My business is small – why worry about keeping things simple?
You’ve probably heard this from plenty of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), or perhaps you’ve thought or said this out aloud yourselves. When you’re small, pretty much all your energy and efforts are focused on growth, growth, and more growth.
That’s all fine and good, and in fact is exactly what you should do. The problem is, most SMEs end up in a huge mess when they attain the growth they had been chasing. Eventually, the problems of scattered processes and solutions catch up with them and growth comes to a standstill as they struggle to keep everything running.
It can be tempting to delay the business simplication process until after you’ve hit a certain size, but it’s easier to operate lean and simple from the start instead of desperately trying to trim the fat later on.
Start simple to avoid growing pains
Why not prepare yourselves ahead of time and avoid all the potential headaches down the line?
By running simple from the get go, you prime yourself for growth without all the complications associated with it.
Starting simple means avoiding standalone apps and systems entirely. You can’t buy separate systems and use them in a disjointed manner without problems occurring at some point or other. Instead, you need a flexible platform which will grow and evolve with you to meet your changing needs.
Need more functions added? Request a service provider to build customized functions as required, or sign up with your preferred platform for the functions you require (e.g. mobile warehousing, eCommerce, or marketing) and connect your ERP (enterprise resource planning) system to it (either via an existing integration, or request your partner to integrate both systems for you).
What makes an ERP platform the right one?
The right platform allows you to move quickly as market conditions change. Perhaps your growing business now requires you to change your business model(s), outsource some functions, or even expand overseas.
The right platform should support all that, and more. Expansion overseas can be tough and complicated, but the right platform keeps things simple for you by supporting other languages, currencies, and regulations.
What do you get out of this? Happier customers for one, since your business doesn’t have to face major disruptions as a consequence of uncontrolled growth. Your employees also get to dodge major changes to their work and the trouble of migrating to new systems as opposed to adapting an existing one.
This story is based on a blog post published by me here
Please review my other Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) related Steemit posts:
Customer Service Recovery – Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word