As more and more businesses are going through a serious digital transformation, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software solutions are becoming more widely used. One of the most noteworthy ERP software solutions is SAP.

Since SAP is easily applicable to industries big and small, it’s no wonder that it has become a global leader. But in order to be able to explore various ways in which SAP can help small and midsized businesses, we first need to see what SAP is and what it is used for.

What is SAP?

As mentioned previously, SAP is an enterprise resource planning software solution. The acronym SAP stands for systems, applications and products, but it’s also the name of the company that designed this software solution.

SAP relies on different modules that are designed to make various business processes more streamlined within the organization.

SAP modules include – but are not limited to – human resources (HR), finance, sales, project management and many other.

SAP helps businesses create a centralized system that each part of their organization can easily access and use to make data sharing, communication and collaboration more streamlined.

What is SAP used for?

Since SAP is a software system designed for business processes management, it makes effective data processing and information flow within the organization more seamless.

Simply put, SAP is used to connect all parts of a business into a cohesive digital platform. That way, all of those parts can more easily communicate and collaborate with each other, which is crucial for business success.

Due to the fact that SAP is so all-encompassing, it has more than 230 million users. On top of that, it offers more than 100 solutions for various business functions.

With that in mind, it becomes quite clear that any business, regardless of its size, can benefit from implementing SAP software solutions in its operations. Here are just some of the examples.

Finance

Finance is one of the most important parts of a business. As such, any business needs to pay close attention to its finances to ensure everything is in check.

SAP will enable businesses to scale efficiency and monitor the costs and expenses. This offers businesses a better insight into their financial health, which provides great growth opportunities.

For small and medium-sized businesses, this is extremely important. Not only will they be able to monitor their finances more easily, but they will also more easily identify areas where they need to cut costs to make more room for business growth.

HR

For small and mid-sized businesses, being able to assemble the right team of people is pivotal. That’s why every business needs to find a way to streamline its HR department’s operations.

With SAP, HR departments can more easily define and implement successful people strategies.

Additionally, these accessible and user-friendly tools may also contribute to creating a business environment that fosters learning and growth. This will greatly contribute not only to your employees’ personal growth but to your business as well.

Constant learning and improvements are the backbone of any successful endeavor. Most importantly, SAP solutions can also greatly assist with recruiting and onboarding.

Data management

Data management plays a very important role in any business. Regardless of the size of your business or the industry you operate in, without proper data gathering, management and analysis, you can’t really hope to reach success.

Luckily SAP can easily fast-track information and make smart use of Big Data. What’s even better is that it’s perfectly compatible with other business intelligence tools, such as Couranto subscription management, which makes it even more helpful in this business area.

So there are innovative technologies that can help you gather, analyze and distribute data business-wide.

Analytics

While on the topic of data gathering and management, we also need to mention analytics. All of the data in the world won’t be enough unless you know how to use it.

So, by analyzing the data you’ve managed to gather and organize, you’ll be able to make smarter decisions regarding your small or mid-sized business. Proper data analysis may help drive smarter decisions.

And since SAP solutions provide business intelligence, planning and advanced analytics tools, it’s more than obvious that it proves to be very useful for businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Furthermore, all data and analytics will be centralized, which entirely eliminates the need to go digging for a piece of information or data you have stored somewhere.

Customer experience and CRM

No business in the world, regardless of its size, can function without customers. That’s why being able to attract new customers and retain your existing ones is so important.

Customer satisfaction plays a huge role in this, as unless they’re satisfied with not just your offer but their experience with interacting with your business, no customer is likely to return.

SAP helps you streamline this process by gathering and organizing all customer-related data, which will help any business improve their offer and thus boost customer retention and the overall experience.

Expense management

As previously mentioned, all businesses, but particularly small and mid-sized businesses, need to pay close attention to their finances. This also includes any procurement and expense management.

By being able to know exactly how much you spend and on what, managing your finances will become that much simpler.

Here, you can stay on top of your procurement expenses, business-related travel expenses, invoice management and so on. That way, you’ll be able to notice more easily if any of these need to be cut or corrected for overall better business operations.

Project management

SAP solutions will also provide project managers with everything they need to keep their projects running as smoothly and seamlessly as possible.

So, everything from project initiation and planning to project execution and closure will be accounted for. This includes work break structure, cost planning, revenue planning, billing, confirmation, progress analysis, and many more.

After learning about SAP and all the ways in which it can help your small and mid-sized business out, not embracing such innovative solutions doesn’t really make much sense.

Since you’re already in a position to use modern technology to your advantage, there’s no reason to avoid doing so. Instead, integrate SAP software solutions into your business and reap all the benefits it will bring your way.

What’s more, learning how to use SAP and developing and perfecting some of the SAP skills will only bring more benefits to your door.

In such a technology-oriented environment, such as the modern business world, honing such skills will prove more useful than you may think. Therefore, rely on SAP solutions to provide dedicated help to your small or mid-sized business.