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How to Build a Bridge from Your Strong Core to Flexible Options

Reading Time: 3 Minutes 08.02.2022 Currents & Trends

Intelligent data management helps you get the most out of your ERP system

As companies are becoming increasingly digitalized, the demands on software solutions for internal process control are growing, even in the manufacturing industry. Manufacturing processes and workflows are not just being digitalized, but rather re-engineered in their entirety. This has the effect that monolithic Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, which used to cover all business processes from a single source, are being replaced by flexible architectures. Sophisticated special solutions are on the rise, for instance in corporate performance management.

Obviously, there are many advantages here, as these solutions are tailored to the respective tasks. However, this trend also results in growing demands on business software as the specialized applications have to be connected to the ERP core system. A risky undertaking, since deficient integrations can lead to issues that might impair business decisions.

Simply the best for sustainable success

and best-of-suite approaches, using an enterprise service bus to connect the ERP system to special solutions via interfaces. Some manufacturers don't stop at this point: at proALPHA, we're offering closely interwoven solutions combining the ERP system with special applications, which we implement together with our partners and affiliated companies.

This entails various benefits, as is shown for example by the collaboration with our group company Corporate Planning, whose modular software for corporate performance management now supplements our corporate controlling solution. Especially in financial planning, a reliable integration with the ERP solution is essential.

Make data quality a priority

This complex architecture, however, poses a big challenge to the companies as impeccable data quality becomes a must. Incorrect or incomplete data can have negative effects on project controlling. If you make business decisions on the basis of flawed financial analyses, the success of your project might be at a risk.

The Corporate Planning software imports the relevant information necessary for accurate planning, simulations or variance analyses from the upstream ERP system. Intelligent interfaces return all relevant information and assemble it in a structure suitable for simulations, planning and analyses. As value changes in the connected systems are automatically taken into account, up-to-date information is ensured at all times.

Sound decisions with smart data management

Sound decisions require comprehensive data. Therefore, smart data management is a must for modern corporate management. The solutions offered by Corporate Planning run on a standardized technology platform. Every piece of information represents a single point of truth in the system and can be obtained any time.

You may drill down to financial and cost accounting, to individual postings and the corresponding documents that are stored in the document management system. So you always know where your data come from. A reliable connection to all common source systems and an automated, error-free data import that uses predefined interfaces ensure that the data used for corporate management are always up-to-date.

Look for the right indicators for good data

Currentness is only one of the important features of high-quality data. Consistency and completeness are also essential to effective corporate management. The data must be unique and accessible from all relevant systems and not contradict each other. Only then can you be sure to always have current, complete and consistent data at your hands to benefit from full transparency in your business decisions.

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Check and secure your data quality in the long run

We recommend that you use automated 24/7 data quality management to ensure that all these criteria are met at all times. This is achieved through a demand-based set of rules that can be tailored to your needs.

Save time thanks to automated data quality checks

Modern ERP and corporate management software already features error analysis and reporting functions that help you detect errors and notify users, for example by displaying an error message or by preventing them from making an entry.

Afterwards, a report is created and forwarded to the team concerned. They can then rectify errors immediately and without much administrative effort. Since all improvements made are documented by the data monitoring function, you can check the actions taken over time.

The set of rules on which automated quality management is based today is fully scalable and adjustable to any requirements. However, you need to make sure that rule changes don't contradict each other or lead to other problems elsewhere.

In a nutshell: without secured data governance, the ERP system will receive wrong information and pass it on to corporate performance management. In the worst case, this will lead to unfounded financial decisions. An integrated data quality manager protects you from this.

Secure your data quality with continuous reporting

By documenting and checking the measures on a regular basis, you can secure your data quality in the long term. The reports for regularly conducted analyses should not only notify you of errors, but also indicate the project's progress and the results already achieved.

As the ERP system and special applications like corporate performance management are integrated with each other, the various departments and the management can see that data cleansing is worth the effort and bears fruit.

Many companies are already aware of how valuable a comprehensive data base is. Transparency, quality and the efficient provision of current and high-quality information are the basis for quick and sound decision-making as well as for precise financial and resource planning within the integrated business applications.