WBSRocks: Business Growth with Enterprise Software and Digital Transformation

Send us a textOne 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 players involved in the sales cycle, and supply chain. 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.

Send us a textMost 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 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 dropshipping business processes and best practices. We covered many grounds, including how dropshipping works and the architectural nuances of enabling this business model. Finally, we discussed the challenges associated with cross-border dropshipping, fulfilment and logistics architecture, and why accounting shouldn’t be an afterthought for eCommerce businesses and dropshipping 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.

Send us a textWhen 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 significant expertise to discuss Ordoro’s capabilities. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture. Finally, we discussed their journey, the product strategy and roadmap, and their inventory and manufacturing capabilities compared to the other inventory solutions present in the QuickBooks ecosystem.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.

Send us a textThere 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 comes to manufacturing?In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Infor CloudSuite Industrial's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including its depth in mixed-mode manufacturing and its capabilities to produce complex products. Finally, we discussed their design methodology, cloud-nativeness, and the markets that will be most suitable for their product.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.

Send us a textWhile 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 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.

Send us a textNot 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 discuss the pros and cons of centralized vs. decentralized order entry best practices. We covered many grounds, including what centralization and decentralization mean in different industries and how these businesses might be able to take advantage of synergies offered by these strategies. Finally, we discussed several stories where centralization and decentralization strategies resulted in financial and customer experience efficiencies.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.

Send us a textThere 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 significant expertise to discuss Flowtrac’s capabilities. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture. Finally, we discussed their journey, the product strategy and roadmap, and their alignment with a few niche industries and ERP ecosystems.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.

Send us a textThere 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 conduct an independent review of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including its depth in warehousing and project-centric manufacturing. Finally, we discussed its limitations for other industries such as industrial manufacturing and distribution.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.

Send us a textWhile 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, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us a textWhen 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 integration patterns and strategies, the need for centralizing of integration code, and the differences in various iPaaS solutions out there in the market. Finally, we discussed when the businesses are ready for an iPaaS solution, the challenges with newer licensing models, and the importance of integration flow design for integration projects.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.