A Step-By-Step Guide to Custom ERP Software Development For Businesses

In this highly competitive market, no business can succeed without effective operations regardless of its scale. It is argued that one of the major causes of failure in businesses is poor management. This is where an ERP comes in handy the most! An effective ERP includes inventory, supply chain management, purchasing, operations, costing, finance, HRM all-in-one. In this article, let us explore the importance of ERP’s development, why you need it, and the step-by-step procedure to build Custom ERP Solutions.

Understanding Custom ERP Software Development

Before delving into the details about custom ERP software development, it is necessary to understand the meaning of ERP first. ERP or Enterprise Resource Planning Software System enables management and integration of basic business processes in real time. These are activities that entail gathering, storing, managing, and interpreting data from various activities of an organization. ERP, in simple terms, is a mediator that provides connections for central operational activities to take place.

ERP software can be web-based or simply a mobile app with functions customized for handling various organizational operation procedures. ERPs collaborate information from various departments in one place, that is, a central database. Every employee can view data related to their duties only and the administrators monitoring the ERP can have a view of all business processes with a bird’s eye view of what is going on in the company, which results in better decisions made at the right time.

Advantages of ERP Software Development

A good ERP application development company can build a system which offers several advantages to a business like:

• Dedicated modules to handle activities of various departments in a company.
• A user-friendly interface which is easy to learn and operate.

• An all-inclusive system which is easy to maintain.

• Flexibility to fit the unique needs of a company. 

• A centralized database for all company data and analytics.

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Custom erp software development services

There are third-party ERP solutions and custom ERP solutions available. The third-party solutions are pre-built which you can avail by paying upfront and subscription fees. Some examples are SAP Business One, Sage Intacct, Acumatica etc. Custom ERP solutions, on the other hand, enable creativity on your part in building the organization’s specific needs into every aspect of that blank canvas. As the custom solutions provide the flexibility of creating the link between your departments according to the demands of accounting entries, supply chain management, CRM integration and the requirement of sales leader analysis.

ERP Software Development Process

Creating an ERP system is a multistep and multivariable process in custom development. An effective custom-made ERP system requires a well-planned and designed development strategy. Let us next delve into the step-by-step process of ERP software development. 

Step #1: Discovery Phase

You have to begin by setting clear expectations. Start by identifying the purpose and objectives of an ERP system. Developers in the project cannot work efficiently without exact specifications. In the discovery phase, you should describe in detail each process included in the ERP system in the company’s structure. To ensure a successful discovery phase, consider addressing the following questions:

• How would the ERP system address specific business problems?

• How do you source your own software and applications, or do you outsource to third parties?

• What is the first step in the software development lifecycle?

Step #2: UI/UX Design

Because of multiple user roles, navigation elements, charts, and many other interactive components, design is essential during enterprise resource planning system development throughout various departments. It is during the UI/UX design phase that designers come together to make sure that there is a smooth flow of navigation between all the screens without any hitches.

Wireframes developed well at this point offer a general idea or blueprint of where all design elements on the screens will be located. In addition to this there are other minor elements that include the style and colors scheme, typefaces as well as buttons which result in a nice and appealing look for the end version of an ERP system. Pick a top-notch tech partner that delivers good UI/UX design services when considering an ERP development project.

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Step #3. Selection of ERP development technology stack

Choosing a technology stack for ERP development is important as this decision affects the system’s structure and its performance. ERP software development services adopt different technologies and development approaches according to the particular ERP system chosen and the priorities of the clients. 

Here are some common technologies used in ERP development:

Front-end Technologies:

• HTML: The base unit in organizing online information.
• CSS: Language of Web Style Sheet for Defining the Content Shape.
• JavaScript: Adds auxiliary interface means like sliders, interactive maps, calculators, and animations.
• React.js: Developing Dynamic and Interactive User Interfaces with JavaScript.
• Angular.js: Building responsive and dynamic single-page applications with a JavaScript framework.
• Vue.js: It is a flexible and advanced JavaScript framework used in developing rich user interfaces and sophisticated single page applications.

Back-End Technologies:

• .NET: High Quality Cross Platform Software Creation Platform for Enterprise Servers using Windows Server, Linux.
• Java: A server-side programming language.
• Python: Server-side oriented high level programming language.

Database Technologies:

• MSSQL: One of the widely used Microsoft database management systems.
• PostgreSQL: Custom Solutions using Object-Relational Database Management System.
• Oracle SQL: A viable substitute for enterprise database management systems.
• MongoDB: A scalable, open source, document-oriented NoSQL DBMS.
• Azure CosmosDB: A system of databases employing the principles of ACID-transactions, without relying on the relational scheme of data storage.

Step #4. Integrations

Most companies rely on different third-party tools and services. These third-party solutions needed to be integrated into your ERP system for added functionality. Developers of ERP systems can use APIs which are provided by third parties to obtain, collect, and show data in the respective ERP system. With this, it increases the amount of business-related information that will be available for use by the employees, therefore making the system much more applicable for various purposes.

Sometimes, instead of building big modules from scratch, you may just check out Which company provides ERP software? CRM is for example a highly detailed system, which registers entry points, lead qualities or pipelines of ongoing sales. This requires a substantial financial investment, particularly for small and medium-scale enterprises. There are already compatible solutions, such as third-party CRMs HubSpot and Salesforce that could be integrated to save time and costs by transferring data from the previous database.

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Step #5: Testing Your ERP Implementation

After bringing all your information into an ERP system, extensive tests should commence. This guarantees that the system will conform to the first security, integration, and functionality specifications established during the discovery phase. Key testing processes include:

• Auditing the system for conformance against initial security, integration, and/or functional requirements.
• It involves testing the system’s ability to carry out accounting and sales operations on a cross functional module basis and ensuring the validity of the results produced.
• Pilot modules and using focus groups to test them.
• Performing dynamic security testing using Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), in which any vulnerability can be detected and reacted upon as it emerges.
• Thus, this phase focuses on three types of testing – unit testing that verifies newly developed features and their relationship with other software components, system testing – validation of the final combined ERP system with respect to initial prerequisites.

Now you know the steps in ERP software development, and the cost associated with developing an ERP system may differ case to case. Considering the requirements in hand, typical ERP application development services may charge from $10,000* to $50,000* for small to medium businesses.

How does software development work?

• Usually, businesses approach reliable ERP software development companies and share their unique set of requirements. The providers then create a wireframe of the designation custom ERP solutions for their clients and once approved, actualize it at scale by adopting the most suitable tech stack.

Which is a good erp software development company in india?

• There are many development service companies in India offering custom ERP development solutions. Apart from SaaS applications like Salesforce, Zoho, NetSuite etc., small to medium organizations can approach providers like Sarvadhi to build their custom ERP solutions.