Costs
If you have a financial background, inventory costs are where the rubber meets the road. But to say this is to sell the value of accurate costing way too short. Strategic decisions require accurate costs, so how can you accurately evaluate your top product line if your costs are questionable? Without precise costs, your decisions might as well range from a gut feel to a good guess.
Costing varies significantly for a distributor than for a manufacturer. For a distributor, costs are relatively straight forward, and the method of costing quickly drives the decision-making. A manufacturer has to consider many variables, specifically, the bills of materials and shop routers. Both add costs that can vary by run sizes and yields. This is where an ERP system will shine.