ERP integration: Key use cases and benefits 

In our IT-reliant world, performing multiple business functions is impossible without the involvement of cutting-edge software solutions. Professional digital products have become indispensable in processing customer and product data, supply chain management, allocating human resources, controlling finances, and more. However, disparate systems must work in sync to bring maximum value, which can sometimes be challenging for organizations.  

This article will explore the issue of ERP integration by explaining the essence of ERP software, regarding basic components and types of ERP integrations, and dwelling on the upsides and bottlenecks of the ERP integration process. 

ERP made plain

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a staple of the professional ecosystem for most high-tech companies today. Having evolved from the original MRP—a material resources planning tool responsible for supplying the organization with necessary resources for smooth functioning—modern ERP systems serve as a one-stop shop with a shared database covering most of the firm’s business operations.  

ERP’s various modules cater to the needs of a company’s employees enterprise-wide (from manufacturing departments’ workers to sales and marketing teams) by streamlining and facilitating production, financial management, order fulfillment, procurement and inventory management, workforce administration, warehouse management, marketing, and more.  

Although ERP software is quite versatile and multifunctional, it can’t do everything independently. To become an ultimate tool, it should work well with other internal solutions and third-party software programs the company employs in its shop floor routines. This is where ERP system integration comes into play.  

What is ERP integration?

A contemporary commercial organization leverages a broad assortment of various IT products in its pipeline activities, among which ERP is the backbone. Some are legacy systems, while others are cutting-edge SaaS solutions. Some are cloud-based tools, whereas others belong to on-premises software. Some are off-the-shelf products, but others are custom-made. Each relies on its own database and architecture, which sometimes excludes their coherent usage and business data exchange.   

ERP integration refers to integrating this system into the enterprise’s wider digital environment and providing its smooth interaction with all other components, as well as third-party apps and data sources. As a result, organizations obtain a unified ecosystem with a centralized database comprising compatible and consistent products that are visible to users and operate in harmony.  

What boons does ERP integration usher in? 

Benefits of ERP integration 

Companies enjoy the following perks when they connect ERP systems with other software. 

Single source of truth 

One of the scourges modern enterprises suffer from is data silos. It prevents personnel in, say, customer service departments from accessing the information available to sales teams and vice versa. ERP integration helps create a unified and consistent repository of accurate data, thus promoting seamless data flow and eliminating discrepancies that cause misunderstandings and errors.  

Real-time data 

Cloud ERP systems connected with other modules allow for real-time updating of vital customer and financial data. It guarantees that managers and employees have an up-to-date picture of events and business operations to adopt knowledgeable decisions and collaborate effectively in providing the best-in-class customer experience. Besides, real-time data analytics is a surefire recipe for staying ahead of the curve and getting a sharp competitive edge. 

Minimizing manual data entry 

When the ecosystem’s elements function in isolation, the staff has to enter the same data into multiple applications. This sheer waste of time and effort that often generates errors is avoided thanks to organization-wide data integration as a part of ERP integration. Now, when one employee feeds some information into any module, it automatically appears in relevant IT components without a single keystroke from others. 

Making legacy software last longer 

Upgrades and replacements are big-ticket and time-consuming endeavors that may seem impractical and even needless, while older systems work well. By integrating them with ERP, you can continue using them and avoid major disruption to business continuity by letting pipeline processes flow seamlessly along established lines.   

Scalability and flexibility 

Business growth spells more complex operations and more intricate business rules. Integrated ERP software enables companies to add new elements and scale integrations of other modules, keeping abreast of the organization’s evolution and introducing upgrades into current workflows. 

A comprehensive view of customers 

CRM/ERP integration (joining other client-facing products that operate customer data into a single network) allows organizations to obtain a 360-degree view of their clientele. This holistic picture painted by people’s purchasing history and all interactions with the brand is a source of insights into customer demographics, needs, preferences, and pain points, enabling companies to shape their advertising and marketing strategies and personalize customer experience to the maximum.  

Vulnerability management 

When organizations largely automate business processes and minimize human workforce involvement due to multiple ERP integrations, they address the lion’s share of vulnerabilities related to software security risks, operational inefficiencies caused by manual processes, miscommunications, and other inadequacies in the shop floor pipeline. 

Streamlined employee training 

When you integrate data access through the ERP system alone, you don’t need to teach the workforce to use various solutions. They will just have to learn how to leverage ERP to handle data related to any internal workflow. 

Faster ROI 

All the previously mentioned perks come together to result in a quicker return on investment than would happen with disparate enterprise IT products. Businesses integrate processes within their shop floor routine under one digital roof, thus boosting productivity, efficiency, analytics power, and customer satisfaction across the entire organization.  

You should understand what software requires harmonization with your current ERP to maximize integration advantages.  

Solutions to integrate ERP with

As vetted experts in implementing ERP systems for enterprises across various verticals, we at DICEUS know well what mission-critical integrations they require. 

Customer relationship management 

This is the most-wanted professional software utilized by commercial firms’ customer service, sales, and marketing departments. Its integration with ERP provides efficient alignment of their efforts with financial and procurement workflows, allowing them to administer targeted campaigns and elevate service personalization initiatives to a new level.  

Business intelligence software 

BI tools are a second-to-none instrument for analyzing large data sets to pinpoint trends and patterns in them. If they are joined to the ERP system’s data bank and augmented with artificial intelligence, they can automate the organization’s data collection and advanced analysis, generating insights that can be leveraged in enterprise-wide decision-making, strategic planning, and predictive analytics. 

Human resources management system 

The province of HRMS is all processes related to personnel recruitment, performance, and payment. Within an integrated ERP, you can consolidate individual employee profiles across all departments and align them with financial and operational information. It streamlines and facilitates job listing creation, workforce hiring and onboarding, resource allocation, payroll tracking, and more. 

Warehouse management system 

As a rule, it is a part of the ERP suite, but many organizations harness WMS as a standalone tool even before implementing ERP. If this is what you did in your company, ERP integration helps augment the power of both, optimizing storage, movement, and distribution of products, improving inventory visibility and accuracy, and streamlining order fulfillment.  

Supply chain management 

Unlike the previously mentioned system, SCM tools are responsible for goods in the company’s warehouse and the entire supply chain of raw materials and ready-made products. ERP integration supports it with a consolidated view of data and operations, reducing expenditures and improving overall efficiency across the chain. 

Transportation management system 

TMS works closely with supply chain management by ensuring the inbound and outbound movement of supplies and finished goods. Its combination with ERP increases the efficiency of logistics and fleet management manifold, aligning transportation with production, inventory control, and customer demand. As a result, product delivery occurs on time, and shipping costs are reduced. 

Project management solutions 

With project management software in place, organizations can plan, implement, and keep track of ongoing projects, ensuring they are executed within time and budget. By integrating project management systems with ERP, they improve coordination across different teams participating in the project. As a result, stakeholders are kept on the same page as to project resources, progress, and milestones, enabling project implementation efficiency to soar. 

Communication and collaboration tools 

They perform similar functions, facilitating real-time interaction and information sharing between employees via instant messaging or video conferencing features. Their integration with the ERP system gives stakeholders direct access to the organization’s database, thus increasing data and workflow consistency.  

Finance and accounting software 

Typically, this functionality is included in ERPs. Still, some companies have a dedicated solution for handling general ledger and payroll and performing vital financial operations (accounts receivable, accounts payable, and the like). Integration of such tools with ERP allows enterprises to onboard extra features (for instance, advanced reporting and analytics tools, tax solutions, or AP automation software) that improve financial data visibility across departments and automate financial workflows. 

Enterprise asset management 

EAM solutions are utilized to manage such physical assets as buildings, machinery, vehicles, and more. By integrating them with the ERP system, companies get a holistic view of asset performance, efficiency, and maintenance costs from acquisition to disposal, ensuring their timely upkeep, optimal functioning, extended life, and improved ROI. 

Document management system 

Such document management tools as Google Drive or Microsoft SharePoint allow organizations to streamline document control and retrieval. Connecting DMS software with ERP provides the availability of all documents to any authorized employee across the company, thus immensely augmenting workflow efficiency.  

Product lifecycle management 

PLM systems are responsible for overseeing all stages of a product’s life – from ideation and design to retirement and disposal. When augmented with the power of ERP, they integrate detailed product information into a wider context of enterprise-wide business processes, enabling employees to coordinate their efforts, align product features with customer demand, and reduce time-to-market. 

Manufacturing execution systems 

MESs are mission-critical for enterprises engaged in producing goods, where they monitor and manage shop floor processes. MES/ERP integration marries manufacturing data with strategic planning, inventory control, and transportation workflows, helping companies improve product quality and operational efficiency.  

E-commerce platforms 

They help manage all operations of an online store (order processing, item delivery, inventory control, customer interactions, and more). E-commerce ERP integration synchronizes various workflows, enables business process automation, and simplifies order fulfillment, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction and improved brand loyalty.  

Customer support systems 

This is dedicated software honed to manage all customer interactions with the organization. When joined with ERP, it provides a complete picture of each customer with their demography, purchasing history, and previous inquiries. Such a combo ensures efficient and personalized customer service and ticket resolution, which fosters customer retention and satisfaction. 

Marketing automation tools 

Their task is to automate marketing assignments and help personnel launch effective campaigns. By integrating such tools with ERP, marketing departments can align their efforts with organization-wide business operations and strategies, making their campaigns more knowledgeable and targeted. 

Point of sale systems 

Retail outlets leverage these indispensable solutions to process transactions and register purchases. Connecting them to ERP aligns real-time sales data with inventory management, allowing companies to forestall understocking and avoid overstocking, thus improving supply chain management and optimizing warehousing costs.  

Internet of Things platforms 

Such solutions collect and analyze data provided by IoT devices, enabling remote control over various processes and assets. When working in sync with ERP, these platforms ensure real-time data visibility, allowing companies to monitor the quality of goods, schedule maintenance sessions, and safeguard business process continuity across the organization.  

Mobile applications 

By enabling access to ERP via mobile devices, organizations increase the portability of their workflows and allow employees to participate in the entire scope of business operations no matter where they are at the moment. 

When you understand what ERP integrations make sense for your use case, you should select a proper integration type.  

ERP integration methods dissected

ERP vendors usually equip their canned solutions with in-built and customizable integration tools (like Microsoft Dynamics does, for instance). To opt for the right integration instrument and method, you should consider your unique business and technical requirements, which largely condition your choice. 

Point-to-point integration 

Establishing direct links between two systems using custom code is the most straightforward, quickest, and most cost-effective integration approach. It is just what the doctor ordered for small and medium-sized organizations whose IT environments have a couple of components to unite.  

However, it is not the best option for companies poised for expansion. As the number of integrations increases, the point-to-point model becomes unwieldy, time—and effort-consuming. Besides, it is a manual endeavor dependent on human coding and implementation, which makes it slow in execution and prone to inaccuracies.  

Middleware-based integration 

Leveraged for complex integrations involving on-premises architecture, this method relies on the middle layer of translation called the enterprise service bus (ESB). This centralized middleware component orchestrates intricate interactions between connected systems without altering them. It allows for the correct transformation and routing of data by translating specific data formats relevant to certain software types to and from the standard XML language. 

While perfect for vertical legacy systems, this approach doesn’t fit horizontal cloud-based architectures of SaaS solutions. Since it doesn’t support intelligent automation, ESB usage (like the point-to-point model) requires much manual effort and technical expertise to set up and implement integration flows.  

API-based integration 

This strategy presupposes utilizing well-defined protocols that connect ERP with other digital infrastructure components. API-based integration has the definite advantages of being high-speed and more reliable. The downsides include its unsuitability for event-based architecture and hybrid data flows and the need for manual support. 

So, while choosing an integration technique, you should weigh its pros and cons and consider each method’s pitfalls. 

Zooming in on the common ERP integration challenges

Knowing the ERP creation lifecycle’s ins and outs perfectly, DICEUS is well aware of the bottlenecks its integration will likely encounter.  

Data translation 

Records kept in different departments may be in various formats. The same is true of data coming from solutions of disparate nature and origin (legacy, bespoke, niche, etc.). Making them compatible with each other and the ERP system requires extra steps and specialized technical competence from the team. Integration platform as a service (iPaaS) tools contain prebuilt connectors that dramatically facilitate data translation. 

Lack of expertise and resources 

ERP integration is a big-ticket item that skilled professionals should implement. For many modest businesses, such financial and expertise demands may prove forbidding.  

Internal resistance 

As ERP integration ushers in, some team leaders or even whole departments may not relish the idea of their data or workflows’ extended visibility. The organization’s management should do their best to explain the advantages of the integrated IT ecosystem and create a universal buy-in among the personnel. 

Disruption of business operations 

Like any large-scale endeavor, ERP integration takes time. The staff also needs some time to learn the new solution. To reduce both and flatten the learning curve, you should have a meticulous integration strategy that will allow the company to keep business continuity disruption to a minimum. 

Security risks 

Data handling operations always pose the risk of sensitive information exposure or leakage. That is why, while planning and implementing ERP integration, you should follow the best data security practices and ensure regulatory compliance of the integrated system.  

Implementing an efficient and safe ERP integration is a complicated endeavor requiring first-rate software development expertise and a lot of niceties to pay attention to. DICEUS’s competence and experience in delivering high-end ERP solutions make us the best candidate for such projects. We can connect an off-the-shelf ERP with your company’s infrastructure or craft a bespoke ERP solution that perfectly dovetails into the existing IT environment. Drop us a line to obtain a highly efficient and seamlessly operating professional ecosystem where a robust ERP is a staple. 

To sum it up

Enterprise resource planning systems are the cornerstone of modern professional software companies, which leverage them in their pipeline activities. To augment its power, ERP should be integrated with other solutions, namely CRM, BI, human resources management systems, warehouse management systems, communication and collaboration tools, supply management solutions, financial and accounting software, project management tools, document management systems, e-commerce platforms, marketing automation tools, mobile applications, and more. 

When created with the help of an appropriate integration method, such a connected ecosystem becomes a scalable and flexible product relying on a unified database updated in real time. This provides a comprehensive view of customers and fast ROI. Organizations can make the most of an integrated ERP if they learn to address the key challenges of its implementation and hire a skilled vendor to see the project through.  

Frequently asked questions