Enterprise Resource Planning (or ERP) software is one of the most widely used tools used by businesses worldwide. As evident from their name, these solutions are used to manage and monitor the resources for an enterprise. Though ERPs started out as a way for manufacturing industries to streamline their stock management, today’s ERP solutions are highly cross-functional and support many business operations with an organization.

The market for ERP software is expected to cross $49.5 billion by the end of 2024. This is because modern-day ERPs help manage different functions, processes, and departments within an organization through a single unified interface. They provide real-time information and statistics to firms that help iron out inefficiencies, boost productivity and minimize wastage. ERPs also allow firms in better decision-making, and if integrated with CRM software, they can help simplify promotional and branding efforts. With a good ERP implementation strategy, firms can automate multiple processes, reduce manual errors and gain better control of their business processes.

Today there is a vast variety of ERP solutions available in the market, many of which are specialized for a particular type of industry. However, they all contain a few basic modules which are helpful to all kinds of industries. Each such core module is specialized to manage a specific business process and offers several functions to improve visibility, control, and convenience. In this blog, we will be discussing each such core module and discover how they help organizations do better.

Key ERP Modules

With each provider trying to claim the title of the best ERP software, it is wise to know of the basic modules and functionalities covered in most ERP tools. So let’s dive in and find out more about each of the core ERP modules:

• Human Resource Management: This module helps HR teams manage employees and monitor their activities. The HR module helps store employees’ information and important records like their performance reviews, training needs and leaves. It also stores their time and attendance information, certifications and the skills that they have acquired. One of the key functions of this module is employee payroll management. It links with the attendance management system to calculate employee salaries, create payment reports, provide salary slips, and much more. This module also includes travel and reimbursement tracking for mobile teams and often houses a geolocation functionality remote employee tracking.
• Inventory Module: This module helps track the movement of stocks within and outside manufacturing units. With the help of this module, items can be assigned unique serial numbers that can be used to track their current location in real-time. This is especially beneficial for companies that have different manufacturing units, locations, and warehouses. The inventory module helps optimize stock utilization, reduce wastage, and improve oversight in stock movement.
• Finance Module: Also known as the Accounting module, this ERP component is responsible for the management of the inflow and outflow of capital in an organization. This module keeps a digital record of all financial transactions, expenses, balance sheets, bank statements, payment receipts, account ledgers, tax management, budgeting, etc. for firms. This module tracks each financial transaction and offers a holistic view of all financial dealings with just a single click. This includes reports, charts, notifications, and alerts that can be sent to a group of users.
• CRM Module: The customer relationship module helps improve revenue generation and customer satisfaction through establishing a healthy rapport with customers. This module is an effective replacement for CRM software and stores all customer-related details. Thus, customers’ information like communication, purchases, contracts, and their historical records can be tracked instantly through this module. Customers can also be communicated with using their preferred channels and informed about your newest offerings. This module can also be integrated with the sales module to discover more opportunities for revenue generation.
• Sales Module: This module helps keep track of the units sold, quotations, sales orders, dispatch, and invoicing. Typically, all sales transactions, the performance of different sales units, and revenue generated from each campaign are stored in this module. If integrated with CRM tools, this module can identify future opportunities, handle customer queries, and generate leads simultaneously.
• Production Module: Perhaps the most important module for any manufacturing industry, this module handles every aspect of production starting from planning, scheduling, stock utilization, preparation, maintenance, and forecasting. Through this module, manufacturers can track the entire production process and easily find out the causes behind slowdowns.
• Supply Chain Module: This module takes care of the flow of materials from the suppliers to manufacturers and from manufacturers to customers. Thus, this system keeps a record of all suppliers, distributors, retailers, etc. along with the demand/supply of stocks, sales return/replacements, and shipping/transportation.

There are several other modules for ERPs based upon the business domain they are created for. With the help of powerful modules and functionalities, they automate several business processes, reduce manual errors, boost efficiency, and help lower the workload of several departments simultaneously.