Introduction
The Trading Industry has seen a lot of challenges in the management of sales and stocks over the past hundred years. The exchange of capital, goods, and services has been ongoing since the beginning of civilization and its management in order to gain profit. Even in the earliest form of trade Barter Trade, sellers would ensure a certain profit off of the exchange of goods for goods. However, with time, the development of money revolutionized the industry. From then till now, the management of Sales and Stock has been a mandatory practice to ensuring the success of the business.
To ensure that a business prospers, the owners must keep account of their income and expenditure. As such, it is beneficial to ensure that the stock is well kept and achieving the maximum income from the sales made off of the stocks. Any business will implore a system whereby the sales and stock process is accounted for at all times. Maintaining discrepancies in this two areas guarantees the success of the business as any loss in stock or sales leads to losses in the business. Management of Inventory was a tedious process and involved a lot of hands-on work that was time-consuming and costly before technological evolution (Basalla, 1988) . Since the 1980s, technology has vastly evolved. From the development of Barcode Scanners to personal computers, people are now able to depend on technology for the management of business (Kim, 2010) .
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In the 2000s, there was the development of Software programs that allowed a business owner to manage their stocks in a more efficient and effective manner. Through the use of Microsoft Word and Excel, people were able to have an accurate record of what was in stock and still ensuring that their carrying costs were low and maintained. Currently, many companies are using Enterprise Resource Planning Software that has, over the past 10 years been revolutionized.
History of ERP Systems in the Trading Industry
ERP Systems are software programs that are used for business management. They encompass several functional areas such as preparation, manufacturing, sales, marketing, supply, accounting, monetary, human resource management, project administration, inventory organization, service and maintenance, transportation and e-business (Rashid et.al., 2002) . The Systems provide an adequate and efficient flow of information between various departments in any industry. In the Trading Industry, they provide easy and fast management of stocks, finances, and sales as the core functions of the business (Rashid et.al. 2002) .
The Earliest versions of ERP Systems were developed in the early 1980s and 1990s. They targeted large complex organizations through the tailor making of off-the-shelf solutions that sat well in the procedures adopted by the business. With the continued development in the technological sector, ERP Systems have continued to evolve through the same procedure allowing very complex and one of a kind systems to be adopted by various businesses currently. They are systems that are unique to each and every business, unlike in past times where one system was made to universally fit all companies (Ray, 2011) .
Evolution and Implementation of ERP Systems
In the Trading Sector currently, many organizations are implementing ERP Systems. With the main aim being to achieve total automation of all the procedures and ensuring that business procedures are running at all time without any lags or discrepancies, these systems are being fit to manage all the departments and ensure instantaneous communications between various departments. It is expected to function as the backbone of the company ensuring that all the front-end functions work well and simultaneously without any delays (Rashid et al., 2002) .
In The Trading Industry, complex ERP Systems have been developed for various companies and are working seamlessly when managing Inventory and Sales. The Software tracks the product and stock movement since its purchase until its sale, with every order and purchase recorded in the system. A user can easily locate where a particular stock item is with just the click of a button and ship it directly to a customer. The systems also assist the organization in maintaining an effective number of items in stock and reducing their losses due to mismanagement, theft or damage. Through the use of Barcode Scanning technology that is integrated with the Software, the management of Inventory and Sales has become a three step procedure that is fast and reliable (Kim, 2010) .
The Implementation of an ERP Software in an organization, however, takes a lot of time for the system to yield any desired results. For the development of the Systems to meet the needs of a company, a lot of time is required. For the developers to understand the procedures of a company and develop steps in the systems that follow those procedures. Here also has to be a trustworthy relationship as the company would be exposing all of its details to an external party (in cases where the company implementing the system is external). The developing team must also ensure that the product is user-friendly and easily adapted using the technology currently being used in the organization. It is a long procedure that requires a lot of time to enact (Röthlin, 2010).
Conclusion
I would recommend for companies in the Trading Industry to adapt ERP Systems as it is a valuable and effective method of business management. In addition to ensuring accountability of all procedures in the company, they also ensure that business finances are well managed and tracked (Röthlin, 2010). The Trading Industry has experienced a lot of losses due to the mismanagement of stocks and Inventory. However, the use of ERP Systems would be the greatest benefit and addition to any Organization. Communication between departments is efficient and in trading allows sales to be fast and effective. Through the systems, the store's department is able to communicate with the sales and finance departments allowing management of both stocks and sales from all angles. It is of vital importance that a company realise the benefits of using ERP Systems and adapting the same to ensure profitability in their organization.
References
Basalla, G. (1988). The Evolution of Technology . Cambridge University Press. Print
Kim, K. (2010). Electronic and Algorithmic Trading Technology: The Complete Guide . Academic Press. Print.
Rashid, M. A., Hossain, L., & Patrick, J. D. (2002). The Evolution of ERP Systems: A Historical Perspective . Idea Group Publishing. Retrieved from https://faculty.biu.ac.il/~shnaidh/zooloo/nihul/evolution.pdf
Ray. (2011). Enterprise Resource Planning . Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Print.
Röthlin, M. (2010). Management of Data Quality in Enterprise Resource Planning Systems . BoD – Books on Demand. Print.
