WBSRocks: Business Growth with ERP and Digital Transformation
Sam Gupta
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WBSRocks podcast features in-depth conversations on ERP, digital transformation, manufacturing, supply chain, eCommerce, and industry 4.0. The purpose of the show is to help CFOs, COOs, CEOs, and business owners with their daily operational and financial growth challenges by taking a deep dive into business cases and processes, technology strategy and architecture, transformation initiatives, and business models. The show also offers an independent analysis of technology trends, various ERP vendors and solutions, and enterprise software mergers and acquisitions. Subscribe today to stay on top of digital transformation trends!
Available episodes
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Oldest first
12 hours ago
WBSP367: Grow Your Business by Understanding Oracle Commerce’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
The whole idea of eCommerce and the web have always been making IT and programming easy for marketers. So easy that they don't need to learn coding to run eCommerce operations. But the world of headless seems to be taking the opposite approach. So is every vendor treating headless as the same? Not really. Also, should the headless experience always be based on React? Probably not. Why should a technology trend be biased toward a specific tech? Also, React is not the only way to write Javascript-based apps. Oracle Commerce is often criticized for being monolithic and Java-based. But that's perhaps not true. They are one of the easiest and most customizable without requiring the clunkiness of headless. So is there only one way of doing headless? If a tech is achieving the same outcome conceptually, then it doesn't really matter whether the tech is headless or not.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Oracle Commerce Detailed Independent Review. We discussed their strengths and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture for both B2B and B2C business models. Finally, we discussed their different approach to headless and why their platform may be friendlier for the marketers with their unique changeset functionality.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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1 day ago
WBSP366: Grow Your Business by Understanding Microsoft SL's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Before Microsoft started migrating all of their customers to Microsoft Dynamics Business Central and F&O, they had a similar strategy as Epicor or Infor, with several products in their portfolio targeted to specific industry verticals. In fact, they still sell products such as Microsoft SL. While they have announced the end of life for the SL product, some community members feel that the deadline is likely to be extended. They claim this as, in their opinion, Business Central might not be the best migration path for SL customers. And they are perhaps accurate in their assessment. This is because Positioning a product designed for FMCG distribution may not be the best fit for companies primarily in the project business. So, where does Microsoft SL stand as of today?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Microsoft SL's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in the construction and project-centric industries. Finally, we discussed why companies might have a hard time migrating to MS Dynamics Business Central once SL reaches its end of life in 2028. And why Microsoft may end up extending the deadline.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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2 days ago
WBSP365: Grow Your Business by Learning Taxation and Localization Nuances of Mexico w/ Agustín Cruz Lozano
Most people underestimate the differences in taxes and localization and their implications on the ERP processes. Some countries may have requirements such as reporting on pollution or privacy standards. But countries such as Mexico have completely transformed their taxation system to prevent corruption and bribery in the market. This transformation, however, creates unique challenges for the companies implementing an ERP system as they not only need to comply with the admin overhead registering their product and services with the govt, but they also need to automate their processes to integrate with the govt system in order to remain profitable.
In today's episode, our guest, Agustín Cruz Lozano, shares his insights into the taxation and localization nuances of Mexico and why the vanilla ERP would fall short for Mexico. He also discusses concepts such as electronics invoicing, unique numbers for each submission, and the differences in the tax filing processes. Finally, he discusses how the Mexican market is overly regulated with strict requirements such as each product and service needs to be registered with the govt authorities before companies can start selling them.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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6 days ago
WBSP364: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of Shop Floor Scheduling, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Shop floor scheduling is always the hottest debate in the ERP community. In fact, it is so complex that most SMB companies end up managing their scheduling on spreadsheets. Also, the problems are much worse when multiple systems might be involved in the architecture. They each might claim how inadequate the other system is. With no clear consensus on what works when it comes to scheduling. One of the problems often discussed on the root causes of scheduling is the number of exceptions that the shop floor has to manage. And the ever-changing nature of the schedule. So can you ever fully automate shop floor scheduling? Or would it always require manual interventions? And if scheduling is this hard, how do larger companies manage their plants where the schedule of one plant may impact the other.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss shop floor scheduling best practices. We discussed scheduling issues for different industries and product categories. Finally, we discussed several stories related to scheduling where we discussed concepts such as how WIP could impact scheduling, why material availability is equally important, and how multiple streams affect shop floor scheduling.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Aug 10, 2022
WBSP363: Grow Your Business by Understanding Salesforce Commerce’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
When it comes to enterprise platforms, it's hard to meet the expectations from all fronts: performance, customization, developer experience, and functionality. Most platforms can perhaps check a couple of these boxes. Salesforce Commerce Cloud might be able to check a lot of them. That's probably the reason it's the leading platform for enterprises. It has deep industry-specific capabilities in both B2B and B2C space. For example, localized OEM-managed sites for dealers. Or, a HIPAA-compliant web store for hospitals and healthcare facilities. Some people may argue that headless should be able to solve the customer needs of most industries.But some of these features could be so deep that unless your data model supports it, it might be harder to build on vanilla platforms. So, where does Salesforce Commerce Cloud stand as of today in comparison to the headless and legacy platforms?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Salesforce Commerce Detailed Independent Review. We discussed their strengths and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture for both B2B and B2C business models. Finally, we compared their B2B and B2C capabilities and the flexibility of each solution.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Aug 9, 2022
WBSP362: Grow Your Business by Understanding Epicor Eclipse's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Epicor Eclipse has a more loyal community than crypto and Metaverse. But why is that? Based on the amount of technological innovation happening, you would guess that any school grad might be able to write ERP software. Right? So then why do technologies such as Mainframe, AS400, and Epicor Eclipse still exist? Is it really because change is hard. But change is hard for whom? For companies that are using it or companies that are selling it? Or is it because customers are unwilling to change because of their strong affinity with a technology or product? If so, why should we blame the companies trying to sell and support what customers are willing to buy? Epicor Eclipse has a loyal community for a reason. But what are those reasons?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Epicor Eclipse's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in HVAC, plumbing, and trade contracting industries. Finally, we discussed why companies are so loyal to this solution despite it being a legacy solution.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Aug 8, 2022
WBSP361: Grow Your Business by Learning Workflow Automation Technologies w/ Ravi Vaidya
Automating a process is easy. But understanding which process is the right candidate for automation is more difficult than most people think. Also, not every process is the right candidate to be hosted inside an ERP. By the same token, not every process can be as ad-hoc as RPA. There is one category that is in between the enterprise-wide cemented processes of ERP and ad-hoc processes automated by RPA technologies. It’s called workflow automation. Workflow automation inherits approval and transaction elements of ERP and ad-hoc elements of RPA. And that’s perhaps why the workflow automation category is so hot. But which processes are the right candidate for workflow automation technologies?
In today's episode, our guest, Ravi Vaidya, shares his insights into workflow technologies and where they fit in the enterprise architecture. He also compares several technologies such as iPaaS, BPM, P2P, and RPA, and why workflow automation deserves its own category. Finally, he compares several workflow technologies such as BoomiFlow, Microsoft Power Platform, and ServiceNow and how these technologies can help automate the ad-hoc processes that drive data and process issues in an organization.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Aug 3, 2022
WBSP360: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of Co-products/By-products, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
The bill of materials becomes complex when you might have multiple layers of costing and sub-assemblies. But you need to be at a different level when you might have co-products and by-products involved as part of your manufacturing process. The co-products can help you optimize your production process and allocate costs appropriately. The by-products can help you measure the yield percentages accurately. But unless your SKUs and BOMs replicate the physical production processes, your costs and yield percentages may be all over the place. So what are the best practices for capturing by- and co-products appropriately as part of the production process?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Co-products/By-products best practices. We discussed their definition and how the definition and their treatment might vary in different industries. Finally, we discussed these concepts from many different perspectives such as costing, scheduling, and in-process testing.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Aug 2, 2022
WBSP359: Grow Your Business by Understanding VTEX’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Most people might not even pay attention to the location in the digital world. We can hire workers from any country remotely. We can trade with most countries easily. But when it comes to eCommerce and ERP systems, location is still a huge factor. The solution from North America may not work well in Europe. The solution from Latin America might not work well in North America. There are challenges such as payment providers or taxation being different. But even if a platform may support these integrations, the solution may still feel alienated due to the localization issues, whether we talk about product or documentation. One such platform is VTEX, which is highly advanced in its headless capabilities. But it still carries its Latin American roots, which might be a barrier for North American countries, even if the platform may be technically advanced. So which companies would most benefit from the VTEX platform?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss VTEX Detailed Independent Review. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture. Finally, we discussed their geographic limitations for global customers, react-based development standards, and their unique strengths with the franchise-based business models.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Aug 1, 2022
WBSP358: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of ERP Bank Integrations w/ Matt Bernot
Most businesses take a reactive approach to their banking needs. They are likely to default to the bank that has the lowest fee. Also, they might have several exposure points for attackers to get access to your accounts. But does the lowest fee always mean the best strategy for your business? What if someone gets unauthorized access to your account and drains all the funds? Well, you will be able to get your money back. But it might take several months. And during these months, you might have to deal with the cash flow challenges. So a solid bank integration strategy is essential for businesses.
In today's episode, our guest, Matt Bernot, shares his insights into the nuances of bank integrations and considerations for ERP buyers. He discusses the differences in several options that might be available from banks and through the ERP integration and how that might impact business. Finally, he discusses bank integration concepts such as positive pay, NACHA files, and exposure points.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Jul 28, 2022
WBSP357: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of Bill of Materials, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Just like ERP, the Bill of Materials is perhaps the overused and oversold term. A BOM could be the assembly of two materials like wrapping a gift for your birthday. Or it could be the manufacturing process of the whole spaceship. But what if the process of manufacturing a spaceship resulted in waste material that could turn into a nice lamp. Would this whole process be captured as part of the bill of materials? How would the cost be accounted for each of them? Does the BOM differ for different teams? How much engineering data does the BOM need to carry? How much financial data does it need to carry? Can it also help procurement teams with their scheduling? Can it produce Gantt charts? Can it compute your contribution margins? These are the questions you are going to have if you are structuring BOMs for your manufacturing shop. If you don’t configure the BOMs right, your costing, scheduling, inventory, supply chain, eCommerce experience, and profit margins will be all over the place. So what are the best practices for structuring the BOMs?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the bill of materials best practices. We discussed several types of BOMs and their misunderstanding could result in operational implications for companies. Finally, we discussed several train wrecks and horror stories due to the poor structuring and governance of the bill of materials.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Jul 27, 2022
WBSP356: Grow Your Business by Understanding Spryker’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
eCommerce is easy when you are managing a couple of stores and selling in 6-figures. But it becomes increasingly difficult when you have to manage millions and billions of transactions. While also managing the transactional depth of a complex business with thousands of channel partners. When you grow at that level, you will need different search engines for different areas of your eCommerce business. You will also need to manage a centralized CI and CD pipeline to manage the promotion of your changes in a controlled manner. You might also plan to launch your own marketplace where you might allow your distributors to sell through your platform. This would require you to complete control of the data, pricing, and product to avoid channel conflict issues. So what would be your options if you have such complexity in your business? Well, Spryker is one such option. They are leading the headless and marketplace movement for the enterprise space.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Spryker’s capabilities. We discussed their strength with the enterprise and B2B features. Finally, we discussed their punchout integration capabilities, product catalog features, and how they are different from other headless platforms.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Jul 26, 2022
WBSP355: Grow Your Business by Understanding Infor M3's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Infor M3 is a unique product that can meet specific requirements of certain industries. But do these specific requirements really matter? Can't you just customize a vanilla ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or SAP S/4 HANA? Well, it gets really tricky for certain industries such as Fashion and Apparel, Food and Beverage, and equipment rental. It's because you need to have a richer data model tailored for these industries. The rich data model could include native support for matrix inventory, in-process test workflows, technicians' availability, and integration of rental agreements at the work order level. So does Infor M3 have native support for these needs?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Infor M3's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in fashion, food and beverage, rental, and chemical industries. Finally, we discussed their full-suite capabilities such as PLM collaboration and matrix inventory support along with traceability that will be critical for regulated industries.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Jul 25, 2022
WBSP354: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Enterprise Risk Management and Governance w/ Hart Brown
Most companies feel that the insurance companies would be able to cover most financial risks for them. But without understanding your risk profile, it’s hard to predict if they will be covered. Understanding and identification of risks require a thorough analysis of your processes and supply chain and evaluating them on an ongoing basis. You might also need to monitor macroeconomic factors and how they might affect your risk profile to have complete control over your financial risks.
In today's episode, our guest, Hart Brown, shares his insights into enterprise risk management and governance processes. He also discusses the drivers that result in financial and legal risks for the companies such as disgruntled employees, macroeconomics factors, and supply chain issues. Finally, he discusses what companies and operations managers might be able to do to navigate current risks because of supply chain disruptions, war, and inflation.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs us…
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Jul 21, 2022
WBSP353: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of Consolidated Invoicing, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Consolidated invoicing and billing are typically the outliers and don't get as much attention until they become painful issues in the organization. So what are the different variables that drive the consolidated processes? How many different types of consolidated invoicing processes exist? Does it vary by industry? Does it vary by product type? Are consolidated invoicing relevant for subscription-based products? If so, what are the data points that are relevant to capture to ensure that the consolidated invoicing is going to work? And what are the best practices you need to keep in mind while selecting your ERP system? Finally, what are the best practices that drive operational efficiency due to the consolidated invoicing processes? These are the questions you will have if your customers have asked you to incorporate consolidated invoicing with your processes?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant exp…
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Jul 20, 2022
WBSP352: Grow Your Business by Understanding commercetools’ Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
commercetools is the hottest darling of the eCommerce space. This is especially true for the people who are big on microservices architecture and are part of the MACH alliance. But headless architecture is a lot of work for brands and requires tons of capital. The only reason why companies such as Shopify and BigCommerce are so successful is that they made it turnkey for entrepreneurs to start eCommerce businesses easily without worrying about hiring expensive developers. But the world of headless seems to be taking exactly the opposite perspective. While we all know that the fluidity and experience of eCommerce are important, the cost of building it may be a dealbreaker for SMBs. Would there be ROI for companies who are investing in composable commerce? These are the questions you are going to have if you are planning to beef up your eCommerce capabilities and drive revenue from digital channels.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview…
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Jul 19, 2022
WBSP351: Grow Your Business by Understanding Pronto ERP's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Pronto is not a household name among the ERP options available in the market unless you are from Australia or New Zeeland. Also, Australia is a different beast when it comes to meeting the statutory requirements of that country. Australia's economy is heavily influenced by specific industries such as mining. Naturally, the software from Australia will have deep capabilities for those industries. But how capable is Pronto for other industries? How do they approach the market? Where are they going to be the best fit? And where would they struggle? These are the questions you will have if you are evaluating Pronto as the potential option for your next ERP project.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Pronto ERP's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in mining and retail industries along with their exclusive focus on the Australian market. Finally, we discussed their mini…
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Jul 18, 2022
WBSP350: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Lease Accounting w/ Greg Kautz
Lease accounting has a lot of moving pieces. And they are always changing due to the ever-evolving regulations around lease accounting. If you don’t keep up with your lease valuations and amortization schedules, you might be exposing yourself to financial risks. Also, these changes drive the admin costs that are required to maintain the leases. And ERP systems don’t make it any easier as they might be difficult for lease admins to use them effectively.
In today's episode, our guest, Greg Kautz, shares his insights into the nuances of lease accounting and why they are harder to handle with ERP systems. He also discusses how leases vary across industries and which ones have the most burden of lease administration. Finally, he discusses why alignment of master data is important between your ERP and lease administration software if you plan to use one for your lease management.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our communit…
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Jul 13, 2022
WBSP349: Grow Your Business by Understanding 3DCart’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Choosing an eCommerce platform is hard. You have plenty of options to choose from in the market. But they all have specific capabilities and are designed for a specific purpose. Some of the nuanced options, such as gift wrap or style, could be harder to build if they are not supported natively by the platform. While the look and feel are typically the easiest to change, even that could be harder if the platform limits theme customizations. So, where does 3DCart stand compared to the other platforms such as Shopify or BigCommerce? Would it be cheaper than the other platforms? Would there be any limitations?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss 3DCart’s capabilities. We discussed their strength with the B2B and B2C functionality along with their ability to integrate with any website without requiring to use their platform. Finally, we discussed their weaknesses with the lack of c…
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Jul 12, 2022
WBSP348: Grow Your Business by Understanding Epicor Prophet 21's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Epicor Prophet 21 has always been extremely popular among industrial distributors. But is Epicor P21 fit for all businesses? Can it work for manufacturing as well as distribution? How about businesses that might manufacture as well as distribute? How is it different from other Epicor products such as Kinetic and Eclipse? Has it been upgraded to the cloud version? How cloud-native would it be? Would there be any limitations, such as the inability to open multiple windows or enterprise search? These are the questions you are going to have if you are thinking of evaluating Epicor Prophet 21 for your business.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Epicor P21's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in retail and distribution industries along with their deep supply chain planning and procurement capabilities. Finally, we discussed their retail-centric capabilities such as fin…
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Jul 11, 2022
WBSP347: Grow Your Business by Learning the eCommerce Nuances for Furniture Manufacturers w/ Robert Giovannini
The furniture industry is extremely unique as while its distribution processes might be similar to other distribution industries, each product is custom-made. And this makes implementing eCommerce for furniture manufacturers extremely challenging. The manufacturers also need to make sure that there is no channel conflict. And their retailers are comfortable with their intention of going DTC and eCommerce. If communicated properly, the eCommerce efforts not only help in getting more business, it might increase the loyalty of their channels as they will be getting more business through OEMs’ eCommerce efforts.
In today's episode, our guest, Robert Giovannini, shares his insights into the eCommerce nuances for furniture manufacturers. He also discusses the cyclical nature of eCommerce processes for furniture manufacturers where the OEMs might generate the lead for retailers, but once they book the order, the transaction might need to come back to the manufacturer for fulfillment. Final…
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Jul 7, 2022
WBSP346: Grow Your Business by Learning the Pros and Cons of Partial Order Processing and Early Shipping Business Processes, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
The rising consumer expectations and growing trend of marketplaces are driving the order processing complexity for businesses. Sales order processing is increasingly complex. You have challenges such as partial delivery. In some industries, the entire order-to-cash cycle needs to be closed for a line before the other line can be processed. There might also be other trends, such as shipping early in the hope of getting higher margins from the order. So, what architectural considerations do you need to have in place to accommodate such business scenarios? What do you need to look for in selecting your ERP? Which ERP systems might fire back if they don't natively support these business scenarios?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the pros and cons of partial order processing and early shipping. We covered many grounds, including the concepts such as shipping complete, planning ar…
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Jul 6, 2022
WBSP345: Grow Your Business by Understanding A2X’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
A2X is not the name you might recognize unless you are in the Xero or Shopify ecosystem. But they have created a new category of software, which seems exciting for eCommerce merchants, especially due to the amount of additional overhead you add with each marketplace you sell on. Each marketplace and big-box retailer are trying to come up with its own business models. And sometimes, that could require as much admin effort as you would get in managing a physical store. The admin effort could include keeping the right levels of inventory in each warehouse and country where you plan to serve your customers. And then reconciling that on a weekly basis. The only difference between the physical store and a marketplace is that you won't get penalized as often with stores. Marketplaces, on the other hand, are likely to have land mines at each step. And tracking that might cost you more than your margins. So how can A2X help in selling on different marketplaces?
In today's episode, we invited a…
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Jul 5, 2022
WBSP340: Grow Your Business by Understanding SAP Business One's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
While you might feel that SAP does not care for the SMB market, SAP Business One is one of the most successful products. SAP Business One incorporates all the great features such as financial control and relationship map, along with the speed of the HANA database. SAP Business One also has a similar data model and architecture as their other product, which provides the SAP experience at a fraction of the costs. But SAP Business One Cloud is not as advanced as its on-prem variant. So is SAP Business One still a potential option for you? Or should you be looking at some other cloud- and web-enabled products?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of SAP Business One's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their cloud journey and their strength with their on-prem solution, such as the transactional traceability features similar to their bigger products such as SAP S/4 HANA and SAP Business B…
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Jul 5, 2022
WBSP344: Grow Your Business by Understanding Infor LN's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Infor LN has been the household name for many Automotive and Aerospace companies. If they can't relate with Infor LN, they will definitely recognize BaaN. At one point, when BaaN won Boeing as their account, there was a prediction that BaaN may be a clear threat to SAP. But unfortunately, running an ERP company requires more than just the technical prowess to handle the workload at the SAP levels. BaaN would have been a tragic story. But, good for the product that it found its place in the financially capable hands of Infor. Infor LN has come a long way in its evolution, and the cloud version offers several Infor products integrated with Infor. But where does it stand today in comparison to other similar products?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Infor LN's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in manufacturing complex products such as automotive and aerospace alon…
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Jul 4, 2022
WBSP343: Grow Your Business by Learning the Importance of Centralizing ERP Shared Services w/ Brian G Shannon
The large companies that are present in more than 10 countries and have more than 50K employees need operational efficiencies at a different scale. The efficiencies at the plant or at the entity level are no longer enough. You need to figure out the shared services model where the lower-cost services can be provided by the countries where the costs are likely to be lower. But managing this process requires changes in the systems and processes. You need to share data across the entities and have a shared vision for the entire organization. But executing it is far more difficult than you would think. So how to implement shared services in larger organizations?
In today's episode, our guest, Brian G Shannon, shares his insights into the importance of centralizing shared services for large global rollouts. He also talks about several KPIs such as cycle time and how to measure them to ensure the data quality you expect from your financial processes. Finally, he provides insights into prior…
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Jun 30, 2022
WBSP342: Grow Your Business by Learning the Pros and Cons of Kitting Business Processes, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you're an e-commerce brand, kitting would not be new to you. Kitting could be a great tool to increase the average order value and differentiate yourself from the competition without necessarily launching a new product line. But kitting requires your inventory to be aligned across channels to deliver the intended results. Without the inventory alignment, it may result in missed opportunities, customer experience issues due to not getting their orders as per their timeline, and worse yet, customer churn. Kitting also requires the SKUs to be aligned to forecast the dependent inventory items accurately. Finally, kitting requires your pricing to be consistent across channels. So what are the best practices to implement kitting for your business?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the pros and cons of kitting business processes and best practices. We covered many grounds, includi…
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Jun 29, 2022
WBSP341: Grow Your Business by Understanding ShipBob’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
If you are an eCommerce brand and starting on the eCommerce journey, 3PL may appear to be an attractive option. You might feel that the only thing matters for eCommerce is sales and marketing. But as you advance in your journey, you will quickly realize how critical your operations are for your customer experience. If your customers can't receive the right products at the right time, they will not stick with you for very long, regardless of how compelling could be your messaging and customer services interactions. But the biggest frustration would be to be penalized for none of your faults. How would it feel if your 3PL shipped your competitor's product to your customer? But that's what happens when you lose control of your supply chain. While the new 3PLs make it look very attractive due to their tech capabilities, the age-old problems with 3PLs are still the same. And ShipBob is no exception to that.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live inter…
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Jun 27, 2022
WBSP339: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of B2B Digital Commerce Processes w/ Jay Schneider
Digital commerce initiatives require your product, channel, and customer data in order. Or they might not pay off as you might never get the desired results from them as you expect. While both B2B and B2C eCommerce efforts have their share of challenges, the B2B space experiences complex relationships and hierarchies that drive the process intricacies. These relationships could be because of how the relationships are set up, how contracts are structured, and how each of them are paid in the relationship.
In today's episode, our guest, Jay Schneider, shares his insights into how B2B digital commerce processes differ from B2C. He compares and contrast B2B sales and marketing trends such as buying groups, marketplaces, and group purchasing organizations that have been on the rise. Finally, he provides insights into the product data and why it is important for B2B distributors to keep their house in order to be successful with the eCommerce initiatives.
For more information on growth str…
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Jun 23, 2022
WBSP338: Grow Your Business by Learning the Pros and Cons of Blanket Orders Business Processes, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
When it comes to blanket orders, the business community has mixed feelings about whether they add real value to the business. But their implementation could be all over the place as well. The legacy systems that didn't support the blanket order functionality natively had to come up with creative ways of handling them. These creative ways might include canceling the lines and adding new ones as the quantity gets released. Or they could be as dramatic as creating a completely new order. Irrespective of whether you like it or not. You will end up dealing with blanket orders as they might be driven by factors such as commodity pricing or securing critical components needed for your supply chain. So, where do blanket orders make the most sense?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the pros and cons of blanket orders business processes best practices. We covered many grounds, including…
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Jun 22, 2022
WBSP337: Grow Your Business by Understanding ShipHype’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
When you look at the eCommerce fulfillment space, there are many options out there. And most of these options could appear very similar. In fact, sometimes it's very hard to spot the difference between a 3PL and an eCommerce fulfillment software, as both software might appear similar. Just because your Shopify can integrate with their 3PL software, it's not meant to be a replacement for your order management platform. It should not even be compared in the software category. It's just another channel similar to EDI or integration with a traditional 3PL. The newer breed of 3PL offers deeper software capabilities than your traditional 3PLs. So, where does ShipHype fit in the food chain?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss ShipHype’s capabilities. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and why they should not be confused with an eCommerce platform. Finally, we discussed their…
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Jun 21, 2022
WBSP336: Grow Your Business by Understanding Epicor Kinetic's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
When it comes to ERP software designed for manufacturing, you will find dozen of options. But none of them come close to meeting the needs of complex manufacturers. Even the software that will claim to be designed for hybrid manufacturing and raved by their customers are really lean on manufacturing capabilities. One of the critical differentiators for most manufacturing software is their BOM and data model. Lose correlation of BOM data elements could have significant implications on your production data. This is especially true for complex manufacturing products. One such product is Epicor Kinetic, which is often one of the closest competitors of other manufacturing software such as Infor CloudSuite Industrial and Acumatica. But how deep is Epicor Kinetic with its manufacturing capabilities? Can it support any manufacturing business model?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Epicor Kinetic's…
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Jun 20, 2022
WBSP335: Grow Your Business by Learning the Digital Process Complexity of the Water Industry w/ Noemi Kis
One T-shirt takes around 700 gallons of water to manufacture. This is how important the water industry is that not many people understand. The water industry also has a complex sales cycle with several handshakes in the process. And yet it has one of the most legacy processes for the aftermarket industry, with the majority of the sales processes not being digital. But is that changing? Would existing solutions in the market be sufficient for the water industry? If not, then what do we need? How different would be the digital commerce solution for the water industry? And how this industry can prepare for digital transformation?
In today's episode, our guest, Noemi Kis, shares her insights into how the water industry works and how its sales cycle differs from other industries. She also provides some facts about the water industry and how many stakeholders will be involved in it. Finally, she provides her insights into buying groups, payment flows, roles and responsibilities of different…
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Jun 16, 2022
WBSP334: Grow Your Business by Learning the Pros and Cons of Dropshipping Business Processes, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Most eCommerce companies can't survive without dropshipping. They might not have the funds to carry the inventory or build fulfillment centers to support customers in every location. But dropshipping is not as easy as building the website, finding the vendors, and start collecting cash. Incorporating dropshipping processes as part of your operational and financial workflow is even more challenging. And if your ERP system doesn't have dropshipping processes built as part of the system, it might feel unnatural. And you might build ad-hoc processes to support them. Also, dropshipping could mean different things to different parties. If you are a dropshipping vendor fulfilling the dropshipping orders, your processes could differ from a manufacturer sending the order to their dropshipping vendor for specific SKUs. So what are the best practices for incorporating dropshipping business processes into your business model and selecting an ERP system designed to support these processes?
In toda…
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Jun 15, 2022
WBSP333: Grow Your Business by Understanding Ordoro's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
When it comes to the options available for eCommerce merchants in the QuickBooks ecosystem, there is no shortage. In fact, we have so many options that sometimes it might be a project in itself to find the right tools and use them for the purpose it was originally designed for. There are inventory tools that might also play the role of a PIM. There are other inventory tools that might also have multichannel capabilities. Then there are inventory tools that might also function like a WMS system. This almost seems like a startup where most people play multiple roles. But there comes the point when you no longer can afford to be a startup and need clarity with your organizational structure. Systems work the same way. Ordoro is one such tool designed for inventory control for QuickBooks-sized customers. So is Ordoro wearing multiple hats as well, just like their competitors?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings sign…
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Jun 14, 2022
WBSP332: Grow Your Business by Understanding Infor CloudSuite Industrial's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
There have been several attempts to segment manufacturing processes such as make-to-order, make-to-stock, engineer-to-order, and project-based manufacturing. Some segment it based on discreet vs. process manufacturing. But the reality is that the manufacturing industry is so broad that each micro-vertical could be unique with its processes. For example, one of the biggest differentiators from the ERP process perspective is the lead time and complexity of the manufacturing processes. A product that might take two months to build is different from the in-and-out products, such as with a lead time of fewer than two days. These two categories follow very different operational and supply chain processes and have different needs for an ERP system. When it comes to meeting the complex needs of an OEM with a large number of SKUs for each product, they need an ERP system that is designed to do the heavy lifting at this scale. So, where does Infor CloudSuite Industrial (Syteline) fit when it com…
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Jun 13, 2022
WBSP331: Grow Your Business by Learning the System and Process Complexity of the Packaging Industry w/ Megan Gamble
While the products get the most attention in a manufacturing company, the packaging is equally important when it comes to the CPG world. Also, the systems and operational needs are completely different when we compare different players in the packaging industry, starting from packaging suppliers, packaging R&D organizations, and consulting companies. They all might require multiple systems in the architecture to ensure that the ERP systems are not being overengineered and the specialized systems can talk seamlessly.
In today's episode, our guest, Megan Gamble, shares her insights into building the systems for the packaging industry. She discusses various players and stakeholders involved in the packaging industry and their roles as it relates to process collaboration in the packaging industry. Finally, she provides her insights into the process differences of R&D vs. manufacturing and different systems that might be part of the enterprise architecture for a packaging company.
For mor…
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Jun 9, 2022
WBSP330: Grow Your Business by Learning the Pros and Cons of Centralized vs. Decentralized Order Processing, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Not many businesses understand how to capitalize on the synergies of truly globally integrated organizations. They struggle to bring all the departments together from one plant. Bringing together all the entities and sites in one system is a much harder lift than you would think. Sometimes you may be lucky to be forced into it as your customers might be requesting centralized order processing or consolidated invoicing. And then, you might be distributing them from locations most financially feasible for your supply chain. Centralized order entry requires you to share your master data across entities with deep intercompany and intersite functionality. And if you also have challenges such as omnichannel or complex eCommerce architecture, it could be even more complex. So what are the differences between centralized and decentralized order processing?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to di…
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Jun 8, 2022
WBSP329: Grow Your Business by Understanding Flowtrac's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
There are many different apps out there in the eCommerce space. Some go by eCommerce operations platform. Some call them multi-channel management platforms. Some can do warehouse management and proof of delivery. Some even claim that how they are going to change the industry by replacing the bigger daddies of the enterprise software world, such as SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, Infor, and Epicor. But most of these apps are present in the QuickBooks or Xero ecosystem just because these businesses can't afford the full-blown ERP implementation. Or don't have experience in running a larger organization or standardizing processes to grow past the QuickBooks inflection point. So, where does Flowtrac fit in the architecture, and which size of the businesses would be the right fit for this app? And how would they play along with the other apps in the QuickBooks and Shopify ecosystems?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings sign…
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Jun 7, 2022
WBSP328: Grow Your Business by Understanding Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
There is a very thin line between mainstream and project-based manufacturing. Is software development manufacturing? How about constructing a house? The manufacturing systems that are designed for mainstream manufacturing, such as make-to-stock, made-to-order, configure-to-order, and engineer-to-order, are very different. While they might claim to do project-based manufacturing, they hardly have a costing wrapper to track different jobs for that project. It's almost like once in a while if the bicycle company needs to also manufacture the bike store, the system should be able to handle it. But that doesn't make this system suitable for companies that are only building bike stores, and maybe once in a while, they might assemble a bicycle to send a gift to their customers. These two are different scenarios and business models. So, where does Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central fit?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduc…
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Jun 6, 2022
WBSP327: Grow Your Business by Learning About the Procurement Maturity Model and Governance Framework w/ Anna McGovern
While Sales and operations planning is the shared responsibility of both sales and operations. Sales typically have far more clout while procurement with very little to no say in it. And as a result, most SMB organizations end up stocking the inventory far more than they need. And this overstocking results in the locking of cash and profitability issues. This is especially common with SMBs that are smaller and don't have PE or VC investment with them.
In today's episode, our guest, Anna McGovern, shares her insights into the procurement maturity model and governance framework. She also discusses the role KPIs play in setting the governance framework. Finally, she describes the ownership of various cross-functional responsibilities and how to ensure the accountability of supply chain KPIs.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast…
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Jun 2, 2022
WBSP326: Grow Your Business by Learning the Pros and Cons of iPaaS vs. Point-to-Point Integration, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
When most people think of integration, they just feel that as long as you have APIs, you should be good. Well, the integration projects could be harder than building software from the ground up. When you build or implement software, you speak one language. On the other hand, when you integrate two software, you speak two, if not more. One option to integrate two software would be to have them talk without a translator. While this might be OK in some scenarios, the problems become bigger as the system complexity and order volume increase. You will also have constraints such as different maintenance schedules for different software or 24X7 transaction processing. So how to decide which integration pattern is the right fit in which scenario?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the pros and cons of iPaaS vs. point-to-point integration. We covered many grounds, including different in…
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Jun 1, 2022
WBSP325: Grow Your Business by Understanding Webgility's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Did you know that only 10% of the sellers on Amazon generate over $100,00 a year? And while 90% of these sellers have the same complexity as their peers at $100 million, they don't have the same deep pockets to spend the money on integration and IT. While the options may not be perfect, they need a quick way of synching data from across the channels and system. Also, at this scale, the strategy to somehow manage with a fragmented set of apps and web hooks-based integration is probably OK, as your order volume is not as high. But how long can you survive on these apps? And when you might need to move to a slightly better system like ERP to have superior financial and inventory control.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Webgility Detailed Independent Review. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture. Finally, we discussed t…
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May 31, 2022
WBSP324: Grow Your Business by Understanding SAP Business ByDesign's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
If Infor is the largest ERP vendor that no one knows about, SAP Business ByDesign is the product from the largest ERP vendor that no one knows about. Some even doubt if there is any future for the product. The SAP resellers like to cannibalize products from their own portfolio in the hope of getting much higher license dollars from customers, even if it means that they might feel overwhelmed with the larger product. So does SAP even care for SMBs? If they do, have they done anything to change the image of SAP Business ByDesign? So what are the core reasons why SAP Business ByDesign never got any traction when SAP BusinessOne was a massively successful product?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of SAP Business ByDesign's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including its depth in finance, audit trail, configuration management, and project-centric businesses. Finally, we discussed the reasons w…
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May 30, 2022
WBSP323: Grow Your Business by Learning From the Story of Process Transformation of a Chemical Company w/ Paul Vragel
Inventory and on-time delivery are two major factors that show that your processes may require transformational change. These issues could lead to long production meetings chasing late orders or raw materials. They could also lead to ad-hoc arrangements and process inefficiencies that might be the implications of the band-aid solutions implemented to cure short-term operational problems. Having accurate inventory and a controlled supply chain requires a holistic understanding of the processes and data.
In today's episode, our guest, Paul Vragel, shares his insights into the operational challenges and quick fixes to deliver desired KPIs for a chemical company. He discusses the core challenges, such as releasing the order to the production floor without checking the critical components and starting the setup operation, and how inventory accuracy could impact the operations of a company. Finally, he shares his insights into why the ad-hoc arrangements, such as creating lost inventory, ma…
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May 26, 2022
WBSP322: Grow Your Business by Understanding Sage X3's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Discrete manufacturing space is crowded with several solutions. But there are only a few that are really good at process manufacturing and agriculture verticals. The process manufacturing has unique nuances with requirements such as traceability, sub-lots, sub-batches, and formulation management. These verticals also have unique reporting and audit requirements. Managing them could be a challenge with a vanilla ERP. And it might turn out to be extremely expensive. So why is Sage X3 so good at food and agriculture verticals and what are the unique features that matter for this industry?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Sage X3's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their depth in the process manufacturing, their focus on finance, and why they are one of the few ERP systems in the market that have logistics capabilities. Finally, we discussed several unique features in the X3 solu…
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May 25, 2022
WBSP321: Grow Your Business by Learning ERP Requirements Management, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Most people don't understand the importance of requirement management when it comes to ERP. ERP should be as easy as dumping your SKUs, customers, and vendors inside the ERP system. And that's it, right? Well, the ERP system could quickly become the black box, similar to the tribal knowledge sitting in people's heads. So what are the best practices for managing ERP requirements? And how to ensure that the critical decisions are well-documented?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss ERP requirements management. We covered many grounds, including the importance of requirements management during the sales process and the impact it might have on the implementation. Finally, we discussed several other topics, such as how to do an ROI analysis, how to logically segment the requirements, and how to manage the requirements using a tool.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs…
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May 24, 2022
WBSP320: Grow Your Business by Understanding Zentail's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
Selling on multiple channels is hard. They all have their rules and unique business models. Also, the channels and marketplaces are evolving on a daily basis. If you were to manage each of the channels manually, it could quickly become your day job to manage them. Also, even if you were able to do that, you might still run into scenarios of stockouts and struggle to maintain consistent pricing across channels. You not only need the centralized management of your product data. You also need the centralized management of all of your channels from one place. This is where your multichannel platforms are super handy to help manage your multichannel business.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to conduct an independent review of Zentail's capabilities. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture. Finally, we discussed their PIM and multicha…
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May 23, 2022
WBSP319: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Canadian Cannabis Industry w/ Abu Asif
Cannabis is a unique industry. You have significant reporting requirements that are ever-changing. And the priorities may change overnight due to the investment risks associated. Also, you run the risk of losing your license if you cannot comply with the requirements. For these reasons, the unsettling nature of ever-changing requirements may make planning for ERP implementations increasingly difficult. But are there unique reporting and audit challenges in Canada? Or is Cannabis equally challenging everywhere?
In today's episode, our guest, Abubakr Asif, who shares his insights into the processes of Cannabis businesses in Canada. He also provides his insights into different business models in the Cannabis industry and how cannabis 2.0 differs from 1.0. Finally, he shares his insights into how the unique reporting requirements drive the ERP complexity for the cannabis industry and why the Canadian industry is different from the US.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs us…
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May 19, 2022
WBSP318: Grow Your Business by Understanding Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations' Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
When it comes to the needs of large enterprises with more than $1B in revenue, there are only a few solutions that can meet their needs. These solutions have extremely deep capabilities with their localization and globalization. But they are equally deep in their supply chain planning, transportation management, warehouse management, and project accounting. While most people think of Oracle or SAP as the only potential solution for large companies, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations is one solution that's equally deep and capable. But how does Microsoft Dynamics 365 F&O differs from SAP S/4 HANA and Oracle Cloud ERP?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations capabilities. We covered several grounds, including the depth of SCM and TMS functionality, their deep localizat…
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May 18, 2022
WBSP317: Grow Your Business by Learning ERP Test Plan Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Building a test plan is hard. Executing is even harder. And if you are building a test plan for ERP implementation, you have added challenges. The testing challenges are unique with ERP implementation because the users don't have as much experience with the software development life cycle. They struggle with thinking like a tester where you need to plan for the edge and boundary cases. And ensure that you are not going to find any surprises post your go-live. But how to build a successful test plan for an ERP implementation without issues?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss ERP test plan best practices. We covered many grounds, including the importance of testing and how testing planning and execution are different for ERP projects. Finally, we discussed how to document, automate, and scope testing efforts.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digit…
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May 17, 2022
WBSP316: Grow Your Business by Understanding Skubana's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion
eCommerce business models have grown in complexity exponentially. The channels such as Amazon and Walmart are always modifying their rules and business models. And it's hard for eCommerce brands to keep up with these regulations and have KPIs aligned with the changed regulations. If they are not aligned and measured, the brands may experience significant financial consequences. But most of these eCommerce platforms are targeted at a specific audience that might be on QuickBooks and may have under $5 mil in revenue. So what challenges can you expect once you grow past $5 mi in revenue?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Skubana Detailed Independent Review. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture. Finally, we discussed their exit strategy and market positioning, where they are the best fit, and where they might struggle.…
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May 16, 2022
WBSP315: Grow Your Business by Learning the Business Model Nuances of Oil and Gas Suppliers w/ David Dozer
While you might feel that most distribution businesses might be alike, it's not the case. It is especially tricky in industries such as oil and gas due to their compliance requirements and unique quality processes. These companies also go through specific ISO processes that are different from other industries and require you to have unique process arrangements in place to be able to meet them. Finally, each large Oil and Gas OEM may have its standards for the certificate of conformance.
In today's episode, our guest, David Dozer, who shares his insights into the business process nuances for oil and gas suppliers. He also provides his insights into their compliance needs and why it is necessary to ERPize the business processes before implementing an ERP. Finally, he discussed issues such as why it is important to select the right-size ERP and how issues such as lot number traceability and 3PL may require aligning your physical and digital processes.
For more information on growth stra…
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May 12, 2022
WBSP314: Grow Your Business by Understanding Sage Intacct's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
If you ask anyone their opinion about an ERP system, they will tell you that it's a system designed from the perspective of a CFO. Well, this might be partially true. But most CFOs would disagree with it. As they would not relate with these systems just like you. But there are a few systems that take that CFO perspective to the next level. Their perspective includes the ability to dissect data across multiple dimensions, easy financial report writing, and consolidation and elimination across entities. One such system is Sage Intacct, which is really designed from the perspective of a CFO that takes the financial experience to the next level. But would it have the same experience in other areas as the ERP is supposed to be serving all functions equally well?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of Sage Intacct's capabilitie…
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May 11, 2022
WBSP313: Grow Your Business by Learning Financial Consolidation Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you have multiple subsidiaries, consolidating them could be a very involved process if you don't have an ERP system that natively supports multi-entity functionality. Your process might start with recording intercompany loans and interest earned through your subsidiaries. Then you might need to allocate the corporate overheads and account payables to various subsidiaries. Then you need to complete adjusting entries, followed by closing subsidiary books and then finally closing books for the parent entity.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss financial consolidation business processes best practices. We covered many grounds, including the rationale for financial consolidation and the appropriate architecture for the multi-entity organization. Finally, we covered the difference between financial and operational integration of different organizations along with the best practices…
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May 10, 2022
WBSP312: Grow Your Business by Learning Through a Shopify Implementation Case Study of a DTC Brand, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
How would you feel if you walked into a store and the product you wanted wasn't available? What could you do as a customer service rep if you had this customer at your store? The sales rep in you might be tempted to swipe the credit card. But if you can't deliver on your promises, this transaction may fire back in ways you wouldn't expect. This is where the newer eCommerce architecture allows you to explore scenarios such as buy-online-pick-up-at-store or buy-in-store-ship-to-customer. But these architectural patterns are easier said than done. They require deeply capable platforms such as Shopify. But most importantly, it requires an architecture that can support the demanding needs of such transactions. So what are innovative brands doing to implement this architecture?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss a Shopify case study. We discussed their challenges and drivers for choo…
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May 9, 2022
WBSP311: Grow Your Business by Learning Shopify POS International Payment Implementation Challenges w/ Jacquelyn Laufer
How difficult could the payment process through a POS be? You will probably take it for granted. If you can swipe a credit card in North America, why would be it be a problem in dealing with credit cards from the rest of the world? Well, when it comes to the financial processes internationally, each country has its own banking system and payment gateways. Selecting an eCommerce without thinking through the financial processes of that country might fire back.
In today's episode, our guest, Jacquelyn Laufer, shares his insights into the Shopify POS and the challenges associated with international payments. She also shared a story about the challenges associated with Mexico localization. Finally, she shared the importance of product documentation and insights on inventory and warehousing processes inside Shopify and in omnichannel architecture.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To en…
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May 5, 2022
WBSP310: Grow Your Business by Understanding NetSuite's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
One thing is the most consistent about ERP systems is that you will always find surprises. And that is even true for systems that may be well-liked or rated. Also, it doesn't matter how versatile a solution could be. Their design would make them a natural fit only for certain industries. If you make assumptions about any ERP systems, it's likely to fire back. You might think that systems as well adopted as NetSuite may not have limitations and might work for most industries. Well, that is not true. While it's great for certain industries, it struggles in other patches. So what are the core strengths of NetSuite?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of NetSuite's capabilities. We covered several grounds, including their strength in finance and global multi-entity capabilities. Finally, we reviewed their distribution and man…
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May 4, 2022
WBSP309: Grow Your Business by Learning Budgeting Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
There are various ways of creating a financial budget. In fact, the key to budgetary planning is not to spend time getting 99% accuracy with your budget. It's the monitoring of the budget that matters more. So that you can take appropriate actions based on how far off you are from your budget. Budget planning is even more critical for industries with large amounts of inventory, heavy capital equipment, and human resources-driven industries. The budget planning could even vary across industries. So what are the features you need in a tool designed for budgeting?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss budgeting business processes best practices. We covered many grounds, including the impact of supply chain and cash flow on budget and different methods of budgeting. Finally, we covered the difference between forecast vs. budget, strategic vs. regular budget, and incumbrance business p…
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May 3, 2022
WBSP308: Grow Your Business by Learning Social Commerce Strategy, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Social media offers one of the biggest opportunities for eCommerce companies. The opportunity could include starting from influencer marketing to targeting ads on social media. Yet not many companies truly understand how to take advantage of social media. The company that really understand the nuances of each platform are crushing with their numbers, whether you talk about LinkedIn Influencers or TikTok. Also, the companies such as Twitter have been trying to figure out how they might be able to create an Amazon-like experience where the users might start searching for products on Twitter as opposed to searching on Google. But how to start on the social media strategy, and how to succeed with it?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss social commerce strategy and how eCommerce companies can take advantage of it. We also discussed several other social commerce-related topics such as…
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May 2, 2022
WBSP307: Grow Your Business by Learning Supply Chain Nuances From the Construction Industry w/ Bahadir Erdem
Each industry has its own unique supply chain challenges, irrespective of whether you are in the manufacturing industry or construction. In the case of construction, you have a long sales cycle and demanding projects where you need to make sure you have suppliers lined up as soon as the project closes. The supply chain disruptions might result in delays with your projects, lost relationships with other business partners, and cash flow issues.
In today's episode, our guest, Bahadir Erdem, who shares his insights into the supply chain issues and processes for construction, building material, and roofing industries. He also provides his insights into how the supply chain processes differ and unique forecasting challenges for these industries. Finally, he discusses several other supply chain concepts such as stockouts, SKU rationalization, and recent supply chain challenges.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wb…
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Apr 29, 2022
WBSP306: Grow Your Business by Understanding SAP S/4 HANA's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
The best-run companies use SAP S/4 HANA. The platform really lives to its name with its depth in transactions, deep workflow and auditing capabilities, and most robust planning and forecasting capabilities. But, in general, it is also the most hated vendor and platform. But why is that? It's primarily because of the misunderstanding of the purpose of the SAP S/4 HANA platform. It is also the most hated by companies that want to use ERP as the glorified database and have minimal experience with planning and control on the organization. But you can go so far as a company until you master your inventory and cash. This is especially true for public companies with deeper financial control and reporting needs. And the CFOs have a tough job if they are responsible for controlling the financials of more than ten countries. That's probably the reason why CFOs love SAP.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the E…
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Apr 28, 2022
WBSP305: Grow Your Business by Learning How To Build Consensus Among Teams, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
ERP vendors and resellers race in a competition that no one will ever win. It's the TIME required to implement ERP software. Most vendors will oversell how quick and easy their software package is, some even claiming to implement as fast as a month. These claims are nothing but overstated. The most challenging part of an ERP implementation is to make critical business decisions and build consensus. Some executives might change their entire business model instantly without thinking through the consequences. And while others might take forever to decide the base currency and the decimal places they should use for reporting. Building consensus for ERP projects is a true test of leadership skills. It requires skills and experience. The savvy leaders have figured out how to manage at the thirty thousand foot level without losing touch from the ground. But what do these leaders do differently to build consensus? And not concede to an organization's power struggle and political elements?
In…
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Apr 27, 2022
WBSP304: Grow Your Business by Learning Private Label Dropshipping, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
What do you buy as a consumer? Do you think you buy a product, brand, marketing hype, trust, confidence, or perception of being better, superior, healthy, wealthy, or smart? Well, one thing any marketer will tell you is that product is the least important of all, especially in the world of eCommerce, where you can't touch and feel the product before buying. This is the very reason why private label drop shipping exists. It's the exact product you could purchase anywhere else, but you will buy the private labeled product at a much higher price. But is that equally applicable in the B2B setting where the buyer is slightly more educated, informed, experienced, and sophisticated? Also, what are the nuances of the private label strategies? How do you incorporate that as part of your business model?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss private label dropshipping. We also discussed the…
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Apr 26, 2022
WBSP303: Grow Your Business by Learning Operations Control Tower Strategies Through Industrial DataOps w/ Slimane Allab
Most manufacturing companies are barely automated at the plant level. The premise of industry4.0 and specifically industry data ops is high. But it requires companies to have a centralized command and control, just like a supply chain control tower. The operational control tower will receive data from the plants and uncover operational efficiency synergies, whether you talk about energy consumption, predictive maintenance anomaly detection, or process bottlenecks. But what is the process of building operational control towers, and which technologies in the market can help with that?
In today's episode, our guest, Slimane Allab, who shares his insights into industrial data ops and why companies need an operational control tower to gain insights into centralized process efficiencies. He also provides his insights into how operational control towers are likely to be similar as supply chain control towers as companies gain maturity with their industry4.0 operations. Finally, he discusses…
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Apr 25, 2022
WBSP302: Grow Your Business by Learning Integrated Supply Chain Strategies w/ Phil Kramer
Supply chain is hard to define as it's very cross-functional in nature. It starts with receiving goods from vendors at your dock. And then it finishes with how you ship your shipments to your carrier. While these two touchpoints may be completely isolated, looking at your supply chain in an integrated fashion could provide significant cost savings and streamline your processes. But it's easier said than done as multiple departments are involved in the process. And it's very hard to execute on the integrated supply chain strategies unlesss you have executive alignment from the top.
In today's episode, our guest, Phil Kramer, shares his insights into integrated supply chain planning and why companies need to have an integrated strategy for their supply chain. He also describes key TMS processes such as bidding for the freight rates and why companies need to have a process for auditing their freight invoices. Finally, he discusses several stories where the integrated supply chain strateg…
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Apr 22, 2022
WBSP301: Grow Your Business by Understanding Microsoft Dynamics GP's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
The announcement about the end of life of an ERP system has fired back every single ERP vendor. Whether we talk about Oracle announcement for JD Edwards, SAP announcement of ECC, or Microsoft announcement of GP, the vendors that have a lot of solutions in their customer base without very strong communities can typically sunset their products very easily without much noise. But that is not possible when you are a vendor such as Microsoft. And you have one of the most adopted ERP solutions with over 40K installations. So MS may keep extending its deadline for EOL for GP. But how long? Would it have a clear direction for the cloud just like other products in the MS portfolio like Dynamics BC and F&O?Does it make sense to buy GP in 2022? Does it make sense to stay on GP and wait until Microsoft officially sunsets it? If so, what would be your alternatives? But which businesses would be the right fit for Microsoft Dynamics GP?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for…
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Apr 21, 2022
WBSP300: Grow Your Business by Learning ERP Pricing and Discounting Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Pricing and discounting will always be a religious debate in the organizations on who controls it. For pricing and discounts to work, you need your inventory and master data to be in order. Or the pricing strategies may fire back due to the inconsistent customer experience. Pricing and discounting are even trickier when multiple systems might be controlling master data and pricing and discounting. The multiple systems could be CRM, eCommerce, PIM, ERP, pricing software, etc. So what are the best practices when it comes to pricing and discounting across systems?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss ERP pricing and discounts business processes and best practices. We covered many grounds, including stories related to the nightmare with pricing and discounting, the impact of master data and inventory on pricing, and the implications of ad-hoc pricing arrangements in certain industrie…
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Apr 20, 2022
WBSP299: Grow Your Business by Learning MOQ and How To Calculate It, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
For an eCommerce business, inventory is everything. If you don't have enough inventory, you might lose on opportunities. If you have too much, your cash may be locked with the inventory. If you are working with vendors, they will not work with you unless you are willing to work with their preferred minimum order quantity. But those MOQs must make sense for your business as well. In fact, MOQ will drive your sales and product bundling as well as you need to have enough margins and determine the appropriate MOQs that will make sense for your business.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss MOQ and how to calculate it. We also discussed the differences in MOQ calculation for B2B vs. B2C, the difference between MOQ and EOQ, and how MOQ calculation is different in the DTC world. Finally, we discussed the correlation of MOQ and lead time, the best practices of MOQ when multiple vendors m…
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Apr 19, 2022
WBSP298: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Amazon Business Models w/ Will Haire
Amazon could appear like a massive opportunity. But to be successful on Amazon, you need a comprehensive strategy starting from SKUs to pricing and to your fulfillment. While Amazon could come across as frightening due to confusing terms and business models, Amazon provides several opportunities for sellers at different levels, including taking care of your entire fulfillment process. So what do you need to know to create Amazon as a successful channel?
In today's episode, our guest, Will Haire, shares his insights into Amazon's business models. He also describes the business model differences of vendor and seller central, FBA vs. FBM, seller fulfilled prime, and hybrid strategy. Finally, he discusses several strategies such as Amazon's price check and how that impacts your relationship with Amazon, inventory and warehouse processes of Amazon and their expectations from each seller, and finally, the channel conflict and its implications if you or one of your vendors tries to sell the…
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Apr 18, 2022
WBSP297: Grow Your Business by Learning How To Implement Quality Systems w/ Anna Reyes-Potts
The audit procedures require end-to-end traceability and visibility into your processes. While they might vary a bit across industries such as medical or aerospace, the fundamentals are still the same. They are the same in how you vet your suppliers, how you ensure that the due dates are accurate on your POs, and finally, how you deliver to your customers with consistency. So how do you ensure that you are not going to get any red flags during the audit process?
In today's episode, our guest, Anna Reyes-Potts, shares her insights into the audit and quality processes for machine shops. She also discusses the differences in the quality and audit process for various industries. Finally, she discusses how the processes of a machine shop differ from generalized manufacturing, including inventory, inspection, procurement, and supplier quality control.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. T…
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Apr 15, 2022
WBSP296: Grow Your Business by Understanding Rootstock's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
What is one thing do you know about Salesforce fans? Well, for one, they absolutely love the salesforce platform. Me included! The love is so intense that they will do anything and everything to remain on Salesforce. And why not? There is not a single CRM platform that comes close to matching the depth and object hierarchy while not being as limiting as the ERP systems? But how would you feel about running your entire business on Salesforce? Nice idea, right? Irrespective of whether you will get Salesforce like experience on the entire platform or not, one thing is certain that it will carry a very expensive price tag salesforce is known for. One such platform that can provide this experience is Rootstock which started as an MRP but seems to have transitioned into a full-blown ERP. But which businesses would be the right fit for Rootstock?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transf…
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Apr 14, 2022
WBSP295: Grow Your Business by Learning UoM Conversions Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
How much of an impact might UoM conversions have on an ERP implementation? Well, if you asked a seasoned guy who has been part of a large implementation, UoM conversions fire back pretty bad. In fact, at times, they could be a make or break for the ERP implementations. The UoM conversions not supported the way your business processes are structured could be the birth of ad-hoc and excel-based processes. So what are the pitfalls when it comes to UoMs? How to find the UoMs that will be a bottleneck to your implementation and processes?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss UoM conversions business processes best practices. We covered many grounds, including concepts such as sales, consumption, purchase, and usage-based unit of measure and their interactions as you process different transactions. Finally, we covered the differences in the unit of measure best practices across several…
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Apr 13, 2022
WBSP294: Grow Your Business by Learning eCommerce Dynamic Pricing Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Most businesses struggle with providing consistent pricing across channels. Even when we think of static pricing, the systems and departments are not connected in how they price the product. The accounting may set the cost standards. But sales and marketing might maintain the pricing completely separately in a siloed manner in eComm. The inconsistent pricing experience can come across as alarming for customers. If you charge too high, then you will be missing opportunities. If you charge too low, then you will be setting the wrong expectations that they can expect these products at this price even in the future. The dynamic pricing trends require systems and inventory to be connected for the algorithm to work. Incorrect dynamic pricing may be worse than static or fake pricing. But how difficult is it to implement dynamic pricing and improve customer experience through that?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings s…
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Apr 12, 2022
WBSP293: Grow Your Business by Learning the Specification Management Strategies w/ Matthew Wright
BOMs inside ERP systems are not designed to track specification data. If you have several variables associated with your BOMs, then you might need to track specifications separately. Even if you have PIM or PLM, you might still need the specification software as that can not only help in creating the product model faster, but it can centralize your specification data, especially if you might be using multiple systems in your architecture. The centralized specifications could also provide insights into data and analytics you might need to optimize your procurement or to pursue sustainability initiatives.
In today's episode, our guest, Matthew Wright, shares his insights into specification management for manufacturers. He also discusses what specification is and how it differs across industries. Finally, he discusses concepts such as the difference between specification management software vs. PLM vs. PIM vs. BOMs vs. CAD add-ons that remove duplicate part data, user journies for specif…
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Apr 11, 2022
WBSP292: Grow Your Business by Learning To Solve Inventory Excess and Obsolescence Issues w/ Pete Grett
If your physical and digital inventory may not be aligned and you don't have KPIs to track your excess inventory and obsolescence, you might be carrying aging inventory, and you might not be aware of that. Also, while some of the inventory may appear aging, if that is the critical inventory for their machines or operations, there may be a chance that you may not have these parts when you need them the most. Planning for inventory excess and obsolescence is hard as you not only need to look at the global planning, but you also need to make sure that you are monitoring the inventory at the plant level. So what are the best practices to track and optimize inventory excess and obsolescence?
In today's episode, our guest, Pete Grett, shares his insights into inventory excess and obsolescence. He also discusses the critical metrics to track inventory obsolescence and how global planning might drive the inventory needs. Finally, he discusses concepts such as the critical components and ad-ho…
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Apr 8, 2022
WBSP291: Grow Your Business by Understanding NextWorld's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
The developer community often thinks that the problem associated with ERP complexity or costs is technical. Time after time, we have seen developers championing how concepts such as no-code or open source can solve problems of the ERP world. The problems associated with ERP failures are very rarely technical or product-related. The hardest problem in the ERP world is getting everyone in one room to discuss or agree on a decision. Now, if you might take a couple of days to make a decision, what are the odds that you will be able to write all of the business requirements in a couple of years? And if you can't do that, how will you write the code and test it? While the concept of no-code is excellent, the problem in the ERP world is not of the code itself. It's to define the state of a system. The code is typically the easiest part. So while there are a lot of ERP systems that are riding the wave of no-code, how successful would they be in penetrating the ERP market? One such vendor is, N…
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Apr 7, 2022
WBSP290: Grow Your Business by Learning Product Costing Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Unit economics is critically important for product-centric businesses. If you don't understand your true cost, you might be selling at a much higher price, which would mean that you might not be able to win against your competitors. Also, if you are selling at a lower price as you may be missing on some cost elements, you might be losing money or selling unprofitable products. Product costing has deeper implications on your finance, supply chain, and operations. It could especially be trickier to implement if you have multiple systems involved in the process and don't have a consolidated plan for master data and inventory. So what are the best practices to implement product costing for a business? How much is too much? And how much is not enough?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss product costing business processes best practices. We covered many grounds, including several stor…
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Apr 6, 2022
WBSP289: Grow Your Business by Learning eCommerce Wireframes Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Most companies might start selling on the website without going through the structured thinking of enabling user experience and mapping customer journeys. They may also start coding without going through the design process and wireframing the ideas. Wireframing plays a vital communication tool to align the expectations and test if the design is aligned with the user's expectations. But how to start on the journey of wireframing? What do you need to have before starting on this journey? What tools are available to help you with the wireframe? These are the questions you will have if you are thinking of re-platforming your current eCommerce experience or maybe opening a new eCommerce channel.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss strategies for creating wireframes. We discussed various topics as they relate to wireframing, including its importance and the role of testing. Finally, w…
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Apr 5, 2022
WBSP288: Grow Your Business by Learning the Integration Challenges of ERP and E-Commerce w/ Ingo Hagemann
If you asked most salespeople about whether their software can integrate, their standard answer would be that they have APIs. Well, APIs allow you to retrieve data from systems in a structured fashion and remove the technical boilerplate of that system. You still need to design your integration flows around your business requirements. APIs are NOT meant to have self-integration capabilities. This is especially true for integration between your eCommerce and ERP systems, as that disrupts your operational core and transactions. A well-defined and vendor-agnostic integration model can provide the cushion you need for your business model to succeed.
In today's episode, our guest, Ingo Hagemann, shares his insights into the integration challenges of ERP and E-commerce software. He also discusses the shortcomings of point-to-point vs. middleware-oriented integration and in which situations they might not be the right fit. Finally, he discussed the expensive nature of real-time calls and how…
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Apr 4, 2022
WBSP287: Grow Your Business by Learning the Warehouse Process Nuances of the South East Asian Market w/ Bernard Hor
The cultural factors drive how users will perceive an ERP or WMS product as each geography may have different ways of processing transactions. They might also be using terms and keywords that they might not be able to relate with in a system that might be built for completely different geography. But the cultural factors are not only limited to just the terms and keywords. Sometimes what profit may mean in a developed country may be completely different in the developing country. So how complex is the South East Asia market, and how are business processes different in this market?
In today's episode, our guest, Bernard Hor, shares his insights into the nuances of the South East Asian market. He also analyzes cultural barriers and how the developing world is different from the developed world, and how that affects the ERP and WMS processes. Finally, he describes why the standardized ERP or WMS solutions may not be suitable for complex geographies such as South East Asia as the users mi…
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Apr 1, 2022
WBSP286: Grow Your Business by Understanding Aptean's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Growing through acquisition is not a new strategy. Infor started it. And now several companies are following, especially the PE-owned ones such as ECi and Aptean. PE companies pursue this strategy in the hope of gaining quick market share through edge products or specialized products purpose-built for specific industries. Most of these products are typically built by companies that were cash-starved, and they had to cut corners to survive and sell at a lower price than their bigger competitors. Typically there are three pieces that are absolutely critical for the success of a product: 1) code/features, 2) infrastructure, and 3) documentation. Since the companies would be able to notice differences if they cut corners in the code and infrastructure, the most obvious choice to cut down would be on documentation and thinking through the design, which typically requires a lot of investment. While the premise of integrating several specialized apps might seem compelling on paper, your users…
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Mar 31, 2022
WBSP285: Grow Your Business by Learning Seed-to-Sale Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Cannabis is a beast when it comes to its process complexity. Also, the ever-changing regulatory compliance and reporting increase the challenges. The critical process of cannabis is seed-to-sale that starts with the grower facility, where every plant needs to be tracked. Then, as cannabis moves through the processing stages where even multiple companies could be involved, such as growers and extraction facilities, the reporting requirements are still the same, with tight yield and waste reporting regulations. The moisture content makes it even more challenging, similar to catchweight in the food and beverage industry. But what are the best practices of the seed-to-sale process, and how can companies scale without getting in legal trouble?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Seed-to-sale business processes and best practices. We covered many grounds, including the scope, process…
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Mar 30, 2022
WBSP284: Grow Your Business by Learning SMS Marketing, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
How many people here like to receive promotions in SMS? Not many, right? And yet Gartner predicts that by 2025, 80% of customer service organizations will be using SMS and messaging rather than native apps. SMS could be used for promo, remarketing, order confirmations, and dispatch notifications. SMS is also not as intrusive as other forms of communication such as email and phone. In addition, SMS forces you to limit your message and get your message across in fewer characters. This also helps customers as they can quickly glance through hundreds of messages without feeling that they are being distracted by lengthy and unnecessary emails. But is it relevant for every business and situation? Also, what are the tools that can help you automate workflows just like emails?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss SMS Marketing. We discussed various use cases for SMS and where it will be…
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Mar 29, 2022
WBSP283: Grow Your Business by Learning the Importance of Condition Monitoring w/ Dave Roth
Industry4.0 could mean a lot of things to different people. While the idea of Industry4.0 is compelling, it requires a lot of moving pieces from identifying appropriate processes for data collection and then having monitoring and alerting infrastructure in place so that the maintenance can take action before it's too late and expensive. Condition monitoring is one area that plays a very important role with processes, especially if you have several manual interventions in the process that is likely to change the overall profile of equipment and machinery, which might result in product quality issues and rework.
In today's episode, our guest, Dave Roth, shares his insights into the importance of condition monitoring for your critical equipment why that is important for industry4.0 initiatives. He also analyzes the root cause of several stories where the manual processes resulted in process variations and product quality issues. Finally, he touches on how condition monitoring can help de…
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Mar 28, 2022
WBSP282: Grow Your Business by Learning Amazon Exit Readiness Strategies w/ Yaz Malas
Amazon has become so big that it has its own constitution and regularly publishes legislation with clear guidelines for vendors and suppliers. While Amazon recognizes the importance of the Vendor ecosystem, they have always been customer-focused. Also, if your business is not diversified, the business buyers might perceive you as a risk as they don't like to see your business to be completely concentrated on a few customers or channels. But, even for Amazon-centric businesses, you have several options through aggregators who would prefer to buy a business that is crushing on Amazon than being average for multiple channels.
In today's episode, our guest, Yaz Malas, shares his insights into the exit readiness strategies for Amazon founders. He also discusses what business buyers look for when they acquire an Amazon business and why buying is more attractive for them than building a brand from scratch. Finally, he describes risk factors for investors for Amazon-focused business and busin…
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Mar 25, 2022
WBSP281: Grow Your Business by Understanding Salesforce's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
What's an ERP and what's not an ERP will always be the classic debate in the ERP community. Surprisingly enough, even the largest of the largest companies missed their understanding of the secret sauce for Salesforce. They had always felt that CRM was just a module of ERP. And how much damage could a CRM company cause? Well, Salesforce is no longer just a threat. They have created a completely new category and expanded the market further than any ERP company would ever imagine. But what's next for them? Would they ever be able to replace the traditional ERP players in the departments other than CRM? Do they even want to or care to replace? If not, how are they going to grow? Can they keep creating a similar category as CRM? Well, Salesforce has been trying a lot of new things, including their expansion in the field service, e-commerce, and community category. But would these initiatives have the same impact and provide the same revenue growth as the CRM category?
In today's episode, w…
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Mar 24, 2022
WBSP280: Grow Your Business by Learning Field-To-Fork Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Agriculture and F&B industries are unique beasts when it comes to their ERP needs. They have unique traceability requirements that you might not find with most companies. They also have unique formulation, and their product management processes are fairly involved. One process that is unique with these industries is the field-to-fork process, where the traceability and farm accounting requirements might throw your ERP implementation off if you have not selected the right tool designed for this industry. And then, the process doesn't end even if you have shipped the goods from your dock due to the recall requirements.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Field-to-fork business processes and best practices. We covered many grounds, including the scope, process boundaries, food production and catchweight issues, and the challenges in accounting and business processes because of the…
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Mar 23, 2022
WBSP279: Grow Your Business by Learning To Manage Multiple Customer Groups, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Life would be easy if we had to sell only to one ideal customer profile and buyer persona. Most companies sell to multiple ideal customer profiles. That makes the job of a marketer much harder. These profiles could vary based on industries, roles, product groups, etc. But what is so hard about managing multiple customer profiles? Well, each customer profile has its needs in terms of what they like about their buying preferences and the messaging that will resonate with them the most. Each customer profile may have its own journey, even if they might be buying the same product or service offering. If you don't map the journey of each customer profile individually, you might struggle to get results from your eCommerce efforts, even if your overall messaging may be OK.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss how to manage multiple customer groups. We discussed the differences between t…
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Mar 22, 2022
WBSP278: Grow Your Business Through Four Pillars of Efficiency for Sheet Metal Manufacturing w/ Andrea Dallan
Sheet metal industry produces one of the most foundational products that we need as consumers and in our industrial applications. This industry also requires significant efficiency with operations and raw materials due to cost pressures and ultra-low margins. The recent supply challenges and labor shortages are driving the demand for even more efficiency in how they consume energy, process raw materials, run their operations, and manage their supply chain. The traditional lean methods for other industries may not be enough to survive in the sheet metal industry.
In today's episode, our guest, Andrea Dallan, shares his insights into the four pillars of efficiency for sheet metal manufacturing companies. He also discusses the unique challenges sheet metal companies face with rising costs of raw materials, ever-increasing energy costs, labor shortages, supply chain challenges, and the unique inventory challenges of this industry. Finally, he describes several manufacturing processes shee…
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Mar 21, 2022
WBSP277: Grow Your Business by Learning To Understand the Role of Operational Data Platforms w/ Prateek Joshi
The challenge with the technology world is that new technologies keep popping up on a daily basis with significant overlap and with no clarity on where and how they will fit in the architecture and what their scope will be as they interact with other systems and cross-functional processes. There is also typically a misunderstanding of a data and analytics system vs. a system that is designed to automate and integrate operational workflows and allow teams to collaborate on a single thread of data. One such system is ODP that has been making a lot of buzz with its potential to predict operational failure using Industry 4.0 technologies. But where does it fit in the architecture, and why do companies need another piece of software when they already have so many technologies?
In today's episode, our guest, Prateek Joshi, shares his insights into the operational data platforms and their role in the enterprise architecture for manufacturing companies. He also discusses the scope and boundar…
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Mar 18, 2022
WBSP276: Grow Your Business by Understanding Workday's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
In the ERP community, there is always a debate about what an ERP is. Sure, you could say that anything that automates enterprise and cross-functional workflow could qualify as an ERP. This would include solutions such as CRM, HCM, MES, P2P, and the real ERP, as they all automate enterprise workflows to some degree. Also, there is a thin line as the companies that grew as edge apps like Salesforce, Workday, or ServiceNow tries to gain additional capabilities in other functions in an organization. For example, Workday started as the best-of-breed cloud HCM application for enterprises with thousands of employees. At that time, most HCM applications were clunky and didn't provide the employee experience that organizations needed that depended on attracting the best talent from the market. The companies that often struggle the most are the ones that had to attract expensive talents such as professional services, tech, and financial services. So, where does Workday stand as of today, and whe…
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Mar 17, 2022
WBSP275: Grow Your Business by Learning Cradle-to-Grave Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
When it comes to ERP implementations or digital transformation for asset-heavy organizations, asset management is perhaps the most complex area and one of the hardest to implement. The assets could be internal or external for one of your customers. The external assets follow a very different lifecycle with several stakeholders involved with how they are managed, leased, and serviced. The internal assets are equally trickier to manage with the cross-functional collaboration required in maintaining them and making sure that they are serviced proactively before causing operational shutdowns or disruptions. Also, due to their expensive nature, the regulations around fixed assets are always changing in how their value needs to be carried on the financial statements and how they are reported. So what do asset-intensive companies need to know about the cradle-to-grave asset management process?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn…
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Mar 16, 2022
WBSP274: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Email Marketing Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Email has always been the most predictable channel to drive your customers back to the funnel for eCommerce or digital-savvy companies. Email keeps them engaged and provides opportunities for them to get the best out of their investments and the additional purchases they might be able to make through cross-sell and upsell. Also, with the advancements in Artificial intelligence and recommendation technologies, the new tools are able to recommend exciting workflows that may not have been possible before because of disconnected datasets and siloed systems. Since the newer artificial intelligence technologies can process both structured and unstructured data, the need to have consistency across datasets is not as relevant. So what do eCommerce companies need to know about modern architecture and tools and creating email strategies based on that?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss e…
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Mar 15, 2022
WBSP273: Grow Your Business by Learning To Implement Customer-Centricity Framework w/ Paula Courtney
What comes to mind when you think of loyalty erosion? Do you currently have a formal loyalty plan, measurement, or metrics in place? Well, most SMB companies don't even understand how to take advantage of customer-experience-driven innovations. The customer experience is certainly an untapped area for most organizations and where bigger companies have a true edge. But how do you start on the journey of customer experience and how to ensure that your customer experience initiatives don't end up being just an idea on a napkin.
In today's episode, our guest, Paula Courtney, shares how companies can take advantage of the customer-centricity framework to improve their financial performance. She also details how to start on the journey of customer experience and enable controls to ensure that the framework gets executed and has measurable results. Finally, he describes the organizational structure for customer experience function and where it fits depending upon the stage of the company.
F…
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Mar 14, 2022
WBSP272: Grow Your Business by Tracking Meaningful Financial KPIs w/ Jim Downes
Finance always takes the back seat in organizations over sales and operational priorities. But without setting clear financial goals and plans to execute them, it's like shooting in the dark. Sure, you may have gotten lucky to grow at the desired pace. But how confident would you be to sustain that growth? Not much, right? This is where the connected systems and financial KPIs can provide the framework for growth with confidence.
In today's episode, our guest, Jim Downes, shares his insights into the importance of tracking meaningful financial KPIs to improve profitability and growth for CPG companies. He also discusses the unique challenges associated with matrix inventory and how the planning for such inventory is slightly more involved than most other businesses. Finally, he describes the importance of having a plan and why connected systems are important for continuous tracking and improvement.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformatio…
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Mar 11, 2022
WBSP271: Grow Your Business by Understanding Deltek’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
ERP industry is divided mainly into two flavors. One is primarily focused on product-centric industries such as manufacturing, distribution, and retail. The other focuses on service-centric industries such as not-for-profit, architecture and engineering firms, construction, public sector, education, etc. But if you are in the construction or govt contracting space, your needs are likely to be unique. First, you have the compliance needs for unions with their requirements for submissions, which will require substantial reporting functionality for it to work. Then you have in-process compliance requirements, including DCAA, etc. The vanilla ERP, such as SAP, Sage, Acumatica, etc., may require several add-ons to support this critical piece of functionality. Even the ERP designed for professional services such as Workday, Unit4, or FinancialForce may struggle to support the critical functionality needed for these verticals. So what are your options if you are in this space?
In today's epi…
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Mar 10, 2022
WBSP270: Grow Your Business by Learning Record-to-report Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Record-to-report business processes typically take the back seat with ERP implementation projects as O2C, and P2P get the most limelight due to the customer-facing nature of these processes. Also, the decision made to streamline O2C and P2P processes and improve the cycle time for these transactions will have implications on the record-to-report processes. As you grow, your finance department is likely to grow as well. And if you can not streamline, your SG&A will likely to grow faster than your revenue. So what do you need to do to streamline your record-to-report processes?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss record-to-report business processes and best practices. We covered many grounds, including the scope and branches that extend from record-to-report processes, the roles, and the organizational structure of the finance department. Finally, we discussed the communication an…
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Mar 9, 2022
WBSP269: Grow Your Business by Learning How To Create Good Test Cases for E-Commerce Implementation Projects w/ a Panel of Experts
While you might feel how critical the testing could be in a software project? Well, that's the foundation of success whether the software will work or be usable in production. Also, there are differences in how eCommerce implementation projects need to be tested vs. the eCommerce development. In the case of the implementation projects, you might not have the users that may have a deep software development background and might not understand the importance of testing or how to write good test cases to have enough coverage for all the business scenarios that they plan to execute when they go live. Also, with the implementation projects, the major component is also users' training as testing is the first step to learn deeply about the software and have a deeper understanding of their own journeys. So how to create a good testing framework and test cases to be successful with eCommerce implementation projects?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live i…
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Mar 8, 2022
WBSP268: Grow Your Business by Improving the Findability and Searchability of Your eCommerce Product Lines w/ Ben Rudnick
Everyone has their preferences of how they shop and search. This makes the job of eCommerce companies harder as they can only do so much to understand customer preferences and align them with their product catalog. But if you streamlined your guided navigation and personalization, it could also be a competitive advantage for companies. The more personalized experience you could provide to your customers, the higher their affinity with your brand.
In today's episode, our guest, Ben Rudnick, shares his insights into how companies can increase their revenue by improving the findability and searchability of their product lines. He also discusses concepts such as exponential design and reindexing. Finally, he describes the process of how artificial intelligence can be used to assist with guided navigation and how that can improve the personalization for your eCommerce customers.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at…
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Mar 7, 2022
WBSP267: Grow Your Business by Learning Through B2B Digital eCommerce Journey of a Global Medical Device Manufacturer w/ Colin Cronin
Scaling eCommerce operations for a global business is hard. You have multiple challenges, such as different product mixes for different markets. You might also have completely different channels and customer journeys for each channel. But if you are a medical device business, the complexity of your operations will be at a different level. You have different regulations in each market and how you price and commercialize your products, with consumers still expecting an Amazon-like experience.
In today's episode, our guest, Colin Cronin, shares his insights into the evolution of B2B digital eCommerce capabilities for a global medical device manufacturer. He also shares his insights into how to find appropriate channels and markets for the eCommerce initiatives. Finally, he shares his insights into their current architecture, single source of truth, and 24X7 strategies.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.roc…
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Mar 5, 2022
WBSP266: Grow Your Business by Understanding SAP’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
While many of you might think that SAP may have lost its momentum because of the newer cloud players, it is still the undisputed market leader and has the largest market share among all ERP companies. SAP's primary market has always been among large, global enterprises primarily because of its strength as the global financial solution. SAP also had one of the deepest enterprise-grade industry functionality in the on-prem model, which has been harder to replicate in the cloud world. This is probably the reason the companies that have an edge in the cloud such as Oracle, Microsoft, or Infor have been winning over SAP. But that has changed in the recent quarters with the new leadership focusing on the Industry cloud and utilizing partner ecosystem to complement the industry functionality, which will take forever for SAP to build. But is this model sustainable? Also, would customers choose slightly more complete solutions such as Oracle or Microsoft than relying on risky partner-owned code…
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Mar 4, 2022
WBSP265: Grow Your Business by Learning Procure-To-Pay Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Order-to-cash (O2C) and Procure-to-pay (P2P) processes do the most heavy-lifting in a company operationally. While O2C gets the most attention due to its customer-facing nature, if you don't have your P2P processes figured out, there will be significant implications to your planning cycle and, as a result, on O2C processes. There has also been a significant advancement in the P2P processes, including specialized tools for Source-to-pay (S2P) processes and streamlining of invoice processing, etc., through AI tools and P-card processes. The procurement teams are also significantly impacted by the recent supply chain disruptions. And companies need to rethink how their supply chain and procurement function. So what are the best practices for streamlining the P2P process, having appropriate KPIs at each step in the cycle, and having technology architecture that will serve the needs of the procurement department?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live…
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Mar 3, 2022
WBSP264: Grow Your Business by Learning How To Win More Loyal Customers With Happy Email and Mailbot w/ a Panel of Experts
A lot of you might feel that email is dead. That's not true at all, especially if you are talking about consumer-centric businesses for which engagement is key to staying on top of their mind, which may not be possible through other methods because they could be cost-prohibitive. It could also be true with some B2B businesses where cross-sell, and up-sell opportunities might exist. Also, you might not like the automation through bots because of impersonal interaction. But a bot is far better than no chat option at all. It could be very handy to enable a 24X7 customer service chat option for businesses where hiring costs of customer service agents might not be justifiable. So what are the strategies that matter when it comes to email and mailbots?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss how to win more loyal customers with happy email and mailbot. We discussed the scenarios where ema…
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Mar 2, 2022
WBSP263: Grow Your Business by Learning Cross-Border Ecommerce Practices and Challenges for the South East Asia Market w/ Kevin Lee
The Southeast Asian market has been on an eCommerce boom due to the availability of technology and penetration of social media and the internet to remote places. The COVID pandemic has only fueled this boom. If you are thinking of capitalizing on this market opportunity, you need to understand how the market works and how you can set up your logistics and warehouse network to make sure you are able to compete with local vendors.
In today's episode, our guest, Kevin Lee, shares his insights into cross-border ecommerce practices and challenges for the South East Asia market. He also shares his insights into how the South East Asian market is different from the North American market and how to penetrate the South East Asian market. Finally, he shares different B2C and B2B categories that might be relevant for the market and how to handle strategies such as locations for warehouses, logistics networks, international contracts, and reverse logistics.
For more information on growth strateg…
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Feb 28, 2022
WBSP262: Grow Your Business by Learning Through B2B eCommerce Journey of a Construction Distribution Business w/ Billy Hanes
If you are a complex distribution business with manufacturing as part of your business model, your business processes are likely to be more complex than most traditional distribution and manufacturing businesses. It's even harder if you plan to penetrate digital channels along with selling through distributors. You have issues such as eCommerce not talking to your ERP. Then Issues such as consistent pricing need to be communicated across channels. Finally, you might have channel conflict issues that may not be in your control.
In today's episode, our guest, Billy Hanes, shares his insights into the B2B eCommerce journey for a construction distribution business. He also shares his insights into different ways of integrating ERP and eCommerce and how to make a decision when overlapping functionality may exist in these systems. Finally, he shares the best practices of managing pricing across channels and how to integrate with Amazon channels in the hybrid scenarios where you might be sel…
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Feb 26, 2022
WBSP261: Grow Your Business by Understanding Acumatica's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Cloud could mean different things to different people. Not all clouds are created equal. Even the ERP vendors claiming them to be a true cloud solution might not have all the bells and whistles required by a true multi-tenant system. Also, just because an ERP vendor offers consumption-based pricing or unlimited users, it doesn't mean that you will get a true flexible cloud pricing designed for scalability. One cloud-native vendor has always positioned them as true cloud and often calls out other vendors that might not be true cloud. They have also positioned them as the fastest-growing while their total market share remains smaller than their other cloud-native vendors. I am pretty sure you all are able to guess that we're talking about Acumatica. But is Acumatica a fit for all industries? Is Acumatica the most customizable solution as they claim? What are the core reasons for it to get much higher ratings among its users? These are the questions you are going to have if you are planni…
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Feb 25, 2022
WBSP260: Grow Your Business by Learning Order-to-Cash Business Processes Best Practices, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you are exploring an ERP initiative, order-to-cash processes are likely to receive the most attention as they have a lasting impact on customer experience, cash conversion cycle, and profitability. The O2C process might get completed within an ERP. Or, it might extend to multiple systems handing off the process at each step. If you have a simplified business where there is always a 1:1 mapping between your orders, shipments, invoices, etc., then your problems might not be as complicated. But most businesses have a significant need for splitting and merging of various orders, batch picking, and consolidated invoicing. A streamlined O2C process could make or break your ERP implementation and your companies' abilities to scale. So what are the best practices for effective order-to-cash processes, and how to streamline to get the desired results?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discu…
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Feb 24, 2022
WBSP259: Grow Your Business by Learning How To Find Products for Dropshipping w/ a Panel of Experts
A successful e-commerce strategy requires you to be able to dropship your products. This is especially true for newer brands that might not have access to the capital necessary to set up the distribution and logistics network required to meet customer expectations. Even the existing brands need to have it as part of their strategy for newer products and territories before setting up an expensive distribution network for untested ideas. But finding products for dropshipping is not easy as the dropshipping business model requires you to find the products with appropriate margins. It also requires you to find quality suppliers who are willing to support your order types, MOQs, and customer experience expectations. Finally, it requires you to research the competition and channels to ensure that you are able to compete with bigger brands that might have the economy of scale with their existing fulfillment network. So how do you decide which are the right products for dropshipping? Do you an…
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Feb 23, 2022
WBSP258: Grow Your Business by Succeeding With Large Global ERP Rollouts w/ Sue Shaw
The oil and gas industry is unique with its process complexity and its ad-hoc nature. Also, it's even harder for global companies when you might need to comply with global regulations in each country. If you were to implement an ERP for a large, global oil and gas company, you not only have to figure out which countries would be the right candidate to avoid implementation failures as well as cost overruns, but you also need to figure out how to standardize ever-changing processes.
In today's episode, our guest, Sue Shaw, shares her insights into how to succeed with large global rollouts for the oil and gas industry. She also discusses concepts such as how to develop criteria for prioritizing the countries and how to plan for costs for projects that might be as long as 10-years. Finally, she shared concepts such as joint venture billing, costing challenges across subsidiaries for the oil and gas industry, transportation management challenges, and depreciation rules.
For more informati…
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Feb 21, 2022
WBSP257: Grow Your Business by Learning Objection Hunting To Discover User Experience Issues w/ Ross Davies
While most businesses think that a website is important for their businesses, they very rarely understand the user experience issues that can affect the conversion rate. The issues run way deeper than we realize. And these issues might be as insignificant as color or messaging that can have a huge impact on consumer psychology. Unless you have a deep understanding of these issues and the toolset to provide you with the data that you need to discover these issues, you might not know why your site traffic doesn't convert and what objections your customers may have in doing business with you.
In today's episode, our guest, Ross Davies, shares his insights on the steps for objection hunting and how that can help with discovering user experience issues on a website. He also discusses how factors as insignificant as the color or size of a button can drive the conversion rate. Finally, he discussed several stories where he was able to fix conversion issues through their approach of objection…
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Feb 19, 2022
WBSP256: Grow Your Business by Understanding Infor's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
There are two ways to grow an ERP company. Either you build the product from scratch or acquire several products to gain market share and then figure out your product strategy. Both approaches have pros and cons and implications for customers. But there comes the point in the company's lifecycle when you need to consolidate your product portfolio. Or you can't sustain it. Also, no one commercializes the idea of micro-verticals as much as Infor. But are they really deep in these micro-verticals? Or is it just marketing hype? How is their micro-vertical functionality compared to other deeper solutions such as IFS, Plex, IQMS, and QAD? Also, there are also two approaches to building micro-vertical functionality. Either you can keep the underlying product different or the same and utilize the industry packs on top of the core product. But Infor seems to be claiming that it has purpose-built ERP for each micro-verticals. How true is that? Is that true for both large companies as well as SMB…
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Feb 18, 2022
WBSP255: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Marketing Department, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Marketing teams typically drive the overall market penetration strategies. They could also drive your strategic priorities in key market segments and transform the customer experience. Also, while they use a lot of tools and technologies to be efficient with their day jobs, they very rarely are part of the operational core. So what are the systems that marketers need in their roles? And do they need to interface with the enterprise systems such as ERP? How do you accommodate the needs of marketers in the enterprise architecture?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss information architecture for the marketing department. We covered many grounds, including the systems for each marketing role and their process boundaries. Finally, we discussed new technologies and industry-specific architecture, including the challenges associated with B2B and B2C business models.
For more informati…
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Feb 17, 2022
WBSP254: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Geo-Based Targeting Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Traditional media has been a master of offering relevant content based on users' locations. And while digital media has far more traceability, brands typically struggle to deliver location-based content to their visitors. Then you have location-centric businesses that only target specific neighborhoods and cities. You might have products relevant to the specific locations as other locations might not care for that. Location-based marketing requires a comprehensive review of your marketing strategy, including product, pricing, positioning, and targeting. So how do you create effective geo-based targeting strategies?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss geo-based targeting strategies for e-commerce. We discussed the nuances of geo-based targeting and planning and how that can provide a personalized experience and improve conversion rate. Finally, we covered the differences between…
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Feb 15, 2022
WBSP253: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Purchase Order Lifecycle and Supplier Collaboration w/ Colby Young
If you are a seasonal CPG business, you may have grown due to word of mouth to this point in growth, primarily through B2C channels. While B2C has its nuances for planning and procurement due to the unpredictable consumer demand, the drivers and consequences are not as severe as B2B once you have landed a few large enterprise customers. Also, if you want to have fast growth, you will need to sell through marketplaces and large retailers. While onboarding them could provide sustained growth of 2-3x without much marketing efforts, meeting their delivery and fulfillment expectations is hard. And you need much superior control of both the first and last mile to serve these key customers and avoid losing after you have landed them.
In today's episode, our guest, Colby Young, shares his insights on the nuances of PO lifecycle and why it is critical for seasonal businesses such as cosmetics. He also discusses the role of the first and last mile and why the first-mile planning and collaborati…
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Feb 14, 2022
WBSP252: Grow Your Business by Learning the Importance of DevOps for Manufacturing OT Environments w/ Adam Gluck
Traditionally manufacturers didn't have to worry about software development or release processes as the only software they utilized for their business processes was packaged software. But with Industry 4.0, manufacturers are utilizing more and more software in their OT environment. This requires their software lifecycle to be controlled. And it needs to be compliant with any changes in the hardware. But how? Well, that's where DevOps can help. Utilizing DevOps practices can reduce disruptions and improve operational efficiency.
In today's episode, our guest, Adam Gluck, shares his insights on the importance of structured software development and release processes and the role of DevOps for manufacturing OT environments. He also discusses the role of custom development and where it makes sense for Industry 4.0 initiatives. Finally, he discusses how DevOps processes differ in the OT environment from IT and why IT DevOps tools such as Git would not suffice the needs of the OT environment…
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Feb 12, 2022
WBSP251: Grow Your Business by Understanding IFS' Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Most people think of ERP as a manufacturing or distribution solution. And if you are not a manufacturing company, they feel that ERP systems add very little value to operations and become limited to just finance. While that might be true for some companies such as professional services firms or marketing agencies, companies that are very heavy in assets and field service such as MRO, telecom equipment operators, utilities, and energy companies have different needs. These needs require a tightly integrated ERP system that can handle business processes such as call-to-collect, rentals, and service management. These companies have very different order management needs. For example, each line item could be delivered completely, while the next line item may not even kick-off fulfillment until the first one is delivered. IFS has a unique position in the market for these industries that other solutions can't match. It also has one of the best user experiences in the cloud comparable to Plex a…
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Feb 11, 2022
WBSP250: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Sales Department, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Sales teams are typically known to be completely disconnected from the organization. But if you have a smart sales team, they understand the importance of technology and what it can do to the sales process. The sales technologies have also come a long way. There are so many tools out there that can help with each step of the process. But what are the systems that need to be part of the enterprise architecture to help with each sales role inside the organization?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss information architecture for the sales department. We covered many grounds, including the systems for each sales role and their process boundaries. Finally, we discussed new technologies and industry-specific architecture, including the challenges associated with B2B and B2C and how the processes might differ due to nuances of the marketplaces, customer portals, configurators, and deal…
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Feb 10, 2022
WBSP249: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Page Speed Optimization Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
For every one second it takes for your website to load, your conversion rate goes down by 10%. But how true is that? Well, speed is a huge factor in ranking on Google. In fact, even if you have mastered the Desktop speed, you might still not rank well if your mobile speed might not be as good. But what are the issues that cause a site to load slower? Are these issues related to hosting provider, site design, # and size of the imagery, or bloated themes? What do you need to do to fix these speed issues? Are there any tools out there that could help diagnose and fix the issues?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss visitor page speed optimization strategies for e-commerce. We discussed the factors that may cause the sites to slow down and, as a result, might perform poorly on Google. Finally, we covered the strategies and tools that might be helpful in fixing issues related to site…
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Feb 9, 2022
WBSP248: Grow Your Business by Learning the Importance of Time-Series Data w/ Jim Gavigan
Time series data is all about continuous monitoring of your machines to detect trends with your batches. If you don't collect and analyze the data, you might feel that you don't have capacity to meet customer demand and might be forced to acquire additional capacity or facility if you don't miss the opportunities. But the additional capacity might be right there within your facility and existing machines. Just because you may not have enough data points to draw conclusions from, you may not be aware of it. Also, even if you start collecting it, you might have to incorporate more variables to keep learning until you get to the bottom of the anomalies and trends you might be getting through your data.
In today's episode, our guest, Jim Gavigan, shares his insights on the importance of time-series data and why it is important to understand your capacity. He also discusses the role of historians in enterprise architecture and how it interfaces with other systems. Finally, he discusses the…
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Feb 8, 2022
WBSP247: Grow Your Business by Learning Key Nuances From the Custom Machinery Industry w/ Frank Lamb
If you are in the custom machinery business or building a custom machine using control systems from scratch, you have several challenges. While you might have previous experiences in building similar machines, each job is unique. The materials and the process may vary. The tooling required may be completely different. And then, you need to keep calibrating the interaction of materials, tooling, and variables using data gathered through your control systems until you get the desired throughput you need from your machines to produce the jobs profitably and competitively.
In today's episode, our guest, Frank Lamb, shares his insights on the process of building control systems required to increase the capacity of custom machinery. He also discusses the difference between the sales and production cycles for the boxed juice business and their co-packaging arrangements. Finally, he discusses why it is important to have historical data to quote, track time-to-quote for each job, and have temp…
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Feb 7, 2022
WBSP246: Grow Your Business Through Self-Funding Operational Plan w/ Ken Novak
Most manufacturers relate eCommerce as the B2C experience and swiping the credit card for pre-paid customers. But digital commerce is more than that, especially in the B2B setting. Also, in most cases, most people relate eCommerce as the engine for generating revenue through net-new customers. And they miss the point that digital commerce is about enabling and tailoring the experience for each persona to create the sticky effect that can create a much superior competitive advantage than offered through your brand, product, or pricing.
In today's episode, our guest, Ken Novak, shares his insights on enabling self-funded operational plans for Industrial manufacturers' digital journey. He also discusses the difference between the B2B and B2C experience and why the B2B experience is completely different with overlaps in user personas and their journeys. Finally, he discusses several other concepts such as the need for different systems in the digital architecture, the implications of poor…
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Feb 5, 2022
WBSP245: Grow Your Business by Understanding GeniusERP's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
If you are a small custom manufacturing shop switching off from spreadsheets or QuickBooks, you will likely come across GeniusERP. It is probably the only small ERP that can work with complex assemblies and BOMs in the small ERP category. In the small ERP segment, most ERP systems don't support hybrid manufacturing. And in most cases, they will be able to support a couple of manufacturing processes. In the case of GeniusERP, they target custom manufacturers geared toward ETO processes. But how do they compare with other ERP systems such as Epicor Software, ProShop ERP, GlobalShop, ECI Software Solutions, and Infor? Also, since private equity or large investors do not back them, would they have enough funds to migrate their legacy codebase? What financial risks can you expect by choosing Genius as your ERP package?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an obje…
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Feb 4, 2022
WBSP244: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Operations Department, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you are responsible for managing operations for your organization, you will find yourself caught in the middle. On one side, you have a sales team that may not commit to driving predictable sales, but they will not allow you to miss even one delivery, even if it may be out of your control. Then on the other side, you have unpredictable factors such as workers not showing up on time or truck drivers not meeting their commitments. Finally, you need to make sure you can plan facility expansion, staffing, and training. You are also responsible for maintaining the quality of your products while maintaining all the regulatory compliance, including the health and safety of your employees. That's a lot. And there is no way you can do all of that on papers, spreadsheets, or disconnected systems. So, what systems do you need to build the annual operating plan? But most importantly, which systems will help you deliver on that plan? Is ERP enough? Or do you need more than that?
In today's epis…
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Feb 3, 2022
WBSP243: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Visitor Retargeting Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
How many shoppers do you know will buy the first time they visit a store Very few, right? It takes some time before we can trust a brand. The same goes for e-commerce. The percentage may be even higher for e-commerce due to low barriers to exit from a site and go to the next one. In fact, more than 95% of the people that visit a website for the first time are not ready to buy. They need more than one interaction before they can make their mind. That’s where retargeting comes in. But is retargeting effective in every scenario? What are the best practices of effective retargeting? How many attempts should you be making to bring them back in the funnel?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss visitor retargeting strategies for e-commerce. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the concepts such as retargeting vs. remarketing and where retargeting could add real value to t…
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Feb 2, 2022
WBSP242: Grow Your Business by Being Directionally Correct With Sales and Operations Planning w/ Lisa Anderson
Sales and operations planning is a dark art, and most organizations typically have a very ad-hoc process of forecasting due to its nature. But it's critical to be directionally correct with your plan. Or you might end up missing opportunities or losing customers. Also, planning is more than just creating a model on a spreadsheet. It requires you to come up with estimates and iterate until every external or internal stakeholder agrees with the plan.
In today's episode, our guest, Lisa Anderson, shares her insights on why it is important to be directionally correct with sales and operations planning. She also discusses similarities in the planning for products such as E. Coli and 737 aircraft and how involved they both could be. Finally, she discusses why you might not get much value in being too detailed at the item level and why you will need to take an iterative approach to come with the forecasts.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformati…
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Feb 1, 2022
WBSP241: Grow Your Business by Incorporating Marketplace Business Model w/ Michael Vax
Launching a business model could provide a revenue engine and competitive advantage that will be unmatched. But launching a marketplace is not easy. In fact, it's a chicken and egg problem. Your suppliers will ask you to get the customers first. And your customers will need a decent product and vendor mix before they can choose your site over other stronger brands such as Amazon. Also, the technology investments required to launch a marketplace are substantial. But at least now, some of the eCommerce platforms can provide the marketplace module as part of their bundle.
In today's episode, our guest, Michael Vax, shares his insights on the marketplace business model and the challenges associated with launching it. He also describes the differences between the classic and enterprise marketplaces and which businesses will be appropriate for a marketplace business. Finally, he discusses the concepts such as ownership of data, biases to vendors or customers, or the channel conflict issues…
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Jan 31, 2022
WBSP240: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Advantages of Open Automation w/ Ira Sharp
If you have been thinking about incorporating robotic processes or industry 4.0 controls into your facility, you will have a choice whether you would like to buy the control systems directly from the vendors or program the robotic arms and control systems until you get the desired results from the manufacturing processes. Therefore, irrespective of whether you are a system integrator or the end consumer of the robotic process, you need to make a key decision whether you want to build the entire process from scratch or buy it out of the box.
In today's episode, our guest, Ira Sharp, shares his insights on open automation and why that is important for manufacturers to understand as they increase the industry 4.0 maturity of their companies. He also describes the differences between open, industrial, and process automation. Finally, he discusses why it's important to understand the vendor lock while buying a control system produced by the vendor vs. having control over the processes by d…
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Jan 29, 2022
WBSP239: Grow Your Business by Understanding ECi’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
There are two ways to grow an ERP company. Either you build products from scratch like SAP, Acumatica, SYSPRO, and NetSuite, etc. Or you acquire several products until you have a solid market share to create a product strategy like Infor, Epicor Software, Sage, and Appian Corporation. While Infor and Epicor were very aggressive with their acquisition strategy in their early days, they have realized how bad having too many product bases could fire back. One of the challenges that ERP companies face is to phase out the products acquired through acquisition and move their customers to a few strategic products. ERP business also requires a long-term commitment by their investors as having a solid technology strategy is expensive and requires aligned product priorities with the target market. ECI Software Solutions is one such company that has taken a unique approach of a franchise model where each company is a separate company with several products with overlapping functionality and codeba…
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Jan 28, 2022
WBSP238: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Shop Floor, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you ask any manufacturer, they will tell you that the Shop floor is where you make money. You need to make sure you have the right material and the right operator at the right machine. Wasting machine or machinist time is equally expensive. But then your margins may be tight, and you need to make sure you are profitably able to produce the job by optimizing the cycle time. You also need to make sure that you service your equipment at the right time, or you have the risk of disruptions. So how many different systems does the shop floor need? And how to create the system architecture to enable the smart factory?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss shop floor information architecture. We covered many grounds, including the stories related to shop floor information architecture across various manufacturing industries of various sizes. Finally, we discussed what companies need to…
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Jan 27, 2022
WBSP237: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Visitor Dropout Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Getting a visitor to your site is not easy. Once you get visitors, keeping them engaged on the site is not easy either. But what is worse is if they end up dropping out without buying. Dropouts could happen because of a lot of reasons. It could be the higher price or shipping options. It could also be the checkout experience if the process may take a longer time than expected. So how do you control visitors from dropping out? What are the best practices for reducing the dropout? What are the KPIs that matter in controlling the dropout rate?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss visitor dropout strategies for e-commerce. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the causes of dropouts and strategies to reduce them. Finally, we covered several stories related to dropouts, including overly intrusive pop-ups, autoplay videos, unavailability of inventory, or implications of a…
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Jan 26, 2022
WBSP236: Grow Your Business by Staying Ahead on the Inventory Maturity Curve w/ Russ Graf
Demand and inventory planning is a dark art that even trained S&OP practitioners struggle to understand. Each company goes through a maturity curve as they scale their operations. They will start with a spreadsheet or a combination of a spreadsheet and an ERP system. They might also do a lot of planning inside the ERP, but the development of those reports could be costly, and your planners may still not like to use it due to the rigidity of the ERP systems. As they grow, they need a sophisticated planning system that can talk to the ERP back and forth.
In today's episode, our guest, Russ Graf, shares his insights on the inventory maturity curve for manufacturers and distributors. He also discusses how the inventory and S&OP planning differs for manufacturers and distributors. Finally, he discusses how the ERP systems might not have all the datasets the planners need to compute safety stock.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit…
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Jan 25, 2022
WBSP235: Grow Your Business Through Sustainability Initiatives w/ Adam Peek
Did you know that plastic could be more sustainable than paper? Wait, what? Well, to understand sustainability, you need to analyze the complete product lifecycle, identify your KPIs for the critical material waste, and find out how much total waste you have in the entire product life cycle. If you did this, you might learn that paper usage resulted in wasting some other key resources as the product moved through the supply chain. This is why sustainability is more challenging than you think, and it requires careful analysis and positioning. Otherwise, these efforts are likely to fire back once influencers and consumers learn that you didn't mean what you stated on your marketing material.
In today's episode, our guest, Adam Peek, shares his insights on how sustainability initiatives can help your brand's strategic growth. He also discusses why you can't fake sustainability and why that's likely to fire back more than helping. Finally, he outlines why executing sustainable strategies…
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Jan 24, 2022
WBSP234: Grow Your Business Through the Adoption of Robotic Cell Technology w/ Brian Kippen
Prototyping business is unique since each order is different. Most people would not be able to imagine standardization for this business. You may be building parts of different materials, shapes, and sizes and may require different machines and tooling to process the parts. You may also struggle with material storage requirements and might produce several WIP items as it might be cheaper than ordering each individual part. Given such constraints, how many people would think of implementing #robotic cell for a prototyping business?
In today's episode, our guest, Brian Kippen, shares his insights on Robotic cell technology and how that can be implemented to increase capacity. He also discusses the nuances of the prototyping business, and while it might be counterintuitive to implement robotic cell technology, he could successfully implement it by standardizing the processes. Finally, he shares his insights into his order to cash process and how they segment the materials, assign each jo…
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Jan 22, 2022
WBSP233: Grow Your Business by Understanding SYSPRO's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
While most ERP systems might feel as if they overlap entirely, there is a clear distinction between desktop apps, single-tenant, multi-tenant, and enterprise solutions. You might also need to pay attention to how many levels of BOMs are supported in the solution to ensure that you find an appropriate solution for your company. For example, most solutions that support industries such as food and beverage and automotive parts may not be suitable for complex manufacturing such as Electric Vehicles or Aerospace due to the lack of depth of their BOMs. Finally, make-to-stock planning is typically very different from make-to-order and engineering-to-order. One such solution is SYSPRO, which used to be a desktop app due to the underlying database. It has come a long way with its SQL server migration and advancement in the underlying technology platform. It may also be one of the best solutions for smaller Food and Beverage manufacturers and distributors.
In today's episode, we invited a panel…
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Jan 21, 2022
WBSP231: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Customer Retention Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Retaining customers is 10x easier than acquiring them. But you will not be able to create the sticky effect with your customers unless you have a solid strategy behind it. Retention requires a loyalty model that makes your customers feel that they are getting preferential treatment for their loyalty. It also requires you to communicate the value of preferential treatment. Unless you communicate, how would they know that you are doing something for them? Without communication, your retention strategies may result in devaluing your products without any tangible advantage. Retention also requires you to have better experience and barriers that help them stick to your brand. Every brand has a different retention strategy. But what are the best practices when it comes to retaining your customers?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss customer retention strategies for e-commerce. We cov…
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Jan 21, 2022
WBSP232: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Logistics Department, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
While the 3PL and companies involved with freight movement may have much stronger needs for logistics and transportation processes, manufacturers and distributors can't be efficient if they treat logistics as their stepchild. In fact, more and more companies are managing their in-house fleets to meet the consumer expectations of faster delivery and issues such as driver shortages. The inhouse fleets are also required if you have regulated business or special requirements to ship your goods, such as Frozen food or if 3PLs might be cost-prohibitive for your business model. Even if you rely entirely on LTL and FTL carriers, you still have to manage the scheduling, timely loading or unloading, and coordination with your 3PL carriers if you want to avoid overages. So what are the needs and best practices to cost-effectively manage the logistics needs for a manufacturer or distributor? And what system and integrations would they require to manage them?
In today's episode, we invited a panel…
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Jan 19, 2022
WBSP230: Grow Your Business by Understanding CRM Onboarding Best Practices w/ Josh Curcio
Getting in front of more customers is typically the response of most manufacturers that might have sales performance issues or ambition to grow their sales. But you need a formalized sales process and a deep understanding of why you might be losing your current deals or how to find the next cohort of customers that might be similar to the ones you currently might have to be successful. Also, unless you have a well-adopted CRM for your sales team, it's hard to formalize the sales process and get the insights that will be meaningful for your sales leadership to create strategies that will help them get the desired results.
In today's episode, our guest, Josh Curcio, shares his insights on CRM onboarding best practices for manufacturers in the metal industry. He also discusses why most manufacturers don't have visibility into their sales performance problems unless they have a formalized sales process and collect data that is meaningful to create a feedback loop for the sales process. Fi…
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Jan 18, 2022
WBSP229: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Unique Nuances of the Pharma Distribution Business w/ Darren Myher
The more regulated a business, the harder the requirements for regulatory compliance. Pharma distribution might feel like a straightforward business, but it has several requirements related to lot and serial number tracking that only exist in this industry. They also have unique channels and how their sales and purchase orders need to be processed in order to be compliant with the regulatory bodies. Utilizing a vanilla ERP for a pharma business may be a harder lift due to the unique process development requirements on top of a vanilla ERP, which might be more expensive than buying an ERP designed for the pharma distribution industry.
In today's episode, our guest, Darren Myher, shares his insights on the unique nuances of the pharma distribution business. He also discusses why vanilla ERP would fall short when it comes to the needs of pharma distributors as they have specific tracking requirements such as having a lot and serial numbers both on the product packaging. Finally, he discu…
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Jan 17, 2022
WBSP228: Grow Your Business by Moving Out of Your Comfort Zone w/ Tony Gunn
Most manufacturers started their businesses as they were good at making parts. They grew primarily because of word of mouth with very little investment in marketing and automation. They might be sitting on a pile of inventory and legacy machines due to their lack of understanding of how to invest in modern technologies and processes. They might also lose on the opportunities if they might not be able to meet the consumer demand due to the limitations in their capabilities. But why are manufacturers so afraid of innovation? Is the fear real or is it primarily because of their unwillingness to move out of their comfort zone?
In today's episode, our guest, Tony Gunn, shares his insights on what manufacturers need to do to move out of their comfort zone. He also discusses how the iterative process to replace legacy machines with the new CNC machines can result in tapping into newer designs for consumer-centric industries. Finally, he discusses the need for innovation even for companies th…
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Jan 15, 2022
WBSP227: Grow Your Business by Understanding ProShop’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Among most software, #ERP systems have always traditionally been the most hated. Each new ERP system that comes to the market seems to claim how they can either expedite the implementation time, increase the adoption, or change the ERP industry. Also, most new systems target smaller niches such as job shops. But the deeper your ERP system is in a specific niche, the less friendly and agile it will be as your business model expands. Specifically, the smaller job shops have a hard job meeting regulatory requirements imposed on them if they sell to verticals such as Aerospace or Medical. In general, they need IT capabilities more than ever before. But most shop owners or their executive teams don't have formal IT, finance, or procurement leadership to understand how to take advantage of an ERP system. Also, there is a fundamental misunderstanding in the machining community that you only have opportunities on the shop floor. While the shop floor plays a major role with most shops, you need…
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Jan 14, 2022
WBSP226: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Warehouse Department, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
A warehouse is a critical component to drive operational efficiency, especially if your company moves a lot of goods. The warehouse is also the area, which is typically the start of the automation, and if you operate your warehouse without barcodes, it might take forever to deliver the goods. Also, with ASRS systems and robots, the sky is the limit with what you could do to treat the warehouse the way it deserves. But without the foundational information architecture and connected systems, it's very hard to gain the efficiencies you expect. Sometimes poor implementations or poorly connected systems cause implementation failure of large Robotics or ASRS systems. What do you need to make sure you have a solid foundation for your warehouse to automate your warehouse processes?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss warehouse information architecture. We covered many grounds, including…
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Jan 13, 2022
WBSP225: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Customer Acquisition Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Retaining customers is easier and cheaper than acquiring customers. But unless you continuously acquire, you might have growth challenges. You can't simply rely on word-of-mouth channels. Customer acquisition is especially critical for e-commerce. For your customer acquisition to work effectively, you need to master your ideal customer profile and the messaging that will work with them. You also need to master strategies that are going to be uniquely applicable to your customers and channels. Finally, you will need to figure out how to continuously measure and keep improving until you hit the desired KPIs for your funnel.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss customer acquisition strategies for e-commerce. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the process and steps of customer acquisition and stories related to customer acquisition strategies. Finally, we covered how…
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Jan 12, 2022
WBSP224: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Importance of People-Focused M&A Transactions w/ Kison Patel
As you grow, you will be getting a lot of offers to get acquired. You might also be acquiring the companies, especially if you might not be able to meet your growth plans through organic channels. Whichever side of the M&A process you might happen to be on, you will only get value from the transaction if it is successfully executed. The most common reasons why acquisitions fail is because of the misunderstanding of the market and focusing solely on the financial models on the spreadsheets than really understanding what has really worked for the company that may be acquired.
In today's episode, our guest, Kison Patel, shares his insights into the importance of people-focused M&A transactions and why buyers and sellers must understand the market deeply than simply relying on spreadsheet models. He also describes the success and failure rates of M&A transactions and what works for companies that have successfully executed the transaction. Finally, he shares why integration is the most im…
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Jan 11, 2022
WBSP223: Grow Your Business by Taking Advantage of Mass Customer Mobilization Strategies w/ Ben Searcy
The social proof is becoming real, especially for B2C and FMCG brands with the advancements in social media and influencer marketing concepts. Also, with the increased competition, it's becoming harder to get placed at shelves in high-traffic areas. Even so, there are several newer technologies out there, such as mass customer mobilization, that can help get visibility for your brand inside the store through non-traditional methods.
In today's episode, our guest, Ben Searcy, shares his insights into the importance of customer advocacy and mass customer mobilization. He also describes how customer advocacy differs for B2B and B2C brands. Finally, he describes how the mass customer mobilization could increase sales at low-performing stores and how the advocacy could increase the revenue for B2B brands.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the…
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Jan 10, 2022
WBSP222: Grow Your Business by Executing on the DTC Strategy w/ Phil Coerper
What could you do if your business were not able to break through and grow as expected? What would you do if the close rate were extremely low and you couldn't do anything about it as your channel controlled the sales process? While there are several options to help with this issue, including going DTC, the path is extremely risky, especially if you might be taking this path for the first time on such a massive scale. But careful planning and a well-thought-out process beforehand can save you a lot of headaches during the project phase.
In today's episode, our guest, Phil Coerper, shares his insights into executing on DTC strategy. He also describes how to determine whether your business should be pure distribution-led, pure DTC, or hybrid. Finally, he shares his journey of building the business case, getting approval from the board, and the challenges he faced to ensure that the project remained on time and on budget.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and…
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Dec 18, 2021
WBSP221: Grow Your Business by Understanding GlobalShop's Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Traditional IT required you to stress test programming languages, databases, and server farms based on your expected workload. You designed the system based on the size of your organization. If you are buying an ERP system, you obviously don't have to go through the testing and measurement process as you assume that ERP vendors and salespeople must sell to the right-sized organization. Unfortunately, most ERP salespeople neither have ERP implementation nor an IT background.
To be fair with them, their providers never provide them with the technical sheet (or technical education) of the system's limitations. Instead, they only have access to the functional sheets. Would you not expect a technical sheet if you were buying a piece of machinery as the OEMs are legally required to provide for the products that might be life-threatening? Then why not for an ERP? This makes the process for selecting an ERP system fundamentally flawed as just because a corolla may have similar functionality a…
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Dec 17, 2021
WBSP220: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Procurement Department, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Procurement plays an extremely important role in ensuring that you have the right raw materials at the right place at the right time. They are also responsible for the S&OP planning, which is the hardest to master, and misaligned S&OP functions could significantly impact the top and bottom line. And they are often left behind when it comes to their technology needs. They are also an afterthought in the organization in creating sophisticated procurement processes that will have tangible financial results. But what do procurement professionals need to perform their duties? Is ERP enough? Or do they need more? Where do systems such as P2P, CLM, Spend Analysis, Supplier Discovery, Supplier Information Management, eSourcing, Contract Management, eProcurement, eInvoicing, Supplier Management fit in the architecture? And how to design an architecture that allows companies to create process boundaries between these systems and share information while maintaining a single source of truth.
In t…
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Dec 16, 2021
WBSP219: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Margins Measurement and Tracking Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you are an e-commerce business, you need to have your margins at your fingertips. Understanding your margins for each of your SKUs lets you know if any of the products might be a good fit for marketplaces. They also help you assess if you have enough margin for customs duties on international sales. Finally, they will help you understand if you can offer free shipping, bundle discounts, or cash back options. But sadly, most e-commerce companies very rarely understand their margins as their costing may be off. They might be using standard costing, and because of that, the costs may not be current. They might not be factoring in their labor or machine costs. They might also not be factoring overheads. So what can companies do to measure their margins and track appropriately?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss margins measurement and tracking for e-commerce. We covered many gro…
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Dec 15, 2021
WBSP218: Grow Your Business by Taking Advantage of Dynamic Pricing w/ Burc Tanir
Most companies are very rarely effective with their pricing strategies. They might have very simplified pricing strategies such as cost-plus to avoid the analyst overhead and lose money by not charging enough. Or they might have very manual processes to monitor competing SKUs at marketplaces or over the web and might lose their margins with the admin overhead. While monitoring pricing has never been straightforward, the newer tools are making the process easier and helping companies control and update them dynamically as the market condition changes.
In today's episode, our guest, Burc Tanir, share his insights into dynamic pricing works and how e-commerce companies can take advantage of it. He also describes how the newer technologies can help monitor the pricing on marketplaces without hiring an army of analysts and increase your admin costs. Finally, he describes the nuances of dynamic pricing, such as SKU segmentation based on price sensitivity and aligning the pricing strategies…
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Dec 14, 2021
WBSP217: Grow Your Business by Solving Demand Forecasting Issues Through Artificial Intelligence w/ Ryan Knox, Tony Lancione, and Eamonn Barrett
The automotive industry has always been challenging for manufacturers and distributors serving it. You might have ultra-thin margins with every year the OEMs threatening to reduce the costs further. You also have had traditional demand forecasting issues where the demand forecasted by industry groups may be off by as much as 50%. Also, with COVID and supply chain issues, the job of forecasters has become even more challenging. Now your choice is to overstock or overwork to meet the unpredictable demand. Or figure out how to take advantage of newer technologies such as machine learning platforms that are helping automotive manufacturers become leaner and operationally efficient.
In today's episode, our guest, Ryan Knox from Flexfab, Tony Lancione from Lancione Group, and Eamonn Barrett from Remi AI, share their insights into how AI and Machine learning have solved their traditional demand forecasting issues. They also describe why automotive is unique with its demand forecasting needs…
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Dec 13, 2021
WBSP216: Grow Your Business by Learning Key Nuances of Retail Store Transformation w/ Rachel Williamson
How hard could running a store be? Isn't it as simple as keeping a bunch of products, renting a place, and selling? Also, how hard could it be when you have multiple locations where customers expect consistent experience when they visit any of the stores? Well, if e-commerce is hard, running a retail chain that is known for its customer experience like Starbucks or WholeFoods is equally hard. First, you need to make sure the customers can find the right products at the right place. And then, you need to have consistent store experience across locations.
In today's episode, our guest, Rachel Williamson, shares her insights on the nuances of retail store transformation. She also discusses how the customer experience starts right from hiring, having a playbook, and the importance of study and observations to handle execution and compliance issues. Finally, she shares several stories of various stores where the most store performance issues were related to problems such as not having a cl…
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Dec 11, 2021
WBSP215: Grow Your Business by Understanding Plex’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
You can't spell Automotive without the mention of Plex. While not as penetrated as other bigger players such as Infor, Epicor, or SAP, Plex has had a significant impact on the ERP community due to the quality of its product. That's probably the reason Rockwell decided to acquire them. But the bigger reason why Rockwell acquired them is because of their MES and IoT capabilities. In fact, if you look closely, Plex would appear more of the MES than ERP. That's also probably why companies install Plex and Workday together, as they are truly made for each other, especially for manufacturing companies. It's also the only system that takes the perspective of plant managers and shop floor, and that's why Industry 4.0 community is a big fan of Plex. But where does Plex stand as of today? And where do they win most?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective an…
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Dec 10, 2021
WBSP214: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for the Finance Department, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Even though CFOs and Controllers are responsible for driving the transformation inside the company, they often have to put the needs of their peers in operations, sales, and HR before their own needs. Also, technology decisions are always about trade-offs. If you make the life of customer-facing teams easier, it would mean that your backend teams might need to work harder to meet the expectations. What systems do finance leaders need to drive finance transformation? Is ERP enough, or do they need more? How to build the architecture that is going to drive the needs of the finance dept?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss implementing systems for the finance department. We covered many grounds, including several stories of finance transformation, including some horror stories and initiatives that resulted in the growth of the companies purely because of these financial innovations…
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Dec 9, 2021
WBSP213: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Marketing Analytics Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
While free tools such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console can help you provide some insights into your funnel and customer behavior, you are simply scratching the surface with the amount of analytics you would need to drive marketing results. With multiple systems being used in the e-commerce architecture, including CRM, website, PIM, and marketplaces, you need a centralized analytics platform to determine which products are the right fit for which channel. Which marketplaces are most profitable in which countries? Which paid campaigns are working most effectively for which customer segment? Where would be your next expansion opportunity? Would it make more sense to extend another product line on a specific channel? Or does it make more sense to expand geographically? How can you find customer 360 to get all the activities related to a customer? These are the questions you will have as an e-commerce manager for which you need tons of data to make informed decisions.
In today…
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Dec 8, 2021
WBSP212: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of Internal Audit w/ Michael Venner
If you plan to acquire ISO or AS, one of the critical steps for this journey would be to go through the internal audit process. But who is responsible for internal audits? Is it the external consultants who will be providing the certifications? Is it the quality department? Or is it department heads? While it may seem counter-intuitive, the role of external consultants is not to do the internal audits. The internal auditors are selected from one of the internal teams that is curious about quality and have the communication and cross-functional skills to ensure that necessary issues get logged while explaining the importance of each process steps.
In today's episode, our guest, Michael Venner, shares the nuances of internal audit and its importance to get certified. He also discusses where internal audit fits in the certification journey and the role of external consultants. Finally, he outlines the process for selecting an internal auditor, their responsibilities, and the traits of a…
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Dec 7, 2021
WBSP211: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of Inventory Turnover w/ Hugo Fuentes
As you grow, you will go through several stages of S&OP maturity. Sales always conservatively estimate the inventory as they don't want to miss any opportunities. But finance executives want to reduce the inventory as much as possible as that has carrying costs. While you might be aware of the inventory issues, solving them is hard, as they require cross-functional collaboration and agreements across teams. Inventory turnover is one metric that could help you achieve your goals if you included it as part of the compensation plan for every stakeholder across the company.
In today's episode, our guest, Hugo Fuentes, shares the nuances of inventory turnover and how that could help optimize the inventory and cash flow. He also discusses stages of S&OP maturity for various companies and how they must enable cross-functional KPIs tied to compensation plans to solve the S&OP challenges. Finally, he discusses how to perform the SKU segmentation across industries and categories to find the app…
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Dec 6, 2021
WBSP210: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of Outsourced Contract Manufacturing w/ David Chavez
You might not worry about vendors until one day your production line stops because you didn't realize that you had a single point of failure with your processes. You might also make a strategic choice to simplify your processes by choosing just one vendor for most of your components. But while you might not have issues as of today as you may have had reliable vendors supporting you for a long time, it doesn't mean that you will never face issues because of a single source of supply. What if the vendor gets acquired? Or they have management changes that might not provide the same service levels that you expect.
In today's episode, our guest, David Chavez, shares the nuances of outsourced contract manufacturing. He also discusses several stories where the outsourced vendor processes and supply chain were a major cause for production breakdown and significant financial loss and missed opportunities. Finally, he discusses the process for evaluating global vendors and how to ensure that th…
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Dec 4, 2021
WBSP209: Grow Your Business by Understanding QAD’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Most large enterprise customers rarely look for an ERP solution outside of SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft as they offer comprehensive global solutions with localizations in most countries. This allows you to use a truly global solution without requiring a country-specific solution for the countries where non-global solutions fall short. When it comes to a truly global solution, some industries have specific supply chain management needs, including global trade management, transportation management, and supplier collaboration. These industries include Automotive suppliers that need to collaborate with their suppliers and perform integrated business planning. This planning helps them meet the needs of demanding customers such as GM and Ford while still meeting their costs expectations in an ultra-competitive market. Enter QAD. They are truly unique with their capabilities to support the needs of specific micro-verticals of global enterprises.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of indust…
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Dec 3, 2021
WBSP208: Grow Your Business by Learning the Information Architecture Strategies for E-Commerce Companies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Building information architecture for e-commerce companies is not easy. Most e-commerce companies serve B2B and B2C, so they need customer-facing websites along with an ERP. But then, with the blurring business models, e-commerce companies, especially those that are DTC, are expected to do a lot more, including managing their complex warehouses and sometimes their fleet for the last-mile delivery if 3PLs may not be as cost-effective or might not be able to meet the lead time requirements of the customer. In addition, these fleets might soon need IoT devices and GPS to appropriately track the driver compensation and provide the tracking to compete with the likes of Uber Eats, which will increase the complexity of the architecture further. Also, just like Google started creating partnerships with big-box retailers to provide the product and store experience, more e-commerce companies will start creating similar partnerships or open their experience stores, complicating the architecture f…
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Dec 2, 2021
WBSP207: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Marketing Automation Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
There is so much talk about marketing automation. But, is marketing automation about automating the entire marketing, so you don't have to hire anyone in the marketing department? Or is it about predicting and creating engagements through content at every step of the way as buyers move through the funnel? How much investment does marketing automation require? Are there any best practices on what to automate and what could be overkill? How important is technology to achieve marketing automation goals? And how important is tracking? Are there any specific KPIs that matter? Are there any industry-specific KPIs that might be relevant?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss marketing automation strategies for e-commerce. We covered many grounds in this episode, including what marketing automation is and why it matters. Finally, we covered several stories related to the best practices of…
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Dec 1, 2021
WBSP206: Grow Your Business by Understanding Why ERP Implementation Projects Must Be Treated as a Journey w/ Matt Dietrich
While ERP systems have come a long way with their capabilities and faster time-to-value, these investments still take a long time to deliver value to your business, even if you may have gone live within 90 days. Also, you will uncover real issues with the ERP system once you start running your business on the new system due to the lack of interest from most stakeholders during the testing and implementation phase. Finally, the post-implementation phase may cost you more than the pre-implementation phase, but if you pull the plug after investing for many months or years, cleaning it up and upgrading to the new system may be even costlier.
In today's episode, our guest, Matt Dietrich, shares his insights on why ERP implementation projects must be treated as a journey instead of a one-time deal. He also discusses the importance of a fully connected ERP system even for commercial decision making and how to spot an old vs. newer ERP system with deeper capabilities to drive the decision-mak…
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Nov 30, 2021
WBSP205: Grow Your Business by Optimizing the Dock-To-Stock Ratio of a Warehouse w/ Jeff Lem
If you are a warehouse manager, your goal will be to get as many shipments out of the door as fast as possible. You might also be tempted to compare your ratios with other similar warehouses or the warehouses of your competitors. But as each business is different, each warehouse and its ratios will be different as well. So while you need to consider the warehouses and inventory as part of your continuous improvement plan as you learn more about your business and processes, you can't compare them with anyone else.
In today's episode, our guest, Jeff Lem, shares his insights on optimizing dock-to-stock ratios of a warehouse. He also discusses the various component of the dock-to-stock ratio that drives the overall ratio including time to receive the product against a purchase order and put away in suitable locations. Finally, he discusses the nuances of the labeling process, part #, and where and how vendor part number should be used to avoid tight coupling with your vendors while still…
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Nov 29, 2021
WBSP204: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of a Multi-Site ERP Implementation w/ Bob Feathers
The larger the organization, the harder it becomes to roll out the implementation and truly reap its benefits. Also, the ERP implementation needs to be treated as a continuous improvement project as the context will change, and as you acquire more data from your ERP implementation, you will have more opportunities to improve your processes. If you don't share your inventory, customer, and vendor data across sites, you will not gain true cost-saving opportunities due to the siloed nature of your organization. Also, you need to analyze if there might be standardization opportunities available by utilizing similar equipment or processes.
In today's episode, our guest, Bob Feathers, shares his insights and lesson learned from a multi-site ERP implementation. He also discusses their rationale for data sharing across sites, including customers, vendors, and items, and walks us through their selection and implementation process. Finally, he discusses the challenges they ran into in the post-…
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Nov 20, 2021
WBSP203: Grow Your Business by Understanding IQMS’ Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
While evaluating ERP systems, one of the critical choices you will have to make is whether to go for ERP systems that are supported directly by the OEM vs. through partners. In the SMB space, most large vendors support their systems through resellers. But some vendors such as IQMS, QAD, and IFS don't have their channels as developed and support their products primarily through their professional services teams. Also, before its acquisition by Dassault systems, IQMS had a very interesting journey. They were growing very fast and had many solutions to support industry-specific functionality. So, where does IQMS stand as of today? And where do they win most?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of IQMS' capabilities. We covered several grounds, including their positioning in specific micro-verticals and their deeper capabilit…
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Nov 19, 2021
WBSP202: Grow Your Business by Learning the Strategies of Enabling Omnichannel Experience, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
How would you feel if you noticed the availability of your favorite shirt on a website, but when you walked to the store, it wasn't available there. How would you feel if the coupon provided on purchase from the website would not work on a mobile device because of the disconnected loyalty databases? The channels are increasing at an ever-increasing rate, and with that, the complexity of building omnichannel architecture increases exponentially. Omnichannel experience requires you to allow your users to switch between devices right within a transaction, ranging from e-commerce to POS and mobile. But how do you start on the omnichannel journey, and what is required to build a truly omnichannel architecture?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the strategies to enable omnichannel experience. We covered many grounds, including several stories where omnichannel and their architectura…
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Nov 18, 2021
WBSP201: Grow Your Business by Learning E-Commerce Coupon Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
48% of customers buy sooner when they have a coupon. And 37% of customers buy more than they normally would. These numbers could be a great tool to drive sales and results. Most people think of coupons as discounts but successfully implementing a good coupon strategy requires far more planning. The coupons require you to identify appropriate distribution channels so they get seen by the customers. The coupon also requires you to identify the right audience and have incentives for them that will drive them to make a purchase. Mastering the coupon strategy not only helps you increase your sales and help spread awareness of your brand. But how to follow a structured coupon strategy that will help with business results?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss coupon strategies for e-commerce. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the difference between discounts and coupons…
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Nov 17, 2021
WBSP200: Grow Your Business With the Hint of Non-Traditional Marketing Channels w/ Kara Goldin
Creating consumer products that don't have a pre-existing category is much harder to sell and commercialize than you would think. You have to figure out how to go through procurement, who will probably not be very receptive to your product as they might get beat up by their management. You may also not have enough funding for advertising campaigns to create the kind of buzz a new product requires. What can you do? You need to think deeper. You have to find non-traditional ways to find your customers and convert them into champions to create a completely new market that your buyers start finding you as opposed to you finding them.
In today's episode, our guest, Kara Goldin, shares her insights into how to develop non-traditional marketing channels for your new products. She also shares how she solved her initial product and supply chain challenges without any experience in the manufacturing or food and beverage industry. Finally, she shares how she prioritized with limited funding as s…
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Nov 16, 2021
WBSP199: Grow Your Business by Learning Key Nuances From the Cannabis Industry w/ Dave Crysler
Cannabis has become a booming industry, with several states legalizing the use of cannabis in their states. And the industry is also becoming complex with the ever-increasing applications of Cannabis products and their by-products. The companies need to comply with the state requirements, but there might also be additional process overheads due to federal limitations. While the Cannabis industry has some similarities with other industries such as manufacturing, food, or tobacco, there are also significant differences due to the unique traceability and processing requirements.
In today's episode, our guest, Dave Crysler, shares his insights into the nuances of the cannabis market and value chain. He also discusses the customer groups of each of the players involved in the industry and their licensing structure. Finally, he discusses the manufacturing, warehousing, and inventory processes of the cannabis companies and their compliance requirements.
For more information on growth strate…
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Nov 15, 2021
WBSP198: Grow Your Business by Learning Demand Generation Strategies for New Product Development w/ Daniel Englebretson
Generating demand for new products is super challenging. But the challenges would be at a different level if you had to generate the demand for product categories that didn't exist and if you had to go through procurement. Luckily, today's technologies allow you to target specific roles in a given account, so they can relate with your logo and brand before you visit them. The manufacturers who would have wasted millions of dollars in the generic marketing strategies such as trade shows without any tracking can know what is happening with each of the impressions, who is looking at your content, and if you are heading in the right direction with your investments.
In today's episode, our guest, Daniel Englebretson, shares his insights into the demand generation strategies for new product development. He also shares several stories about his work where he successfully penetrated the market where there was not even a category for that product. Finally, he shares his challenges working with…
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Nov 13, 2021
WBSP197: Grow Your Business by Understanding Odoo’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Open-source is not a term you will hear when it comes to ERP systems. But there are a few open source ERP systems such as Odoo. While their claim of being open-source made them super popular in the development community, are they truly open-source? Well, if you look under the hood, the open-source pitch is really to grab developers' attention as the core component of ERP, such as the accounting module, is not really open source. But developers still love it. That's probably the reason why Odoo is majorly used by the IT and development community and primarily used by E-commerce companies as they tend to be development heavy. But where does Odoo stand as of today? Where do they win most?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of Odoo's capabilities. We covered several grounds, including the features available in their open-sou…
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Nov 12, 2021
WBSP196: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of Simplifying Business Processes Prior to Implementation, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
When you start your business, you will do whatever you can in your power to survive. You might sign up any customers that might have any amount of money in their pockets. You might sell an offering that you might not have on your menu. Again, we as entrepreneurs have figured out how to survive. But the same entrepreneurial spirit fires back when you are trying to scale your business. Once you reach an inflection point, you will likely have the most complex product mix, manufacturing, and inventory processes resulting from ad-hoc survival or incomplete customer and vendor data driving unnecessary manual processes. At this point, you have two choices, either live with the processes that might not be relevant anymore for your business. Or, start with a clean slate and draw every process out there and simplify as much as possible.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the strategies f…
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Nov 11, 2021
WBSP195: Grow Your Business by Learning the E-Commerce Session Optimization Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
While you may get tons of traffic for your e-commerce website, if your users don't find your content interesting, they might not stay on it for very long. And this is where the KPIs around sessions are critical. It will help you understand what's happening after the users land on your pages. It will also help you understand how long they stay on each page and how many pages they visit per session. The session KPIs are helpful when you might have a lot of traffic but not as many conversions. But how to optimize the content and journeys to improve your KPIs related to sessions?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss session optimization strategies for e-commerce. We covered many grounds in this episode, including why the session matters and the pitfalls associated with reading session KPIs. Finally, we also discussed several stories where the session optimization strategies resulted…
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Nov 10, 2021
WBSP194: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of Transportation Management Systems w/ Fred Cartwright
Transportation management has multiple facets, and it could mean different things to different companies. But the real value of a TMS system will be when multimode legs are involved in shipping goods. And that's why the transportation and 3PL companies have greater needs for a TMS system than manufacturing and distribution companies. But if the manufacturing company manages its own fleet and requires visibility into multi-mode tracking, it might also need a sophisticated TMS system. So whether you simply use a shipping add-on or a full-blown TMS system for your shipping needs, you will need to integrate with your WMS or ERP system.
In today's episode, our guest, Fred Cartwright from Haversack, shares his insights into the nuances of transportation management systems from different perspectives of manufacturers, distributors, 3PL facilities, and transportation companies. He also describes the concepts such as mode optimization, consolidation, and spot market. Finally, he shares several…
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Nov 9, 2021
WBSP193: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of Yard Management of Manufacturing and Warehouse Facilities w/ Colin Mansfield
Logistics planning is hard, and it gets harder as the number of incoming and outgoing truckloads grows for a warehouse or manufacturing facility. While yard management is typically an afterthought as its implications may not impact the core operational and financial transactions, you can't ignore it due to the financial hits caused by unused trailer capacity, detention, and demurrage fee. Unless you have enough data at your fingertips and automated management of your gate etc., your yard operations crew might be spending more time dealing with the shouting match due to the blame game than adding the real value to your bottom line.
In today's episode, our guest, Colin Mansfield from Yard Management Solutions, shares his insights into the process nuances of yard management of manufacturing and warehouse facilities. He also describes the lifecycle of yard management and trailers, along with concepts such as drop load, live load, the role of jockey drivers, detention, and demurrage fee. F…
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Nov 8, 2021
WBSP192: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Outcomes of Cart-First or Content-First E-Commerce Strategies w/ Jeffry Graham
The journey of e-commerce could be frightening. In fact, it's kind of confusing because of the blurring line between B2B and B2C. The approach that worked for B2C may not be most appropriate for B2B. There is also a blurring line between whether you want to consider the content-first approach or cart-first. Whatever you consider, you will have significant implications on your business model, and you want to make sure that it's the right fit for your business. If your business is slightly more content first, the cart-first approach may fire back. But how to decide which would be appropriate for you?
In today's episode, our guest, Jeffry Graham from Ecommerce MGMT, shares his insights into the classic debate of cart-first and content-first for e-commerce companies. He also shares several stories of companies that went through either cart-first or content-first approaches from point A and B, including describing their outcomes. Finally, he describes when each of these approaches would be…
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Nov 6, 2021
WBSP191: Grow Your Business by Understanding Microsoft’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Most people might recognize Microsoft for Windows or Office applications. They might also recognize them for their database and Azure. But did you know that Microsoft always had a significant market share in the ERP space? While Microsoft's go-to-market strategy has been very different from other ERP vendors such as Oracle and SAP, they have always had a lead in the market with their products such as GP, SL, NAV, and AX. In the world of the Cloud, Microsoft may even be ahead of its legacy competitors, such as SAP, due to the completeness of their products. Microsoft also has a possible advantage with their #2 CRM products and several other products that they offer as part of Microsoft 365 Suite, such as Office, Power Apps, Azure Data Factory, and Power BI. But like other competitors such as SAP, Sage, Infor, or Epicor, they still have significant legacy code that is not modernized and would not be as fresh as their cloud-native counterparts. Where does Microsoft stand as of today? And…
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Nov 5, 2021
WBSP190: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of Data Cleansing Prior to Implementation, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Garbage in garbage out is perhaps the most overused phrase of all during the ERP conversations. Everyone uses it, but very few understand the consequences and implications of this phrase. Also, your data, whether structured poorly or diligently, forms the foundation of your business model. But why? Because many data sets are relevant in the ERP conversations, such as master, configuration, transactional, and historical, they each have their implications on the selection and implementation of ERP. Suppose you implement or select an ERP without going through the phase of data cleansing or aligning your data with the future business model. In that case, you might end up choosing an incorrect ERP, as your poorly structured data may be influencing the decision for your ERP. The data cleansing could mean aligning your BOMs with your production process or your customer structure with how you transact with them. But how to follow the structured data cleaning approach to select the suitable ERP…
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Nov 4, 2021
WBSP189: Grow Your Business by Learning the E-Commerce Pricing Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Pricing and discounting are two strategies to incentivize buyers to make a purchase decision. But there is always confusion where each would be appropriate. Also, pricing is often a sensitive area where most companies would rather undercharge in fear of losing market share or customers. Companies could use pricing strategies such as cost-plus, competition-based, value-based, price skimming, loss-leader, penetration, dynamic, bundle, premium, and anchor. But they rarely understand the true potential and their applications. There are a lot of factors to consider when developing an ecommerce pricing strategy. Competition, ever-changing customer expectations, material costs, and shipping all play a role in pricing your products. To stay relevant, brands need to continue to reevaluate their pricing strategy. But what are the best practices of pricing?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to disc…
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Nov 3, 2021
WBSP188: Grow Your Business by Breaking Organizational Silos Between IT and OT w/ Tom Harrop
The divide between IT and OT has always been challenging for business executives. But this divide has always existed and still exists among other groups too. For example, sales and marketing teams don't like to deal with IT as they are perceived to slow down things. The supply chain doesn't like them either as they would rather manage their systems independently than dealing with IT. While other groups have realized the importance of IT and created true partnerships, OT teams have yet to figure out how to eat at the same dinner table with IT.
In today's episode, our guests, Tom Harrop from Splunk, share his insights into the core reasons for the organizational divide between IT and OT. He also describes why OT cannot catch up with other departments such as sales, marketing, HR, and Supply Chain with IT and what companies can do to remove silos. Finally, he describes the ideal industry 4.0 architecture for companies to converge their IT and OT functions.
For more information on growth…
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Nov 2, 2021
WBSP187: Grow Your Business by Learning To Secure OT Environments w/ Corey White and David Cundiff
Due to the proliferation of IoT devices in manufacturing environments, the number of access points prone to attack has increased significantly. And while the OT environments don't have as thicker the code base as the IT environment, OT environments are less secure than IT. The lack of education in how to write production-ready software and a greater push for efficiency have been the reasons why OT devices are more prone to attack with higher safety consequences.
In today's episode, our guests, Corey White and David Cundiff from Cyvatar share their insights into how the tradeoffs for greater efficiencies and OEE may be driving cybersecurity issues in the OT environments. They also take a deep dive into a car manufacturer's story where they ended up losing millions of dollars due to a ransomware attack within 8 hrs of attack. Finally, they describe the mechanics of ransomware, how the codebase in OT and IT differ, and why OT devices are harder to secure and more prone to attacks than IT…
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Nov 1, 2021
WBSP186: Grow Your Business by Optimizing Shop Floor Scheduling w/ Sneha Kumari
Scheduling has always been challenging for manufacturing industries, especially for industries such as Automotive, where stopping the assembly line even for a couple of hours could mean the loss of millions of dollars for a company. Some industries also have challenges where the skill matrix could play a huge role in your scheduling as the skills may not be transferrable. If you don't have a sense of how many associates from each skill would show up on the shop floor and if there might be any hot order dropping on unexpectedly, there will always be disruptions on the shop floor. But what can companies do to manage these disruptions?
In today's episode, our guest, Sneha Kumari, shares her insights into how SLAs and resource mix impact shop floor scheduling. She also shares concepts such as the importance of real-time data on the shop floor and how that can help improve the shop floor function. Finally, she discusses concepts such as the tradeoffs between pseudo resources and reduced ad…
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Oct 30, 2021
WBSP185: Grow Your Business by Understanding Epicor’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Epicor is the household name for mid-market manufacturing and distribution companies. Just like Infor, it offers last-mile functionality for manufacturing and distribution companies that may not be available through other enterprise players such as SAP, Oracle, and Microsoft. While Epicor may not be as global a solution as some of their larger competitors, they offer more value to the SMB manufacturers and distributors. Epicor also has a similar strategy as Infor and Aptean to focus on specific industry verticals in the manufacturing and distribution space and have acquired many last-mile products in the last few years. Due to multiple products in its portfolio in the on-prem world, they have had similar challenges competing with other cloud-native vendors. While they have attempted to consolidate their portfolio and give their cloud strategy a new name Kinetic, just like Infor branding its products under CloudSuite, they are still actively selling and developing most of their legacy p…
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Oct 29, 2021
WBSP184: Grow Your Business by Learning the Best Practices of Data-Sharing Across Multiple Entities, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
The supply chain structure defined in the ERP software must mirror the actual supply chain. But it very rarely does. This issue is even more critical when the organizations may have multiple sites to distribute or manufacture goods. The supply chain professionals often need to plan on spreadsheets to make up for the underlying problems in the ERP configurations and data. While there are many definitions of a multi-site implementation, the sites in most implementations maintain their customer, vendor, and item master independently due to the lack of understanding and limitations of the underlying software. This limits organizations in capitalizing on the corporate discounts available globally, exploiting capacity optimization opportunities across the sites, and supply chain planning to minimize the number of hops. Multi-site planning requires you to analyze your item master, BOMs, customer, and vendor at a much deeper level to see how each site will interact with each other and who will…
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Oct 28, 2021
WBSP183: Grow Your Business by Learning the E-Commerce Sales Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Planning for sales in the traditional world was easy. If you had a retail location, you would plan the right location, inventory, study the neighborhood, and provide the customer service and pricing aligned with the neighborhood's needs. If you were selling through big-box retailers or distributors, you had to hire salespeople qualified to sell to distributors, design their territories, and perhaps send them to golf courses. In the world of e-commerce, planning for sales requires much deeper planning. But what are the best practices for these strategies, and how to plan in a structured manner?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss sales strategies in the e-commerce world. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the comparison between traditional and e-commerce sales organizations. Finally, we also discussed the framework for ensuring sales results and the strategic and…
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Oct 27, 2021
WBSP182: Grow Your Business by Optimizing Production Method and Line w/ Vlad Romanov
Identifying the appropriate production method requires you to have a deep understanding of your finished products and raw materials consumed. An incorrect production method and its KPIs may have implications on the production capacity. Also, if there is a mismatch in your demand and supply, you might need to understand if there might be a way to increase the capacity. If you are lucky, you might be able to duplicate the existing line and increase it. But if you have to install a new line from scratch, there might be a lot more moving pieces and surprises than you would expect.
In today's episode, our guest, Vlad Romanov, shares his insights into how the two schools of production, discrete and continuous, differ, including their KPIs. He also shares his insights into optimizing the production lines by analyzing the types of products produced and the types of raw materials consumed. Finally, he discusses how to increase capacity by analyzing the business case of installing a new product…
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Oct 26, 2021
WBSP181: Grow Your Business by Connecting Your Shop Floor in Real-Time w/ David Schultz
Traditionally most systems used on the shop floor were disconnected. Even if you had multiple systems such as ERP and MES, they didn't have real-time connectivity with the machines. And to get data from these systems, manufacturers created data lakes and powered dashboards using the insights gathered from these lakes. While these dashboards provide visibility into operations to some degree, they were deficient in providing the controls that connected systems would offer. With the help of MQTT and a unified namespace, now you can connect all your disparate systems on the shop floor using a gateway or a broker.
In today's episode, our guest, David Schultz, shares his insights into how manufacturers can increase the capacity from their existing investments by connecting them in real-time. He also discusses how traditional methods of creating data lakes fall short as they would not allow real-time decision-making and capacity optimization. Finally, he discusses several KPIs that operation…
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Oct 25, 2021
WBSP180: Grow Your Business by Taking Advantages of Edge Technologies w/ Jason Andersen
Edge computing is powerful. It can help companies monitor and maintain distributed assets that would otherwise require significant capital and manpower to manage. In addition, these technologies allow your technicians to control those devices remotely without having to travel. You can also gather tons of insights that can improve the operational performance of these devices and help them recover for common error conditions. However, due to the Cyber Security issues and data centers' traditional design, adopting these edge technologies has been challenging.
In today's episode, our guest, Jason Andersen, shares his insights into edge technologies and how manufacturers and field service companies can take advantage of them. He also discusses how edge networks and their communication requirements differ from traditional and cloud technologies. Finally, he discusses how the conventional airgap between OT and IT has been the barrier for edge adoption and what options companies have for them…
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Oct 23, 2021
WBSP179: Grow Your Business by Understanding Oracle’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
Oracle and SAP are the only two names you will hear in the enterprise accounts while everyone else is trying to claim the third spot, including Microsoft, Infor, and Sage. In fact, you might hear that you are either an SAP shop or an oracle shop in the enterprise community. Oracle also largely dominates the database market, which could be why IT typically champions Oracle applications inside enterprise accounts. But in the cloud market, that's no longer true as now Oracle has two leading cloud products in their portfolio Oracle Fusion and NetSuite, both of which have experienced significant growth, even despite COVID.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of Oracle capabilities. We covered several grounds, including the overview of different product offerings from Oracle and their positioning in the market. Finally, we disc…
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Oct 22, 2021
WBSP178: Grow Your Business by Learning the Importance of Source of Truth, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Utilizing software in a siloed department is super easy. But as your enterprise grows, you will require cross-functional collaboration across departments. You will have systems that share common data, such as inventory or parts, customers, and vendors. Your architecture may contain ERP, E-commerce, WMS, MES, and P2P systems. Each of them is equally important, which may be dictated by the needs of each department. If you don't have a clearly defined source of authority for each master data, you will have significant challenges correlating the datasets. But what exactly is the source of authority, and why it matters for enterprise architecture and to integrate multiple business applications?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the single source of truth and why it matters. We covered many grounds, including identifying the process and data owners for each dataset and the implicati…
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Oct 21, 2021
WBSP177: Grow Your Business by Learning the Strategies To Overcome Channel Conflict, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Traditionally, there were a limited number of channels that a company had to manage. But as the lines keep blurring in the business models, businesses will need to manage more channels. The marketplaces and their ever-evolving business model will fuel the growth of channels even further. These marketplaces also pose some of the newer challenges that didn't exist in the traditional channels, such as the dynamic changes in pricing based on market conditions and consumer behaviors. That makes managing channels even harder as the original assumptions about pricing and discount are likely to change. But what can companies do to have the strategies without any channel conflict?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss overcoming channel conflict. We covered many grounds in this episode, including why channel conflict matters and the benefits of managing channel conflict effectively. Finall…
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Oct 20, 2021
WBSP176: Grow Your Business Through Protected Flow Manufacturing w/ Mark Lilly
The needs of the production floor have always been the most critical for Manufacturing, with scheduling being the most challenging function. The finite scheduling method has been the most accurate and most commonly used so far. It claimed to improve the on-time delivery by scheduling based on the due date and only working on jobs when they were due. But finite scheduling never worked as it didn't accommodate real-life scenarios such as machines going down or some resources not reporting when you were expecting them. Protected flow manufacturing is the new method of scheduling that considers the real-time signals from the production floor and determines the priority of each job without missing the on-time delivery or needing to expedite at the last minute.
In today's episode, our guest, Mark Lilly, shares his journey of being involved with several manufacturing ERP software systems and scheduling deficiencies in the Visual manufacturing ERP software. He also discusses how protected flo…
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Oct 19, 2021
WBSP175: Grow Your Business by Learning Industry Consolidation Risks w/ Aneesa Muthana
People often talk about the importance of diversification, especially for cash-intensive businesses such as manufacturing. But what exactly is diversification, and how to plan for it? Is it about having the right balance of customers? Is it about rejecting opportunities even if you might have millions of dollars knocking on your doors? Well, diversification requires the complete change of thinking and redesign of your business model. To be completely diversified, you can't just be revenue-focused. You need to think about possibilities such as, hey, what if your major customer goes bankrupt or gets acquired? Or they end up canceling orders due to a financial or marketing risk at their end.
In today's episode, our guest, Aneesa Muthana, shares her journey of transforming her shop after losing all of her key customers because of the consolidation in her customers' industries. She also discusses why diversification is important for manufacturing businesses and how to diversify the busines…
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Oct 18, 2021
WBSP174: Grow Your Business by Avoiding Contract Management Pitfalls w/ Karthik Rama
Every company manages thousands of contracts. These contracts could belong to procurement, sales, or HR. But in most cases, the contracts management function is part of the procurement team because of the sheer volume of contracts issued and negotiated. If you don't want to spend millions of dollars in back and forth negotiating with lawyers, then you would need a contract playbook that can help define the boilerplate for your contract, along with a system to track contract expiry, legal obligations, and commitments.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Karthik Rama, who shares his insights into contract management processes' nuances and best practices. He also discusses how contract processes differ across departments, categories, industries and how a contract playbook can help save with admin efforts. Finally, he discusses different toolsets and frameworks available to streamline contract management processes and where ERP and P2P systems might help.
For more information on growt…
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Oct 16, 2021
WBSP173: Grow Your Business by Understanding Sage’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
ERP conversations can't finish without the mention of Sage. Like SAP, Sage has always been strong in the European market as it's a European company. They have also been very well penetrated in the accounting and CPA community due to their distribution and business model. Sage has many different products in its portfolio, with construction and process manufacturing industries being its strength. While there have been many debates about the 3rd spot in the ERP market among Microsoft, Infor, and Sage, after SAP and Oracle, Sage maintains a clear lead in the SMB segment even above SAP and Oracle.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of Sage capabilities. We covered several grounds, including the overview of different product offerings from Sage and their positioning in the market. Finally, we discussed the differences between…
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Oct 15, 2021
WBSP172: Grow Your Business by Learning the Risks Associated With the Customization of ERP Systems, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
The main challenge with ERP is that it cannot address 100% of your organization's needs, no matter how good it is. There will always be company-specific needs such as reporting or KPIs. There are also likely to be several integrations that you might require, such as integrating your inventory forecasting, demand planning system, or e-commerce. These integrations and reporting requirements will drive changes to your core ERP functionality, such as exposing additional data fields through interfaces or screens. While customizations provide great flexibility to tailor the experience to your needs, over-customizing could fire back due to increased technical debt and maintenance.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the customization of ERP systems and the resulting nightmares because of it. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the difference between configuration, custom…
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Oct 14, 2021
WBSP171: Grow Your Business by Measuring and Increasing Average Order Value, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Most e-commerce companies remain busy chasing new customers and visitors to the site. And they ignore the average order value, also known as deal size in the traditional world. There are several ways to increase your average order value, such as trying different pricing experiments, bundling, up-sell, and cross-sell. But you would not know what's going to work unless you design suitable experiments and measure them accurately.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss measuring and increasing average order value. We covered many grounds in this episode, including why average value matters for e-commerce companies and the specific strategies to increase it. Finally, we discussed how to A/B test various strategies and how it can help improve the average order value.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks…
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Oct 13, 2021
WBSP170: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Nano Influencer Marketing w/ Paul Benigeri
It's tough to keep up with the trends and technologies in the e-commerce ecosystem. Social media marketing and channels have grown significantly, especially due to COVID. As a result, it's becoming harder and harder to manage the marketing budget and explore the right channels for your market segment and business model. Managing relationships and promoting your offerings through nano influencers is one such trend that's been rising in popularity lately. But it almost seems like a lottery ticket as some brands have been massively successful through these strategies, while others feel it's a waste of time and money.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Paul Benigeri, who shares his insights into the nuances of nano influencer marketing. He also discusses the channels and market segments appropriate for nano marketing and describes the process and best practices. Finally, he shares his experiences of recruiting and managing relationships with nano influencers and several stories of wor…
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Oct 12, 2021
WBSP169: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of CMMC Preparedness and Assessment w/ Dale Parmenteri
The journey of serving the DoD market could feel frightening. While it might provide stability to your fluctuating revenue cycles, it also comes with a significant overhead with the process upkeep. But as part of DoD compliance, you get several benefits, such as protecting your IP as DoD is trying to protect your proprietary methods or patents. With these controls in place, professional investors will see your business as more sustainable if you decide to sell it. Finally, you could use these measures in your sales messaging to pass along some of these costs to your customers to rest assured that they are working with a financially stable vendor.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Dale Parmenteri, who shares his insights into CMMC preparedness and assessment nuances. He also provides practical advice to business owners about the real value of penetrating the DoD market and if the overhead is worth the hassle. Finally, he discusses several other concepts, such as the importance of…
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Oct 11, 2021
WBSP168: Grow Your SMB Business by Learning To Plan for Cyber Security w/ Bill Palifka
With innovations in technologies, we have put software on every device and endpoint too soon, which has increased the attack surface significantly. Unfortunately, this has also been done without truly understanding the ramifications of these advancements. The hackers or state-sponsored agencies are advancing their capabilities with the same speed, if not more, with these developments. And businesses need to keep up with them, or their intellectual properties could be at risk. The SMB businesses, in particular, are at a higher risk as they can't afford to spend millions of dollars on Cybersecurity.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Bill Palifka, who shares his insights into low-hanging fruits for SMB businesses without breaking their bank. He also shares insights into concepts such as the cybersecurity needs for IIOT vs OT devices, awareness of the potential known and unknown access points on the network, and the attack surface for hackers. Finally, he shares his insights into why…
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Oct 9, 2021
WBSP167: Grow Your Business by Understanding QuickBooks’ and FishBowl’s Capabilities, an Objective Panel Discussion and Weekly Digital Transformation News Stories
If you are a startup, you will have several options in the QuickBooks portfolio to get your business up and running without requiring deep IT or accounting capabilities. As you grow, you might need to upgrade to several products in the QuickBooks portfolio and try add-ons such as FishBowl. However, while they have deeper capabilities functionally to support your small business, they are not designed to support the scale and transaction volume needed by a company with 8-digit revenue.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to discuss major stories in the ERP and digital transformation space and an objective and independent review of QuickBooks' and FishBowl's capabilities. We covered several grounds, including the overview of different product offerings from QuickBooks and their positioning in the market. Finally, we covered a deep review of FishBowl capabilities along with recent reviews from public sites.
For more information on…
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Oct 8, 2021
WBSP166: Grow Your Business by Learning How To Pitch Digital Initiatives to Executives, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Whether you are pitching an initiative or getting pitched, turning down an idea is extremely uncomfortable for both parties. Although executives may be turning down the idea as they might not see how they might sell it to their boards, colleagues, or teams, they don't want to reject it as it could be a lifetime opportunity for their career. While it might feel counter-intuitive, the executives pay attention to every single idea in an organization. Still, most ideas get turned down as they could be perceived as overly zealous technical transformation, not aligned with organizational vision, or just a wish list that has very little business value.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss how to pitch digital initiatives to executives. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the interests of executives and what they like to hear in pitches. We also discussed how to identify t…
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Oct 7, 2021
WBSP165: Grow Your Business by Learning the Strategies To Personalize Customer Journey, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Most people think of personalization strategies as the thank you note written on the post-purchase card sent to the consumer or a thank you video from the CEO. But personalization goes deeper when it comes to e-commerce. The personalized experience could include the products that are shown to the non-logged-in user based on their location or IP address. It could also include reminding users about a battery pack if the product box doesn't include a battery set.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss personalization strategies. We covered many grounds in this episode, including why personalization matters and different features related to personalization. Finally, we discussed tools and technologies available to enable personalization and how intent data could help boost the personalized experience for your customers.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and…
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Oct 6, 2021
WBSP164: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Warehouse and Logistics Architecture w/ Rick Watson
Scaling an e-commerce brand is hard. And it's becoming harder with the expansion of marketplaces. While they offer significant opportunities and an easy way to acquire customers, each channel and the marketplace has fairly stringent requirements regarding their quality standards and what they like to see from the vendors. Also, the more you move your products and the longer your products have to travel, your supply chain costs increase significantly.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Rick Watson, who shares how to plan for warehouse and logistics architecture for DTC brands selling through marketplaces. He also shares why SKU level planning and profitability analysis is critical for product and channel fit. Finally, he discusses his insights into concepts such as SFP and the difference between centralized distribution strategy vs. using retail locations as fulfillment warehouses for e-commerce channels.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital tra…
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Oct 5, 2021
WBSP163: Grow Your Business by Creating a Precise Digital Twin of a Warehouse w/ Michael Pytel
The legacy warehouses were extremely rigid and imprecise. They had challenges in locating the precise location in the system. They also didn't map humans in the system. These restrictions limit WMS systems to accommodate real-world scenarios such as seasonality and dynamics recommendation of rearrangement of the warehouse based on demand. The modern breed of WMS systems is far more capable with the help of technologies such as machine learning and ultra-wideband.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Michael Pytel, who shares how he can create a far more precise digital twin of the warehouse by mapping warehouse workers in the system. He also touches on the deficiencies of legacy WMS systems and their implications on warehouse processes and workers, and how modern systems would make their life easier. Finally, he shares his insights about several technologies, such as how different business systems and warehouse hardware technologies such as AMR and ASRS would interplay in his system…
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Oct 4, 2021
WBSP162: Grow Your Business By Learning to Think How Machines Think w/ Jennifer Bannink Bloomer
A machine is not a microwave where you can throw a piece of steel, push a bunch of buttons, and expect your parts to be done. The inner workings of machines are fundamental to account to be able to program cost-effectively. You need to take several things into account, starting from the fit between materials and machines. You also need to figure out the appropriate setup times to make sure that you can make the part in the budgeted amount.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Jennifer Bannink Bloomer, who discusses how machines think and why that matters to the machine shops. She also discusses why a comprehensive understanding of materials, machines, and their applications is essential for making parts. Finally, she shares several stories about cross-functional collaboration between machinists and engineering departments that require open and transparent communication.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at w…
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Oct 1, 2021
WBSP161: Grow Your Business Through Organizational Change Management Alignment, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Change management has become the new buzzword. Most ERP implementation practitioners talk about how important change management is and how that can save implementation failures. Also, most ERP implementation failure conversations are around exceeding the original estimations of the budget. But who pays for change management? Who is responsible for change management? Where does change management fit in the organization? How to budget for change management? Is there a finite amount or timeline that companies should plan while allocating a budget for change management?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss change management strategies. We covered many grounds in this episode, including why change management is important and where change management function fits in an organization. We also discussed how to identify change management projects in an organization and why the center of ex…
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Sep 30, 2021
WBSP160: Grow Your Business by Optimizing Customer Journey, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
While building your e-commerce site, you might be tempted to go for the cheapest option. But for your e-commerce initiatives to work, you need to perform a deeper analysis of customer journeys to provide them the experience they expect. This study requires you to go deeper than the five WHYs and to utilize methods such as management by walking around. Also, optimizing customer journeys is an ongoing process, which doesn't end with identification.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss customer journey mapping. We covered many grounds in this episode, including how companies can start on the customer journey and why performing as-is and to-be analysis is vital to identify customer journeys and behaviors. Finally, we discussed several other concepts related to customer journeys, such as touchpoints, cohort analysis, the importance of user research, and design thinking.
For more info…
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Sep 29, 2021
WBSP159: Grow Your Business Through AS9100 Certification w/ Aaron Theisen
Most machine shops are afraid of going for certifications such as AS9100 and CMMC due to the process overheads and compliance requirements imposed. They would rather invest that money in buying more machines and adding more people. While these certifications can be perceived as unnecessary, they can open up tons of newer opportunities for you. They can also make you efficient with your operations and provide the necessary controls for creating a sustainable business that will have much higher value when you are ready to sell.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Aaron Theisen, who shares his journey to AS certification for his shop. He also discusses how AS9100 certification can open up newer opportunities for your shop and grow faster despite it being perceived to be expensive. Finally, he shares several data and reporting requirements that you need to get in a row before you attempt to acquire the certification.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and dig…
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Sep 28, 2021
WBSP158: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Tax Recovery w/ Jason Parr
While several tax packages out there, such as Avalara and Vertex, can automatically monitor each state's tax rates and apply to each of your transactions, these packages rely on your data and accounting to determine your tax obligations. If you are not accounting for your product costs appropriately, you might be leaving millions of dollars on the table. You could save this money through tax recovery if you conducted a refund review.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Jason Parr, who discusses the nuances of tax recovery of your purchases and why periodic refund review is crucial. He also touches on tax laws of different states and where you might have the opportunity to recover some of the taxes that you may be overpaying. Finally, he compares the sales and purchases side of tax obligations and any opportunities available through strategic planning of your facilities and warehouses.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit ou…
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Sep 27, 2021
WBSP157: Grow Your Business by Penetrating Automotive Market Through PPAP Compliance w/ Ken Hatlewick
If you have been thinking about penetrating the automotive market, your customers will ask you to comply with the PPAP processes. You need to comply with several requirements irrespective of your tiers, such as communicating any process or line changes in your facility. You will also have additional testing requirements at the transaction level, such as corrosion testing, etc. If you don't understand these standards, you have a risk of losing your customer or wasting money on non-conforming parts.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Ken Hatlewick, who discusses the nuances of the PPAP process for machine shops serving the automotive market. He also touches on the testing requirements at the transaction level and the audit and compliance requirements annually. Finally, he shares several stories about how upfront communication and relationships with your customer could help navigate issues if you run into challenges while complying with PPAP guidelines.
For more information on growt…
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Sep 24, 2021
WBSP156: Grow Your Business by Saving Digital Transformation Budget Overruns, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
First-time ERP buyers and salespeople without any implementation experience consider implementations as plug-and-play. But while you might be using someone else's product, you first need to understand the product at a deeper level and this learning might take the same amount of time as creating your ERP from scratch. So although off-the-shelf products reduce the implementation risks and success, they still require substantial time to go through the necessary phases of software development to avoid issues in the live system.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss how to manage the digital budget. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the difference between budget risks for custom development and ERP projects. We also discussed the secret sauce for making digital projects successful and strategies to mitigate risks with vendors. Finally, we discussed how to vet the vendo…
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Sep 23, 2021
WBSP155: Grow Your Business by Better Understanding E-Commerce ICP Identification Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
A deep understanding of your ideal customer profile is the foundation of your sales, marketing, and e-commerce success. Unfortunately, most companies struggle to create their marketing positioning around their ICP as they are often serving multiple industries and buyers. This issue is even more critical for your digital and e-commerce journey as the success of your market would be dependent upon how well you map your buyer journeys aligned to your ICPs.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss ICP Identification strategies. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the ideal customer profile (ICP) and how it differs from buyer personas. We also discussed how ICP strategies would differ for both B2B and B2C businesses and how they would differ for both PPC and SEO. Finally, we discussed the strategies for identifying and prioritizing ICPs when companies might be serving multi…
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Sep 22, 2021
WBSP154: Grow Your Business by Learning To Identify Suitable Processes for Robotic Automation w/ Kevin Paramore
Robotic applications have come a long way. They can automate a lot of mundane processes in your warehouse and facility. But to get the ROI from robotic investments, you need to assess the factors that make robotic applications efficient. Just like human operators, robots are not suitable for all environments. Even minor changes in the environment can impact their efficiency goals. With any technology, the more standardized and streamlined your processes are, the higher your chances of success with your technological investments.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Kevin Paramore, who discusses the nuances of robotic automation of warehouse and manufacturing processes. He also touches on barriers to automation and shares several stories where robotic automation may not be the best fit. Finally, he provides insights into technological, environmental, and regulatory factors to explain the use cases for warehouse robotic applications.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs…
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Sep 21, 2021
WBSP153: Grow Your Business by Learning To Identify ERP Disasters Through ERP Demos w/ Andy Pratico
ERP sales teams are some of the most confident people, while the ERP implementation team would come across as the most nervous. If you ever sat in an ERP demo, the sales team would provide assurance on every single doubt you might have, and the implementation team is rarely involved in the sales process. After signing the contract, you might never see the pre-sales or salesperson, and in the implementation, the lead might not agree with the verbal commitment during the sales phase. To be successful with your ERP implementation, you need an expert hand who knows how to look under the hood.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Andy Pratico, who discusses why ERP demos are designed to deceive and why ERP salespeople are more incentivized to sell their products and the success of their customers. He also touches on how to find the right references and evaluate them. Finally, he discusses different manufacturing verticals and their unique requirements.
For more information on growth str…
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Sep 20, 2021
WBSP152: Grow Your Business by Aligning Sales Compensation Strategies With Your Growth Plans w/ Ryan Wicklum
Sales compensation is a multi-edged sword. There are many variables, and each variable could significantly impact your top line and bottom line if the consequences are not thought through. If the base salary is too low and if it doesn't meet the basic needs of salespeople, they might be looking for additional sources of revenue for themselves and might not be committed. If you paid too much in base, they might not be motivated to work hard and go out of their way to close deals.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Ryan Wicklum, who discusses why companies require a framework for sales compensation strategies aligned with their growth plans. He also touches on psychological drivers and motivational triggers that drive sales teams to deliver results. Finally, he shares several stories of bad compensation strategies that fired back for the company and the good strategies that paid off.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our…
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Sep 17, 2021
WBSP151: Grow Your Business Through Enterprise Integration, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Irrespective of whether you are integrating two hardware components or software products, the challenges are similar. You need to understand the current state of the integrated components, but the future state is equally important, especially if the future state may not be in your control. For example, if you aim to integrate an e-commerce platform with an ERP, the only piece you will own will be the integration code. The product life cycle of e-commerce or ERP products is out of your control. While these technical considerations are important for your integration strategy, the most important question for any integration project will be the purpose and outcome expected from the integration.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss how to plan for enterprise integration. We covered many grounds in this episode, including what enterprise integration is and why it matters, the pros and…
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Sep 16, 2021
WBSP150: Grow Your Business by Better Understanding E-Commerce Discounting Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Marketers tend to offer sitewide discounts to their entire audience without considering where visitors are in the buyer's journey. Sure, that might drum up more sales, but it can hurt your bottom line in the long run. They also use discounts to attract the top of a funnel audience. Sure that's effective in the retail world? But does that work in every single situation? So what can you do to segment your customers better and understand if they truly care for discounts?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss E-commerce discounting strategies. We covered many grounds in this episode, including seasonality and its impact on discounting; cultural, regional, and geographic factors that drive discounting; aged and obsolete inventory and their discounting treatments. Finally, we also had a chance to touch matrix-based discounting, influencer strategy, and coupon codes--and how they can hel…
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Sep 15, 2021
WBSP149: Grow Your Business Through Dynamic Adjustments to Warehouse Operations w/ Jon Schechter
When it comes to automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), there are several choices available. You have regular ASRS systems that will require changes to your facility and processes as they are designed to be more of the conveyor belts. Mobile ASRS, on the other hand, don't have to travel in a fixed path. Instead, they can travel to a predetermined location or work center inside a facility. Mobile ASRS systems are also very flexible in accommodating real-time demand and changing picking operations as the demand changes.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Jon Schechter, who discusses how mobile ASRS systems differ from regular ones. He also touches on the rigidity of the regular ASRS systems and why they would not be suitable when the demand may fluctuate significantly. Finally, he describes the technology behind mobile ASRS systems in simple terms that will help you assess if they could be fit for your facility.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP…
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Sep 14, 2021
WBSP148: Grow Your Business by Increasing Average Order Value w/ Ronnie Teja
Strategic placement of complementary products and personalized recommendations can help increase revenue from each transaction and the lifetime value of each customer. But strategic placement is art and science and requires you to understand customer behavior at a deeper level. If you go overboard with your suggestions, the customers may bounce from your site. And if you underserve them, you might miss out on the opportunities to be able to upsell and cross-sell.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Ronnie Teja, who discusses the upsell and cross-sell strategies for e-commerce merchants and how you might be able to increase the average order value for your customers. He also touches on several customer service strategies, including how to motivate your employees to meet their customer service targets. Finally, he touches on how personalization strategies can help increase the average order value from each transaction.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and…
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Sep 13, 2021
WBSP147: Grow Your Business by Forecasting the Outcome of Strategic Sourcing w/ Edmund Zagorin
As a procurement leader, if you are too focused on seeking discounts, sometimes you might lose sight that the cost of spend could be higher than the discount you might be seeking. Also, as the number of SKUs increases in your organization, the SG&A costs rise at an increasing rate than your top line because of increased marginal overhead with each SKU. The cost of spend is a key metric that manufacturers and distributors need to measure and control. Or you might hit the growth inflection point.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Edmund Zagorin, who describes why the cost of spend is an important metric for some of the strategic sourcing categories. He also touches on various strategic sourcing terms and processes, such as how to interpret the implications of purchase price variance KPI and why it's important. Finally, he touches on why businesses should be forecasting the outcome to reduce the cost of spend and better manage supplier relationships.
For more information on growth…
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Sep 10, 2021
WBSP146: Grow Your Business by Preparing for Enterprise Security Issues, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Cybersecurity issues are becoming more and more common. As the adversaries and state-funded agencies get sophisticated in their capabilities, most businesses will need to rethink their cybersecurity strategy. It will be even more critical for regulated companies such as aerospace and defense and medical devices. Also, as we advance with our capabilities with industry4.0, OT security will be even more critical. What can executives do to educate themselves and prepare for enterprise security?
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss how to plan for enterprise security. We covered many grounds in this episode, including risk factors and considerations for executives as they prepare for cybersecurity. We also discussed concepts such as the importance of threat profiles and the common entry points for ransomware. Finally, we discussed how to evaluate software and hardware from the perspec…
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Sep 9, 2021
WBSP145: Grow Your Business by Better Understanding Conversion Rate Optimization Techniques, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
For e-commerce sites, the conversion rate is perhaps the most critical metric. Many sites focus on getting tons of traffic, but what is the point in having that traffic if they don't convert. When it comes to improving conversion rate, various factors drive the conversion rate, including page speed, expectations of your users, and flow or navigation.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss conversion rate optimization techniques. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the factors that drive it. Finally, we also had a chance to touch if platform selection may affect the conversion rate and any strategies to improve it.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Sep 8, 2021
WBSP144: Grow Your Business by Avoiding ERP Disasters Through the Investment in the Pre-ERP Phase w/ Rich Sade
The most critical factor in winning or losing a deal is always timing. And the faster you convert your customer, the faster you answer all of their questions, and the faster you ship it to them, you can outrun your competition. To do so, you need to think about the speed to your customers and suppliers. This speed requires cross-functional alignment and everyone operating on one system and with process harmony.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Rich Sade, who describes his journey and the pitfalls of implementing six ERP projects throughout his career. He also highlighted the importance of the pre-ERP phase and how that could improve the chances of success of selection and implementation. Finally, he also touched on how he could convert his business from make-to-order to configure-to-order and improve the customer experience while expediting the sales cycle.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks…
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Sep 7, 2021
WBSP143: Grow Your Business by Avoiding Outsourcing Your Role as a Sponsor w/ Tim Morton
Balancing your day job and executing a transformation project in parallel could be frustrating. Your team might look up to you to make the most crucial decisions when you might not fully understand the implications of those decisions. To avoid this uncomfortable situation, you might want to outsource your role as a sponsor to a third party. But this approach typically fires back as they may create their version of your vision. Additionally, they might not fully understand your business as they may not be living it.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Tim Morton, who describes the role of sponsors in a digital transformation project and why it's crucial. He also discusses the implications of outsourcing it to a third party such as a system integrator and how sponsors can deal with situations when they might not have experience executing digital transformation projects. Finally, he describes several change management terms and how data can help with alignment among teams.
For more i…
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Sep 6, 2021
WBSP142: Grow Your Business by Improving Internal Capacity w/ Dave Westrom
As a plant manager or an executive responsible for the P&L of a manufacturing plant, you will need to make several decisions to improve your internal capacity. They could be adding more bodies, equipment or adding a new location. Unfortunately, if you don't have data to substantiate them, it may feel as if you are investing money in improving your capacity but not realizing tangible benefits.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Dave Westrom, who describes the importance of understanding the true internal capacity for manufacturers and how that could assist with decision-making in your plants. He also discusses how to go from point A to point B to create a data-driven plant and build a culture of continuous improvement. Finally, he shares several stories of manufacturers from his recent engagements where he improved the internal capacity.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ens…
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Sep 3, 2021
WBSP141: Grow Your Business Through Enterprise Analytics Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you are a growing siloed organization, you will have puddles of data sitting inside every department. You could also have hundreds of unused reports on top of your ERP system that you might not even be aware of. If you want to avoid growing pains because of data, you need centralized ownership and strategy with clearly identified systems for their roles and responsibilities.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss enterprise analytics planning. We covered many grounds in this episode, including identifying enterprise datasets, their ownership, and appropriate systems to host them. Finally, we discussed the importance of data lakes and their importance in an organization, and how to avoid too many reports on top of ERP systems as they could be expensive.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or el…
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Sep 2, 2021
WBSP140: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of SEO Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Mastering SEO is no longer optional for ecommerce companies and manufacturers. If you are starting on your SEO journey, you will need to make decisions between SEO and PPC strategies. You will also need to understand the nuances of keyword strategies to identify the right targets that will help you meet your goals. Finally, you need to understand how to compare various channels such as PPC and SEO.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss SEO strategies. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the SEO framework and signals that Google cares for. We also discussed SiteMap, machine-generated content, information architecture, and indexing and crawling patterns. Finally, we discussed why keyword research matters and how to choose between SEO vs. PPC strategies.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs…
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Sep 1, 2021
WBSP139: Grow Your Business by Expanding Your Footprint Through E-Commerce Marketplaces w/ Paul Sonneveld
If you are ready to expand your e-commerce footprint, you have several choices. For example, suppose you have been selling to the most popular channels, such as Amazon in North America. In that case, you might want to explore other channels such as Walmart, Alibaba, or Etsy. Or you might want to explore some of the international markets such as the UK, India, or Brazil. But the decision is not as simple as that as you need to compare the channels in each country, understand regulatory nuances, and cultural synergies to be successful in each marketplace and market.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Paul Sonneveld, who discusses the marketplace expansion strategy for e-commerce sellers or manufacturers aspiring to expand their footprint through digital commerce. He also describes visibility into the marketplaces around the world and their nuances. Finally, he discusses the unique requirements of each country and the resources available to them through the marketplaces ecosystem and…
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Aug 31, 2021
WBSP138: Grow Your Business Through ISO Compliance w/ Derek Hall
The journey of ISO could feel overwhelming with the amount of standardization and documentation required. But if your machine shop never served a regulated industry, it could be a great start as you expand your market to other sectors such as aerospace, defense, or automotive. You will not only be required to change your processes and procedures, but you need to game up on training and documentation.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Derek Hall, who describes the importance of ISO compliance and why it's necessary for shops to grow. He also discusses what non-ISO shops need to know about ISO compliance and how the processes of ISO-compliant shops differ from non-ISO shops. Finally, he shares important concepts such as audit requirements and the importance of visual cues on the shop floor.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS po…
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Aug 30, 2021
WBSP137: Grow Your Business by Driving Cross-Functional Clarity w/ Pam Fox Rollin
Due to how companies function in the startup phase and evolve, most of them operate in silos because it's hard to find cross-functional talent. In addition, the cross-functional processes are perceived to be slow. It's also tough to train people in multiple disciplines. As a result, most SMBs will have one person responsible for each function: sales, purchasing, AR, AP, HR, etc. While this siloed nature may help you sail through the startup phase, it's the cross-functional alignment that will help propel your growth.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Pam Fox Rollin, who discusses how to drive cross-functional clarity in a siloed organization. She describes the entire process of driving this clarity, including setting the shared promise and how it differs from a shared vision. Finally, we discussed several stories of executives who may be afraid of driving this clarity in fear of disruption to their organization.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and di…
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Aug 27, 2021
WBSP136: Grow Your Business by Better Planning Digital Projects, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Managing digital projects have never been easier. While there have been tons of attempts to improve the process with Agile methodologies, the timeline, budget, and scope are still tough to manage. There are several explanations as to why digital projects are harder. For example, each digital project is fairly unique, even if it is repeatable ERP implementation. Then you have the problems of invisibility. Managing digital projects have always been art and science. That's probably the reason why the success of these projects varies so much.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss planning for digital projects. We covered many grounds in this episode, including capturing the appropriate scope, iterations, and phases. We also discussed the pros and cons of using process templates from various vendors. Finally, we discussed several stories to identify the initial beachhead for e-commerce…
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Aug 26, 2021
WBSP135: Grow Your Business by Better Planning E-Commerce Budget, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
E-commerce opportunity is highly lucrative. As an executive responsible for e-commerce success, you will come across several options and opportunities. But if you don't know how to plan for e-commerce, you might be out of cash without knowing what went wrong. For example, it could happen as you overcommitted in channels that didn't perform to your expectations. Or you stocked too much inventory in the hope of getting significant traffic from your e-commerce efforts. E-commerce budgeting requires comprehensive planning across channels.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss e-commerce budget planning. We covered many grounds in this episode, including the cost buckets that need to be considered for e-commerce budget planning. We discussed the framework of e-commerce spend in many industries and ratios of how they plan for e-commerce spend. Finally, we discussed several stories to id…
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Aug 25, 2021
WBSP134: Grow Your Business by Uncovering Supply Chain Risks Through Supplier Intelligence w/ Matt Keyes
If you are a small business operating as a single entity with one warehouse and site, most of your suppliers will have a handshake relationship. But as you grow, you are going to add more sites. Each site may have its procurement functions and may manage its supply chain. This is where having accurate supplier intelligence and a comprehensive risk profile of suppliers becomes important.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Matt Keyes, who describes the importance of supplier intelligence and how that helps uncover supply risks before it's too late. He also discusses how centralized relationships can help companies save money through centralized contract and supplier profiles. Finally, he describes supply chain risk concepts through the stories of his recent engagements.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on yo…
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Aug 24, 2021
WBSP133: Grow Your Business by Streamlining Warehousing Operations With WMS Systems w/ Roy Strauss
Every user in a company has different needs when it comes to completing their jobs. The warehouse users, in particular, are worried about how fast they can move the goods and organize accordingly. Therefore, to be effective with warehousing operations and organization, you need tons of data that can help you analyze the most efficient way of running them.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Roy Strauss, who describes WMS systems and how they can help meet your operational operating goals. He also discusses how to build an operating plan and how WMS systems can help monitor and measure the KPIs. Finally, he describes WMS concepts through the use of several stories from his client engagements.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.
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Aug 23, 2021
WBSP132: Grow Your Business by Making Automation initiatives Successful w/ Jake Hall
Automation technologies are advancing at a rapid pace. There are tons of options available whether you are looking to automate some of the operations of your production process. Or you may be automating process steps such as trailer unloading that are essential but may not be billable. And the more repeatable tasks you can automate in your facility, the better quality products you can produce, and the more cost-effective your products will be. But to take full advantage of these technologies, you need your information systems to be fully connected and integrated.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Jake Hall, who discusses the current state of automation and challenges with its adoption in manufacturing industries. He also discusses the reasons for the success and failures of automation initiatives and describes several automation technologies available for industrial manufacturers and distributors. Finally, he shares several stories of where automation technologies make sense and…
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Aug 20, 2021
WBSP131: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances Associated With Software Licensing and Pricing, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
To understand the total cost of ownership of software, one of the critical pieces that you need to understand would be the software license and pricing. There are several nuances of the licensing model with several variables that could impact your total costs. The licensing and pricing nuances could be as simple as whether you are buying a single-user or multi-user license, or it could be as complex as whether you would still be paying for your license if the user leaves the company.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise in selling and procuring software packages to discuss software licensing/pricing. We also discussed several variables that executives need to review to understand their implications and how that would impact the total price. Finally, we discussed the difference between named vs. concurrent licenses and the nuances of consumption-based pricing.
For more information on growth…
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Aug 19, 2021
WBSP130: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Implications of E-Commerce Customer Service Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
The game has completely changed when it comes to serving customers in the new world of e-commerce. The personal touch that existed in the traditional world may not exist in the e-commerce world. The customers also operate in self-serve mode, so they need a lot of information to research and make decisions. You might think that the role of salespeople may not be relevant in the new world of e-commerce, but their role is even more relevant as they need to become coaches and provide the same hand-holding as they would get in the traditional world.
In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise implementing e-commerce websites to discuss customer service strategies. We also discussed the challenges with e-commerce customer service and how it differs from traditional customer service. Finally, we discussed the effective ways of measuring customer service and the newer trends and technologies available to…
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Aug 18, 2021
WBSP129: Grow Your Business by Creating the Strategic Financial Framework w/ Jeannie Doherty
How vital could bookkeeping be? Isn't it all about capturing all the transactions and creating a bunch of statements to file taxes? Well, strategic financial planning is where your real opportunities reside. If you are not strategic about it, you may be chasing wrong opportunities that may not have as much financial value as you would if you were strategic with your bookkeeping.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Jeannie Doherty, who discusses how strategic bookkeeping differs from tactical bookkeeping. She also describes the five pillars of strategic bookkeeping and how most owners think of bookkeeping as numbers 101. Finally, she discusses how to find comparable industry data to lead the negotiation and keep your costs in check and how to do budgeting and spend analysis to create the strategic financial framework that will help you scale.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To…
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Aug 17, 2021
WBSP128: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of Click and Collect Process w/ Jason Greenwood
Today's consumer requires most stores to provide the same experience that they will get from larger brands. These experiences could include click-and-collect, also known as buy-online-pick-up-at-store, integrated loyalty across channels, and omnichannel experience across all the channels. These experiences require you to have your inventory centralized and reconciled across channels. Or there will be friction to the process with significant customer experience issues such as not buying the product on the site that consumers may be looking for. These issues could also include delays with shipment at the store or challenges with traceability of the order.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Jason Greenwood, who discusses the nuances of the click and collect process and why you need to centralized inventory and distribution strategy to enable this experience. He also provides some easy hacks on how brands can enable this experience without having a true technology and operational infr…
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Aug 16, 2021
WBSP127: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of NPD or Product Improvement Processes of Aerospace w/ Lori Nevin
Managing aerospace projects is just like solving puzzles. You have many moving pieces, including managing your customers' expectations, coordinating with your supply chain, and meeting the specification requirements. But when it comes to the NPD process, a project manager's job is even harder due to increased risk and the lack of available data to estimate accurately. Estimating and delivering a project within time and budget requires tons of data and experience to forecast all the possibilities where the project is likely to fail.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Lori Nevin, who discusses the differences between the aerospace industry's new product development and product improvement projects. She also provides practical insights into how to mitigate risks and estimate the projects to win but at the same time not lose money taking those jobs. Finally, she discusses the quality, compliance, certification, and audit processes for the aerospace industry.
For more information on g…
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Aug 13, 2021
WBSP126: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Risks Associated Between On-Prem vs. Cloud, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
If you plan for your next digital transformation initiative, you need to decide whether you will opt for an on-prem system or cloud. You might ask why anyone would even worry about on-prem in 2021. Well, there are several reasons. If you already have an IT infrastructure and are locked into on-prem licenses, the cloud option may be more expensive. You might also want to opt for on-prem if any regulatory constraints require you to be present on the on-prem system. Finally, some people may be just more comfortable with their data on their premises.
In today's episode, we invited an expert panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise with digital transformation infrastructure to discuss how to choose between on-prem and cloud. We also discussed how to build the criteria based on your business needs and how to identify fake clouds. Finally, we discussed why on-prem would still be a viable option in some cases, even if the rest of the…
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Aug 12, 2021
WBSP125: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Implications of E-Commerce Shopping Cart Issues on Consumer Behavior, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
The average rate at which the average consumer abandons their shopping cart before making a purchase is 81%. There are countless reasons why consumers leave their shopping carts. These reasons could be legitimate such as unexpected shipping costs. They could also be website functionality issues such as the requirement for a new user account, their tendency to research to buy later, and security concerns. These issues affect conversion, sales, and customer experience.
In today's episode, we invited an expert panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise with e-commerce shopping cart issues. We discussed these issues and the implications on consumer behavior as well as conversion. Finally, we discussed several advanced shopping cart features such as cart-to-quote, approval processes in the B2B carts, out-of-the-box functionality available in e-commerce systems, and several stories related to shopping cart issues.
For more informatio…
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Aug 11, 2021
WBSP124: Grow Your Business by Avoiding Increased Admin Efforts With Inefficient Engineering Design Revision Processes w/ Adam Keating
If you are exploring the ISO journey, your current collaboration tools might outgrow your needs driven by ISO compliance. Your current legacy PLM tools may not support collaboration features. If your current processes are manual or done on a spreadsheet, you may be overwhelmed with the tracking and information required to submit to regulatory bodies. Like any other cross-functional process in your organization, your design review processes require multiple teams, including quality, engineering, and production.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Adam Keating, who discusses the needs of design revision processes in the engineering departments of manufacturing companies. He also describes the deficiencies of legacy PLM systems and the number of custom development companies need to do on top of PLM systems to make it work. Finally, he discusses the user experience issues and adoption issues in the quality department that derail quality efforts.
For more information on growth strategi…
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Aug 9, 2021
WBSP122: Grow Your Business by Learning Key Nuances From the Distillery Industry w/ Jim Vinoski
The processes of most food and beverage businesses are challenging due to government regulations. Still, the distillery business is even trickier due to maintaining inventory through the production process. There is significant inventory tied in the final phases of the production process. Then you don't have access to the final consumer as the government mandates you to go through the distribution channels. Finally, there are significant quality and packaging guidelines that need to be followed through and after the distribution.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Jim Vinoski, who discusses the nuances of the distillery industry and its manufacturing and production processes. He also discusses the nuances of inventory and warehouse processes in this industry. Finally, he outlines the 3-tier and licensing system unique to this industry and shares an ERP story that was a massive success with implementation despite business model challenges.
For more information on growth strategies…
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Aug 6, 2021
WBSP121: Grow Your Business by Learning To Save Implementation Failures by Building Successful Digital Teams, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
The majority of digital transformation initiatives fail, and in most cases, they fail because of people issues. When it comes to building digital initiative teams, you need a comprehensive approach. The first batch of champions you have chosen to drive the initiatives may be super excited initially. But their excitement may fall off once they realize the amount of effort involved in driving these initiatives. Then you need to manage the detractors' expectations, or they may be extremely vocal and far more enthusiastic than your champions to ensure that the initiative is not successful. What could you do to ensure that you have the right team in place from the get-go that will help you reach the finish line without any disruptions?
In today's episode, we invited an expert panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise with digital transformation initiatives to discuss how to build successful digital teams. We also discussed how to fi…
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Aug 5, 2021
WBSP120: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Implications of Software Licensing and Contracts on Your Bottom-Line, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Choosing a platform for your e-commerce is not easy. There are several factors to consider. While SaaS options make buying and maintaining easier, their pricing could be tricky to understand. The hosting for open source options could be cheaper, and the licensing fee might not be applicable with these options. On the other hand, the development and support costs could be more expensive. The SaaS option may require you to use their payment gateway and might take a cut on your revenue.
In today's episode, we invited an expert panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise with e-commerce platform licensing and pricing. We also discussed the red flags one needs to look at in the competing options you might evaluate. Finally, we discussed the nuances of transaction-based pricing and cheaper hosting options available for open source.
For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our commu…
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Aug 4, 2021
WBSP119: Grow Your Business by Learning From the Success of a Trailer Manufacturer w/ Darrin Mitchell
When you start your business, you are going to do everything in your power to survive. You might sell anything and everything to anyone and everyone who has cash. But as you grow, the number of decisions that your team will have to make daily will grow exponentially as well. The more products you maintain, the higher the number of decisions you need to make daily, which causes frustration and chaos. This frustration will grow within your employees, but it will be equally frustrating to your customers.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Darrin Mitchell, who discusses the challenges and strategies of people, processes, technology, and products at each stage of his growth through inflection points. He also talks about how simplifying product mix and messaging could help streamline the sales process and position you as an expert. Finally, he discusses how custom platforms and inflexible solutions might result in organizations switching to asynchronous planning and ad-hoc process solut…
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Aug 3, 2021
WBSP118: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of Procuring Food Packaging Equipment w/ Christine Von Pander
Packing is always the bottleneck in most manufacturing facilities and is often blamed for slowing production down. But replacing the packaging equipment is never fun as you need to understand thousands of variables related to machines and their impact on your process. The manufacturers might not understand your processes or product, and you might run into a scenario that the packaging machine may not work for your specific needs. And then you might run into contract issues or follow-ups with manufacturers who may not be as prompt as the sale is already made.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Christine von Pander, who discusses the procurement process for food packaging equipment. She also discusses the factors you need to understand thoroughly to ensure you acquire the right packaging machines for the right situation. Finally, she shares several supply chain stories around backup strategies that you can employ in case of your equipment or material shortage.
For more information…
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Aug 2, 2021
WBSP117: Grow Your Business by Learning the Nuances of the Agriculture and Poultry Business w/ Gabriel Paunescu
What comes to mind when you think of the most complex business from the viewpoint of business processes? I can almost guarantee that it will not be a poultry business. How hard could the poultry business be to run? Shouldn't it be as simple as raising a bunch of chickens, feeding them corn, and selling eggs and chicken parts? Well, running a poultry business requires tight control of yield and financial processes. There is always a push for higher productivity and yield because of the cost pressures.
In today's episode, we have our guest, Gabriel Paunescu, CEO of Naologic, who discusses the nuances of the agriculture and poultry business and how the manufacturing processes are different from other industries. He also discusses the challenges associated with maintaining in-house ERP solutions and their implications on the business. Finally, he discusses how custom platforms and inflexible solutions might result in organizations switching to asynchronous planning and ad-hoc process solu…
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Jul 30, 2021
WBSP116: Grow Your Business by Learning To Select Software and Avoiding Surprise Bills w/ a Panel of Experts
The traditional methodology for selecting software focuses on features and functions. In fact, if you have too many f