Growth is a sign that your business is succeeding – but rapid growth and seasonal events can place your business under a lot of pressure. This is particularly true for manufacturers, distributors, retailers and anyone else with a large inventory of physical products. If your business starts to struggle with managing increased orders and inventory, you run the risk of missing orders, losing customers, and reversing your growth.

In the growth cycle there are various signs that your supply chain needs improving, some include:

• Over supply
• Sales problems
• Ageing stock
• Excessive stock movement
• Getting orders wrong
• Production problems and
• Complaining customers

Optimizing your supply chain operations and inventory management could mean the difference between making the most out of growth and losing out. The answer to optimizing your supply chain starts with software. Most businesses will have more than one supply chain problem. If you’re facing a long list of issues, fixing them can seem daunting. The good news is, change in these areas can usually be solved by investing in the right business management software, along with advice from a supply-chain expert.

By investing in sophisticated business management software or what is commonly known as ERP software, most supply chain issues can be solved by focusing on three key areas:

1. Reducing errors
2. Automating manual tasks
3. Shortening your delivery cycle

ERP software is designed to give your business accurate, up to date information about stock levels and orders. With complete visibility across your organisation, ERP software allows you to connect the dots across your business from forecasting demand to timing and tracking order, to getting the right product tot the right person, every time.

Human-based procedures are subject to errors and delays but implementing automated processes to cover manual tasks can dandle swings in demand, reduce incorrect stock levels and shorten your delivery cycle. More effective forecasting, ordering, picking and packing will naturally also help to reduce your delivery cycle.

Getting expert supply chain support is also ideal for helping to optimize your supply chain. Working with a partner who understands your business and your processes is key to improving every step of your supply chain so you can take advantage of the growth. Here at Momentum we work closely with our customers to implement new software effectively and can identify issues with your physical systems and processes. We support you throughout the implementation process and are here to hold your hand with any support you need going forward.

Growth sounds good but enhancing your supply chain with capable ERP software and a business partner who is there to support your business is vital to ensure you are prepared to cope. Optimizing your supply chain allows you to take advantage of potential business growth and improve your business processes. With a well configured ERP solution you can expect improvements to the following:

• Scalability
• Sales growth
• Cash flow
• Staff experience
• Profitability
• Turnover and sales
• Customer service and
• Compliance and best practice

MYOB ERP software is designed to future proof your supply chain. By keeping track of your operations in real-time, you get a clearer vision for your business. Data accuracy speeds up your decisions and helps you see where you make the most profit. Site-traffic, sales-by-region and more real-time data tracking ensures that you can accurately forecast demand across every area of your operations.

Learn more about optimizing your supply chain with MYOB ERP software here.