HCM City (VNA) - Vietnameseenterprises, regardless of size, should use enterprise resource planning (ERP)solutions to optimise their resources and improve their efficiency, heard aseminar organised by the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City onJanuary 9.

Phi Anh Tuan, deputy chairman of the HCMCity Computer Association and CEO of PAT Consulting, said ERP could be used tocollect, store, manage and interpret data from many business activities.

The challenge facing wood processing firmsis to meet the increasing requirements of buyers in terms of quality, deliverytime, and traceability, and cutting costs to improve competitiveness, accordingto Tuan.

The more orders a company gets, the busierits managers are and they do not have time for planning strategy, consideringmeasures to improve productivity and optimise production.

With ERP, data is easily available androutinely updated and the management can make the best decisions for thecompany.

They can also get a better overall pictureof how the business is operating, which is vital when it comes to responding tochanges and improving overall financial planning of the business.

Le Duc Nghia, general director of An Cuong WoodWorking JSC, said at a time it had 700-800 workers the company had difficultiesin managing things. Then its payroll grew to over 1,000 staff and revenue to 1trillion VND (44 million USD), and the company did not know how to manage, and restructuringbecame the only option, he said.

But then it adopted SAP’s ERP, andmanagement had become smooth, he said.

Now it had more than 5,000 workers andrevenues of over 3 trillion VND, but management was no longer difficult, hesaid.

“Since applying SAP’s ERP in January lastyear, our revenues went up by 40 percent, and I just need to work five days aweek instead of seven as I used to.”

The solution allows him to manage hiscompany’s resources at any time and from anywhere recognise potential risks,and make decisions at every level quickly and precisely.

The solution is no longer just for largeorganisations and in fact ERP for small businesses is quickly becoming popularamong organisations to look for greater productivity and more streamlined datathat is available to all departments at all times.

With proper use, an ERP system can boostproductivity, reduce costs, streamline data flow, encourage collaboration,deliver business insights and improve decision-making, according to Tuan.

If they streamline their management,Vietnamese businesses can save up to 76 percent of administrative costs.

Hoang Dinh Trong, chairman of PDCA TrainingConsultants Limited Company, said automation would help liberate top managementfrom mundane tasks to focus on their key mission of planning.

However, the number of businesses embracingautomation remains modest in the wood industry because at most companies themanagers used to be skilled workers like carpenters who established a companyand so sometimes lack management skills, he said.

But many delegates agreed that businessesshould definitely adopt appropriate ERP solutions. - VNA