How low-code makes ERP development affordable, flexible, and efficient

An enterprise resource planning tool, or ERP, is no longer reserved for large, international enterprises. Today, businesses of all sizes—from SMEs to large enterprises—use ERP software to manage their core processes. The worldwide ERP software market is valued at over $25 billion per year, with an annual growth rate of 10 to 20%. What is the reason for this immense growth?

The benefits & challenges of a traditional ERP

An ERP system replaces all of your disparate tools/apps—including inventory, sales, project management, HR, production, and IT—with a single, cohesive system that allows the flow of data between distinct processes and provides updates in real-time. This means you get:

• Increased efficiency due to improved resource management, saving time and money

• Integrated systems, so your data no longer has to be manually transferred from one application to another, and management has instant access to live data

• Improved collaboration because of de-siloed departments that have transparency into operations and a consolidated data source

• Richer reporting because data is more accurate and customizable

As an ERP system impacts every facet of your business, it’s only natural to expect some challenges. Using an ERP system is expensive—the average cost per user is $9,000, and customization can run you an even higher bill. Moreover, without pricey customization efforts, most off-the-shelf ERP systems will not meet your unique business requirements. ERPs are complex and require you to have in-house development and IT experts to keep them running smoothly, compliant, and up to date.

If price and complexity have kept you from working a traditional ERP into your business model, a low-code ERP may be the perfect alternative.

What is low-code?

What does “low-code” mean exactly? Low-code is a much easier, quicker, and more inclusive approach to application development. You don't need advanced programming skills. Just some basic knowledge and the support of your IT team. Instead, a low-code development platform uses a drag-and-drop interface that is incredibly user-friendly. Want to build an app for your department? You have the power to do it yourself, under the governance of IT, enabling faster development and delivery.

The flexibility of low-code is also ideal for growing organizations. As your needs change and your company expands, you can easily rebuild and customize apps.

Meanwhile, the payoff from a low-code ERP system—when compared to an off-the-shelf ERP—is substantial. Low-code platforms can potentially reduce development time by up to 90%. A recent study found that the average company reduced the time required from IT to build the application. As a result, one of the companies earned a profit of about $4.4 million in increased business value over three years.

Low-code ERP development with Zoho

Where do you turn to for low-code ERP development? Zoho Creator is your best bet. Over 14,000 businesses use Zoho Creator to build end-to-end business solutions. Creator can help you build, manage, automate, and integrate your various business systems, consolidate information, and streamline processes.

Creator also provides a cloud-based multi-developer environment for development, testing, and production, as well as over 600 possible integrations with third-party tools like QuickBooks, OneDrive, Google, and more. Plus, there are AI capabilities and custom reporting on revenue, projections, performance, and more.

Other features include:

• Data visualizations and augmented analytics so you can see your key decision-making data at a glance

• Approval workflow automation that includes instant notifications, allowing you to manage multitier hierarchies, and help you minimize approval times

• Compliance with GDPR, ISO/IEC 27001, and SOC 2 + HIPAA

• Manual and OCR-supported data entry for 30+ different data types, so employees can submit data from anywhere for instant approvals

• Visual process blueprints to help you map out your business processes, set conditions, assign owners, attach documents, and automate actions

With all of these features and more, what can you make possible with a Zoho ERP?

• Send proposals, estimates, quotes, and more

• Automate email campaigns and notifications

• Track orders and distribution

• Monitor inventory in the cloud

• See stock inflow and outflow

• Automate purchase orders

• Receive SMS notifications & alerts

• Generate automated invoices

• Allow payments through a customer portal

• Track and report on revenue

• Record customer feedback

• Build reports and dashboards

• Project cash flow and customer consumption patterns

With specific applications for each department, you can monitor the seamless flow of information across your organization. Now accounting can see inventory, warehouse teams can see QA data, and all departments can base decisions on cross-departmental data for smoother operations.

Low-code, big results: Request more info about Zoho ERP development

No matter their size, businesses can benefit from the transparency, collaboration, and data an ERP makes possible. You don't need to be a massive corporation with millions of dollars and a giant IT department to develop an ERP for your business. With Zoho Creator, you can build all the apps you need to help automate your business operations and transfer clean, accurate data back and forth.

We encourage you to contact a Zoho Partner before you begin your project! They'll help you identify your needs, blueprint your processes, and customize your Creator application.

Are you ready to discover the benefits of low-code ERP development? Get started now with a 15-day trial.