Limiting the amount of problems that might impact your supply chain and disrupt your entire operation is important to keeping production schedules on track and making sure there aren't any significant gaps in your service response system. ERP software can allow your business to isolate problem areas and fix any communication issues relatively simply.

The role that risks can play in thwarting successful business is not insignificant, if one is to judge by a study that recently emerged from the MIT Forum for Supply and Innovation. This report assesses the problems that such risks can cause by examining several different companies, primarily based in manufacturing.  One of the key qualities it noticed in its look at the way different businesses responded to stress was how quick and resourceful its management was in reacting, and what factors contributed to that. A lot also depends on the "maturity" of your company, according to them.

Examining the resulting changes in different companies' revenue over the course of a year, the study found that well-developed management systems had a reduced chance of losses.

"Only 44 [percent] of the companies with mature processes suffered a 3 [percent] or more decline in their revenue compared to 57 [percent] with immature processes," the authors of the study wrote. "The difference is striking in key areas such as total supply chain cost, order fulfillment lead times and lead time variability."

The types of advantages that ERP business software solutions provide might seem like obvious decisions that you can make on your own, but your company may benefit from the additional perspective that they can grant.