The benefits of moving your sales process into your ERP system

For years, sales management software solutions were standalone products for many manufacturing firms, but separating sales processes from other aspects of operations resulted in a raft of inefficiencies.

Many companies in the manufacturing industry have since realised that sales are the crucial first link in a chain that includes all business processes, from buying, accounting and stock control to order processing, production management and customer aftercare. Unlike their predecessors, modern ERP systems can cater for many processes, including sales within a single solution.

There are many advantages that manufacturing firms when sales processing activities are done within their ERP system.

Enhanced sales management

ERP systems can assist with sales management by offering an integrated workflow that can fully automate sales processing and provide an overview of how it connects to the business. This automation can also enable more accurate lead times, improve demand forecasting and eliminate delays while offering users greater control.

Users can set credit limits and rules across multiple sales processes where processing and cycle time can be reduced, allowing manufacturing firms to fulfil requests with greater efficiency.

Reducing human errors for greater efficiency

Manually processing your sales orders can be subject to human errors and costly delays. However, an ERP solution can help automate the sales order process and generating shipping orders to minimise mistakes. It will allow the sales teams to focus on what they do best, bringing in the business. Invoices and orders can also be managed automatically without any human intervention with the ERP system once the parameters are defined.

Easily accessible and trackable sales data

Sales teams using an ERP system will find all the information they require fully accessible from anywhere at any time. With all customer data stored in one location, tracking a sale from start to finish will be easy. Detailed data records on contacts can also be kept securely, including all relevant information, with communications logged and trading information like sales history, payment terms and delivery requirements always close at hand.

Increasing outreach speed

It can efficiently improve your outreach speed. At their most effective, sales processes are always driven by your firm’s outreach speed. However, your sales processes will be impacted by how successfully your sales staff can deliver the correct information to the right customer in a timely fashion, something an ERP built-in sales function can assist with.

Streamlining ordering

ERP can streamline your ordering processes. Being able to create and action orders quickly is an essential part of any sales process; using an ERP system can manage this far faster than using traditional transaction methods.

Enhancing customer relations 

An ERP system can help with client relationship building. Communication is key to developing a business relationship. It can help team members maintain clear lines of communication with customers, where it will record client preferences and relationship milestones. This detailed information and reporting also enable enhanced levels of aftercare.

Add your sales processes to your ERP system today

If you’re currently looking for an integrated ERP solution with built-in sales processing, you can count on our specialist team at WinMan for support. With in-depth experience in providing ERP software to manufacturing and distribution industries, we’re well-positioned to help. Contact us today to incorporate your sales processes in an ERP system you can rely on.