How ERP can help pharmaceutical industry increase their profitability

When it comes to holding a respectable position in the worldwide pharmaceutical market, India is looked at as a shining star. One article was written in The Hindu newspaper saying that India’s pharmaceutical market draws its strength from the small and medium enterprises which form a crucial part of the supply chain to the bigger market players. These are MSMEs that are dominating the domestic pharma sector and are hence called the backbone of the pharmaceutical industry. It is hence crucial for small and medium enterprises to adjust to the changing market scenario.

Producing pharmaceuticals is a lengthy and complex process. It involves multiple tasks to take care of, like raw material procurement, actual manufacturing, distributing the product, multiple sales channel management along with sales generation. One more important step in the whole manufacturing cycle is Quality Control. Quality control starts right from selecting the suitable raw materials to production and selling of finished goods to the targeted consumer.

ERP software helps pharmaceutical businesses manage their entire workflow. When you choose the right Pharmaceutical ERP it will help you in running every business operation efficiently. The best ERP software will use a single, comprehensive business database that will allow different departments of the business to interact with each other. Departments no longer have to maintain their separate or independent databases. The ERP software can help businesses to track crucial areas of production seamlessly and optimize work processes like batch production, sales, accounting and finance, stock control, purchasing, quality check, regulatory reporting, manufacturing plant management, etc. Though these functions take care of different business responsibilities, they all are interconnected and interdependent. And hence, these functions and the performing departments must be able to communicate with each other without any gaps. ERP makes it possible through an easy flow of data and a comprehensive database.

ERP is also an easy to use and cost-efficient software that lets pharma businesses, and manufacturers be competitive and compliant. With the help of real-time information collected through ERP software, the manufacturers can streamline the entire business and make better decisions.

A good ERP software helps producers track each unit of raw material, right from its arrival, processing, packaging and delivery, until it reaches the end consumer. This cloud-based ERP is available in the market at a reasonable price. Businesses or users can access this software from any mobile device like – smartphone, a tablet or a laptop that has an internet connection. 

ERP software offers businesses the main advantage, that is cost-efficiency, time efficiency, tracking of every process, tracking of product from the process of ideation to delivering it to the final consumer, etc.  The software also helps you with real-time insights, detailed data on orders, drafting instant responses to customer queries, effective control over operations, planning and scheduling orders, accurately evaluating the data and making predictions, etc. 

Advantages of ERP solution for Pharmaceutical Sector:

Decrease in machinery downtime: Planning and scheduling regular check-ups of critical machines, components and devices used by the businesses increase their lifespan and it helps mitigate the machine downtime. The software also helps in tracking the due dates for machine maintenance and creating alerts for the same.  Businesses can track in-house or external maintenance plans with this ERP.

Quality Management: The software plans the entire production process in order to create a final product that is most likely to meet the quality expectations of the professionals before hitting the actual market. It ensures maximum quality throughout the production process to ensure that the end result is in compliance with customer demand and regulatory expectations/guidelines. This also avoids any issues like producing faulty or damaged items that are actually a waste of money, time, and resources.

Inventory Management: ERP automates and oversees all inventory operations to help stakeholders get the desired product at the right time. The ERP software seamlessly incorporates a store purchasing system to offer real-time data on product status. Additionally, The software also helps businesses by building real-time reports on inventory in terms of historical data, prices and feedback, in order to facilitate better decision making.

Cost savings: It mitigates labour costs by streamlining business flow. The ERP software collects and manages comprehensive data of employees like their individual skills, shift timings, responsibilities, etc. This helps in the effective deployment of business resources to boost productivity and efficiency, ultimately adding to more profit.

Customer satisfaction: The ERP software reduces the product delivery time by smooth customer execution of the request which helps in getting customer loyalty. Your customer care team can have quick access to the required data which helps them address customer queries/doubts/complaints quickly. A satisfied customer is most likely to stay loyal to your service and products.

As a smart business, you must choose an ERP system wisely after considering its ability to offer you everything you need. An ideal ERP will track every raw material end-to-end and check its suitability to the manufacturing process. The ERP would also take better care of your financial transactions and help your business follow healthy work practices. This software is fully compliant and easy to install and use. With this ERP software, you can manage your entire business through a single dashboard. Quick decision making also means quick results and an opportunity to stay ahead in the business. Transparency in business operations helps in efficient operations, more credibility, etc.