Being an entrepreneur requires accomplishing a lot of business-related tasks. However, handling all the functions on its own is a tedious job. Tasks like accounting, supply chain management, and risk management, among others, consume a lot of time and effort, especially for SMEs. Undoubtedly, completing all these tasks raises the demand for professionals who can manage these tasks. However, rather than hiring multiple people, having an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can significantly help in the long run. This software system can perform all these tasks through automation without much human intervention. This article will elaborate how you can build ERP system from scratch.

What is ERP Software Development?

An ERP system obtains, stores, manages, and interprets data from several business tasks and manages the business processes in real-time. It collects and stores its data in a shared database which can be accessed by personnel from specific departments. In other words, it builds a unified system that can accomplish specific business tasks and interconnects the system to enhance overall work efficiency. At present, the majority of organizations use ERP systems as they can minimize manual efforts. 

Benefits of Custom ERP Software

Without a doubt, building a custom ERP system is a complex undertaking, but the benefits it provides are worth the effort. Here are the significant perks that you will get with custom ERP software.

1. Faster Employee Training: When implementing new software, employee training and learning curves are the two significant factors that the organization should always consider. Employee training will be more accessible as the ERP system will be specifically designed for your organization, along with the proper documentation.
   
2. Greater Flexibility: Third-party ERP software is a significant challenge because you have to adapt and learn the software. Several options are available in the market that can meet the majority of needs, but often they cannot fulfill every organization’s requirements. When a business model is somewhat unique, it is best to have custom ERP software, as it will be made per the company’s exact needs. 
   
3. Uncomplicated Maintenance: When you must deal with a bug while using a third-party ERP program, you need to connect with a 3rd party support team so that they can resolve the issue. However, the duration of fixing the problem will vary with the support team’s effectiveness. It might take a few hours, or it may even take several days or longer. On the other hand, resolving the same issue in a custom ERP program might take little time as the developers know all about the program and will make fixing the problem their priority.

Limitation of Custom ERP Software

Custom ERP software does not just come with advantages only; several limitations should also be considered before planning to get a program for your organization.

• Development Time: When you plan to develop custom ERP software, you need to understand that producing this software system will take time, perhaps much time. Developers must design and create the system’s business logic and test all software elements. Furthermore, the process cannot be rushed as it may compromise the software quality. Before you begin the development of such software, make sure that you are aware of the time it will take to reach its release.
  
• Cost: Costing is one of the most crucial factors when picking software for the organization. Developing custom ERP software will increase the initial investment as several factors will contribute to this. Though large enterprises with a big budget may not consider this a limitation, small companies may find it challenging to invest a hefty amount in software. Due to affordability, small organizations stick to third-party off-the-shelf ERP solutions.

How to Build ERP System from Scratch?

Building an ERP system from scratch is complicated and requires a strategic approach. Here is a detailed guide on the entire development process to begin your ERP software development journey.

1. Understand Your Requirements: The first step in this complex process is clearly understanding what you are looking for from the software. You need to understand your requirements, why you are developing it, the business problems it will solve, and whether it is worth getting custom software. Identifying all these factors will allow you to have better decision-making and set realistic goals. 
   
2. UI/UX Designing: Once you have gained a better understanding of your expectations and requirements from the ERP software, it is time to decide on its overall design. Having a better user interface allows users to work seamlessly on the system. Easy navigation, user roles, access to charts, and many different components contribute collaboratively to making software design better.
   
   Wireframes will define the overall scheme and the look of the program’s components. Many other factors, like fonts, color schemes, and buttons, play a significant role in making the software exciting and engaging. Remember that this software will directly impact your business, so spending additional time on UI/UX design should be fine.
   
3. Technological Stack: Picking a reliable technological stack is one of the most crucial steps in the entire ERP software development process. The ERP system will also become more stable and effective with the right tech stack. The right tech stack depends on the platform for which it is created. For instance, C++ or C# is used for Windows, whereas Objective-C or Swift is used for macOS. Angular, Node.js, and JavaScript can be used for web systems. Now Question arises:
   
   Which Technology is best for Developing an ERP System?
   Different technologies exist for developing an ERP system, and picking the correct system is the decision that will influence the entire software. Tech stacks for ERP software are divided into three categories which are explained below:
   • Front End:
     • CSS – Being a style sheet language, CSS defines the appearance of the content of the website. Developers use this tool to pick the text font, spaces, color scheme, image, table size, and text size.
     • JavaScript – User interface elements including 3D animations, calculators, maps, and sliders can be created through JavaScript.
     • HTML – One of the most significant aspects of the tech stack, HTML is used to structure the entire web content into headings, paragraphs, images, sections, and other formats.
     • Angular.js – Angular.js is a JavaScript framework suitable for building dynamic and responsive single-page applications, including ERP systems.
   • Backend:
     • Java – Java is one of the most popular server-side programming languages. This language can be utilized to create a feature-rich ERP system that provides smooth business functions.
     • .NET – This platform is suitable for building cross-platform and secure ERP systems. One of the best things about this is that you can use several languages, editors, and libraries for creating enterprise server applications.
   • Database:
     • MS-SQL – Microsoft’s SQL is a relational database management system built for data storage and administration.
     • Azure CosmosDB – The Azure CosmosDB supports ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability) transactions. However, this does not use a relational data model.
     • Oracle SQL – Oracle is one of the most renowned names in ERP systems, and Oracle SQL is also an excellent substitute for enterprise database management apps.
       
4. Integration of ERP Modules: There are different ERP modules available that can be integrated into your ERP system. These integrations will help you interconnect various data tools while avoiding data loss. Some far-famed ERP modules are G Suite, SAP, JIRA, Office 365, and Salesforce. Having any of these integrations will offer your employees better information related to your business, making your ERP system practical and more functional.
   
5. Testing: Building an ERP system involves rigorous testing as well. The ERP system should undergo quality assurance, where the system will be tested for any underlying issues and bugs. All these issues should be fixed by the QA engineers so that it becomes stable and valuable. To make testing even more effective, the personnel working on the ERP system should participate in the testing as beta testers. Keep in mind that there are several parts of QA testing, including unit testing, functional testing, and non-functional testing, which will consume much time.

What is the Cost of Building a Custom ERP System?

Building a custom ERP system for your organization is undoubtedly beneficial. However, it requires time as well as a financial investment. Several factors determine the final cost of building such a system for an organization. Here is the list of all the factors that influence the cost factor.

1. Development Team: Undeniably, you will need a development team to build an ERP system. You have three options to get this team; build an in-house team, hire freelance developers, or hire a professional software engineering organization to shoulder the task. Among these three, working with a software engineering organization is the most reliable and effective solution as it almost guarantees a perfect ERP system for your organization. When it comes to the cost factor, both freelancing and software engineering partners are affordable as compared to hiring an in-house team. However, freelancers tend to miss deadlines that may cost you more than intended.
2. Region: The cost of developing an ERP system varies with the region from where professional development services are taken. For instance, development companies from America and Western Europe often charge the highest amount, whereas countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia tend to charge significantly less without compromising the quality of work.
3. The Complexity of Project: The more time and effort a software developer has to put in, the higher the cost of building an ERP system. In other words, the project’s complexity will directly influence the final cost of building ERP software.
4. Training: Though it is not a direct cost related to the development of ERP software, training is still an expense that comes with it. Once the software is created, team members must be trained. Training will not only come with a certain cost, but the less productivity on the primary tasks during training sessions will also hamper the overall profits of the organization.

Custom ERP VS Third-Party Solutions:

Factors	Custom ERP	Third-Party Software
Cost	The cost of having a custom ERP is higher due to additional efforts.	As the software is already built, the cost of having third-party ERP software is lower.
Customization	The customizations in a custom program are endless as they will be tailored as per the organization’s requirements.	The customization options are limited and vary with software. Some software may come with better customization options than others.
Learning Curve	As the ERP program will be specifically made for an organization by keeping in mind their requirements due to which the learning curve is not steep.	No third-party software is made for every organization which is why personnel should be trained to use them, making the learning curve steep.
Development Time	Developing a custom ERP solution can typically take somewhere between six months to a year or more.	Getting a third-party solution is easier as there is no development required.  However, implementation and integration times can be significant.

What ThinkSys Offers as a leading ERP Software Services Company?

Partnering for ERP development is one of the best ways to build ERP system, as it provides complete software lifecycle at cost-effective pricing. ThinkSys is one of the best names to get custom ERP software development services. With expert developers by your side, your software is sure to enhance your overall productivity and efficiency. Here are the different ERP system services that you will get from ThinkSys to bulid erp system.

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