WBSRocks: Business Growth with Enterprise Software and Digital Transformation

Send us a textNew product development is complex. There are financial risks associated with research and development. The experience could be even more frightening if you are new to R&D, have a tight budget, or working with external or overseas partners. While you might perceive that the risk may be lower with internal initiatives, it may not be true as it's harder to track the internal opportunity costs and stay on track with other competing priorities. In today's episode, we have our guest Andrew Lees, who discusses how engineering can work effectively with production and finance teams. He also provides several strategies in working with overseas vendors and contract manufacturers to mitigate financial risks. Finally, he has described how CFOs can budget and plan engineering initiatives and work with engineers effectively.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 lines keep blurring between traditional retail supply chains with trends such as DTC and buy-online-pick-up-at-store. With large retailers offering such convenience, it's harder for smaller retailers to compete. These models require you to have your fulfillment centers within 20 miles of the customer location to match consumers' delivery time expectations. This need drives the business architecture complexity with cross interactions between hybrid systems ranging from POS, e-commerce, and ERP, which drives the need for an enterprise glue and a common data model.In today's episode, we have our guest Richard Halter, The Wizard of POS, who describes the challenges associated with buy online, pick up at store model. He also talks about why small retailers and manufacturers would need to develop these capabilities to avoid the risk of running out of business because of competitors such as Amazon. Finally, he has described several nuances associated with this model, and the approach retailers can take to implement 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.

Send us a textThe risk profile of manufacturers plays a critical role in how insurance companies and regulatory agencies perceive them, including their cybersecurity standard operating procedures, their ability to prevent injuries, and their consistency to hit their KPIs. All of these factors may have significant growth implications for manufacturers. In today's episode, we have our guest Michael Schlagenhaufer, who discusses how insurance companies evaluate manufacturers' risk profiles. He also shares his insights into how your risk profiles can impact your bottom line because of increased premiums, denied claims, or inability to be insured. Finally, he discusses several issues related to manufacturers' risk profile and their insurability, such as cybersecurity issues, equipment breakdown, and shop floor injuries.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 a lot of definitions around LEAN. But implementing it right is easier said than done. Most companies fail to implement LEAN because they focus more on tools than focusing on strategy. It's a change in thinking, the way you do your business. It's the kind of SOPs you want to follow in your business and how flexible you want to be around those SOPs. The less variability and leaner operations you have, the more competitive you will be. If implemented right, Lean would be your competitive advantage.In today's episode, we have our guest Sanjeev Baitmangalkar, who discusses why LEAN is a strategy and thinking and why most companies fail with LEAN as they focus on tools. He also shares several stories of how he implemented Lean at several facilities in various industries. Finally, He shares numerous KPIs and execution strategies to help business executives implement Lean.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 always so much at stake with ERP implementations. One plus one is perhaps eleven when it comes to deploying ERP. They are never just technology deployment. The companies that promise the world to their teams based on the overstated claims from technology sales professionals might encounter varied emotional responses from their leaders, leading to a compliance culture. This culture often produces the exact opposite effect of what you intended to achieve with your technology.In today's episode, we have our guest Amanda Prochaska, who discusses how to prepare for change with large transformation projects and why a continuous monitoring of emotional response is absolutely critical for the success of such projects. She also shares several stories related to emotional response and what she did to get these projects back on track and to bring positivity to the culture. Finally, she talks about what leaders need to do to identify the underlying symptoms of compliance culture and how to engage with vendors hired to help you manage this change.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 textProduct pricing is more than just the dollar amount printed on the packaging or pricing labels. It drives consumer behavior, affects the customer experience, and impacts the bottom line. Right pricing strategies could catalyze your growth and provide a competitive advantage. On the other hand, overly promotional pricing strategies could be counterproductive and increase operational complexity. When it comes to pricing, it's the balance that matters.In today's episode, we have our guest Andrew Deutsch, who discusses pricing and discounting strategies for companies. He shares his thoughts on how to shift from the transactional mindset to value-driven pricing. Finally, he touches on several other pricing-related topics, including organizational alignment on pricing, channel conflict issues about pricing, pricing-driven customer experience, and promotional pricing.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 contracts are inherently crafty. If you don't have experience buying an ERP, you might want to get your contracts reviewed with a consultant who has several years of experience reviewing ERP contracts. You might think of purchasing an ERP as a subscription package, but an ERP system implementation has more nuances in the form of data ownership, ongoing support, bandwidth usage, etc. So you might want to understand these critical details before you are locked in a contract and might end up paying 8x of what you had forecasted.In today's episode, we have our guest Brian Sommer, who discusses why legacy ERP systems and artificial accounting practices need to change with time. He also shares several litigation stories related to his experience being an expert witness or consultant in antitrust cases. Finally, he shares several nuances and stories of how businesses must be approaching an ERP or digital transformation initiative and why it is crucial to understand contractual obligations.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 textMobility can increase the efficiency significantly of your warehouses, from automating your data entry to voice-enabled picking. But how to plan for a mobility journey? Is it as simple as picking a bunch of bar code readers from the market and be mobile? Or do companies need to plan based on the size of the warehouse, ergonomics needs, and efficiency requirements? In today's episode, we have our guest Chuck Coxhead from Procensis, who discusses warehouse mobility trends in the enterprise and SMB markets. He also describes technical details of several warehouse mobility technologies along with crossover between ERP and WMS systems. Finally, he has had a chance to touch on how manufacturers can evaluate mobility technologies and take advantage of the new trends such as Micro-fulfilment.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 textHave you had challenges engaging with your customers? Do you lose prospects just because you could not call them timely? Do you have challenges in finding net-new prospects? Do you have capacity issues in your sales department? How deeply do you understand how your prospects may be interacting with your website? These are the questions you will have if you are ready for marketing automation.In today's episode, we have our guest Dave Meyer from BizzyWeb, who describes how marketing automation works and why that is important to understand customer journeys. He also explains how marketing automation helps engage with existing customers and find new-new prospects. Finally, he shares several stories related to growing businesses using marketing automation.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 textGears are among the most foundational parts of machines, ranging from food delivery equipment to medical devices. While we all may recognize the prevalence of gears, how many of us know that manufacturing gear is almost like surgery? Yes, that's the kind of precision and expertise required to manufacture gears. Manufacturing them could even be more difficult if you are dealing with a customer who doesn't fully understand the engineering behind them.In today's episode, we have our guest Dave Hataj, who describes the role gears play in our society. He also describes the manufacturing process of gears and the nuances associated with it. Finally, he shares several stories related to gear manufacturing and procurement.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.