A Comparison between ERP and Lean Software

The use of business software has increased considerably over the past few years and this has benefited several businesses, which have experienced increased efficiency. Business software allows quick transfer of information and ensures that business operations run smoothly. Software that functions efficiently helps business meet their deadlines and deliver proficient services with accuracy. Some of the best software used by most businesses these days includes the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software and the Lean software. Although both these software have their pros and cons, choosing the best one depends entirely on you. You must opt for the one that suits your business requirements. Before deciding on which software is best for your business, it is important to understand the comparison between ERP and lean software and what exactly both these software are.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software

ERP permits businesses to utilize methods of combined applications for effective business management. The ERP software combines all sorts of operations including marketing, sales and manufacturing. Small businesses can utilize the opportunity of setting up one or two modules simultaneously as per their requirements.

Some of the major benefits the ERP software offers to businesses include reduction in costs and improvement in operational efficiency. Besides this, organizations that utilize ERP are able to make smart decisions quickly. Let us examine the pros and cons of ERP.

Pros of ERP

• With innumerable software components present within it, ERP is of massive help to companies in predicting data. You will not be able to forecast data better with any other software efficiently. It is easier to predict data with ERP as it consists of several software that effectively monitor past history for information. Forecasting data accurately means managing inventory proficiently, which results in company’s improved productivity.

• Every business organization requires good communication skills in order to achieve efficiency and productivity in business. Proper communication can be achieved with the help of ERP software, which acts as a medium between business units for communicating effectively.

• Keeping track of orders and satisfying customers are the foremost requirements for the success of every business organization. You can easily get these services right away with the use of ERP software, which utilizes simple user interfaces to offer these services.

If you want your company to resort to cost cutting measures, improve its productivity and operational efficiency then you must opt for the ERP software. However, ERP also has certain limitations.

• One of the major drawbacks companies utilizing this software face includes inability to offer training for use of ERP due to paucity of funds.

• ERP systems involve enormous costs and all companies cannot afford to buy them.

• ERP makes it tough to share insightful information about a company.

Lean Software

Lean software development model illustrates an imaginary set of circumstances for the creation of software. One of the major functions of the lean software is that is assists organizations streamline their business processes and production methods so that goods are delivered at the market quickly. The major focus of this software is on the people and how effectively they communicate. Effective communication helps in the delivery of good quality products, thus resulting in customer satisfaction.

Organizations can implement the lean software by following certain principles. Principles like getting rid of waste, generating knowledge and building high quality in your software. Some of the benefits enjoyed by organizations utilizing the lean software include:

• Since waste like unwanted code and functionality, unclear requirements and incomplete coding discarded during the development process are totally eliminated; it leads to overall improvement in efficiency in the organization.

• Timely delivery of products is beneficial as it showcases the ability of your team to deliver more goods at a shorter notice. More projects can be covered and this will result in customer satisfaction.

Drawbacks of the lean development software include:

• The project you deal with greatly relies on consistency of the team and commitments of team members.

• In order to ensure that the project is a major success, it is vital to ensure that the team members are disciplined and have exceptional technical skills.

According to me, the ERP software must be given more importance as compared to the lean software because businesses these days function as a team and not individually. Since lean software has drawbacks related to a team, it is natural that it companies using this software will not benefit much as compared to organizations using the ERP software. These are my views; however you can assess which software to use by looking at the pros and cons of both the software and select the one that is apt for your company.

Author Bio: Hi I am Alan Murfee, I mostly write about Logistics Solution.