down’ the supply chain with customers.