December Notes - 5 Daily Habits for on-the-Job Happiness

5 Daily Habits for on-the-Job Happiness Jeff Olson, Entrepreneur  According to a noted psychologist, we need a three-to-one ratio of positive to negative experiences to be happy in life, and research shows that happier people are more motivated, persistent, and outperform negative people.  Jeff Olson founder and CEO of a wellness products company, helps clarify what happiness is not and gives us five actions we can practice every day to achieve more happiness in our daily lives. read more

Innovation (ERP)

Over the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to attend several events.  The evens were both Trade shows and Expos.  I define Trade Show somewhat differently than an Expo.  An Expo tends to be cross industry and a Trade show tends to be more vertical in nature. 

Both fill niches. 

An Expo’s value is typically the concentrated focus which is helpful, because you have experts in product delivery and service together to share industry best trends and practices.  You know, stuff to help your grow and expand your business.

A cross industry perspective is the value of an Expo.  Unlike a trade show, you have multiple industries instead of one that support, supply, work with and purchase from.

Both have value.

There was a security conference which talked about risk management and the state of uncertainty.  An Expo which represented a cross section of business and industry in a market area.  A Trade Show in technology service and support.  Then off to another industry Trade Show and finally to a Business Development industry focused event. 

Business Development

The Business development event was by far the bestest.  Okay “bestest” is not really a word, but the event, if you could call it that, was a conglomeration of medical people and up and coming businesses working in an accelerator to create new and innovative solutions to improve, streamline and create efficiencies that save organizations time, money and most of all lives.

At the end of the day, if you can succeed in business by helping others and increase the quality of lives, that is a pretty good achievement.

The Business Development event is somewhat of a cross mix between a Trade Show and Expo. 

It was organized by government sponsored organization whose goal was to take existing businesses, put them together to nurture their growth and then place them in front of the medical community and business leaders to showcase what they developed, kind of like a graduation ceremony, and take feedback to grow further and present an opportunity to present and hopefully sell their solution to their industry.

What made this event great was the mix of people and business and the anticipation.  Most of all was the atmosphere of community.  That we are all working to address a growing challenge that transcends borders and cultures.  Medical issues are foremost in all societies.  Everyone gets older and at some point we want to improve the quality of our lives and those we love.  

So, you might ask, what does this have to do with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions?

Everything.

There are needs to have innovation, industry focus, and cross community collaboration.  Any business needs support of others in their same industry to share challenges and find solutions. They need cross industry support to help them with their challenges, supply goods and services, and provide solutions. 

Businesses also need incubator type of organizations to provide a fresh look, a new set of eyes, to develop new and innovative solutions to the challenges they face.  These incubators or accelerators need funding, government support, and industry nurturing to be effective. 

It takes much more than throwing money at a problem to find a solution.  It also takes a leader with vision.

It also takes a community. 

It takes questions, a lot of questions to find the answers to questions not yet asked.  It takes a cross section of industry to observe and think of new ways to solve the challenges of business.  All too often a closed industry of technologists keeps coming up with new ways to solve the same problem, which is not really a problem.  Inventing a better mouse trap when a trap is not what is needed.  Mice are not the issue after all.

I know of an ERP solution provider that takes the time to provide a user forum to educate their users and take their challenges to heart and create updates that address those challenges.  New features are created to address their real-world struggles. 

They are smart enough to know that if they want to be of value they need to provide value.

I have also seen screens and field prompts that were clearly written by technical people.  The prompt asks a question in reverse.  Instead of simply asking if a product in their catalog should be available on their Internet web site.  A simple Yes/No question.  They ask if the part should not be excluded.  A reverse answered question.  They should just ask if they want the item to appear.  Instead they ask if the item should be excluded.  So, to get the item listed, they have to answer “No”. 

Effective, but not intuitive. 

Users should not have to figure out logic questions to get their work done.  In the end most businesses just want their systems to work so that their people remain productive.  Customer service needs to be knowledgeable about their products, availability and to serve their customers well.  The other departments of business need to service the customer service department and those who directly face the customers.  All employees, even those who sweep up the shop floor contribute to the ability of your organization to serve your customers.

A good solution is one that looks beyond itself to drive efficiency and collaboration in the Enterprise.  Dolvin Consulting works with your team and industry experts to find solutions to your challenges.  Contact us today to see how we can help.  That is why we do what we do.

#AHA - A time to help

Help me help others by donating just $2 (you can always contribute more if you like). 

A donation is the right thing to do if you or your loved ones have been impacted by Heart Disease like my family.  It is even more important if you want to prevent Heart Disease from affecting those you love.

Click here to make a tax deductible donation

Thank you in advance for your support.

What If? What Then? Managing your Business Reputation in Today's Age of Social Media.

Social Media:  Reputation Management for YOUR Business

What If? What Then?  

Managing your Business Reputation in Today's Age of Social Media 

 

How do employers monitor and enforce social media policies in and out of the workplace? Protecting trade secrets, maintaining data integrity and customer satisfaction are some of the key objectives of the standard business. One "Like" or "Retweet" is all it takes to damage the reputation of your business. Accessibility to Social Media is almost universal.

 Join the Tech/Ed Committee for a unique and timely panel discussion on Social Media in the Workplace. Learn from a team of experts how to effectively handle a Social Media fiasco and steps to take to ensure your organization's covered.

Thursday, May 22nd

7:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Princeton HealthCare Community Room at the Hamilton Area YMCA

   

Discussion topics:

1. Social Media Policy Implementation

2. Acceptable/Unacceptable Behaviors

3. Disciplinary Actions

4. Repairing Relationships with Customers

5. Legal Ramifications

Panelists include:

Michael DeCamillis Dolvin Consulting IT Specialist

Gene Underwood Bluest Sky LLC Marketing Professional

Dolores Kelley, Esq. Stark & Stark Legal Expert

Jennifer Gardella Your Social Media Hour Human Resources Professional

Early registration is recommended. Light Breakfast will be provided.

Do you have an old, unwanted PC or Laptop? Donate it to the 2014 Trenton Digital Initiative and Receive a Waived Entrance Fee. 

Contact Jeff Richardson for more information (609) 689-9960 x16.

Selling or Buying?

Selling or Buying ERP Solutions?

People love to buy, but hate to be sold.  Why is it that when a person walks into a store and a sales person approaches with "May I help you?" almost everyone answers the same way? "No, I'm just looking."

 

It really is two sides of the same coin.  The buyer wants and actually needs what is being sold and the sales person would like to sell the product or service.  It is like when you look at want ads in the newspaper and services offered.  You wonder why these two ad writers do not see each other.  From the outside it seems like a perfect match.

 

Qualities of a good salesperson include someone who focuses on the buyer’s needs instead of their own.  It is not that the buyer does not care, but you are on their time.  They have a need and the salespersons job is to ask the right questions to uncover if there is a good match between challenge and solution.

 

A good salesperson needs to be able to listen carefully.  How else will they know if the solution will fit?  They also need to create value for the buyer.  It is not just a matter of dollars and cents.  Creditability must be established first.  There must be honesty, patience, a good attitude and product knowledge.

 

What does the buyer need? 

 

The buyer typically needs to confirm the suspicion they have that things could be better.  That is a needs identification process.   They need to identify how impactful the challenge is to their business, how things could be better and what will happen if they do nothing.  What options exist?   What process do they go through to determine budget for changes, the Return on Investment (ROI), and the impact on business.  What is the decision making process and who needs to be involved? 

 

What amount of rapport exists between both the seller and buyer?  You do not have to be best buddies, but you do need to trust one another.  This can be done quickly and it helps if it is sincere and not just small talk that wastes time.  It is an incredible opportunity to learn more about the impact the current challenges have on the buyer’s life.  The goal is to get enough information from the buyer to enable a relevant presentation that is appropriate to his/her needs and circumstances.

 

The best way to start and finish is by asking questions.  That is how we all learn anything that is important.  Once the buyer’s situation is discovered and the impact those challenges are having on business operations, then the introduction and discussion of how possible solutions address the challenges come next. 

 

Both the buyer and seller have the responsibility to be open and honest.  If there is no solution, then it is best to state that fact.   It is better to not have a sale than to convince a buyer to purchase a product that is not suitable.  No one gains in this situation.  No problems are solved.  A lot of time can be wasted.

 

This writing is not supposed to be a sales training manual, it does serve as a reminder that both sides of the conversation need to exist and be balanced.  How much bonding and rapport exist?  How well does each side trust one another?  Is the solution the right solution?  How does it match and address the challenges?  How well does it fit the budget?  Where will the money come from?  What commitment exists to make changes? 

 

 

How well there is a fit between challenge and solution relates to how effective the questions that were asked.

 

The conversation could start on either side.  The reality is that in most situations when it comes to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions many buyers either do not need what is available or they need it and do not have the budget to address the need at that time.    

 

Too often sales people will launch in to a dissertation of features and benefits that the buyer does not want to hear.  They hope that something will stick.  Fact is that most buyers want to be heard and know that someone is there with answers and look forward to that point in time when the conversation turns to them.

 

This is where a good conversation can be rewarding.  What information can be shared?  What aspect of operations could be optimized with a new or upgraded solution that will have a positive return on investment?  The type of return that pays for the investment in a one or two year span that after which the profits go straight to the bottom line.  

 

ERP changes can be painful.  No way around it, especially when replacing an entire system.  The promise is great, but the gap might be wide.  Inevitably, if due diligence was applied and the right decision was made, six months later after implementing a new solution, the buyer’s people are saying – why didn’t we do this earlier?. 

 

On the other side a career or two may be riding on the decision.  This is no small point to glance over.  The decision is important to the business and critical for the individual.   

 

Effectiveness in communication.  Not sales, not buying, communicating. 

 

What do you think?  Have any war stories to share?  We would like to know your best question and worse day.  At Dolvin Consulting we would like to know what keeps you awake at night.  What drives you to work the hours that you do.  What you vision of the future looks like.   Contact us today to see how we can help.

 

How Bad Does it have to Get?

When was the last time you called the doctor?  Were you barely breathing, having trouble talking, did you have aches and pains?  We know we need regular check-ups and we sometimes actually get the appointments made and actually make the appointment.  Then there are the emergency appointments.  Those do not get missed as often, but only once we realize they are actual emergencies.

 

After all even if you do take the time to take your temperature and it is higher than normal, how bad does it actually have to be, what impact on your life is significant enough for you to contact a doctor or go to the emergency room?

 

Budgets are tight all over.  Not that budgets have ever been unlimited, but in recent years the allocation has been challenging at best.  This translates into postponed and scaled back decisions that ultimately can cost more in the long run.  If the impact was only cost, then that might be so bad.  After all money grows on trees, right? 

 

What happens if the impact is more than just money?  What happens if the regular maintenance or checkups are postponed?  How bad does it have to get before you call for help?

 

Bert Lance believed that he could save Uncle Sam billions if he can get the government to adopt a simple motto: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." He explains: "That's the trouble with government: Fixing things that aren't broken and not fixing things that are broken."

 

How do you tell if something is broken and needs fixing or if you are fixing something that is not broken?

 

An example is using older computer equipment well past its designed lifespan.  It is working after all, why not keep using it?  Never mind security updates, never mind ever increasing maintenance costs, never mind the impact that dependence on a single-point-of-failure would have on operations.  When that piece of equipment goes down, what is the productivity and financial impact to the company when employees cannot perform their duties? 

 

Hint – The impact is big and has long term implications.

 

I have had a Return on Investment (ROI) conversations with a company CFO in the past about replacing some older workstations.  He would debate the expense giving the current budget, which was never robust to begin with.  They were on a break-fix model.  As it turns out the new equipment would easily be free based on the return.  The slow speed in which the existing equipment started and took to load programs and to process information was painfully slow.  A new workstation would be so much faster increasing employee productivity that it would pay for itself in labor/time savings.

 

What about other more complex equipment like servers or network infrastructure?  The security risks alone should be justification, but then I am not the one writing the check.  On the other hand given that data breaches are more easily prevented than remediated, who should make it a priority?  A post breach situation will always be more, a lot more.

 

So when is it time to contact your doctor? 

 

 

When is it time to contact your trusted advisor to get help with the relationship between your employees and your equipment?  How bad does it have to get before you address the issues that increase costs and ruin productivity and operational efficiencies? 

 

What about your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution?  How do you tell if it is too old and past its prime?  Good question.  After all you are still processing orders, you still have the customers you always had, your suppliers like doing business with you, there is no competition for your services, you are still making a profit, well, you hope that is the case.

 

Things change.

 

Failure to keep up almost always ends up costing more.  The quick catch up needed when you can no longer process what you used to.  The scrambling to find the needed resources when you have equipment errors and you are so far behind there are no fixes available and the only solution is to rush through an upgrade instead of planning and implementing the changes on a schedule that is manageable. 

 

Sometimes this happens when a vendor says they are no longer supporting your release.  They will still take your maintenance payments and fix any known errors or should I say errors that have known solutions.  Sometimes it is just coincidence, but this seems to happen often.  Companies ignore the out-of-date warnings and then they have problems with real impact.  They go into a panic mode and want to know what they should do.  What can they do? 

 

It is like the tires on your car. 

 

 

You drive around and really do not think about them much until one day you realize that it took way too long to stop or that turn went a bit wide.  Then it occurs to you.  Your tires have become worn or bald while you were concerned with everything else that you have to deal with and the thought occurs to you that you are taking your life in your hands.  It is at this point you make getting new tires a priority. 

 

The tires did not just go bad in one day.  It happened a little at a time.  You still need tires, you just do not need the worn out ones.  They just cannot meet your needs now.  Did your needs change?  Probably not, but tires wear out and you do not always drive the same route.  Sometimes you need to be prepared when the weather changes for the worse.

 

What impact does using older technology have on business when we live in an environment of constant flux?  We would like to know what you think.  What impact has ignoring up-keep had on your operations?

 

Contact Dolvin Consulting today to see how we can help.

 

The Season for ERP Solutions

The season for buying, purchasing and the season for inventory control are now.  The season for change is now.  Now is the time for the changes you need to make to better prepare yourself and your organization for the next season. 

 

The season of change is now.

 

When a business has a consistent yearlong demand for its products, planning is a little easier with the right tools.  After all if you pick, pack and ship a thousand units a month and you know your suppliers lead time and balance order point with applicable discounts, the purchasing effort can be automated.  You can ensure that you have enough inventory to meet demand, but not too much that warehouse space is wasted or consumed where other products could be better stocked.

 

When a business’ products have seasonal demand, the challenges increase.  Add another level of complexity when the seasonal products are perishable, such as found in the food industry.  Productivity has increased importance as does handling.  The need to drive operational efficiencies increases as the penalties for not doing so become increasing cost prohibitive. 

 

Some organizations in food processing are still using the look-and-see method of reordering.  Someone who has been in the business a relatively long time walks through the warehouse or is able to keep a running count in their head and orders what they think is right at that time.  Chances are if they have been doing this long enough they may be accurate.  They may also not be.  What happens when this person goes on vacation?  What happens if they take a leave of absence?  What happens when they retire or are suddenly not able to work anymore? 

 

How do you transfer someone’s gut instinct into a reproducible formula for optimum inventory levels?

 

The challenges of the supply chain have not fundamentally changed since the beginning of commerce.

 

What has changed is the need for quicker access to greater and greater amounts of information.  The need for mobility and anywhere access.  Analytic analysis of the repository of information collected to identify and respond to new business demands.

 

 

The season of the switch.

 

 

New business environments require a comprehensive set of integrated, cross-functional business processes.  There needs to be an alignment of both strategic and tactical operations to improve productivity and insight, reduce costs through greater efficiencies and flexibility in computing environments. 

 

Industry requirements are constantly changing and new systems are needed to meet those demands and reduce risk through improved financial management. 

 

The benefits are more profitability, peace of mind and a restful night of sleep.

 

The solution starts with a solid foundation of financial management.  Add to that advanced options in distribution management.  The end result is a system that integrates the entire operation.  Better integration means superior customer service levels. 

 

A happy customer should be the goal of any solution.

 

Inventory management with comprehensive sales analysis and forecasting enables a more strategic approach.  Are you achieving your goals for inventory turnover?  How well do you meet customer demand?  Do you have what they need when they want it?  Do you have excess inventory taking up space and increasing overhead?

 

There are different seasons for inventory and seasons for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. 

 

What worked well years ago may not be able to keep up with demand or the changing landscape of commerce today.  The overhead of maintaining an older system can often outpace and out cost a new system optimized for your industry.

 

All businesses struggle to some extent somewhere along the business cycle.  Each business has their challenge spot.  A fresh set of eyes and thorough analysis can reveal these bottlenecks and open the door to increased efficiencies and profits.  Profits that can be reinvested to further drive efficiency. 

 

Experience has shown that the more of any business that is integrated into a single system the better that organization is capable of operating.  What we do not know is where your organization struggles without talking with you. 

 

Is your season of change upon you now?  How will you address the challenges of the next season?

 

Contact Dolvin Consulting today.  Not tomorrow, not next season.  We are here to listen and help.  We are not here to tell you how to operate your business.  We are a resource that you can utilize to identify areas of improvement that will help you compete more effectively with your competition enabling you to fulfill your customer’s needs.  A happy customer is a loyal customer.

 

Hot, Warm and Cold

Hot, Warm and Cold ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) responses.

What constitutes the need for an emergency response?  A system failure can range from an inconvenience to a failed business.  Length of down time and the amount of data loss will typically factor heavily in the business impact.

 

In planning for disaster, roles must be defined in conjunction with the recovery procedures.  Who will be in charge, who will determine the impact, which person will be responsible for status updates?  Has the notification chain been created and tested?

 

The Hot zone is where the incident occurred.  In an online, virtual world this may not be your place of business.  Disasters can occur to cloud or hosted providers as well.  Up time and available time are two separate categories of availability.  In cases of natural disaster does the affected operation have a disaster recovery site geographically separated from business operations and the point of failure or disaster?  Have key personnel been identified and do they have access to the alternate site?

 

The Warm zone is a transitional area between Hot and Cold sites.  This may be a physical area or virtual area.  It may be the same location in cases where there is a system down, but no physical damage.  In cases of natural disaster is often a safe place near the disaster where status can be checked, yet far enough away to not be in harm’s way. 

 

The Cold zone is either a neutral area or the remote area where responsible people can delegate recovery tasks and notify users, customers, suppliers when necessary of status updates.  This is where press releases can be issued, personnel and resources coordinated and delegated.

 

Priorities varry depending on the extent of the disaster.  In cases of physical or natural disasters first priorities should be to the health and well being of personnel, then protection and recovery of resources.  In cases consisting of physical or operational equipment failures these steps are typically not necessary.  The next priorities are to assess the problem, determine its impact and to estimate recovery times for partial and full recovery.

 

First thoughts.  What is/was the hazard, disaster or affected resource?  Have the responsible people been notified?  What resources are at risk, what resources are likely to become at risk?  What is being done to contain the risk?  Who is coordinating the emergency response?  Are there others that need to be notified? 

 

Support functions.  What resources can be notified to provide support and recovery? Are emergency response personnel to be notified?  How and which communications methods can be used to notify employees, customers and suppliers?  Who and how are facility and equipment repair and remediation personnel notified?  What other resources can be contacted for immediate or future response?

 

Public relations.  Does the disaster or incident require a public relations media expertise to notify the affected parties and mitigate the loss of reputation?

 

There are many aspects to any critical interruption in service.  There are many ways to prepare.  The point to first consider is if your organization has acknowledged the possibility and has consulted with others to create a recovery and continuity plan. 

 

Businesses come in all shapes and sizes as due risks.

 

1.       What are you doing now to prepare? 

2.       What can you do now to prepare? 

3.       What will you do to prepare? 

 

We would like to hear your thoughts.   Please share your comments in this blog.  We would love to hear your feedback.

 

Finance Software Integration

When I describe Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software with people I often make the analogy that ERP is to the enterprise what office suites are to the desktop.  ERP integrates an organization based on department or functional roles so that one hand knows what the other is doing.  Similar to how a workstation database, spreadsheet, word processor and presentation programs can share information instead of having to rekey it in each application.  It saves time, increases accuracy and improves efficiency.

 

Within an ERP system the financial application particularly General Ledger tends to be the mortar between the bricks, where the bricks are the other applications.  Sometimes the ERP system consists only of financial applications, however, in today’s highly competitive environment the more functional roles that are included the greater the efficiency.  Having the other applications tie into the financial module really enables meaningful dashboards.  Finances give an unbiased view of business operations.  The more highly integrated with application interfaces and automatic posting, the better management opportunities exist.

 

Finance is often referred to as the Back-Office.  It is the behind the scenes company operations that are critical.  Purchasing cannot operate without payables handling the payments.  It does no good to ship orders if the proper credit application and collection resources do not exist.  Inventory valuation, write off and variance accounts for the company’s ability to borrow and fulfill customer orders.  Too much inventory and there is excess overhead, too little and business opportunities may be missed.  Finance gives an unbiased analysis of the company’s efficiency.

 

Functionality is a critical component of any system. 

 

How well does the software match operations versus how much change in operations are necessary to match the software.  This is no simple statement. 

 

The implementation of software can run from one extreme to another.  At one end the software is implemented and the company updates its processing to match the software.  This provides software stability and enables relatively easy upgrades.  On the downside if the software does not match operations the company will have to make some potentially painful adjustments to the way it operates.

 

At the other end of the spectrum is a company that develops their own system.  This system matches exactly the operations and is like hand in glove.  The problem that typically occurs is that the technology can become outdated.  Upgrades, if they even exist, require reapplication of the modifications and can significantly increase the costs to stay current.  If the software is completely custom, then adding new functionality often requires bringing in experts in new technology to learn and understand how the two can be integrated.     

 

Most companies fall between the extremes.  We like to see a 95% or better match between software and company operations.  At this threshold the software is matching the majority of the way the company operates giving stability and upgrade paths to the business.  The modifications tend to be light in nature and more easily managed.

 

There are cases when custom solutions are necessary, but they should be carefully planned and evaluated to ensure the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is evaluated.  

 

Another key question to ask is how well does the new software fit the culture of your organization?  How many steps does it take to process a payment?  Are accounts updated in real time or at some defined batch point in time?  Do you need multi currency support?  Are you working in multiple time zones?  Or, are you a single location facility?  How well does the software meet any industry regulations? 

 

There are software solutions to match each. 

 

Regardless of the match, business growth tends to be the common driver for any change.  Changing systems, finance, ERP or other is not a comfortable process.  It takes careful planning to make a successful transition.   Growth is good, keeping up is the challenge. 

 

The process of change can be painful, but staying put is typically more painful.  How hard is it to operate the current software?  Does it meet your needs?  How many manual processing steps are necessary to keep up?  The fit has to be right.  It has to be relatively easy to operate.  Be flexible enough to address the inevitable future changes you business will face.  Support from your software supplier is very important to consider.  How do they provide training and implementation support?  Are they large enough to develop new enhancements, yet small enough to answer the phone with a real person?

 

Is functionality an issue?  Is out dated technology a driver for change?  Is native growth or merger and acquisition a factor?  What costs are associated with your current solution versus anticipated costs of a new system?  What is your competition doing to serve their customers and win over your customers?  How fast can you react to market change?  Are you now operating in multiple locations? 

 

Cost savings from operational efficiency and reduced maintenance should be included in any analysis as well as departmental or personnel consolidation.  How many people does it take now to manage the finance department and why is that?

 

Your customers are demanding a change whether you realize it or not. 

 

Customer service should be at the heart of any change.  Every person and operation has one goal.  That goal is to serve those who pay the bills, your customers.  What good is a more efficient operation, if you cannot increase your customer’s satisfaction? 

 

Bottom line is that you need a trusted advisor that will take a fresh look at your operations and help you document your operations.  A good match for a new solution is made on knowing what you are doing now and what needs to change.

 

Dolvin Consulting works with industry experts to help you find solutions to the challenges you face.  All organizations struggle somewhere.  All different, but consistent when they want to grow.  Contact us to see how we can help you find new solutions.  We are here to help.