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ERP Business Process Problems and Solutions

Common Business Process Problems and Solutions

By:  Taylor Farnsworth

www.TekoaERP.com

There are several problems relating to business processes in todays enterprise. According to cmswire.com although many of these problems may be quite simple to take care of and eliminate, there seems to be five problems that continue to persist.

These five problems are: Bottlenecks, Paper Trails, Copies, Preparation, and Business Agility.

Problem 1: Bottlenecks

These information bottlenecks occur from "a lack of consideration of the value of particular information, or content, and its relevancy in the business process."

Possible Solution:
Research done by cmswire.com has found that enterprises must examine who needs this info, what info is essential, and whether or not it is needed in the current business process. Research also finds that enterprises must index or organize all of this information, and find a way to store the other information not being used.

Problem 2: Paper Trails

Today, enterprises are still using paper documents in their business process, which leaves valuable information vulnerable to loss, errors, and data theft.

Possible Solution: The research done by cmswire.com "recommends a planned conversion of paper documents and records into digital information that can be entered, or taken out of business process, as needed, and which can be more easily found in the event of audits or other legal processes." This is an excellent solution to this problem because in today’s world, with technology being so advanced and becoming easier to understand and use, simply switching your business to a digital format rather than paper makes things much easier to keep in order and to keep back-ups of.

Problem 3: Copies

So many enterprises today are keeping several copies of certain documents, whether to be safe or because they believe these documents to be vital to their business processes. With this, response time is slowed and business process agility decreases.

Possible Solution: Businesses that are keeping all of these extra copies, whether digital or paper, just need to stop. "They need to create business processes based on single documents, or to create minimal copies that are tracked and regulated within the processes. To do this, cmswire.com states, and I agree that a centralized, electronic storage that provides company-wide accessibility must be utilized.

Problem 4: Preparation

Research shows that many companies are only prepared for what they believe they will have to deal with. In turn, when something unexpected happens, companies are not prepared to respond without considerable business disruption.

Problem 5: Business Agility

Several businesses suffer from not being able to get the right information to the right people in a reasonable amount of time. This is mostly seen by those businesses that struggle with effective and efficient storage methods.

Possible Solution: To be a business with effective and efficient storage, according to cmswire.com, "enterprises should optimize workflows so they are able to flex with the changing needs of their company."

In Summary:

As you can see from the problems listed above, having an effective and efficient business and business process is not terribly difficult to accomplish. Many businesses just need to buckle down and take care of these little problems that keep occurring and slowing them down. If they are to take care of these simple-to-fix problems, they will be a much more effective, efficient, and in turn a more profitable organization.


Taylor Farnsworth is an accounting and business specialist at Whitworth University

Available link for download

The Future of ERP Cloud Solutions

 Where is ERP Cloud Computing Going?

www.TekoaERP.com

By Drew Broesamle

When I look at cloud computing I see a great technology that still can be improved and has not reached its full potential yet. Cloud computing is the future and in the coming years more and more companies will move in that direction. Currently cloud computing has some limitations and drawbacks but those are still outweighed by the positives. When looking at the current situation the best storage method for this enterprise is cloud computing with the cost savings from the cloud as the selling point. Combined with the price is the seemingly endless storage. By moving storage to the cloud it allows physical space to be put to better use. Also there are many safeguards in the technology to make sure that if anything is lost there is a backup for it. When large companies are looking to make a change to the cloud there is the advantage of extremely quick transfer and deployment with the entire system able to be set up in less than a day.

For the enterprise the biggest disadvantage of cloud ERP computing is the fact a connection is needed to access the content stored. As well when information is put in the cloud you lose personal control over the content. It is up to the cloud provider and keeping the cloud up and running. They have complete control over security, software, and the servers. With the loss of personal control there is a greater fear of security breaches and loss of sensitive information and data. Currently there is not a lot of info readily available to the public about the safety of the cloud and why business should be extremely confident. This could be improved by cloud services having complete transparency which could help alleviate some fears if businesses had a better understanding. However, even when businesses are not using cloud computing there are always security risks and the security in the cloud may be better than the company’s own on the ground. These are big hurdles and public perception is a key in continuing to turn the tide, but once companies can have constant access to the cloud from a better WiFi infrastructure I believe the concern for loss of control will be lessened.

Once the infrastructure is improved cloud computing will be the clear choice over other storage methods. As populations continue to expand land and space will continue to have a higher premium placed upon it. With the cloud, businesses can have all their normal needs met no differently than any other system from the past. The only difference is where the information is being stored. People will continue to grow more comfortable with the cloud and the longer cloud computing continues to stay successful more companies will have greater peace of mind. This will be extremely vital in accounting where there are so many numbers that needs to be kept tracked of through the years and will only continue to grow at a significant rate. The cloud is the future, the only question is how fast will those not using cloud computing change and adapt to stay successful.

Drew Broesamle is a business student at Whitworth University.

Available link for download