The global pandemic of COVID-19 forced companies to adopt social distancing and remote working overnight. As a result, cloud ERP systems established themselves as key players for the operational continuity of organizations. In this context, service SMEs face the challenge of managing sales, inventory and customer service even when their team is not in the office. As a result, having tools to generate quotes, invoice electronically and consult reports "from anywhere" is more necessary than ever. A centralized ERP helps integrate sales and purchasing processes, so that every employee has access to the same information in real time, streamlining decision making.
Importance of an ERP accessible from any location
Centralizing information in a single ERP system that can be accessed from multiple locations is essential for competitiveness. An ERP unifies accounting and commercial processes, bringing together customer, inventory, sales and purchasing data on a single platform. In this way, SMEs obtain more accurate and up-to-date reports, reducing capture errors and improving productivity. In fact, recent studies indicate that the 62.3% of Mexican SMEs consider it very important to digitize their business processes. This interest responds to the clear benefits of digitization: greater operational efficiency, permanent access to information and better control of payments and customers.
CONTPAQi Commercial Pro features for offsite management
CONTPAQi Commercial Pro® is designed to cover the complete buying and selling cycle in service SMEs. Its commercial module allows you to generate quotes, orders and electronic invoices (CFDI 4.0) in compliance with SAT tax regulations. The tool automates the sales documents with a quote qualifier integrated, which helps design strategies to close sales while capturing customer data at every step. In addition, it offers 360° analysis of customers and suppliers through customizable views and filters. In terms of inventories, the system automatically records transfers between warehouses and goods in transit, so that stock levels always reflect reality. All business information can be customized into flexible reports and exported in formats such as Excel or HTML for easy review.
This control is further enhanced by CONTPAQi and Logical Concept serversCommercial Pro: a cloud solution that brings the complete ERP to external servers, accessible from any browser. In this way, SMEs can run Commercial Pro in a secure cloud environment, working from laptops, tablets or smartphones without the need for complex local installations.
Specific benefits: mobility and operational efficiency
- Remote access: Employees can log into the system from any device with an Internet connection and perform their tasks as if they were in the office. For example, a salesperson can prepare quotations or record sales en route, and the administrator can monitor orders and invoices from home.
- Real-time inventory control: Each sales or purchase transaction is instantly recorded in the ERP, so that stocks are automatically updated. This makes it possible to know at any time what products are available, to avoid stock-outs and to plan replenishments with accurate data.
- Moving quotes: Thanks to the mobility of the system (and, optionally, integrated sales applications), field personnel can send quotations instantly after responding to a request, speeding up the sales response.
- Customer follow-up: All customer information (purchase history, payments, communication, pending tasks) is centralized in the ERP. This makes it easy to provide personalized follow-up, schedule payment or shipping reminders, and measure customer satisfaction.
- Operational efficiency: By automating tasks (data capture, cost calculations, invoice generation), time and manual errors are reduced. Cloud ERPs also offer the agility and flexibility that companies need to adapt quickly to change. Together, these advantages boost business productivity and customer service.
Post-pandemic trends and digitization in SMEs.
The trend towards digitalization and hybrid work continues to grow. A study by the consulting firm JLL reveals that by 2024 the 72% of employees in Latin America uses a hybrid model (combining office and remote days). In Mexico, telework adoption is still more moderate (only ~10% work from home on a regular basis), but the hybrid model already far exceeds the 100% presence. This change in work culture reinforces the need for tools that are accessible anytime, anywhere. However, the digital divide in SMEs persists: recent reports indicate that only ~101% of SMEs are working from home on a regular basis. 12% of Mexican SMEs are undergoing a digital transformation process, and only a small 14% uses an ERP to manage its business. This data underscores the opportunity and urgency of adopting mobile or cloud ERPs, which will enable service SMEs to overcome the technological lag.
Conclusion: towards a smart and connected future
Overall, service SMEs that adopt solutions such as CONTPAQi Commercial Pro will be able to manage their business operations more efficiently. smart, remote and connected. By migrating their ERP to the cloud or using secure remote access (for example, with CONTPAQi with Logical Concept's cloud servers), these companies obtain up-to-date inventories, total mobility of their sales and administration team, and better control of their clients and processes. IFT itself emphasizes that digitalization simplifies processes, streamlines decisions and improves the competitiveness of SMEs. Therefore, the future of service companies lies in integrated management accessible from anywhere: a flexible operating model, supported by cloud technology, that boosts efficiency and sustained growth in the new post-pandemic era.
Sources: Data and analysis of agencies and specialized media
- calipso.com
- ijam.com.mx
- ift.org.mx
- contpaqi.com
- xataka.com
- eleconomista.com.mx
- marketing4ecommerce.mx,
- and official CONTPAQi documentation.
