How does your strategic planning process work?
Do you have employees from all over your company dig for information, and leave the task to a few to pull it all into integrated reports … after having “massaged” the data thoroughly?
This isn’t unusual.
Choosing a Direction to Pursue
Without a single source for the basic information about your business, strategic planning becomes a costly, time-consuming affair that is riddled with inaccuracy and preventable error.
Every gap in your data presents risk that could take months to realize, long after you’ve committed your entire company to a specific direction. Without an integrated view of your company’s data that is reliable and easy to mine, your strategic planning process is destined to fall short of its full potential.
Put Your Data to Work
Data makes the difference, and an ERP system for smaller and mid-sized businesses can provide what you need to develop strategic plans that can be executed and measured.
The value of an ERP solution in the strategic planning process is profound. Up front, it provides the fodder necessary to understand company performance, identify areas and procedures that can be improved, and provide a baseline for future ROI measurements. During and after execution, you can use it to gauge the effectiveness of your strategy, from existing account penetration to the performance of newly introduced products.
The metrics available will explain where your strategy has succeeded – and where changes may be necessary. In the end, you will be able to turn strategy execution into a dynamic undertaking, in which you can make adjustments on the fly based on the data you collect about its performance.
The ability to execute your strategic plan depends in part on the objectives and action items you set and in part on the quality of the information you use to determine the direction you want to pursue.
Your ERP solution can mean the difference between having a strategy that is a loose guide and having one that is optimized for measurable results. Put your data to work, and you will gain an edge in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Photo credit: BobMacInnes
