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enova365 – technological business booster
The proper functioning of a trading company requires the synergy of many processes in order to optimize operations. In what areas can systems such as ERP be used?
Konrad Zygar : – Experience shows that support for integrated solutions can take place virtually wherever value is created for the recipient. Efficient, or in my opinion correct, management requires process measurement. This is what an ERP system makes possible. Of course, we get a lot more along the way.
What exactly?
– Fast and trouble-free flow of information between business areas, work in one ecosystem, easier adaptation of users to one tool… the list goes on. Integrated ERP, such as enova365, allows you to improve and facilitate the work of companies or organizations in the areas of production, trade, services or even research. The portfolio of implemented entities is so diverse that it can be said that every entity in which more than one person cooperates will benefit from the implementation of a tool of this class.
And speaking of specific areas – what does it look like in practice in the case of finance and accounting?
– The answer to this question depends strongly on how fragmentarily we treat the concept of the financial and accounting area. I approach it from a business and management point of view, so I will answer more generally. The financial and accounting area is actually the "best tested" or – to put it better – the most mature.
Hence?
– This means that its digitalization is practically the basis for the development of the entire field of current ERP solutions. However, we should place this fact in the context of our Polish legislation, which is, there is no denying it, quite complicated and dynamic.
Integrated ERP systems allow you to automate accounting processes, basing work patterns on the types of specific documents. They also offer support in creating reporting – and here it is important to keep up with legislative ideas and sometimes even anticipate them.
And what else?
– Moreover, they provide easy and possibly intuitive means of electronic communication, or to put it simply: submitting documents to all institutions that impose such an obligation on organizations. They also provide easy verification mechanisms in contractor registers or banking systems. In addition, of course, it is increasingly important to ensure control of expenses, liquidity, tracking of key financial indicators and budgeting processes: creation, acceptance, control of use. Finally, we can mention the management of organizational resources, support in maintaining documentation, support in the process of accepting cost documents, and facilitations in entering documents, such as OCR solutions or EDI exchange.
Is this full care of the company?
– Exactly. A well-designed and – what is very important – well-implemented ERP tool can and should also protect the operator against elementary errors. It can therefore be said that the scope in which ERP systems support users related to the financial and accounting area is extremely wide.
And ERP in the area of sales and CRM – how does it work? What does it bring to the company?
– The digitalization of sales and CRM is different from, for example, the financial and accounting area from the previous question, because here the level of freedom is greater. This means that the requirements for a tool designed to support users in this area are significantly different.
How to deal with it?
– Our experience at Ekspert Systemy Informatyczne shows that providing easy and intuitive user interfaces is crucial. At the same time, we notice the growing role of the possibility of creating automation – complete or partial – and integration, which facilitates operators' daily work. Some companies are even moving towards redefining the role of the operator responsible for sales from an active system user to a process controller. For this reason, the most valuable will be ERP tools that enable the implementation of processivity and ensure "transparent" integration with the external world, and are additionally enriched with well-defined, easy to understand and access indicators and controls. When commercial processes or CRM are designed in this way, company employees gain greater efficiency. Of course, there are already LLM-based solutions on the horizon, commonly known as AI, which are to be used in ERP systems. Thanks to them, users will receive support in creating content, answering questions and in broadly understood communication with customers.
The system is also used in supply and storage areas. How is it in this case?
– When dealing with warehouses, the greater physicality of these processes becomes more important. This affects their planning and subsequent implementation. Generalization will be more difficult here because a toy seller, a construction wholesaler, a manufacturer of anti-drone systems or a food manufacturer operate differently.
I understand that ERP also meets the needs in this case.
– It is certainly crucial to provide a system that allows integration with the systems/machines present in the warehouse. Evolution is still happening here. People's work is supported virtually everywhere by machines – more or less autonomous, but still requiring control and steering. There are also optimization and planning systems in place. The former perform the hardest physical part of the work, the latter ensure its optimal distribution. ERP flexibility in defining and further operating product attributes will also be important for this area.
And this also comes from diversity.
– Yes. Many industries have their own specificity, which is best seen in the examples of food and medicine. Sometimes less obvious expectations appear, because, for example, tobacco companies also have their own requirements regarding the collection and processing of information about the life of the products supplied. A huge area where systems should offer support is transport and logistics: internal and external. Here – depending on the size – we will operate mechanisms built into the system or integrate with external tools or processes.
The trade back-office also includes human resources, payroll and HR. How does ERP work here?
– Trends in this area are unchanged and focus on collecting management information from many areas or sources, including the HR-related HCM (Human Capital Management) system. This is where integrated solutions, such as enova365, show their strength, where the flow of information is much simpler than when using dedicated systems.
How does it work in practice?
– By collecting information in one logical data structure and using built-in analytical tools, we have great ease and freedom in accessing data from various areas, combining and aggregating them. This, combined with the controls responsible for data visualization, allows you to make business decisions efficiently and quickly. More importantly, it also enables the transfer of this competence down the organization. The advantages of delegating control over operational decisions are obvious – we get a more efficient, flexible and agile organization.
Which information is then necessary?
– The key areas for measurement are the areas of trade and accounting, but also, increasingly, broadly understood HR and production. The growing share of employee costs in value creation by companies requires careful monitoring of indicators in this field. So we say, among other things: about broadly understood ABC analyses, touching on people's involvement in individual components of company processes, employee retention analysis and onboarding cost analysis – including, of course, training. Practice shows that the "classic areas" of control are not sufficient to build a full picture of costs or sources of waste, within the meaning of concepts similar to Lean Management.
Finally, I would like to talk about ERP and stationary sales, e-commerce and omnichannel. Is it also worth using the system there?
– To be joking, while I can imagine stationary sales without a system, online trading or an integrated hybrid approach cannot exist without IT tools.
Currently, every entrepreneur operating – even to a moderate extent – on the Internet requires smooth and sometimes even immediate exchange of information. This data includes, among others: about warehouse stock, shipment status, settlements with contractors, payment processing or integration with logistics and carriers. These are the basic elements that we, as consumers, have become accustomed to and without which we practically cannot imagine shopping online.
This, in turn, shifts the burden of providing these processes from the IT side to companies. ERP solutions are ideal for this purpose because they provide the base on which the various components responsible for the entire customer shopping experience can be built and integrated. Generally speaking, based on 30 years of experience of the IT Systems Expert, I can say that what matters is not only the selection of the appropriate ERP system, but also its high-quality implementation preceded by a needs analysis and a thorough pre-implementation analysis. In addition, at a later stage, there is the implementation of the selected solution along with further development of the system at the maintenance stage or broadly understood service support. This approach guarantees the best results and obtaining a well-tailored, integrated IT tool that constitutes the nervous system of the organization.
