In an increasingly competitive environment — especially against agile and digitalized foreign players — staying with a disintegrated or ineffective management system is a handicap. Modernizing your business is not just about buying software:it’s about structuring the activity to improve performance, reduce costs, and gain competitiveness.
An integrated management project (often called ERP or 'complete management software') costs money, of course. Butit brings back much morein the medium and long term. The challenge is not whether a companycanequip itself, but whether itcan afford not to..
1. What is an integrated management tool?
Anintegrated management software(ERP) is a solution that brings together all the key functions of the company — finance, sales, purchasing, inventory, production, human resources — in a single centralized platform.
This replaces disparate tools that operate in silos and force teams to enter the same data multiple times, consolidate manual files, and waste time realigning information.
2. Why such a project costs — and why it pays off
Integrated management projects involve initial costs (licenses, setup, training, support), but they generatereal and measurable gainsover time. Several feedback experiences show that thereturn on investment (ROI)can be very significant: some companies seeefficiencies 20 to 30% higherthan their previous processes after implementation.
Concrete added value:
Reduction of manual tasks and errors, freeing up time for high-value activities.
Automation of processes(orders, invoicing, approvals), reducing lead times and costs.
Faster and better-informed decisionsthanks to centralized and up-to-date data.
An ERP is not just an IT cost: it is a catalyst for overall performance. It not only lightens daily operations, italso improves the company's ability to react, grow, and compete..
3. Visible productivity gains quickly
With modern solutions, especially modular and cloud ones likeOdoo, the benefits come quickly:
Initial gains are often visible within 2 to 3 months, particularly in repetitive and manual tasks.
The organization stabilizes in less than 6 months, when teams are trained and processes clarified.
These short deadlines, compared to previous generations of ERP, allow for the collection of benefits well before the end of financing.
4. Human impact indicators: how many FTEs can be saved or redeployed?
An integrated management system is not intended to eliminate jobs. Its effect is tofree up time, which can be redeployed to more strategic activities.
Here are some realistic benchmarks:
Very small business (10-20 employees)
Automation of data entry, follow-ups, or reconciliations →0.5 to 1 FTE freed up or redeployed.
SME (50-200 employees)
Centralization of data, process automation, reduction of manual entries →2 to 5 FTEs freed up or redeployedto higher value functions (customer relations, business development, management).
Mid-sized company (200-500 employees)
Optimization of interdepartmental flows, automated reporting, synchronization of operations →5 to 15 FTEs freed up or redeployed, strengthening teams on strategic missions.
These figures are not fixed standards, but realistic orders of magnitude derived from analyses of concrete implementations and observed efficiency gains in the field. They reflect anaverage improvement of 20–30% in process efficiencyobserved in many projects.
5. A question of financial balance: align financing duration and value created.
Even if the value created is quick, it would be unwise to finance this type of project with short-term resources or exclusively with equity.
The fundamental rule:
A structuring project must be financed over a duration that corresponds to the value it generates.
In the context of available financing in France:
3 years: the reasonable minimum
4 to 5 years: the most balanced duration
This allows for aligning repayment with the gains actually generated, while preserving the company's cash flow.
6. Financing options available in 2026
To support this type of transformation, several options exist:
Boost Loan – Digital Transformation (Bpifrance Flash): a professional loan for very small and small businesses, without personal guarantee, over 3 to 5 years, allowing for financing of software, support, training, and deployment.
France Num Guarantee on bank loans: partial risk coverage to facilitate access to a larger bank loan.
France Num Platform: a search engine for nearly 200 national and local public aids (grants, advances, tax credits, guarantees) aimed at supporting digitalization.
Digital transformation aids: national or territorial programs targeted at SMEs that modernize their tools and processes.
Regional and territorial aids: grants or local programs specific to each region to encourage digital projects.
These devices help reduce the net cost of the project, improve financing conditions, and secure the approach.
7. Invest to last, not to suffer
A well-funded integrated management project is not limited to improving IT. It:
Reduces operational costs
Strengthens competitiveness
Improves customer experience
Frees up time for strategy
Enables competition with foreign competitors who are already digitalized
In a context where operational efficiency is a key factor of competitiveness, not equipping oneself, or delaying such a project, is to accept a handicap in the market.
At Auguria
We support leaders in:
Therealistic sizing of the project
Theappropriate financing structures
Thepreparation of effective financing files
The choice and deployment of solutions likeOdoo
The activation ofrelevant aid devices
A well-designed and well-funded integrated management system becomes asustainable strategic lever: it secures the business today and prepares for tomorrow's growth.