These issues include:
1. Forcasting company cash flow, short to long term
2. Gaining a 360 degree view of the business from anywhere
3. Monitoring KPI across the business quickly and easily
Rule number 1 in the Managing Director’s handbook is ‘Don’t run out of cash’. Having cash at hand is critical.
MDs need to know there is a healthy cashflow to operate the business. Getting hold of this information can be difficult, sometimes a culmination of data from different systems. A cashflow forecast you can rely on is imperative to the managing director to enable them to plan accordingly to maintain the health of the business.
In the most simple terms, you can’t control what you don’t measure. There really isn’t any part of a business that can’t be reported on thanks to quantitative technologies. Typically an MD will get a reporting pack and will then hold his department directors accountable for performance against key metrics that are agreed upon in advance. Whilst an MD won’t be making day-to-day decisions, they will need to be able to see what is going on (department by department) and be able to drill down into greater detail when the metrics indicate variations to the plan.
As the velocity and competitiveness of business increases it is important for the managing director to have a full view of all aspects of the business.
Relying on month/period end reports is insufficient in today’s fast moving world. MDs need reports and analysis on demand and whilst on the move.
A good ERP system like SAP Business One will deliver greater access to metrics across the whole business. No longer will the MD be required to bridge the information gap any more, and decisions will be made using real information and not guesswork.
Any ambitious company makes long term investments with the good of the company in mind. It is important the business invests in the right systems that will ultimately provide the business with a measurable ROI – through cost reduction or increased business.
In a world with competition and budget cuts, businesses need to be smart on how to produce and deliver their products and services. Businesses need to be constantly evolving and developing their business processes to become more efficient – SAP Business One can be used to deliver the necessary controls to manage the process as well as streamlining processes through automation.
In a competitive world, MDs need to know what margin they are making and how that changes day by day. It isn’t good enough to see that at the end of the month, that information needs to be available quickly, so dynamic decisions can be made on new business on a case by case basis. Using a one comprehensive system with powerful reporting engine allows key business decisions to be made quickly.
