WBSRocks: Business Growth with Enterprise Software and Digital Transformation

Send us a textManaging 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 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 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 world may be taking a cloud-first approach.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 textThe 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 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 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 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 textThe 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 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 textThe 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 find initial champions, find covert champions, and reduce churn. Finally, why defining and aligning success criteria could help with the success of digital teams and reduce churn.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 textChoosing 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 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 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 solutions maintained on error-prone spreadsheets.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 textPacking 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 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 textWhat 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 solutions maintained on error-prone spreadsheets. 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.