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[techgenie01]

5 Benefits of ERP Software in the Life Science Industry.

Life science companies face serious operational and regulatory challenges, ranging from commercialization, raising funds, intense competition, successfully finishing stage 2 clinical R&D trials, preparing for commercial launches, and pressure of managing costs.

Manufacturers in the life science spaces are tasked with careful documentation and adherence to strict operating procedures. They are also tasked with proper management to ensure quality and maintain compliance with FDA and other international regulatory bodies.

As one of the industries held in the highest level of accountability, any errors due to poor or outdated operation methods will have grave effects on consumers and the credibility of the enterprise. Therefore, there is a need to generate reliable insights through market research and analysis of performance data to ensure quality, scalability, productivity, and compliance while reducing cost.

Outdated methods like Quick books, spreadsheets, and other manual methods are no longer reliable methods for gathering real-time information and giving accurate reports

With the world evolving around digital transformation, FDA-regulated industries will benefit greatly from Life Science Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) softwares for the regulation and automation of processes.

Life Science ERPs are tailored to meet the varying needs of the industry with centralized internal and external data sources which ensure simplification of operation processes and management of the overwhelming amounts of projects with flexibility and agility.

How does this age-old industry, benefit from the new-age Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software?

In this article, we will discuss 5 core benefits of Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) in the life science industry.

• Quality Maintenance and Traceability.

Traceability is one of the core requirements of FDA validation. It is important for the optimization of quality management and efficiency.

Effective traceability allows you to systematically recall events, trace quality issues and take corrective measures at minimal cost, without disturbing your supply chain.

Traceability or tracking is a crucial part of Life Science ERP. It is important to know who or where products are being delivered to if they are in the right hands and everything that went into forming or producing the products.

During isolation processes, the ability to pull out data at once from every network in the supply chain and effectively follow corrective and preventive plans helps to save time, money, people’s health, and of course, the company’s license.

NetSuite life science ERP solutions provide a reliable and centralized record system, providing the traceability needed without the integration of external tools.

• End to End Financial Transparency.

As a core part of the national economy, this industry faces a lot of challenges including cost, pricing pressures, and increased demand for growth and value in an ever-changing regulatory environment.

Due to these challenges, the life science industry faces a lot of pressures when it comes to financial reporting.

Just like in every other industry, transparency in reporting is key. Life science industries are required to disclose revenue recognition, research, development costs, acquisition, income taxes, and any other data.

Mistakes in reporting these data can lead to heavy costs on compliance leaders, who try to manage the errors in these reports before the stated deadline. This is why Life science ERP is an effective strategy for minimizing conflicting data in reports and optimizing processes.

Sometimes life science companies need to release detailed information on general and research payments made to registered physicians and teaching hospitals. They may also need to release data about the ownership and investments of these recipients in the respective companies.

Life science industries need to adopt sophisticated data systems to ensure proper reporting and collection of financial data.

Optimization of report processes is important to properly communicate the company’s position at any time and future strategies clearly and convincingly.

This is especially beneficial when seeking grants and sponsorship for projects.

NetSuite cloud accounting software, simplifies the process of recording transactions, managing payments, and streamlining tax management.

It enables timely and accurate reporting and greater control of financial assets.

NetSuite cloud accounting software provides real-time access to financial data. This enables digging into details quickly to resolve issues, and generate statements and disclosures to align with regulatory financial compliance requirements. It also provides a role-based dashboard to properly monitor the enterprise.

• Global business management.

Life science industries are usually a complex network of global suppliers, manufacturers, and logistic providers to get finished products to the final consumers. However, this industry faces challenges in expanding its portfolios beyond existing geographic and sector boundaries. The way some countries in the world do international business has changed especially since the COVID pandemic.

The Life Science industry faces intense tax authority scrutiny of their transfer pricing in different parts of the world.

Life science ERPs like NetSuite OneWorld will enable these companies to manage transfer pricing, currency, and tax controversies.

This NetSuite feature provides a real-time, unified global management platform that manages multiple applications in different countries, currencies, languages, and subsidiaries. It brings visibility to all aspects of your business worldwide and ensures consistent and compliant management both locally and globally.

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

Life science industries face several unique challenges including, increased competition, lower margins, and little or no customer relationship and communication channels.

They are also affected by regulatory considerations regarding marketing, promotional materials, and customer communication management controls.

It is important to implement business strategies aimed at understanding, anticipating, and responding to your customers in a way that builds a good relationship between company and customer. CRM provides market access, customer acquisition, and strategies that increase revenue and company growth.

However, there is very little CRM software tailored to Life Science ERP, and using conventional CRM tools for the Life Science industry is a grave mistake and will result in many challenges.

NetSuite CRM is tailored to the unique challenges and objectives of the Life Science industry. Its Life Science ERP solution enables customer relationship management and customer interaction across clinical, safety, sales, support, and other marketing operations. It is built to enable the industry to manage prospects, customers, partners, and vendors in a single, integrated system.

• Project Management.

An increase in global competitiveness and the increasing demand for new and innovative projects in the life sciences space are becoming global. The pandemic threw the Life Science industry under more pressure to carry out a variety of vaccine projects and participate in other initiatives alongside its regular projects.

This means that demand still greatly numbers supply leading to a serious need for speed, flexibility, and agility in this industry for proper management of these fast-paced projects, especially in tight time frames.

Being able to set up accurate budgets, processes and schedules allow for smooth and successful execution of projects.

NetSuite OpenAir provides life science industries with benchmarking data, reports, strategies for pricing and distribution, and timelines. This ensures a better understanding of what is involved in their projects and how to improve best practices. It is a Life Science ERP software that provides project management, resource management, time and expense tracking, project accounting, and project financials all in one system.

Final words

Life science companies that do not adopt a reliable cloud-based ERP are faced with the threat of missing out on emerging opportunities.

Life science ERP is a core part of reducing costs, automating workload and projects, maximizing global market opportunities, and gaining a competitive advantage. It ensures effective compliance with regulations and customer expectations.

To gain all the benefits of Life science ERP, only systems that are tailored to the unique needs of this industry should be adopted. Other industries may seem to be fairly managing a one-size-fits-all Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution but doing that in Life Sciences ERP can result in a disaster.

NetSuite provides support tailored to the specific needs of specific sectors in this industry to cater to their different growth and scalability needs in a unified system.

All data, information, and insight are stored in a cloud-based system which means you can access your data anytime you wish, anywhere you are with an internet connection.

Whether you are a small, medium, or large-scale Life Science company, NetSuite provides you with solutions to manage core functions specific to your company.

[techgenie01]

How Cloud-Based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Solutions Can Benefit From Blockchain Integration.

Cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning solutions have helped businesses transform operations and manage daily activities more effectively than it was done with manual methods.

However, just like everything else in life, there is always room for more improvement. The dynamic, fast-paced nature of the world and rapid evolution of technology have made these cloud-based ERP solutions become deficient in some key areas and could use some improvement.

With blockchain technology driving industry 4.0, its integration with ERP is crucial in the coming years.

In this article, we will see the benefits of integrating blockchain technology into Enterprise Resource Planning solutions. We will begin with an overview of Enterprise Resource Planning and Blockchain technology.

Enterprise Resource Planning.

Enterprise Resource Planning is crucial for successful business operations, they help businesses to manage daily activities like inventories, track sales, supply chains, automation of accounting processes, project management, risk management, and a lot more.

Previously, spreadsheets and Quickbooks were used for ERPs and business operations but these methods were very inefficient as companies grew larger and generated more data.

Recently, the world has been themed around digital transformation, therefore many companies have adopted Cloud-based ERP solutions which are more efficient compared to the outdated and inefficient methods used in the past. The pandemic, which drove many companies to remote work, brought into light the incompetences of the past ERP solutions.

These days Cloud-based ERP solutions can either come as a single solution or as a suite which means that they could also include a solution for planning, budgeting, predicting, and reporting on an organization’s finances.

Blockchain Technology

It works in such a way that selected computers or nodes connected to the system (depending on the type of blockchain technology used) are updated on transactions continuously which each record of transactions copied across all systems at the same time.

This makes falsification, hacking or swapping of data almost impossible. It can be called a decentralized database that is part of a network.

Each data in a blockchain are stored in blocks and every block contains a unique hash which carries links to previous blocks thereby forming a chain, hence the word Blockchain. This means that transactions in the blockchain are duplicated across the entire chain and any attempt to alter information will mean altering the entire blockchain integration which is extremely difficult.

With this said, you are beginning to have an idea or a glimpse of how this revolutionary technology can improve data management and integrity of transactions in the Enterprise Resources Planning solutions.

How Does Blockchain Integration Benefit ERP?

• Supply chain Visibility and Traceability.

One of the challenges of supply chain is visibility in large and complex supply chains. Although Cloud-based ERP solutions are built to take care of this, total visibility and traceability is often not achieved.

It is almost impossible to see clearly what is going on throughout the supply chain which mean cloud-based ERP solutions are still prone to a lot of execution errors like missing or damaged products or mistakes in taking inventories.

They are also prone to supply chain conflicts and wrong decision making because of how opaque the supply chain could be. It is important that this problems are detected in real time which is a deficiency of these solutions.

When it is discovered that there is a problem in the supply chain, it is often difficult to point exactly where the problem is even if you try to sieve through the recorded sequence of activities in the ledger. Imagine how hard it would be for large companies that record hundreds or thousands of transactions each day.

Also, we can only discover a problem in a supply chain with cloud-based ERP but we can not discover the cause. Knowing the cause plays a crucial role providing a sustainable solution and preventing such problems from reoccurring.

In a supply chain, there are three parties involved, they are information, inventory and financial. All three parties need to be seamlessly connected to avoid errors.

Although many cloud-based ERP solutions present themselves as capable to cater to this need, it is often very difficult for these parties to sync in real-time.

Blockchain technology provides real-time insight into the activities going on in the supply chain. Using blockchain means that different assets and participants are allocated a unique form of identification. Each authenticated participant is given a form of unique signature for each block they add to the blockchain.

What makes blockchain integration an improvement for ERP solutions is that, every step of the transaction from initiation phase is recorded on the blockchain according to some predefined criteria.

They may not be recorded on the final financial ledger which is reserved for the completion and verification of transactions, but tracking can be done easily because every step has been recorded on the blockchain.

Every step in the blockchain is not only recorded, it is duplicated and distributed to all involved parties ensuring an immutable and trustworthy network.

Cloud-based ERP solutions can only record final transactions without block chain technology, this makes it difficult to track causes of issues if there be any.

Supply chain will need the permissioned type of blockchain where only authorized participant are allowed to participate in the network. It wouldn’t really make sense to integrate a permission-less blockchain technology into supply chain, because there is no need for everyone to participate in the network.

• Financial Transparency.

Incorrect financial reports is the foundation of a sinking business.

Every business does financial reviews and audits every now and then. This is mostly done manually and can be very tedious and full of errors.

Businesses that seek to expand their portfolios beyond their geographical locations will need a secure and transparent means of validating payments across borders or even between different companies in the same geographical location.

Blockchain technology will reduce the time needed to initiate, execute and verify payments between involved parties by the use of smart contracts. These smart contracts will execute on their own if a set of predefined criteria have been met.

The smart contract is built on algorithms that are accurate, instant and highly secure. The smart contract stores all accounting work and transactions in the block chain allowing you to receive accurate financial statements immediately.

• Business Intelligence Security.

Enterprise Resource Planning solutions are centralized which means they have only one point of failure. It is important for the business database to be secure to avoid business intelligence getting into the wrong hands.

Blockchain for cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning would involve a decentralized database that is not controlled by only one point.

To access certain business data, there would need to be a consensus among authorized nodes in the network.

This protects business data from hackers and malicious agents. Also, if there is a breech of trust in the organization, it wouldn’t be so easy for the saboteur to again access to classified information.

Having a single point of failure means that if the central security has been corrupted, then classified data will be leaked which is damaging to any business.

With blockchain technology, certain authorized personnel will be given private keys and everyone has to be in consensus for certain data to be accessed.

Blockchain technology can also be used to confirm identity of employees, partners, vendors or service providers.

Combining Enterprise Resources Planning and blockchain technology will increase an enterprise's adaptability to the ever changing market requirements. Merging this two will lead to a more flexible and reliable means of automating business operations.

However, blockchain technology for ERP may take a little bit different approach than it does with cryptocurrency or decentralized finance.

[techgenie01]

5 Emerging Blockchain Trends.

It seems like everything is about blockchain technology these days.

You may have heard or seen different blockchain activities, trends, or projects springing up and you are wondering,

What next should we expect in the blockchain world?

What other surprises (hopefully pleasant ones) are we up for?

Ride with me my tech enthusiasts let’s find some.

Overview of Blockchain Technology.

Blockchain is one of the most advanced digital technologies in our world today.

It is a distributed and encrypted database that offers improved security, transparency, immutability of data, and accessibility compared to conventional networks or databases (you probably heard this a million times).

Recently, we have seen that blockchain is not just the platform or base on which we build cryptocurrencies.

We have seen more and more applications of blockchain every day.

This is because other industries apart from cryptocurrency industries have identified the security and data exchange transparency benefits that blockchain has to offer.

Blockchain is changing every year and is still evolving.

It is anticipated that throughout 2022, blockchain predictions would focus largely on technological support by big tech companies.

It is also anticipated that these big tech companies will spend a good amount of resources keying into the untapped benefits and applications of the blockchain.

Here we would discuss a few trends to anticipate in the world of the blockchain.

• Environmentally Friendly

Blockchain:

Blockchain activities are mostly known to consume a high amount of energy and generate large amounts of carbon.

This is a major drawback faced by blockchain technology as it has raised a lot of concern from environmentalists.

It is anticipated that blockchain technology might tend towards lesser energy-intensive technologies.

An example can be seen in Ethereum which intends to move from Proof-of-work blockchain technology to Proof-of-stake.

Also, an open source community project named PKT uses a form of Proof-of-work blockchain that doesn’t require a massive amount of CPU power but rewards you for having a high-quality internet bandwidth.

Blockchain technology may tend toward the use of energy that is renewable thereby, increasing the need for renewable energy and leading to a boom in the renewable energy industry.

• Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC):

Central banks in any nation are one of the key players in determining the levels of financial and monetary stability.

Many central bank leaders and authorities cringe at the thought of not being in total control of the flow of cryptocurrencies/digital currencies.

This led to strict regulations around digital currencies in many regions and even prohibition in some regions.

However, the use of digital currencies still seems to be waxing stronger by the day.

In 2021, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender for transactions in the country. It is now anticipated by industry leaders that most countries will follow suit most likely.

This is a big development because some years back, the idea of using cryptocurrency which is built on the blockchain foundation seemed quite impossible.

How does CBDC relate to blockchain technology?

Modes of payments used by people have become mostly digitized. With digital transformation becoming the theme of our world today, central banks have realized that there is no going back with digital currencies.

Central banks have now come up with the solution of their digital currencies which will work side by side with the traditional currencies while ensuring they maintain significant control.

Blockchain technology is the base on which these digital currencies will be minted.

• Manufacturing, Distribution, and Tracking:

Manufacturing, distribution, and tracking of products are one of the fastest evolving applications of blockchain technology.

User health and the national economy face great threats from the manufacturing of fake products, especially consumables and drugs.

For example, the management of the COVID pandemic is threatened by the manufacturing and selling of fake vaccines.

Blockchain can be used to verify the authenticity of vaccines and it can also be used to track products and verify that they have reached the desired destination.

IBM is one of the tech giants at the forefront of using blockchain in the management of COVID.

• Non-Fungible Token (NFTs):

In 2021, an NFT sold for $69million and the world went wild about NFTs.

NFTs have now gone beyond just unique, attractive art and painting to NFT gaming which is rapidly evolving.

We can see examples in play-to-earn games like Axie-infinity. Players are allowed to mint their game creatures known as Axies and send them into competitions.

In March 2022, Enjin, a blockchain development platform for creating and integrating NFTs launched Efinity, its flagship para chain on the Polkadot relay chain to enable interaction between different gaming and NFT blockchains.

It goes way beyond that.

Fashion in form of NFTs is one of the most trendy highlights in the blockchain space.

For example, Dolce and Gabbana and Nike created footwear and clothing with NFTs.

The music industry is also keying into NFTS by giving a certificate of ownership of a unique musical work that can be sold to another person.

The owner at any time can determine how the music is used. Blockchain technology is used to ensure transparency and security of transactions in this case.

In March 2022, Snopp Dogg dropped his Death Row Mix as an NFT.

NFT music might be a way out for upcoming artists to form a strong community and make some money selling their talents in a secure way.

Blockchain ensures continuous records of every NFT transaction.

• Metaverse:

The Metaverse is a virtual world that offers a variety of experiences.

Do you remember when the whole concept of the Metaverse was just something we read in fiction novels like star trek and sci-fi movies?

The world is now gradually tending towards that aspect.

Participants in the Metaverse can interact with each other with their digital avatars.

How do we relate the Metaverse to blockchain technology?

One of the critical aspects in the architecture of the Metaverse is decentralization which can only be offered securely by blockchain technology.

Blockchain technology will provide proper user government and verification of transactions and their origins and easy access to the Metaverse.

Most transactions in the Metaverse are done with cryptocurrency, therefore blockchain technology is an integral part of the Metaverse and it would connect it to the larger crypto economy.

This year we should anticipate more adoption of Metaverse games such as Sandbox.

Some companies which are keying into or have plans of keying into the Metaverse include Facebook, which allegedly changed its name to Meta in reference to the future virtual world.

Disney now offers virtual theme parks where you can take as many rides as you want virtually.

Roblox, one of the pioneers of the met averse created a version of the Metaverse in its video game for Nike fans called Nikeland.

In Conclusion.

Blockchain technology is at the forefront of digital transformation across many sectors, although it is still evolving.

It is seen that in 2022, blockchain will be highlighted by the advancement of NFTs in the fashion, gaming, and music industries.

Environmentally friendly blockchain modes will also highlight this year.

The rapid evolution of blockchain technology means we have to closely watch the trends and the many parts involved in it if we want to key into this futuristic technology or learn more about it.