5 Ways a Modern ERP System Can Help You Tackle Market Uncertainty
March 4, 2023 
Photo: Velosio
When business is booming, growers sometimes overlook how efficiently their operations run. There’s enough revenue coming in to make up for any slim margins. On the other hand, during uncertain times, the ability to operate efficiently becomes crucial to maintaining sufficient margins.
However, generating real-time data to gain insights into production and make informed decisions can be challenging. Consider the uncertain situation the grower industry faced in 2021. When COVID-19 broke out in 2020, everyone stayed home and gardened. This created a boom for growers and a blip in the historical data. In 2021, growers had to evaluate if the volume would continue or if they’d be stuck with plants that could not be sold.
Manual Methods Take Too Long to Generate Data
When relying on an entry-level accounting application and spreadsheets to generate reports, your teams are forced to export or manually copy data and then create reports to get the information they need. They may also rely on copying data found in hard-copy formats — such as whiteboards in the greenhouse tracking plant locations.
These methods take a long time to compile the data — consider walking through a large greenhouse and collecting all that whiteboard data. Once the information is compiled, it’s likely stored in a single user’s Excel files, meaning others cannot easily access the information. Or, the user shares their Excel files, but others begin to manipulate the data, and now there are multiple versions. And, then of course, the data is out of date almost immediately.
Ultimately, if managers lack accurate data, they can’t make well-informed decisions on how to make operations more efficient.
Time to Deploy a Robust ERP Platform
If your financial reporting process takes too long, and if you don’t know the cost to grow each of your items or your currently available inventory (or how long it takes to get products from each vendor), it’s time to evolve to a more robust Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) platform comes. Many growers upgrade to a modern ERP solution to achieve better resource management and real-time visibility into their business operations.
This visibility into accurate, timely data enables growers to manage finances more effectively and make strategic plans. For instance, with real-time decision support systems, an ERP platform customized for the unique workflows of the grower industry streamlines process management, inventory tracking, resource schedules, and key metrics measurement, so growers can achieve the best possible use of their resources.
Growers also benefit from a centralized repository of dashboards and reports that make their business more efficient: they don’t have to rekey information, and everyone can access the same single-source-of-truth data. Modern ERP platforms running in the cloud also make it easier to onboard and train new users—even those who are not technically savvy.
Improved Efficiencies and Planning
Once you deploy a modern ERP system, five key benefits emerge:
#1 – Enhance Process Efficiencies
- Standardize workflow processes and business data
- Integrate with retail customer ordering platforms
- Maximize racking and packaging efficiencies
- Gain visibility into real-time inventory availability
#2 – Facilitate Financial Management
- Understand cash flow
- Review payables and receivables in a timely process
- Streamline collections and credit approval workflows
- Report against financial budgets and forecasts
#3 – Plan Strategically
- Monitor consumption rates, demand trends, and product popularity
- Track machine usage and labor rates to schedule resources more effectively
- Analyze inventory testing and issue mitigation to improve production planning
- Forecast demand to drive production, purchasing, and space planning
#4 – Streamline Production
- Monitor waste and scrap to select vendors and refine manufacturing processes
- Measure inventory availability based on lead and grow times or life expectancy
- Track inventory movement, placement, and location to analyze growing cycles
- Monitor expected vs actual costs
#5 – Generate Real-Time Reports
- Build reports to analyze key KPIs
- Understand the true cost of production
- Track sales campaigns and impact on revenue from discounts and marketing efforts
- Generate dashboards with expected output by location and variety
In addition to these benefits, with everyone working in one system — and using mobile devices such as scanners, smartphones, and tablets — data flows more efficiently. And without having to manually compile data from multiple places, your entire business receives real-time dashboards and reports so there’s time to take decisive action.
Ultimately, upgrading to a modern ERP solution running the cloud can be the key to success in times of market uncertainty. With the ability to enhance process efficiencies, manage financials in real time, and make business decisions based on accurate data, you can stay a step ahead of your competition.
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