It wasn’t long ago when a popular New York-based clothing brand was running their entire operation on spreadsheet applications. After experiencing a period of rapid growth and doubling the business, the men’s and women’s streetwear manufacturer could no longer support the massive amounts of orders, returns, and re-orders they required.

That’s when they made the investment in the latest technology and turned to an enterprise ERP solution. With their new system, they were able to achieve a 32% increase in overall productivity while significantly increasing process visibility and control.

Here are the top five reasons why you should dump your spreadsheets and implement an integrated ERP system to manage your business:

1. Accuracy. Chances are you’re being provided inaccurate inventory availability if you don’t have a centralized database capturing all the information. An enterprise ERP system will take customer demand (customer orders) and balance it against what you have in inventory, painting a real-time, accurate picture of what you have in stock.

2. Decision-making. When there’s no visibility to data (not in a centralized repository) then you can’t make quick, well-informed business decisions. When you need critical information on your business at a moment’s notice, sorting through spreadsheets or disparate systems is both a hassle and time-consuming. With an ERP system, all of that information is in one place, whenever you need it. Your employees can also get the information they need, improving productivity and efficiency.

3. Visibility. When you have a single ERP system running your business, visibility is instantaneously improved across your entire supply chain. This includes forecasting of raw materials that will be needed in the future and every detail relating to how your supply matches up with demand and the intelligence to alert you anytime they are out of sync. It can also take into account what you’re about to buy (procurement) and what’s in production in your factory.

4. Cost savings. After you implement an enterprise ERP system, you are certain to experience a massive cost-reduction on existing processes as well as reduced inventory control, production, and marketing costs. A single ERP system will also eliminate production delays which will reduce operating costs and improve productivity, eliminating the need for employees to work extra hours.

5. Reduced IT Complexity. Having multiple systems running your business can become a huge burden on your IT department, especially when you’re trying to integrate them with one another. An ERP system like BlueCherry by CGS can provide you with the scalability and agility you need to support your growth and respond to ever-changing industry challenges. Rather than adding more systems that will inevitably need more upgrades and customization, choose an ERP that will put less of a strain on your IT department and save you time and money in the long run.