Is Your Enterprise Management System the Missing Link in Achieving your Business Goals?

acdevan (57)in #business • 7 years ago

In your business review, look back at the lessons learnt from the past 12 months. This is a good starting point for setting future goals to avoid repeating the same failures or mistakes. Some common business lessons and the goals you set might include;

Issue 1

Your business lost a long-standing customer because you were unable to keep up with, and anticipate their needs. Their new supplier offers more competitive rates and fulfilment times that work better for them.

Lessons learnt

Customers need constant care and attention, even long-standing ones
Customers expect us to anticipate their future needs
We must always review our prices and ensure loyal customers are rewarded
We need to adjust our fulfilment capabilities to meet customers’ expectations and exceed our competitors’ capabilities

Potential Solutions

Ensure the sales and marketing teams are working on strategies to engage with and keep existing customers happy, not just looking for new opportunities
Use data to forecast market trends so we can better respond to changes in market prices and conditions
Regularly review our capabilities to deliver and adjust systems and processes when needed

Issue 2

We were presented with several opportunities last year to work with new partners and came very close to signing some lucrative deals, but we pulled out at the last minute. We also over-invested in a new product which seemed too good to be true and have not yet seen a return on that investment.

Lessons learnt

We approach opportunities and risk in a haphazard way and just hope for the best; this is not a sustainable business strategy
When faced with opportunities we have no idea how to assess their viability
If we take too much or too little risk, the future of our business will be in jeopardy

Potential Solutions

Set up a process which can calculate the potential risk in any opportunity based on real time and reliable data
Establish a risk management strategy that everyone can agree on
Agree on next year’s strategy and focus on exploring opportunities only in those targeted areas

Issue 3

Your company was hit hard last year by the departure of several senior and middle management figures who had worked for the organisation for many years and took with them a great deal of experience. You had heard rumours throughout the year that many were dissatisfied with the lack of investment in new technology and the high attrition rates of more junior employees distracting them from being able to focus on business development strategies.

Lessons learnt

Even the most loyal employees have a breaking point
The best employees want more than just a pay packet, they want to know they are part of an organisation that has a bright future
Your HR department needs systems and processes in place to engage and communicate with employees effectively

Potential Solutions

Involve staff across all levels in key organisational strategies and value their input
Regularly review the pain points of all staff completing their daily tasks and commit to addressing these issues
Engage staff in the business strategy and vision in creative and innovative ways

You might be surprised to learn that these common goals (and many more) can be easily achieved with the help of an enterprise management system or sometimes also referred to as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. The end-to-end capabilities of an ERP system can support your organisation to:

Become more flexible and proactive across all systems, processes and departments, enabling you to predict market trends and reap the benefits
Develop meaningful and successful sales and marketing strategies that are targeted to the specific needs of consumers
Retain existing customers by providing data, insights and analysis to support their current, and future, business needs
Leverage Big Data to approach any opportunity with the facts and figures needed to make an empowered decision
Provide a transparent view of all departments, opening up opportunities for business development
Alleviate transactional staff from repetitive data entry work, enabling them to contribute to more stimulating tasks

Avoid repeating your mistakes year after year. Take the necessary steps to overcome current issues so that you can face the future with greater confidence.

This article is based on a blog post previously published by me at Blue Ocean Systems

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