According to the general view of the industry and scholars, ERP can be described as: ERP is an enterprise management information system that can provide real-time information across regions, departments and even companies.
On the premise of optimizing enterprise resource allocation, it integrates the main or all business activities within the enterprise, including financial accounting, management accounting, production planning and management, material management, sales and distribution, etc. In order to achieve the purpose of efficient operation.
ERP adopts advanced information technology since 1990s, such as customer service machine structure, GUI, etc. To provide adaptability to organizational personnel and structure.
The application of ERP is often accompanied by the implementation of business process reengineering.
ERP can be interpreted in a narrow and broad sense. In a narrow sense, it only refers to the "internal" information system of an enterprise. Broadly speaking, it refers to a management system that integrates information representing the "internal and external" of an enterprise-some people call it extended ERP (EERP).
The reason for this phenomenon is that the industry regards ERP as a synonym for enterprise resource planning software, so when the enterprise resource planning software on the market expands its functions, the significance of ERP also expands.
Exploring the function of ERP should be viewed from two aspects: basic function and extended function.
Basic function is the basic function that all ERP system software must provide, emphasizing the integration of all functional activities in the "internal" value chain of enterprises; The function of extension is to extend the tentacles of integration from the enterprise to the back-end manufacturers and front-end customers of the enterprise. The functions of supply chain management (SCM) are integrated with the back-end manufacturer information system, while the functions of customer relationship management (CRM) and sales automation (SFA) are strengthened and integrated with the front-end customer information. Recently, the most striking solution is e-commerce.
I. Basic Functions At present, the basic functions of ERP software on the market are almost the same, and generally at least five basic functions should be provided: 1.
Material management helps enterprises to effectively control pipes and reduce inventory costs.
Including procurement, inventory management, warehousing management, invoice verification, inventory control, procurement information system, etc.
2
The production planning system allows enterprises to produce at the optimal level, while considering the output elasticity.
Including production plan, material demand plan, production control and manufacturing capacity plan, production cost plan and production site information system.
three
Financial accounting system provides enterprises with more accurate, transnational and real-time financial information.
Including indirect cost management, product cost accounting, profit analysis, accounts receivable and payable management, fixed assets management, general journals, special journals, activity costs and head office summary accounts.
four
Sales and distribution system helps enterprises to quickly grasp market information, so as to make the fastest response to customer needs.
Including sales management, order management, delivery and transportation, invoice management and business information system.
five
Enterprise information management system provides more real-time and useful decision-making information for decision makers.
Including decision support system, enterprise planning and budget department, profit center accounting system.
In addition to these five functional blocks, many manufacturers also provide other basic modules to strengthen the ability of internal resource integration. For example, SAP provides 13 basic functional modules.
Second, extended functions The four most important extended function blocks provided by general ERP software are: supply chain management (SCM), customer relationship management (CRM), sales automation (SFA) and e-commerce.
1
Supply chain management (SCM) Supply chain management is an integrated, real-time and flat system of logistics, information flow, capital flow, program flow, service and organization from suppliers to customers.
SCM system can be subdivided into three areas: supply chain planning and implementation, transportation management system and warehouse management system.
2
Both customer relationship management (CRM) and sales automation (SFA) are used to manage customer-related activities. Sales Automation System (SFA) refers to the system that salespeople can track and record detailed customer data. Customer relationship management system (CRM) refers to a system that can mine all key information from the existing data of an enterprise to automatically manage the data of existing customers and potential customers.
Both CRM and SFA are data warehouse technologies to strengthen the front end. By analyzing and integrating the sales, marketing and service information of enterprises, they can help enterprises to provide more customized services and realize the concept of target marketing, so they can greatly improve the relationship between enterprises and customers and bring better sales opportunities.
At present, the number of ERP vendors providing front-end functional modules and related functional modules is relatively small, and almost all of them are aimed at specific industries such as finance and telecommunications. These industries have a large number of customers and need to provide more follow-up services.
three
The e-commerce industry has different definitions of e-commerce.
E-commerce (EC) generally refers to a long-distance communication network system with three functions: sharing enterprise information, maintaining the relationship between enterprises and generating enterprise transaction behavior.
Some scholars further divide e-commerce into two categories: e-commerce between enterprises and e-commerce between enterprises and individuals (consumers).
At present, there are three main e-commerce application schemes provided by ERP software suppliers: one is to provide SCM function modules that can be inserted into ERP systems, such as modules that allow enterprises to automatically order according to integrated and real-time supply chain information to help enterprises promote e-commerce; The second is to provide CRM function modules that can be inserted into ERP system, such as: modules for enterprise construction and operation of online stores to help enterprises and individuals promote e-commerce; Finally, intermediary software is provided to help enterprises integrate front-end and back-end information to achieve a state of comprehensive integration of internal and external information.
ERP system is a large enterprise information software.
All the information of the enterprise shall be divided and coordinated, and centralized control shall be carried out, so that the decision-makers of the enterprise can make timely decision-making adjustments and corresponding measures.
Realize the rational use of funds, save costs and improve the work performance and efficiency of enterprises.
Several building blocks: 1.
Financial accounting module: mainly includes financial business management parts such as accounting treatment, auxiliary management, fixed assets management, bill printing, bill management, cost accounting, fund interest calculation, online reimbursement, A/P/collection management, report management, financial analysis, cash flow analysis and other report parts.
Each system and subsystem can be used in combination or separately to meet the needs of different enterprises and improve the financial management level of enterprises.
2
Supply chain management module: it mainly includes twelve subsystems: purchasing management, sales management, inventory management, inventory management and accounting, A/R and A/P management, deposit settlement, delivery management, bar code management, quality management, outsourcing processing and contract management.
Relevant business system data is automatically transferred to finance.
Application of the system in improving the work of various business departments 3
Management accounting module: it mainly includes enterprise budget, fund planning, project management and other systems, which are closely combined with the financial department to help enterprises strengthen the management function of accounting.
Management accounting is the product of the combination of accounting and modern management science, and its key point is to provide management decision support system and accounting information for enterprise management authorities.
four
Production management module: mainly includes production data, production planning, workshop management, cost management, equipment management and other subsystems. Production management effectively integrates sales data, financial information, inventory information, procurement information and other modules, and improves the company's overall (including planning) response ability. After the product is completed, the product is divided according to the amount of materials used, working hours and energy consumption. Calculate the production cost of products in batches. 5. Personnel management module: including salary management, personnel management, performance appraisal subsystem, which is closely integrated with other ERP systems such as accounting processing, and can also be used alone to strengthen the personnel management of enterprises and improve the work efficiency of enterprise personnel departments. 6. Platform system: including URS (customized report system), UTS (customized business system) and Inspur Tianyi-remote application platform (centralized remote access system).