Cloud ERP amidst COVID-19

Featured article by Caitlyn Bell, Independent Technology Author

COVID-19 pandemic has led to several consequences. The rate at which it spread created grave concerns, and social distancing became the norm to curb the spread. Due to this, many businesses had to shut down their offices. But, at the same time, they needed radical solutions to ensure that their day-to-day operations did not suffer. Online portals and platforms were the answers to this new problem. Therefore, integrated cloud operations got its high acceptance among businesses. Many Cloud ERP suites have now become the new pillar of running companies. Hence, it is essential to understand what these Cloud ERP solutions provide that ensure resilience to the “no-work-going-to-stop” syndrome.

Real-Time Information Delivery

First of all, cloud ERP solutions provide sufficient information in real-time. Some work in an organization needs immediate information dissemination. For example, take the domains like logistics and supply chain. The organizations have to deliver raw materials to the concerned department. It is possible when the inventory shows stock changes. Once there is a change in inventory, it is easy to get from the warehouse level. When real-time data combines with geo-specific locations, the cloud-based operations carry precise data on goods’ whereabouts. Accordingly, these cloud-based ERP solutions can generate alerts and notifications.

Tracking Employee’s Work

One of the other benefits of cloud ERP solutions is the provision of a virtual work floor for the employees. This work floor allows the admins and managers to track the day’s work of every employee. After reading the data and matching it with the daily targets, the concerned authorities act as per the derived performance analysis. Therefore, any employee’s work in a day will also provide effective insights regarding their efficiency. Using the performance analysis, managers can lay out the next appraisal period. In addition to this, cloud ERP solutions support applications that are necessary for a certain set of employees. For instance, if the employee is a software developer, they need a compiler and coding tool or platform to develop software. For accounts, there are accounting and auditing tools.

Modules for Value Addition

Coming to the next benefit of cloud operations related to ERP is that one premium account has all the relevant modules (or functionality) related to an organization. So, be it for HR or project managers, cloud ERP solutions offer specific modules for the entire firm. The HR managers need an attendance sheet to assess the payroll. Similarly, the project managers need to track the project’s progress every step of the way, i.e., research, development, testing, etc. There are email management tools to write emails. The inception of ML and AI help these tools to address the right people in the organization.

Tools for Entrants

Due to the pandemic, social distancing has led to the closing down of the offices. Thus, the inductions of new employees are occurring through these platforms. So, when a new entrant starts work, he or she needs a basic orientation programme. Whatever the new employee’s domain, there are video sessions available on the cloud ERP solutions. Hence, if someone has been a sales associate in the FMCG sector and is switching to automobiles, these cloud-based ERP solutions can be used to provide online negotiation training sessions. These training sessions give hands-on and inculcate the perfect elements to pitch their sales when they go out in the field. Hence, in a nutshell, cloud ERP solutions amidst COVID-19 is a golden opportunity for many organizations globally to expand their horizon and business because of their benefits.