Global Insight | August 2023

Brazil: The sad reality of digital transformation in the business environment

Much is said about digital transformation. The use of technology is increasingly present. It is impossible for a company to operate sustainably without the proper use of integrated systems.

Regrettably, regardless of their size – whether small, medium, or large – most corporations have poured considerable resources, time, and efforts into acquiring and integrating comprehensive systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). However, it is disheartening to note that these systems often come with significant flaws, leading to limitations and imposing substantial costs.

In order not to make a list that would consume several pages, let’s limit ourselves to a few examples:

Lack of systems integration, which results in the need for rework, unnecessary costs, manual interventions, errors and delays
Important modules that were not implemented
Modules that have been implemented and are not used
Idespread use of electronic spreadsheets that, in most cases, are fed based on data obtained from the ERP
Total lack of systemic control of shop floor information, as most ERPs on the market do not communicate with the machines
Lack of rationality in processes, which holds organisations back
Existence of different systems and technological platforms

Do you think the list above is an exaggeration? Here’s a small challenge: make an inventory of the number of processes and information in your organisation that are supported by spreadsheets. We believe that the result will surprise you.

The benefits offered by the integrated systems and the maximized use of their functionalities and processes cannot be overlooked. Stocks, production, sales, purchases, accounts payable, receivable, treasury, accounting, (among other areas within a company) are factors of competitiveness when properly explored through technology.

Competitiveness, yes: a single record must quickly feed all the subsequent phases involved in the process, free of errors, manual interventions, spreadsheets and fraud risks.

In addition to the great solutions, with technological advances, there are a multitude of platforms available for small and medium-sized companies, some hosted in the Cloud, with low cost of acquisition, support and maintenance.

Evolution brought possibilities to enhance the use of ERP with the inclusion of new resources with high potential to connect organisations to an advanced world, and now digital, capable of bringing highly advantageous solutions to the business environment with the use of RPA (Robotic Process Automation), Data Analytics, Big Data, AI, IoT, Machine Learning and mobility.

For more information, please contact:

Fabricio Liani
IT Advisory Manager
PP&C Auditores Independentes
E: liani@ppc.com.br
W: www.ppc.com.br