WBSRocks: Business Growth with Enterprise Software and Digital Transformation

Send us a textIf 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 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 textFirst-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 vendors that are being realistic with their estimates from the ones that may be low-balling to get a foot in the door.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 textA 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 multiple industries or multiple personas inside a 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 textRobotic 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 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 textERP 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 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 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 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 textIrrespective 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 cons of point-to-point integration vs. centralized integration strategy, and why integration projects could be as big as ERP. We also discussed the role of iPaaS and how they can help avoid the Frankenstein of integration code across platforms. Finally, we discussed the best practices, the role of swim lanes or data flows, and integration patterns.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 textMarketers 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 help you measure discounting strategies.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 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 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 textStrategic 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 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.