Without a centralised data system, information remains scattered across different departments of an organisation, making it difficult to connect, access, and analyse it.
With ERP integration, various business processes such as order processing, financial reporting, and inventory management are connected from end to end, and you get a single central platform where you can manage the data and eliminate manual tasks.
What Is ERP Integration With Examples?
ERP integration allows seamless communication and data sharing between functional areas of the organisations. Integrating accounts receivable (AR) involves connecting and aligning the AR processes with the organisation's ERP system.
So when the AR is integrated within ERP, it means the Accounts Receivable process is integrated, and it has several key aspects such as data sharing of AR data, customer information, invoices, payment receipts, transition history and modules such as General Ledger, Inventory and Sales.
ERP System Integration
An integrated ERP system allows every aspect of the business to be controlled through a single application so that the data flows seamlessly across all the modules, integrating information to increase efficiency, centralisation, improve decision making and control over data flow.
All the teams and departments get access to the information, and they can execute business processes without interfering with others' work. Sales staff can view inventory data, marketing can access sales reports, executives can get a complete picture of all the activities involved, and they can also make predictions based on previous data.
ERP Integration With Salesforce
ERP integration with Salesforce creates a more efficient and responsive business environment. It allows teams to collaborate seamlessly and make informed decisions based on accurate and up-to-date information.
It also allows seamless real-time data access between the two platforms, improving financial visibility and business control and synchronising sales data with financial data effortlessly. ERP integration is crucial for decision-making in any organisation.
ERP System Integration: Benefits and How It Works (2024) Is Salesforce an ERP?
Salesforce automates sales and marketing procedures such as email marketing, lead scoring and lead capture. Salesforce is not just an enterprise resource planning system; it helps in business operations to help employees manage accounting, projects, and risks and handle compliance and supply chain procedures.
Without a centralised system, businesses are forced to depend on manual processes, which can be time–consuming and cause errors and inefficiencies. The lack of visibility across systems results in delays in decision-making, which can hinder the organisation's ability to respond to varying customer demands.
Integration of Salesforce with ERP streamlines business processes, resulting in a more efficient and responsive business environment. It allows teams to collaborate and make informed decisions based on accurate information.
ERP System Integration With Salesforce
As the organisation grows, the lack of standard procedures and control over various operations can restrict possibilities, making it hard for businesses to adapt to changing market conditions.
ERP integration leads to the automation of various processes and prevents data duplication and inconsistencies. Salesforce breaks down departmental barriers, ensures information flows seamlessly and lowers risks of data loss.
What is ERP Software Integration?
ERP Software Integration can be custom, native, or point-to-point. ERP's role is to streamline and integrate processes, information flow, and operations. ERP systems integrate data across the organisation, from labour to materials to finance at online stores, to deliver a unified system.
Why Is ERP Integration Important?
With multiple systems, businesses can grow, and if the processes become complex and difficult to manage, ERP integration connects the ERP software to various other applications to facilitate seamless data sharing and process automation.
ERP integration must be done for a specific purpose. For instance, it may be required when the organisation faces certain unresolved challenges hindering its growth or when it needs to handle competitiveness and efficiency.
It must be tailored to meet the organisation's needs. The choice of integration depends on the organisation's goals, industry requirements, and existing systems.
ERP And CRM Integration
Integrating Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) provides seamless customer journeys. ERP is synonymous with financial systems, which include accounting, financial reporting, and invoicing. The application includes additional modules like business intelligence, CRM, material requirements planning, and HR management.
The important benefits of CRM ERP integration are
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The CRM-housed customer details and ERP account data are synchronised.
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The Quotes are integrated with the CRM sales team members. The sales representative puts the sales orders into the CRM, and the ERP manages the orders, generates invoices, and fulfils and ships products. The integration of data between the CRM and ERP ensures the quotes and orders are accurate and allows the sales representatives to get all data from the CRM.
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The customer sales histories and future forecasts of customer requirements are stored in the system.
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CRM and ERP allow the sales team to view account payment status and provide the sales team access to integrated ERP data on inventory and pricing.
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The CRM contains lead and customer contact information associated with sales orders. In contrast, customer and account information for invoicing, payment, and shipping are synchronised, keeping the contact and account information accurate without redundancy.
E-Commerce Integration With ERP
E-commerce integration refers to the process of connecting an e-commerce platform with an ERP for better flow of data and synchronisation between the two systems to improve accuracy and minimise siloes.
ERP-integrated e-commerce connects an ERP system with the e-commerce platform, enabling real-time data sync and centralising management of orders, customer data and inventory.
ERP E-Commerce Platform Works On The Components –
Data sources are based in the cloud and leverage the software as a service model with universal connectors that make the implementations seamless.
It can work with on-premise hosting and system management, where a company's infrastructure requires higher upfront costs and maintenance requirements. You can have a hybrid mechanism, which is used by organisations that have specific security needs.
Further, it may involve establishing a direct connection between the ERP and e-commerce platform, where integration is built separately, making scaling a challenge.
The Enterprise service bus (ESB) involves a middleware solution as a central hub for connecting various systems.
Integration Platform as a Service is a cloud–based integration solution that provides pre-built connectors to streamline the integration process. Alternatively, a third-party integrator who specialises in system integration can be used.
The integration can happen in real–time or batches at predetermined schedules.
Shopify Integration With ERP
ERP integration is vital for e-commerce businesses today, as 72% of companies have fully integrated SaaS commerce platforms into their business operations.
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With Shopify's Global ERP Program, one can connect to an ERP partner through the Shopify App Store.
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Once the store and ERP are connected, you can access accurate real-time inventory, product, order, and customer data.
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You can implement automation to make operations more efficient and avoid time-consuming and expensive customised implementations.
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You can get a seamless and secure data flow between your Shopify admin and ERP.
Magento ERP Integration
An ERP system takes care of inventory management, supply chain management, purchase, invoicing, and other related tasks, while Magento handles the product cycle.
One can use Magneto ERP connections to synchronise data between two platforms, which can provide real-time updates and status. Magento offers adaptable APIs to connect with the most popular ERP solutions.
ERP Integration Service
ERP is necessary to make smart, informed decisions where you centralise critical information, and decision-makers can review up-to-date data and improve productivity, reduce running costs and gain higher income. Proper implementation of an ERP system automates systems, allowing organisations to augment data with complete peace of mind.
Customer data is safely stored away. It improves security and ensures sensitive data protection, keeping user data out of unauthorised access. There is an extra layer of security, so the enterprise no longer worries about customer data.
Integrating ERP into your business can streamline processes, increase workflow efficiency and create connected systems with a single central platform to manage the data quality and eliminate manual tasks.
Further, it can provide valuable insight and visibility into the resources used, allowing you to streamline processes and maximise your time and resource use.
EDI ERP Integration
EDI (electronic data interchange) and its integration with an ERP system allow businesses to quickly exchange and process data between the ERP system, external trading partners, and third-party systems.
EDI ERP integration streamlines various activities and processes, such as invoicing and sales order processing, which helps businesses lower costs and save time.
ERP Integration Architecture
ERP integration can be of many different types, such as
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Vertical integration involving several departments within the organisation promotes communication and data sharing between different functional areas such as HR, finance, sales, and manufacturing, as well as streamlining processes to eliminate duplicate data entry and enhance overall efficiency and productivity.
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In the case of horizontal integration of applications within a specific department, integration of sales and marketing systems of customer data can be seen, which improves lead management, enhances customer relationship management (CRM), manufacturing and supply chains to optimise inventory management, lower the cost and improve production planning.
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External stakeholders such as suppliers, business partners, and customers allow real–time data exchange, better supply chain management, and collaborative decision-making.
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Integrating suppliers improves procurement, timely inventory updates, and supplier relationship management.
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External integration also involves integrating with customers for better visibility into order status, after-sales support, and delivery tracking.
SAP ERP Integration
SAP ERP addresses the need for a comprehensive solution to enhance the core business processes such as inventory management, human resources, and financial management and contribute to a better user experience.
It is a tool to enhance operational efficiency and meet the demand driven by evolving business models and requirements. It provides a robust suite of services designed to optimise the customer journey, enhancing customer loyalty through effective customer management.
It improves order fulfilment, automates repetitive tasks for the sales team, and acts as a central hub for operational management. It empowers businesses to achieve higher goals with better operational efficiency, quick decision-making and improved performance while aligning the goals and applications with the related customer strategy.
ERP Integration Challenges
The ERP integration can be expensive, and it may be difficult for mid-size and small organisations to purchase high–quality solutions. The integration team faces challenges related to scalability, customisation, data accuracy and dependencies, and interoperability with third-party apps.
The biggest challenge faced by integrating teams is that the manufacturing process can be complex and vary from one industry to another; further disparity in data formats and processing can delay integration.
You need skilled employees to handle the system, and some employees may be resistant to change and may be comfortable with the current system.
Multiple ERP integration challenges arise due to the following situations –
Over budget – ERP integration comes at a cost; when the project runs over budget, it affects the success and timeline of the entire project.
Unsecured connections: Security and data breaches can adversely affect the project's success.
Complexity—ERP integration projects can be complex, requiring expertise in technology and business processes. Without the right team and resources, the project can get derailed.
Data Integrity issues—Data integrity issues can arise if the data is corrupted due to poor management or wrong decisions.
Training and management—Training is essential for integrating and managing the overall project and modules, ensuring that team members communicate with each other effectively.
Data migration- The developer team must ensure the data is moved from previous systems and is properly transferred and integrated into the new system.
ERP Integration Strategy
ERP integration strategy involves a delicate balancing act involving assessing and integrating the needs and desired benefits while evaluating potential risks and challenges at each stage. At the core, it is necessary to identify roles and assign responsibilities for the successful progression from start to finish.
There are many sub-categories in ERP integration, such as –
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On-premises ERP integration connects the modules and systems of ERP solutions, integrating different departments, such as HR, finance, and manufacturing, to share data and communicate efficiently.
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Cloud ERP integration connects cloud-based ERP systems with on-premises or other cloud systems, streamlining data access and management across a distributed workforce.
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Legacy system integration connects older legacy systems to newer ERPs. It is done when the organisation updates technology.
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The third–party application integration involves CRM, e-commerce, HR and third-party apps.
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Data integration includes data transfers, warehousing, and real-time data synchronisation, ensuring the systems have common data.
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The API-based custom integration enables communication between applications.
Pipedrive ERP Integration
Pipedrive is a cloud-based company offering a great integration strategy. This strategy allows you to use data to support crucial functions such as email marketing and customer communication. Pipedrive offers over 400 ready-made integration options.
Each company's data is stored in a separate database in Pipedrive, and Pipedrive can generate customisable insights and reports based on the business's unique requirements and activities.
Pipedrive has fewer features and is less expensive than Salesforce, but it is ideal for companies with sales teams that work on closing deals with clients.
One of the benefits of Pipedrive cloud CRM is that it integrates your application with many other web-based services. It can provide automated responses to customers through email chatbots, schedule follow-up appointments, and automate sales. It allows you to streamline your working process and become super efficient.
MES ERP Integration
MES is a Manufacturing Execution system that uses IIoT technologies to gather real-time data through sensors, machines and connected devices, leading to better visibility, remote monitoring, predictive analytics and optimisation of the manufacturing process.
ERP and MES are important for handling sophisticated software solutions, and manufacturers rely on them to manage their operations.
MES allows manufacturing units to utilise the core competencies of the evolving technology, schedule tasks on machines, ensure traceability through batch management and connect the manufacturing processes to the entire company.
MES concentrates mainly on the production stage. It monitors the manufacturing process in real time, ensuring the best possible resource usage, lowering downtime, and increasing total productivity.
To integrate ERP and MES, you can follow the given procedures such as –
Batch Integration—Batch integration is the process of aggregating and processing data collected over time. A manufacturing firm would keep track of production data, which can be uploaded to the ERP database at the end of the shift.
Real–time integration—If the systems communicate with one another and take instantaneous actions based on the data received, the purchase can be made, and the store's inventory can be updated anytime.
Middleware Integration is a method of using middleware such as iPaaS to connect incompatible infrastructures. Middleware can coordinate the flow of information among systems, storefronts, inventory management, and CRM.
Cloud-based integration – The system can be integrated on cloud platforms through system connectivity and data sharing. In a cloud-based system, a multinational company can connect to global branches.
Custom API integration enables the developers to integrate the ERP with specialist production monitoring software.
Point-to-point integration—The method connects two distinct computer networks, with the online store's payment gateway connected to the ERP system.
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Integrating ERP and MES improves visibility and provides a comprehensive perspective of the full manufacturing lifecycle. It enhances quality management as the integrated systems can collect and analyse historical data and build identification patterns based on their production operations.
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It reduces human errors, promotes accuracy and decision-making, and provides better insight into production processes that can be updated in real time.
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Integrating ERP and MES enhances visibility throughout the process, enabling accurate demand forecasting, effective inventory management, and timely order fulfilment, which can contribute to meeting client requests effectively.
What Is The Role Of ERP Systems In System Integration?
The integrated systems make dynamic production planning possible, leading to optimised production planning. In this plan, production schedules can be forecasted, changes can be made on the basis of market demand, and the manufacturer can effectively allocate resources and reduce waste to lower the cost of production and web service integration.
Why Doesn't Toast Integrate With EKOS ERP Brewery And Taproom Systems?
Ekos is a cloud-based system for beverage makers and taprooms. They streamline inventory, production, sales, and accounting in one business management solution to improve communication between people, access business information from anywhere, get real-time visibility into operations, forecast future needs, manage inventory and set reorder points, save time on TTB and excise tax reporting and understand COGS and business metrics.
Yes, Toast integrates with Ekos ERP Brewery. For example, Toast can track sales in a brewpub or taproom system and import the data into accounting software daily. It can help make operations more efficient and profitable.
