To keep up with today’s modern technology and stay competitive, every business should take a new look at how they operate. It’s common knowledge that a company’s operational performance directly influences its financial results.
Furthermore, your organization has to align its needs with updated operational processes. Therefore, it’s critical to invest in reliable performance management systems. This is vital for any business that wants to survive in its respective industry. Also, this enables companies to conduct performance appraisals to help their business grow.
With this in mind, your business needs an enterprise performance management (EPM) solution. On the other hand, Jedox defines EPM in business solutions as an organizational platform that can help your business remain competitive in the market.
Nevertheless, to make the most out of EPM systems, it’s essential to understand the basics of EPM and how it can benefit your company. Read below to get started.
An Overview of Enterprise Performance Management
Generally, EPM is a process supported by business intelligence, planning, and reporting software that allows organizations to connect their strategy with execution and planning. It also encompasses consolidation and reporting processes.
Some of the primary components of an EPM system include budgeting, planning, and forecasting. This business solution also helps in managing reports, providing analysis, and monitoring performance measures or key performance indicators (KPIs).
Meanwhile, successful use of EPM systems enables financial planning; analysis to anticipate possible performance gaps and find their root causes; execute reliable and timely planning; research and evaluation; and strategic collaboration with the business.
Here are Some of the ways an EPM Solution can Benefit your Business
Better Strategic Alignment
Having concrete plans and clear goals that detail how to execute them and measure progress allows you to have prioritized objectives and clearer organizational structures. This way, it provides employees with a better sense of unity and direction and increased stability. As a result, EPM allows better strategic alignment across every department, improving your organization’s performance.
Simplified Financial Reporting and Analysis
Most businesses depend on more than one system to meet their reporting needs. In addition, ongoing changes to statutory compliance and reporting standards mean that processes that might have been used before must now be outdated. Nevertheless, an EPM system allows companies to adapt and meet their new reporting requirements efficiently.
Improved Business Intelligence
By setting clear goals and tracking performance against KPIs across the company, teams and managers can get a clear view of the organization’s current status. This data empowers your employees to identify threats and opportunities, run projections, and make well-informed decisions to improve profitability and efficiency.
Improved Profitability
EPM can help business leaders predict the profitability of future scenarios and initiatives. This is done by monitoring your company’s tracking margins and financial performance. It allows them to adjust their strategies to avoid pitfalls and take advantage of opportunities, maximizing returns in the long run.
Help Identify Progression Opportunities
Employees are the biggest asset of a company. By using an EPM solution, businesses can find ways to retain their highly productive staff and employees. It also helps the employees strive to perform with autonomy and work towards clear goals, objectives, and expectations.
The best EPM systems are also developed to track the performance and productivity of employees. The insights and data can be analyzed to determine weak spots that facilitate progression and development through training. Recognizing and mitigating risks allows employees to improve their performance and set themselves up for success.
What makes the Best EPM Solution?
An effective EPM solution must have features that allow your company to run seamlessly. It must also give you the tools to help you make crucial decisions about your company’s future. Aside from that, it must reduce your time on forecasting, budgeting, reporting, and planning.
So, when selecting your EPM system, careful consideration is necessary. Even if you might feel that you don’t have the required technical aptitude to make a wise decision, keeping your needs in mind will help make the selection process easier.
What to Know Before Implementing EPM in your Business?
When modernizing your business with an EPM system, remember that it cannot be done overnight. Therefore, to ensure a smooth implementation process, you must involve people from other departments in your company. This includes essential personnel in the fields of analysis, project planning, finance, operations, and information technology (IT).
It’s also crucial to understand how the implementation will affect other stakeholders. Key stakeholders have the most to lose or gain from the initiative. For this reason, you must focus on them when implementing EPM in your business. If possible, start with the groups before you work towards the individuals.
Conclusion
Investing in an EPM solution is an excellent investment for companies that want to improve the accuracy of their business processes. Its benefits are clear, and the only possible drawback is its high cost. Nevertheless, with proper implementation, the EPM system can give you real value for money while helping you build a stronger business.
Jason is the Marketing Manager at a local advertising company in Australia. He moved to Australia 10 years back for his passion for advertising. Jason recently joined BFA as a volunteer writer and contributes by sharing his valuable experience and knowledge.
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