How to Recession-Proof your Business with ERP?
Category : ERP
Blog posted by : Admin / 07 Feb, 2023
With global recession looming on everyone’s minds, it is time to think of recession-proofing your business with ERP software. Businesses that focus on innovation, technology and customer service are more likely to succeed as it helps them adapt to uncertain economic situations.
Countries all over the world are living in a post-pandemic era where they are either in an economic crisis or preparing for one and industries are scrambling to make up for the losses suffered a couple of years ago.
Are we in a Recession?
One way to recognize recession is by the downturn in the economy, mostly characterized by negative GDP growth. Experts have multiple complex ways of predicting and defining it. During a recession, economic output and consumer spending decreases, the budget deficit widens and government spending increases.
Nevertheless, a decline in economic activity is cause for concern for any industry, including real estate, construction, infrastructure and ceramic manufacturing.
The downturn as well as the rebound, both can be very challenging times. The recession may not last very long but the recovery can be a long journey. ERP software empowers businesses to prepare for and navigate through the highs and lows.
How to Leverage ERP during an Economic Downturn?
Employing outdated systems to manage a business often leads to additional expenses and compliance risks. Business automation not only digitizes paperwork and automates everyday tasks but creates a dynamic system that is continually processing and analyzing data.
This frees up the workforce to focus on enriching customer experience, improving processes, and focus on high-priority tasks, while the top management gets high visibility into the business and actionable predictive reports to make more effective decisions that bring desired results.
Automation of business processes powered by Artificial Intelligence optimizes workflows and provides invaluable insights that help build an adaptive, scalable and resilient business.
Get your Business Recession-Ready with ERP
Do not give in to the temptation of blind cost-cutting during a difficult economy. Investing in ERP technology will not only provide better ways of surviving an economic downturn but will also empower businesses with the tools to thrive in the future.
The first step to building a resilient business would be to get it in order. Recognize areas that are unorganized or least profitable, and analyze the reasons behind it. ERP software will help re-evaluate and build a robust system based on accurate data. It streamlines processes and helps create new and more profitable workflows.
During recession, the responsibilities of all finance heads are amplified as the need arises to keep a tighter check on project budgets and accounts. Companies are avoiding harsh cost-cutting measures and focusing on smarter ways to reduce expenses.
Optimizing budget management becomes more crucial than before. Finance ERP helps keep a check on all the money coming in and going out and becomes critical to managing all key financial aspects.
Create a robust cash flow management system by streamlining various processes on a single platform with ERP modules specific to the business. For instance, Real Estate ERP manages operational finances through:
-
Contract negotiation
-
Supplier quotation comparisons
-
Invoicing & billing
-
Stock management
-
Material reconciliation
Access to instant insights on financial workflows and reports assists the management in gauging the financial health of a company, avoiding new financial liabilities and building a cash reserve.
Despite cost-cutting being the preferred initiative to dealing with an economic slowdown, organizations should focus on growing and innovating to build adaptive and robust systems.
Expanding your reach will increase the possibility of generating more sales by reaching new audience groups. Pitch your product to new target audiences or adapt it to the current market demands.
Creating new sales and marketing strategies should be quick, relevant and based on current and future needs. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software helps create, track, monitor and analyze pre-sales and sales activities.
For instance, Real Estate CRM pulls enquiry data from various sources, helps categorize prospects into various groups, stores customer interaction information, sends reminders for follow-ups, generates agreement, cancellation, and transfer documents, along with system-generated reports such as:
-
Unit sales status
-
Project wise due vs received vs balance payments
-
Expected site visits
-
Predictive collection report
CRM software optimizes the entire sales cycle, from generating leads and creating customer insights to identifying opportunities and making sales.
With an imminent recession, companies begin re-working their strategies to enrich customer experience, but it is also important to manage their workforce effectively. Likely to face many new challenges, employees need to be motivated, validated, and rewarded to keep the productivity high.
Finding and retaining talent takes on a new meaning during a downturn in the economy. Human Capital Management software helps monitor training and performance, and set goals to track performance, facilitating talent retention and increasing productivity.
Self-Service HR software grants greater flexibility and control while keeping the workforce engaged and informed too. It builds open channels of communication and facilitates easy collaboration among employees.
Over stocking materials or products ties up cash during an economically unstable period. Companies should focus on reducing their inventory load but at the same time avoid under-stocking too.
With Artificial Intelligence integrated ERP software, business leaders can analyze demand to make better purchasing decisions and adjust stock levels in order to cut down overspending and avoid disruption owing to low stock.
The inventory management ERP module helps keep up with future demand and tracks current levels to maintain an optimum flow of stock.
The last phase of the recession strategy is to prepare for the economic situation that follows, which generally is a period of inflation. Since the cycle of economic crises consists of inflation peaks and recession troughs, organizations should focus on getting the maximum ROI from their ERP solutions.
In order to build a disruption-proof business, the management needs a 360° view of their organization and the industry at large. A cloud ERP platform integrates seamlessly with third-party applications, devices and machinery to form a digital ecosystem for your organization.
ERP software streamlines operations and provides data-driven market insights, to create robust processes that increase productivity and efficiency.