The Next Big Move for Small Businesses
Manufacturing Talk Radio produces an annual article in the remaining days of each year featuring the top five technologies it believed would transform the manufacturing biz as we know it in the year to come. The 2017 article boasts somewhat familiar yet still cutting-edge technological trends such as cybersecurity, advanced materials entering the ranks of the much-ado’d carbon fiber, 3D printing, predictive analytics ensuring pristine machine maintenance, and collaborative robots aiding human labor. The prospects for the 2018 list are even more intriguing, and some even other-worldly: 3D printing makes the cut again, along with self-driving and electric vehicles, further utilization of the IIoT, light-weight exoskeletons meant to do heavy-lifting, and procedural tests in virtual reality.
However transformative and truly exciting these technological movements may be, there remains a gaping hole in these lists if we are to correctly ascertain what will and is already revolutionizing the manufacturing industry. This gaping hole comes in the shape of three letters: ERP.
Implementing new technologies such as exoskeletons or 3D printing in an effort to improve workflow efficiency before adopting cloud ERP software is like trying to furnish the top floor of a skyscraper that hasn’t been built yet: you may have a lot of sleek, modern appliances, but they won’t work too well without a ground floor beneath it.
An effective ERP system provides the backbone that any company intending to grow - and any company not willing to get left in the dust by the industry competition - must look into. Cloud ERP SaaS (software as a service) seamlessly integrates all aspects of a business from the back office to the shop floor in a way that Quickbooks plus endless modules/plug-ins can’t, and expensive, entrenched, bureaucratic ERP companies won’t.
There are many helpful resources out there detailing how your company stands to benefit from adapting to ERP software- like this article from business solutions company Defined Venture’s Inc. on ERP’s revolutionizing the manufacturing industry - or this article from our own blog noting seven ways adopting ERP provides you immediate ROI.
As the manufacturing industry seeks to modernize itself, it must look past robotics for a moment at the less sexy, but unquestionably more necessary technology of cloud-based ERP, and it shouldn’t cost hundreds of thousands of dollars upfront to do so. And it won’t, depending on where you go.
Cetec ERP seeks to modernize itself at every step that technology advances, just as you do. So we got rid of all the stuff the ERP industry has relied on for years: clunky, on-premise tech (and the IT guy who has to come fix it), expensive module add-ons, and the steep price tag. What’s left? A web-based, fully-integrated, flexible, powerful app, accessible from your iPhone or tablet by a monthly subscription of $50/user, with no overhead.
Self-driving cars and helping-hand robots seem like something only the big-name manufacturers will invest in right now, and that’s true. ERP used to be the same way. Now, it’s available to the small business owner looking to take a step up from Quickbooks or spend less time rifling through paperwork and more time growing their business. Contact us today for more information on adopting ERP.