ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a system created for business management. This system integrates a great variety of business facets as manufacturing, planning, marketing and sales. Due to the fact that ERP system has become more and more popular recently, a lot of software applications have been created to help the business managers to implement ERP software in different business activities as: order tracking, inventory control, human and finance resources and customer service. Implementing ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) is a difficult and expensive process but due to its great efficiency its costs can be liquidated in short time.
As it is well known, small businesses are, most of the time, family enterprises and only a few use ERP software. Because the implementation of an ERP solution is expensive and time consuming most of them preferred to use an accounting system instead. But, due to the fact that the business environment is changing continuously and the small and medium business tend to develop quickly, ERP solutions have proved to be a good solution for these kinds of businesses, too. At present many companies offer ERP solution to the small business owners. Some of the players in this delicate field are Compiere, Microsoft Business Solution, The Intuitive Enterprise Solution and NetERP.
Compiere is an Open Source enterprise resource planning software created especially for small and medium companies. It is able to manage different activities in domains like accounting, Supply Chain Management, and Customer Management.
Lately Microsoft Business Solution has started to offer ERP solutions to the small and medium companies. This will connect the small and the medium business with the large organizations and with these organizations’ suppliers, employees and customers. This fact will be of a great help for the small and medium business.
The Intuitive Enterprise Solution aims at small and medium manufacturing companies. This ERP application has been created to help these companies to increase their productivity and to lower the costs. The Intuitive ERP organizes the company information, focuses to create control and flexibility, and automates the company business process. This software application offers the complete integration of the procurement, planning and of the management of the materials. It is also able to facilitate the reduction of the manufacturing costs and of the financial process improving in this way the control, the quality and the productivity of the company.
NetERP is an enterprise resource planning solution provided by NetSuite. NetERP is software application created to offer a great support for the back-office operations of the companies. It has been created to manage inventory, purchasing, Web presence, financials and the payroll. This application makes use of compactly integrated ERP components and has a beneficial impact upon the whole business process.
It has proved that the accounting systems are able to manage only the small-scale businesses. Taking into account that the small and medium businesses develop very quickly now, ERP solutions have proved to be of a great help. Enterprise resource planning software is enterprise wide and cross functional being able to cover and control all the important activities of a business.
