The rapid pace of growth at many small and mid-sized businesses often leaves no time to consider how various software packages are supposed to work together. New software is added as needed, most of the time from entirely different vendors. Unfortunately, this siloed approach to software setup can lead to a lot of headaches down the road, including higher costs, lost productivity, and less insight into how well a business is actually performing.

The challenges of a siloed software system

The problem is that many small and mid-sized companies naturally revert to a collection of different software packages. They typically start out with basic accounting software, and then decide to add advanced software, such as inventory management or sales management software, on an as-needed approach.

This approach might work in the short-term, but over the longer term, this very inefficient silo architecture (in which the different software packages have a hard time integrating with each other) leads to a number of challenges, including wasted employee productivity, lack of real-time visibility into operating results, and extra costs (both in terms of time and financial resources) due to the need for integration.

Advantages of using an integrated business management software system

Now contrast this approach to that of an integrated business management software system, such as Spire. With an integrated system, you are able to streamline operations because all the various functionality is designed to work together. Instead of buying software on an a-la-carte basis, you are buying one integrated system that works great from the very start. As small and mid-sized firms are finding out, there are two big advantages of using an integrated business management software system.

First and most importantly, an integrated system enables much greater automation of routine business processes, everything from order management and fulfillment, to invoicing and expense approval. Data and information from one business function (such as sales management) can be very easily combined with data and information from another business function (such as inventory control). This makes things much easier for the team in accounting, which doesn’t have to worry about tracking down data across multiple software databases.

Secondly, an integrated software system improves visibility into the real-time operation of your business. In today’s real-time business environment, customers expect to know the current status of an order immediately, and members of the management team often want to put together reports on the fly. If you are using a siloed approach, this is almost impossible. But with an integrated system, you can quickly gain access to any key numbers or data that you need.

Grow your business with TriTech

At the end of the day, opting for an integrated business management software system like Spire is all about preparing your business for the next cycle of growth. Being able to manage business processes more efficiently can lead to lower costs, higher revenue and greater overall profitability.

Contact us today and ask how we can help you grow your business.