The 1980s saw the emergence of the first ERP software packages for streamlining an organisation's key business processes. But what may have seemed like a great leap forward at the time, today has proven to be more of an obstacle due to the system’s rigid and inflexible nature or inherently limited adaptability. What if ERP fails to drive your innovation, and instead becomes more of an obstacle to it? And most importantly, how can you do this differently?
With the new generation of software development platforms, you create an easily adaptable central solution with distinctive features. Below we list the main benefits.
1. Central business software is easy to adapt
ERP or enterprise resource planning is a term and application that emerged years ago, making the leap from manufacturing environments to business. But today, these ERP packages can feel a bit like a straitjacket when using them. "Existing ERP packages generally impose a certain way of working. Adapting in line with your needs is not as easy as many people think," Mike Verledens, the CEO of Antwerp-based software company Sparklink, explains. "Such an ERP package imposes a certain way of working. But in the longer term, the short-term advantage of off-the-shelf software often turns out to be the bottleneck and an obstacle to innovation. Adapting to the new processes takes a lot of time and money, or sometimes simply isn't possible." With ERP software, there was always this idea that business processes were static. "But today we live in an era of continuous improvement, experimentation, and rapid adaptation, and many of today's ERP packages are simply incapable of this."
The new generation of business software, with Salesforce leading the way, offers more flexibility, meaning you have more freedom. "The software is more adaptable and can evolve in step with your needs as an entrepreneur," Verledens says. "In other words, you are at the helm of your own digital transformation as an entrepreneur. And you should definitely not wait until your software vendor happens to offer that one specific feature you need in their package," Verledens says.
Business processes are not static. Even a process such as invoicing and payments is changing. Just think of the new payment methods or partial payments. We currently implement applications that are based on the new PSD2 directive for the banking sector for a service voucher company.
2. Central business software: from package to development platform
For many years, you had two choices in software: either develop it yourself or purchase (and customise) it. The new generation of business software offers a third option, namely of building blocks that can be easily combined. "The new generation of centralised business software like Salesforce is not a package, but a software development platform, that is built to grow and change in step with you," Verledens says. Developing with these building blocks is usually faster than modifying an existing package, as was the case with the classic ERP software solutions. "You can fall back on an environment with ready-made, customisable software building blocks. A combination of low-code and code means developing it yourself is often faster than adapting existing processes or off-the-shelf software," Verledens says. "Users often tell us that the software finally does exactly what they had in mind. That way, you don't have to compromise when things get a bit more complex because you can also add your own user interfaces where necessary. We can focus on the essence of improvements faster. Entrepreneurs are finally taking control of their digital transformation themselves."
3. Central business software offers functionality that makes a real difference
How smart is your current ERP package? "A lot of the software we encounter focuses on registration, there is always a field for all the info, but as a user you get very little in return for the effort you put into it. The software does not make suggestions for follow-up actions, processes do not run smarter or faster, or even more automatically," he says. Contemporary business software can include process automation tools, bots, AI and machine learning, Verledens suggests, referring to Salesforce as a textbook example of the new generation of ERP. "Salesforce has become so much more than the CRM application they became known for. By continuing to innovate, they are still growing by around 30 per cent every year, becoming a company with more than 50,000 employees and over USD 20 billion in sales. This scale allows them to add functionality."
"With a platform like Salesforce, functionality is designed to fundamentally improve processes," he explains. "The result is all kinds of workarounds and shadow IT to try and improve processes that the ERP system cannot accommodate or does not support properly. The stack of Excel sheets on-site at the client is often a good indicator of how serious the situation is. There is still huge potential to improve processes in SMEs in all kinds of ways, and ensure that users can concentrate on more useful and often more interesting work."
An example from Sparklink:
"We are currently building an AutoMatch and AutoPlan engine in Salesforce for a service voucher company. The engine determines the ideal combination for the company's 70 branch managers between the requests for a cleaner from its 20,000+ customers and the 4,000 available domestic cleaners. Otherwise they would spend half their day trying to do this. Because in addition to matching, the software also takes care of much of the administrative work that needs to be done after scheduling. A real game changer for the industry." For the people at HCI, a tank cleaning company in the port of Antwerp, we have created a custom planning user interface that combines info on jobs, people, and their certificates, vehicles and equipment in one place and makes suggestions for planning."
4. Central business software means interesting jobs for employees
Technology and business software will have a major impact on how people will work in the future. But it also has an impact on how employees feel about their jobs. "Smart tools contribute to smart jobs. They allow you to perform more value-added tasks. Thanks to these contemporary software platforms, you eliminate random administrative jobs," Verledens says.
Another factor is that modern business software today is also easily integrated with the other applications that employees often use. "Take the integration with mail, calendar and various document management systems such as Microsoft Sharepoint, One Drive and Google Drive," Verledens says. The next big thing will be the integration of central software platforms with apps like Teams and Slack, he adds. "Salesforce recently acquired Slack, a company known for its communication tool, for USD 27 billion, and the company clearly has plans for this. Slack is rapidly becoming the new way to access and update data in Salesforce. Consultations thus also become action-oriented. The relevant data are immediately included in the conversation and adapted where appropriate."
A practical example:
"The situation whereby, for example, 15 minutes before your call with your customer, you automatically receive a Slack message with the most important and up-to-date account details, as well as an overview of open opportunities. During this conversation, you can also update your meeting notes in Slack, and get a reminder to change the opportunity status afterwards. It works fine," Verledens says. The team at Rattle share some typical use cases in this video. Thanks to the extensive integration capabilities between Slack and Salesforce, Salesforce partners can now also use this."
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