What is a custom software for business development?
Custom software for business development is a special software created according to the needs of your company. It is customized according to the requirements established by you in collaboration with the representative of the company in charge of the implementation. It is a solution for entrepreneurs/managers (for the b2b sector) for any company regardless of size or industry.
You receive technical support for a long period of time both during and after the software implementation. It is usually purchased by license.
How does it work?
When we talk about such systems, we are referring to the digitization of the processes in your company. So, everything that happens in your company will be organized in private databases. You will have access to these databases through a program that will be installed on your computer. Or they can be kept in cloud and you can only log in with the username and password on the platform.
Digitizing processes means that any information, action, calculation will be passed from paper to computer. This way everything will be automated and easier to manage. Check orders, inventory, shipments, financial indicators, production planning, tracking client progress, etc. Just imagine accessing your dashboard and check everything, anytime. Easy right?
Examples of automatized actions
Let’s see in practice what this software can do. Here is an example of automated actions that can be requested by a company from the production industry.
- Tracking customer orders.
- Automatic calculation of the supply requirement.
- Tracking supplier orders.
- Optimal planning of production orders depending on the delivery date of the customer order but also depending on the machine.
- Automation of the demand for materials to the warehouse according to the production planning.
- Real-time production order tracking.
- Track the degree of load on the machine.
- Productivity tracking by operator / labor.
- Consolidation of pallets upon delivery.
- And so on…
Examples of Custom Software for business development
ERP (Enterprise resource planning)- is intended for integrated management of all processes and operations in a company within a single IT platform.
CRM (Customer relationship management)- represents a set of tools, procedures and strategies that aim to improve the relationship with customers and to track the progress.
BI (Business Intelligence)- refers to a set of software applications and technologies for collecting, managing and analyzing information from different business management systems or other databases.
SRM (Supplier relationship management)- is used for planning and managing all interactions with third party organizations that supply goods and/or services to an organization in order to maximize the value of those interactions.
WMS (Warehouse Management System)- automate and optimize the activities of reception, storage, collection and dispatch of goods, constantly providing real-time information on the status of stocks and in the storage space.
TMS (Transport Management System)- is a transport route planning and optimization software that allows a complete management of deliveries due to the multiple functionalities it has.
COTS vs Custom software
We checked what is a custom software for business development so now let’s see what COTS is. COTS or Commercial off-the-shelf, is a product (software or hardware) that is already made, is available right away and it may be adapted for the customer needs. A good example is Microsoft that is providing those types of COTS Software. They are public and very easy to install.
Those software’s are mass-produced based on the general market demand. So, it may not cover all your company’s needs even if they have many options for pre-packaged programs. They are low-priced and usually offer good quality and customer support. Indeed, they are popular but imagine having to purchase a different program for every action you want to automatize and learn about each how they work.
But the biggest issue with COTS is the security. As you may know the security of your data is essential in a company. They are attractive to break by hackers because it may contain security vulnerabilities. The major COTS packages typically manage important information and connect to more systems. They are central in both the business and technical sense. Further, the information and experience obtained in one attack can be used again on the same package elsewhere.
Why use a custom software for your business?
- It fits any industry (agriculture, production, distribution, logistics, service, shipping,etc.)
- It will automatize every action you want.
- Your company will work faster.
- You can access the information anytime, anywhere from any synced device (computer, smartphone, tablet).
- Guaranteed data back-up and personal data protection.
- Provides statistics automatically and you can check the possible improvements.
- Your employees work will be simplified and there will be fewer human errors.
- Everything is in one place and it’s easier to manage.
- Long-term quality support directly from the team.
- User-friendly interface.
- Reduces costs.
- Provides real-time information/tracking.
Your company will continuously grow, you will increase your sales and labor productivity. If you want to find out more about the benefits of digitizing and automating business processes check out this article.
How can I contact the company that is creating the custom software?
The custom software for businesses development companies are usually contacted online on their website where you will have to fill in a contact form. Before any purchase and any collaboration, you can request a demo version of the program just to see if you can work with the interface.
The price is set according to your requests. It is recommended to contact a company with experience in the field because their specialists know how to deal with situations that may arise along the way but can also help you evaluate correctly the activities you want automated and financial indicators you want to calculate. It is very important to have a detailed and a correct evaluation of your company before implementing the system. A company with at least 10 years of experience will provide you the best options for digitizing.
Testimonials
An important factor in checking the quality of a company are the testimonials. Check on the website of the company from which you would like to buy, the related testimonials and check the results of other companies after they have implemented the program in their company.