WBSRocks: Business Growth with Enterprise Software and Digital Transformation

Send us a textMost 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 and Acumatica.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 IFS' capabilities. We covered several grounds, including their positioning in specific micro-verticals and their deeper capabilities than other manufacturing ERP software. Finally, we discussed their product design, history, current cloud capabilities, and the challenges of working directly with the OEM.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 textSales 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 dealer onboarding processes.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 textFor 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 speed.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 textTime 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 similarities in the manufacturing processes of various industries and how to perform batch analysis to spot anomalies and detect trends.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 textIf 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 templates for each job that you can use as a baseline to remain profitable with each job.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 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 poorly functioning PIM, the importance of industrial data points, and how to identify the lowest hanging fruits when executing digital 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.

Send us a textIf 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 objective and independent review of GeniusERP's capabilities. We covered several grounds, including their positioning in specific micro-verticals and their deeper capabilities than other manufacturing ERP software. Finally, we discussed their product design, history, current cloud capabilities, and the challenges of working directly with the OEM.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 textIf 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 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 operations department. We covered many grounds, including how to start on the annual operating plan and the systems and data points you might need to build your operations plan. Finally, we discussed concepts such as how to incorporate risks into your operating plan, where IIoT fits in the planning and operational execution, whether quality, health and safety, and SPC fit in the architecture.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 textHow 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 the marketing campaigns. Finally, we covered retargeting strategies, methods, specific tools for retargeting, their pros and cons, and most importantly, the stories where it was effective.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 textSales 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 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.