The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software is a rapidly expanding sector with over $20 million being spent in the region annually, said a senior official of Microsoft Middle East.

“Nearly 85 per cent of our clients see a positive return on their investment in less than two years”, said Karim Talhouk, sales and channel manager Microsoft Middle East, while speaking at a one-day ERP event held at its office in Dubai Internet City.

Even during times of fiscal leniency companies are finding ways to invest in ERP software, with remarkable results, said Talhouk.

ERP software is an integrated computer based system that is used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials and human resources.

More importantly ERP software presents the information in ways that is easy to use by top management to make decisions as well as increase efficiency.

“We make a difference to the balance sheet”, said Ramki, manager of CEM Business solutions, member of Microsoft’s presidents club.

“The great thing is that MS Dynamics ERP software is fully integrated with the other MS products. It has all the requirements clients need, but if there is something specialized we are able to provide them with the features and tools,” he added.

Streamlining the work process can be one of the biggest aspects that companies overlook and this has acquired greater important during the economic crunch.

“Reducing parts and increasing productivity of the work force is something that all business are capable of, yet don’t do because they lack the information on where they can trim the fat. ERP software shows where one can make your business more efficient,” said Abhiram, general manager of CEM Business Solutions.

Presenting a case study, Dr R Durgadoss, finance director of Bhatia Traders, said, 'Our business management software was no longer fit for handling multiple issues such as conflict of data, the need to re-enter data in different applications, and delays in producing reports for the management information system (MIS).'

'Our point of sales (POS) checkouts in our duty-free retail outlets were not IT driven and we needed better inventory controls,' he pointed out.

'Delays in producing management information meant we were losing deals, and often our sales executives didn’t know what customers wanted,' Dr Durgadoss explained.

'The company had become too top-line driven. We wanted to change the culture of the business from simply generating revenue to a new focus on creating profits. We needed to set key performance indicators (KPIs) and assign key responsibility areas (KRAs) in each of our business units to get the most out of our most important asset—our people.”

Bhatia Traders considered a range of business management solutions, he said and finally decided to deploy Microsoft Dynamics GP with Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Systems (RMS) for its POS system in the retail outlets.

“Our conclusion was that Microsoft Dynamics GP was the best fit for our organization because it was easy to use with familiar Microsoft tools. With its user-friendly screens and operating systems, it is little wonder that Microsoft technology is widely used in the Gulf region. Our net profit rose from 3.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent despite the economic slowdown,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service