WBSRocks: Business Growth with Enterprise Software and Digital Transformation

Send us a textManufacturers carry thousands of products, and each of them requires several materials with their own dependencies. This chain can go on and could feel cyclical. That's how complex is our supply chain. One critical component could block the production and further impact the production of products that may depend upon it. The best way to mitigate the supply chain issues is to have complete transparency into your supply chain and have an emergency plan for the rainy day.In today's episode, we have our guest, Gina Tabasso, who discusses the current supply chain shortages in the chemical distribution industry and their impact on various manufacturing industries. She also had a chance to discuss the crucial component shortages, their sources, and their dependencies. Finally, she describes the role and properties of various chemical products and their supply chain 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 textThere is a lot that goes into planning for a warehouse. Some warehouses are complex, while others may not be as complex depending upon the shipment types and the influx of shipments. If you don't plan well, it may lead to poor utilization of labor and inefficiencies in the warehouse. It may also lead to missing sales opportunities due to the unavailability of products or missing due dates for your customers. Scheduling of distribution center plays a crucial role in ensuring that you can ship at the right time while maintaining your warehouse efficiencies at the optimum levels.In today's episode, we have our guest, Deema Adada, who discusses how distribution centers work and their planning. She also describes best practices for managing the workload at distribution centers and space utilization. Finally, she has had time to explain several concepts, including upstream and downstream supply chain and exception handling.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 textDemand planning is a double-edged sword, and it's tough to predict. Demand planning requires you to plan enough and then be nimble and agile while tweaking the demand as the market condition changes. Most companies take an algorithmic approach to their demand planning, resulting in wasting critical resources. The agile approach is especially relevant to SMBs as they may not have as many resources as their bigger counterparts.In today's episode, we have our guest, Dyci Sfregola, who discusses why companies should spend less time worrying about forecasting accuracy and more on execution. She also describes how demand planning differs from sales and operations planning. Finally, she has had time to discuss several KPIs that are meaningful and important for various industries.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 textComplying with regulatory bodies is more than just producing the documentation when they ask for it. If the regulatory body is as stringent as FDA, they look for several red flags, including completeness and thoroughness of the documentation and confidence level. But speed is typically the most critical factor. Manufacturers with manual processes and fragmented systems might struggle with the speed expectations of these regulatory bodies.In today's episode, we have our guest, Tom Rodden, who discusses the nuances of medical device manufacturing and how it differs from generalized manufacturing. He also discusses several processes and system needs that are driven by regulatory bodies such as FDA. Finally, he shares several stories where poorly maintained systems and methods may have had catastrophic results for the 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 textRemember when you bought five shirts last time and ended up returning all? Let's face it. Consumer behavior is unpredictable. It is especially challenging for the apparel industry, where one loose thread or difference in perceived color could be the reason for return. But the supply chain planning for the apparel industry is not only complicated because of consumer behavior. Supplier issues are equally problematic, including geopolitical tensions, trade wars, and cultural factors. In today's episode, we have our guest, Crissa Klein, who discusses the supply chain nuances of the apparel industry and its unique challenges. She also discusses the planning challenges, especially with geopolitical tensions in Asian countries that are the primary source of raw materials for the Apparel industry. Finally, she discusses several subtleties such as planning around extraordinary situations, unpredictable events, and unique e-commerce 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 textWhat helps you compete in the market? Is it your unique product? Is it your operational efficiency? Is it your market segment? Or is it the alignment of your manufacturing and operational strategies with market needs and business goals? Since most manufacturers are part of a large process for their customers, simply thinking about your product's value prop may not be enough. You need to think about the entire value chain, how your products fit in that, and the implications and benefits it may have on the end goal of your customer.In today's episode, we have our guest, Kishore Khaitan, who discusses how to align manufacturing strategies with business goals. He also provided key insights into his different businesses and how he could turn them around despite unfavorable circumstances. Finally, he discussed the manufacturing processes and market nuances of several manufacturing verticals, including industrial fabrics, paper plants, and textile parts.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 involved in vendor negotiations or expense management, it's hard to know if you may be overpaying for services or goods. What if there was a way to benchmark your expenses against other companies. Enter big data for expense management. These data lakes have amassed trillions of data points in the last ten years through several data sources. They have the capabilities to benchmark your expenses for the majority of your categories.In today's episode, we have our guest Scott Berman from River North Financial Group and Jake Lindmark at Optimally, who discusses how big data solutions have evolved and now accessible for small to medium-sized businesses. They describe how these big data solutions can help and how they work. Finally, they explained several nuances associated with financial big data 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 textWarehouses have been using automated storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) for a long time. While they have come a long way in their capabilities and along with their interactions with other newer technologies such as robotic arms or cobots, their adoption is still very low. Although ASRS systems provide excellent capabilities, the key is to deeply understand your specific needs and measure your current KPIs for their successful implementation and reap financial benefits from these initiatives.In today's episode, we have our guest, Tim Harrison, who discusses various ASRS systems and why they are essential to increase the productivity of a warehouse. He also discusses barriers and opportunities in the ASRS ecosystem. Finally, he discusses several metrics and stories where ASRS systems made sense and where they were overkill, in addition to describing their software and hardware interactions with existing systems in the enterprise 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 would you feel if you had a handful of customers with huge leverage decided to consolidate their vendors and put pressure to cut the prices further that you might not be able to afford? No one wants to be in this situation. What would you do if you faced this situation? Would you expand your operations to explore further cost reduction opportunities? Would you rather shut down your operations? Would you try to sell hard and not take no for an answer? Or Would you start looking for other customers? In today's episode, we have our guest, Paul Serafino, who discusses how manufacturers and distributors can get through vendor consolidation situations by their key customers. He also discusses why thinking from the overall capacity is vital to deal with such problems than limiting it to your four walls. Finally, he provides several relationship-building and negotiation techniques to help overcome the price pressure and help create superior value and strategic partnerships with your customers.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 textWhether you are releasing new parts or making changes to existing parts, you will likely go through the engineering change process (ECN). More often than not, engineering organizations are siloed from the downstream organizations and don't understand how their engineering decisions will impact the production floor. As you add more engineers to the department, the more opportunity, you might find to have tighter engineering change control processes and reuse the existing CAD models.In today's episode, we have our guest, Andrew Hood, who discusses why classifying and promoting the reuse of parts is vital to save costs. He also describes the financial implications of poor and siloed engineering management functions. Finally, he has shared several stories and discussed the nuances of engineering organization, including the difference between PLM and PDM systems, conceptualization, and ideation process.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.