There are multiple moving parts to a business. Production, sales, accounting, and payroll are among them. These rely on subject matter experts who have the patience to verify actions and make the necessary changes. However, these individuals or departments can take time to make things happen.
The result is a slow down in productivity and revenue generation. Add to this the fact that the average worker is productive for less than three hours a day and your company can be in serious trouble if tasks can’t move forward. One solution is to implement applications to increase production. Here are 5 apps that can help speed up your business processes.
1. Supply Chain Solutions
One reason operations slow down is due to supply chain issues. In other words, there’s not a clear understanding of either your available inventory or the ways to ship it out. This results in downtimes as thorough audits are conducted.
Some form of supply chain solutions app is required to close this hole. For instance, Stave Apps, which is a supply chain solutions company, has a tool that combines several inventory factors into one. This includes the procurement of products and supplies, inventory, and load balancing. Through this application, all departments have the ability to view information.
2. Employee Resource Planning
In most cases, business processes are slowed due to the lack of communication. Departments and their managers don’t speak to others when it comes to inventory, shipping, or invoices. To fix this, consider an Employee Resource Planning (ERP) app.
An ERP can be custom designed to fit your operations. From there, all of the important internal data can be added. Therefore, employees can follow orders from their initial creation through the payment, inventory, and shipping steps. Additionally, the ERP alerts the respective departments should there be issues.
3. Customer Relationship Management
On the client-side of the business, you want to utilize a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application. The CRM tracks customer connections from their point as a potential client to the completed sale. Along the way, it follows correspondence from both the salesperson and the customer.
A CRM is also utilized to report customer issues. Normally, this is done via a trouble ticket module that clients access from a website. Through this, your company’s customer service representatives can determine the issue’s severity and make attempts to resolve the problem.
4. Time and Expense Tracking
In the past, time and expense tracking was done through time clock cards or paper documents. These took a long time to process and verify. The speed these steps now take has increased through time & expense tracking applications.
Normally utilized by human resources staffers, these allow users to enter their work hours via their home or office computer. If connected to something like a digital time clock, the information is automatically recorded. Thus, HR workers minimize the risk of missing an employee’s information.
5. Biometrics
Retinal and fingerprint scanners are no longer part of a future world. They’re here today and especially in the workplace. Known as biometrics, the apps connected to this form of verification are immensely helpful to minimize time theft.
In other words, an employee can’t clock in for another person who’s late or wanted to take a day off of work. They need to scan their retina or a finger for validation. This speeds up not only time-keeping processes but also helps in the retention of qualified workers.
The apps listed here that can help speed up your business processes are only a small example of what’s currently available in the market. Basically, if you require a computer program to help with an aspect of your company, there’s a good chance something is available.
Don’t pick up the first CRM or ERP application you see. Contact the manufacturer and ask if they are customizable for each company. In the end, you want something that can grow with your company instead of purchasing a new model each time your reach a bursting point. Furthermore, find out if they have a trial offer so you can see how it will work for you.
There’s no longer a need to be afraid of technology. If you embrace it, your productivity will greatly increase.
