For companies today that still operate with outdated, siloed departmental solutions, there are daily challenges in meeting the needs of the modern consumer.
The answer for many is to turn the ERP system inside out.
Consumers today have virtually unlimited options for researching and purchasing products, with online sales and new digital channels providing not only price transparency but also the real shopping experience for millions of shoppers worldwide.
This omnipresence of information has increased consumer expectations; however, most companies are having great difficulty meeting them.
The main culprit behind the challenge of providing an experience omnichannel For the customer, it is the ERP system itself.
Traditionally, ERP systems were developed to meet the needs of employees, not today's consumers, much less the partners and suppliers who are a critical part of any modern business.
Today's customers expect accurate inventory information, order history across multiple channels, and seamless order fulfillment. This is inherently difficult for the legacy ERP systems from the 90s that many companies still use today.
These legacy ERP systems were designed around departmental processes, rather than around the customer, and many of the newer versions of these older systems struggle to abandon the legacy of their origins.
When the internet emerged with new platforms to transform how companies provide product support and information to customers, most companies only began to adopt e-commerce and content management systems that were disconnected from the system of record.
Even today, customer data is still scattered across CRM, e-commerce, marketing, and various systems of record, making it nearly impossible to reward the most profitable customers, predict demand, or ensure repeat business.
The answer for many is to spend hundreds of thousands of reais trying to integrate these separate systems to support their ambitions. omnichannel.
The results are mixed, with interruptions in integrations due to system updates, a lack of real-time visibility since data transfers are done in batches, and companies still have systems designed to support employees, not customers.
These companies fail to grasp the depth to which they need to redesign their core infrastructure.
Every aspect of this infrastructure needs to be evaluated in order to design around a customer-centric model from the outset.
They need to turn the ERP system inside out with the explicit goal of improving the customer experience.
Companies that focus on their customers and directly connect demand to a digitally enabled supply chain will be the long-term winners.
Amazon, the prime example, built its infrastructure to take advantage of global product and price transparency, even dynamically pricing compared to competitors.
Today, a company no longer needs to physically possess a product to sell it on its website. If a retailer knows that a supplier has stock, they can accept the order without ever having the product.
And beyond supply chain efficiency, there's an incredible efficiency in operating at scale. As these businesses grow, the incremental costs associated with demand can be managed with far fewer employees and much lower inventory costs.
Newer companies that have built (or rebuilt) from scratch with e-commerce and a digital supply chain reap significant advantages:
- Visibility into the inventory of suppliers and manufacturers.
- Fast and consistently excellent customer service.
- The ability to track and evaluate customers' purchase history, behaviors, and preferences.
- Customer profile and product recommendations for better targeting.
- Self-service for customers through low-cost online portals.
What began as a challenge for B2C companies is now manifesting itself in the B2B world.
B2B customers who have seen the ease of use, visibility, and real-time information provided in the B2C world, along with a new generation of employees who know no other way, are forcing B2B companies to reinvent their own processes.
Delivering the best customer experiences requires wholesale changes: in organizational structure, culture, and IT systems. It requires a more modern infrastructure built around the customer.
A modern infrastructure is an investment that will pay off in the coming years and decades. But ultimately, the ultimate goal is within our reach: to offer customers a personalized, relevant, and consistent experience across all channels.
Want to learn more about what it's like to have a modern ERP system designed to meet the needs of today's market?
Active Cloud Solutions is the leading partner Oracle NetSuite in South America, being responsible for implementing the most complex Oracle NetSuite projects.
We have a team of specialized and prepared consultants to provide all the necessary support for the development of high-quality and efficient projects.
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