Make sure you do all you can to avoid business disputes.
The most commonly used tool for avoiding a dispute is to use well-written contracts. Contracts spell out exactly what the business is to perform and what the customer is to expect. Working without a contract is risky because each party assumes to know the expectations of the other. However, what sometimes happens is confusion over when the job is complete, how much the client must pay, and the level of support that must be provided afterward. This ambiguity is fertile ground for a dispute.

There are other things you can do to avoid business disputes in the first place.
One thing is to seek ways to disregard small things. A simple example of this is when a customer raises an issue over just a few dollars. While you shouldn’t always give in, sometimes having a dispute over a small amount just isn’t worth losing a customer who places many orders with you. Every situation is different but if you can avoid a big dispute over a small amount then it might be better for you in the long run.

If the dispute is significant, talking face-to-face should be your first option.
It should be something you try first because it is the least expensive way to come to a solution. This is also called negotiation and it involves getting all the information about how the other party sees the dispute. The desired outcome of negotiation should be a new written agreement that should end the dispute.

What does the law say?
Some disputes will not last long if there are local statutes that prescribe how an issue is handled. A customer might want you to fulfill something that you legally cannot do and this would probably bring about simple closure to the issue.

Mediation is a way to use a third person to help the negotiation process.
A neutral third person will facilitate the communication between the disputing parties and hopefully a solution will be reached. The mediator does not make any decisions and the process is not admissible in court should it go that far.

Arbitration is where the third party makes a binding decision.
Like mediation, a third person called an arbitrator listens to the facts surrounding a dispute between the two parties and renders a decision to arrive at solution. The arbitrator’s decision is legally binding.

The final way to resolve disputes is through litigation.
This is the most expensive and requires both sides to have a lawyer. Litigation results in a judge rendering the decision for a solution but oftentimes the dispute is resolved by an out-of-court settlement.

Today, many contracts are written with dispute resolution clauses.
These clauses sometimes state that if a dispute arises then it must be handled by the method prescribed in them. For example, many credit card companies have clauses that say disputes will be handled through binding arbitration. Having a clause like this in your contracts can sometimes save complications should things not go right in the future.

Material resource planning is also a software based management of inventory and product productivity managing. It was also used for managing the process of manufacturing. Enterprise resource planning got evolved from material resource planning when the software architectures got ‘routing’ as one of its major part.

Material resource planning didn’t take care of capacity planning of a company. The method of finding the capacity of production which the organization requires and meeting the demands in the market is termed as capacity planning. As with increase in the demand and supply of products got increased, demand for software which could manage capacity planning also got increased.

By incorporating capacity planning, material resource planning got changed into enterprise resource planning. Enterprise resource planning handled improvement in planning of every operation within a company like inventory, shipping, invoicing, manufacturing, accounting and logistics. Every business units present in the company like human resource management, quality management, marketing, sales, billing, delivery and inventory management are also covered by ERP.

Before ERP was developed, many software were available just to manage an individuals to manage their income. But, with the complexity involved in managing resources for corporations, many vendors started developing software in the name of ERP.

During the 1990’s period, many companies faced the Y2K problem. The systems other than ERP didn’t have the capability to eliminate this problem. Many companies which foresaw this Y2K problem thought wisely and they started replacing existing systems with ERP systems.

From then on, the ERP systems had a boost in their production. We can say that, a considerable amount of risk involved in the Y2K was reduced to a huge amount by the ERP systems. There was a rapid growth in sales after companies started implementing ERP.

ERP systems are sometimes called as back office. This is because, ERP systems doesn’t include data which are related to customer or general public. They are not directly involved in this system instead only the information which are closely related to the company are take into account by ERP. But this may not be 100% correct. Because, a type of ERP called as customer relationship management ( CRM ) deals with data directly related to customers. This type of ERP is called as front office.

In the early 2000’s, the term ‘ERP II’ got evolved. This is to indicate that the next generation of ERP software was available. ERP II based software had many more new features included. The key feature is that they came as web based software tool. This ensured that there is a real time access to the systems for everyone including customer, suppliers and to the employees. Now, the ERP software is being called as Enterprise Application Suite or EAS. EAS systems are now including every segments of the business and using browsers as thin clients, information is made available to its users.

However it is increasingly becoming clear that social media is a particularly powerful tool in the struggle to obtain relevant business intelligence as well as to communicate with existing customers and potential customers. This article touches on some of the new opportunities for businesses to interact with users of social media as well as understanding what they are saying about the markets.

A cryptic comment or a customer complaint can go viral within minutes. We have heard of those employees who sent unfortunate emails that became global. Other employees used FaceBook to say uncomplimentary things about their colleagues or employers and ending up losing their jobs. Previously these issues could be contained within the normal customer service channels. These days that is not always possible.

Users of social media and bloggers can devastate a customer by merely highlighting problems that occur. A case in point is that of a well known supermarket where one of the employees was caught on camera misusing some of the products intended for consumption by the customers. Apart from the normal disciplinary processes, the supermarket had to launch a concerted social media campaign to try and rebuild their reputation. Even people who did not use social media ended up becoming aware of the issue through the print media that picked up the story.

It is no longer acceptable for senior managers to ignore social media as a means of obtaining business intelligence. The first stage is to make sure that there is a social media presence for the company on most of the major social media networks.

This can be achieved via the use external agency staff or in-house employees who monitor what is happening to the brand. They will note perceptions and gather management information that should feedback into the business intelligence structures.

Once a presence has been established the company can do one of two things. First of all it can work to enhance its message and publicity through creating its own buzz on the net. This does not necessarily have to involve advertising.

Product reviews and invitations for customer feedback have been known to attract quite large followings. This enables the firm to access the online market and retain some control over its image and brand awareness. The second route is to look at the possibilities of countering any negative perceptions as well as reacting to negative feedback through corrective management action.

Businesses can also use social media to enhance user experiences by acting on customer feedback and offering alternative experiences. One example is that of the airline reviews through which previous customers can place comments about their travels and how they were treated. Good business intelligence should use this opportunity to tell their side of the story as well. If the problems that have been identified and improvements are being made, then it is up to business intelligence champions to publicize this within the social media world.