Perhaps a business owner’s biggest dream is for business to boom overnight, for unprecedented growth to increase profits, with the back-end power to sustain the improved output.

Unfortunately, for many businesses, the reality of a sudden increase in sales can be overwhelming. The list of challenges ranges from the management of extra resources and the handling of additional data to a bigger customer pool clambering for immediate, excellent service. Being able to efficiently match the scale of operations to the demand of the marketplace is critical for business success and sustainability.

The big question then is: How do businesses make sure they are ready for growth?

The answer is enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, one of the most effective ways of managing business growth. A robust ERP solution can provide the agility and scalability required to avoid the agony of growing pains.

The Importance of Scalability

A white paper published earlier this year by the World Economic Forum, “The Next Economic Growth Engine: Scaling Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies in Production,” describes how the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution—such as the internet of things (IoT), 3D printing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence—will potentially deliver up to $3.7 trillion in value for the global economy. These emerging technologies are already helping to generate massive net productivity increases.

Being able to expand operations means businesses need the ability to adapt quickly and to respond immediately to change in demand in the marketplace. This means scalability, the capability or potential thereof for a system to handle a growing volume of work. A system with optimized scalability will reduce the complexities associated with growth and offer an efficiently designed system of reporting and workflows.

In terms of your ERP, this means that any ERP you choose to work with shouldn’t just meet your requirements and your current volume of business. Rather, it should have the capability to grow with your company without need for replacement or larger overhaul that could potentially impact the flow of the way you do business. The last thing your ERP should do is cause you to reject an opportunity for growth due to limited software capabilities or cause you to spend more money than necessary to cover a system’s shortcomings. Your ERP needs scalability.

What to Look for in an ERP Solution 

There are several factors that will impact an ERP system’s scalability and performance. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to ensure you are getting maximum benefit from your chosen solution:

• Can you easily expand your ERP ecosystem to include new processes or departments?
• Can you process more transactions faster when necessary to meet sudden, fluctuating, or seasonal market demands?
• Can you extend beyond your enterprise to allow trusted customers and suppliers to link to your own system?
• Are your decision-making and planning facilitated by visibility and accurate information?
• Can you adapt to your changing business needs simply, cost-effectively, and with minimum downtime?

Many of these issues require internal planning and execution. Whether business growth demands high-transaction volumes or transactional elasticity, having a scalable, future-ready ERP system in place will offer the support necessary to achieve full growth potential.

Don’t let your ERP’s scalability negatively impact your organization’s potential for growth. While finding the right ERP with the appropriate scalability for your needs might seem complicated, you have a team of experts at your side. Let PositiveVision help you select and implement the right ERP for your business and its future growth.