Generic ERP Software VS Industry Specific ERP Systems

Generic ERP vs Industry specific ERP software are two different sides of same coin. In this blog post we will understand how both are different, and beneficial with respect to business software requirements which you have in your business. Implementing any ERP solution requires a proper planning on various aspects of your business and processes that you follow in your organization. There are necessary steps during the pre implementation and post implementation of ERP software.

Although during the pre ERP implementation stage you may come up with terminologies such as “industry specific software” or “Generic ERP”, “Cloud based”, “proprietary”, “open source”, “custom erp software” etc. These terminologies may puzzle or confuse you while selecting the ERP software. In this article we will understand the difference between a generic software and Industry Specific ERP software.

ERP software that manages your business smoothly

Enterprise resource planning software is considered as one of the powerful tool to maintain & manage your business processes and all the other business information. A good ERP solution streamlines all your business information and workflows in place across multiple businesses. ERP helps you to integrate all your departments such as Sales, Marketing, Purchase, warehouse, manufacturing, human resource etc in one single solution. This enhances your growth of your business in the short run as well as in the long run since as an Owner of a company you have all the information available in few click to create minor and major decisions.

Implementing any ERP software requires time and investment which provides your organization with better end results in the long run. There are various task and duties that needs to be performed by every team member in the organization including the vendor you choose to develop the ERP software. But before even selecting the vendor you must be able to understand what kind of ERP software that will fit in your business. As some organization follow industry specific workflows and some use simple workflows. So let’s understand the differnce between Generic ERP VS Industry Specific ERP software is

What is Generic ERP Software

As the name represents a generic erp software is basically design to handle all kinds of business. Generic ERP software covers the basic functionalities that any company would require while implementing an ERP software. For example the basic processes for a trading business will be similar such as CRM, Sales management, Purchase management, warehouse, Accounting etc.the only difference between two different trading business is the workflows, forms they follow in their business.

Generic ERP software is implemented when you need the common features with no customization in the core ERP modules. A Generic ERP system is usually designed to work with all kinds of specific business niche. It covers all the basic functionalities to automate a company’s workflow appropriately. Following are some of the Generic modules that is provided by ERP software in Generic category.

• Customer Relationship Management
• Sales Management
• Marketing Automation
• Purchase Managements
• Accounting and Financial Management
• Inventory / Warehouse Management
• Human Resource Management

Generic ERP software is crafted for a specific countries also for example considering a particular method of accounting is followed. Further There are many standalone software which is sold as generic ERP or Generic software. The biggest advantage of generic ERP is when you don’t want any kind of customization and you are ready to use the solution as it is by modifying very little changes through settings only.

The disadvantage of Generic ERP is that code customization in the software is not possible or very high in cost as well as timeline. Let’s have a look on what is industry specific ERP systems.

Industry Specific ERP System

As the name suggest that industry specific ERP systems are designed only for one particular industry. This kind of ERP software is designed by understanding in and out requirements of specific industry as an example – Hospitals, or steel manufacturing industry, Confectionery, Furniture manufacturers, eCommerce merchants (Omni channels). When any vendor or ERP companies develop industry specific ERP system they completely understand the in and out of that particular industry and what would be required to enhance business processes. Industry specific ERP systems provide you with integrated system so that you don’t require customization at all while implementing the solution. You can opt for industry specific ERP when you feel that Generic ERP may require lot of customization.

As ERP customization takes lot of time there are organization who go with industry specific ERP solution to fit their business needs. As an Example :  A furniture manufacturer may work differently compare to a jewelry manufacturer the manufacturing processes, management of raw materials, designing the product, packaging would be far different if we compare both the industry. Therefore a furniture manufacturer will opt for ERP which is specifically created for their industry and so on.

The benefit of industry specific ERP software is that you don’t need to do much customization as based on the industry standards the development of functions has already been done by the vendor. Although the cost and licensing may be higher with Industry specific ERP solutions and even if you need a minor customization that would be very costly as the vendor may not like to change their existing code just for your benefit.

Quick Overview Generic ERP VS Industry Specific ERP systems

Conclusion :

To Conclude our bifurcation of generic erp vs industry specific erp system we suggest if your company never used any ERP software than to initiate with Generic ERP solution this will help you to understand the functions features, users acceptance of new software in a company. But if your organization is into specific business then check out companies or ERP vendors who have already developed the similar kind of ERP solution. Competitor analysis on software will also help you to understand which industry specific ERP is suitable for your business.

Looking out for Generic ERP software or Industry Specific ERP systems ? 

We offer you with Generic Out of the Box ERP software which is ready to use with more than 500+ Modules availability. Some of the generic implementation we have done is for small businesses who dont want to spend to much on custom development. Apart from that we also offer customized Industry Specific ERP software that can be customized and implemented as per your business needs.

• ERP related Articles from Globalteckz Blog
  • Reason to avoid heavy Customization in ERP System
  • Efficient Business Process Management (BPM) with ERP software
  • ERP Review & Comparison for Top ERP systems 
  • Why ERP is becoming an essential Business Application 
  • Advantages of Web based Point of Sales – POS Software 
  • When to Implement an eCommerce ERP Solution
  • ERP system for Small Business – Advantages and Benefits 
  • MRP – Materials Requirement Planning 
  • Best practices for preparing ERP project plans
  • How ERP software helps in Supply Chain Management 
  • How to Implement ERP Software Successfully? 
  • How to evaluate Manufacturing ERP Software and Vendors 
  • How ERP software helps in Quick Decision making