Managing operations efficiently is the foundation of successful competition. In order to operate efficiently, the different business functions need to anticipate the future: purchases, for example, need to be based on sales, because otherwise either the working capital increases or the security of supply weakens. Because the different business functions are codependent, information should pass through the organization in real time and as smoothly as possible.
This is made possible by an integrated system such as SAP Business One, which combines all business functions into one system. This way information produced by one business function is automatically available for decision-making related to other functions in real time and without labor-intensive manual steps.
Read more about how typical challenges can be solved with an integrated system reflecting a company’s actual processes below.
Sales
Typical challenge: Utilizing customer information is troublesome because it has been scattered into multiple systems.
The solution is a single integrated system, which makes the transparency and availability of customer information possible. Drilling down into customer information is easy and the master data, business transactions and transactions related to the customer relationship-related activities, for example, are conveniently accessible in one location.
Solution benefits
- Customer information can be recorded systematically and partly automatically when all essential data has a specified location in one system.
- When information is easily available, it is utilized more efficiently and the customer relationship can be managed purposefully.
- Time is saved when information does not need to be transferred from one system to another and resources are freed up for more value-generating tasks. At the same time the personnel’s satisfaction also increases.
Purchasing
Typical challenge: Purchase orders can not be generated from multiple sales orders based on vendors, which results in multiple orders being sent to the same vendor. This can result in an increase in purchasing costs. In the worst case scenario, purchase orders need to be generated manually based on sales orders, which leads to unnecessary manual work.
Solution: In SAP Business One, purchase orders can be created automatically based on sales orders and orders can also be combined into larger orders based on vendor.
Solution benefits
- Purchase costs can decrease due to larger orders.
- Deliveries can speed up when vendors have fewer individual orders to process.
- Resources can be used more efficiently when manual work is automatized.
- Personnel satisfaction increases as manual work decreases.
Production
Typical challenge: A separate system is used for production which leads to information regarding future production not being in the use of other business functions. The lack of information makes the planning and functioning of the other functions more difficult: the sales department, for example, does not know what they can promise to customers because future stock is not known. On the other hand, the separate production system does not receive information from the other business functions either, and so the purchasing of raw materials, materials and components can not be planned according to production’s actual needs. As a result, production can experience delays or alternatively the working capital can increase.
The solution is an integrated system thanks to which production information is accessible to all business functions, resulting in an increase in the efficiency of sales and purchasing. Purchase orders, for example, can even be created based on the production plan according to the just-in-time principle in which case the working capital can be minimized.
Solution benefits
- Improved transparency of business functions within the company.
- Security of production improves and working capital can be decreased.
- The security of supply of self-manufactured goods increases, which boosts customer satisfaction and sales.
Logistics and warehouse
Typical challenge: The system’s stock does not reflect the actual stock, which results in uncertainty related to the reliability of item quantities and the location of products. Due to the uncertainty related to item quantities, a product can not be promised to a customer, which weakens customer satisfaction and can lead to sales losses. Uncertainty often also leads to excessive stock growth in order to guarantee the security of supply in which case capital is committed to unnecessary overstocking. When the system’s situation does not correspond with reality, finding the products in the warehouse is also difficult which may slow down the picking process and lead to delivery delays.
Solution: When all information is stored into one system and the system’s warehouse information reflects the actual warehouses, the actual stock levels and product locations are always known. In addition, the pick lists can automatically be created based on sales orders, which speeds up the picking process.
Solution benefits
- Security of supply is improved which results in increased customer satisfaction and sales.
- Products are easily found in the warehouse which saves resources and increases personnel satisfaction.
- The working capital can be decreased.
Invoicing
Typical challenge: Invoicing is slow because the work is largely done manually. Manual work often also causes mistakes and delays in invoicing resulting in weakened cash flow management.
The solution is SAP Business One, which enables invoice creation based directly on sales documents entered or completed by earlier business process steps, either individually or in a batch run. Grouping invoices makes one’s own invoicing process more efficient and also helps customers to speed up their invoice handling as they have fewer incoming invoices. Invoices can be sent either as electronic invoices, email invoices or paper invoices.
Solution benefits
- As the manual work related to invoicing decreases, resources can be used for more productive work.
- Cash flow management becomes more efficient when invoicing does not suffer delays.