What is Enterprise Resource Planning system and who need it?

An enterprise system is an integrated software package (from vendors such as SAP) that addresses most of an organization's day-to-day transactional data-processing needs. Supported by a common database, individual applications are chosen and configured to tailor the software to the requirements of the enterprise. Applications typically include: accounting and finance, business intelligence and data warehousing, customer relationship management, human resources management, manufacturing, procurement, product life cycle management, sales and distribution, supplier relationship management and supply chain management. Industry-specific modules, such as claims management for the insurance industry, help companies take greater advantage of system capabilities.

There’s no longer any real argument about whether enterprise systems add value to Business. The eye-opener now is just how far those systems can catapult companies ahead of their competitors by giving them the distinctive capabilities that drive high performance. Distinctive capabilities are integrated business processes and capabilities that together serve customers in ways that are differentiated from competitors and that create an organization's formula for business success.

Few facts about Enterprise Solutions

1) There are clear winners and losers—some companies get considerably more value from their enterprise systems than others.

2) To achieve the full value of an enterprise system, organizations must focus on integrating the organization, optimizing business processes and using and analyzing system data to improve decision making.

4) While organizations have made progress in realizing value from their enterprise systems, most still have significant opportunities to maximize the value of their investments.

5) Organizations that approach an enterprise system initiative as an element of an ongoing program rather than a project with a specific endpoint, believe they are more successful.

6) Better decision making is the most sought benefit and also the one most likely to have been realized from the use of an enterprise system.