The Future of Enterprise Solutions

Clearly the Internet is the future of Enterprise Computing.  And by this I mean the Internet is and will continue to change the way solutions are delivered and accessed.  Further, by delivering software through a browser with a flexible nonproprietary web interface, developers can provide the user with a single sign on and user experience of all web applications.  This simplifies the user experience, increases productivity and minimizes training costs. In addition, web based software provides mobile access enabling every user in the organization immediate anytime, anywhere access. 

Solution providers can concentrate on developing more robust solutions that solve real world business issues that drive bottom-line results.  Organizations can now compete at a very high level by leveraging the flexibly and mobility of web services.  Growth potential is unrestrained due to the scalability that web services provide.

Nearly every modern device provides some sort of web interface.  Some compatibility issues exist, but even those issues continue to fade away with more standardization.  The standardization occurs as more and more vendors require consistent tools and interfaces.  These requirements are not specific to any one solution provider. 

Standards based technologies are the modernization and automation trend for technology, just like the assembly line was to the automotive industry.

Benefits of this evolution are a more responsive design, resizable display to match the devices used, and anytime anywhere access.  The benefits facilitate the transition to Cloud or hosted solutions.  If you remove proprietary emulation and terminal emulation, you open the door to adoption.

As more and more organizations adopt in part or more fully Cloud/Hosted solutions the greater the pressure on solution providers to embrace these solutions.  It becomes a win-win situation.  More adoption, more providers, more choices. 

While not everyone is ready to completely convert today, we see the trend well underway.  Small changes lead to bigger and bigger adoption.  Many businesses are one or two generations away from complete conversion.    

The capability to scale to seasonal or continued growth without adding to internal infrastructure is a big cost benefit.  While there are still some critical business operations that need to remain in-house, hybrid solutions are helping to bridge the gap.

Consumer adoption is aiding the transition.  Younger generations are wondering what the delay is all about.  Years ago, adopting a new technology required significant education and training for internal users and external customers.  Today, both have an expectation that your organization should already be utilizing these technologies.    

New solutions are allowing customers multiple options for their infrastructure including on premise servers, platform as a service, or software as a service.  Increased productivity and automation are driving factors to better customer service.

Automation that drives customer service starts with internal collaboration and communication.  Web enable solutions allow employees to stay connected and serve customer needs whenever and wherever the occasion demands, in house or on location.

Operationally monitoring daily tasks and alerts from any module or application helps efficiency.  Assignment of user tasks and workflow alerts keep employees engaged with production and customer needs.  These capabilities help create role based responsibilities that bridge the traditional module interface. 

In the past Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions were primarily departmental based.  Today they have been transitioning more and more towards functional role based solutions.  The collaboration of hosted based solutions helps to facilitate this transition.  For example, Procurement is a combination of inventory management, customer service and buying trends, vendor purchasing, receiving, production monitoring and control.  An overall overview of Inventory processing in and out and the ability to filter the information to meet individual user needs.

Companies thrive when they empower their employees to drive results.

By providing new role based solutions employee productivity is increased allowing them to react more quickly to business demands. 

Dolvin Consulting works with industry leaders to help businesses like yours deliver comprehensive solutions to your customers by empowering your employees.  Contact us today to see how we can help your team drive greater efficiency in your operations.

More Efficient Operational Processes

More efficient warehouse operations.  If only.  Is it possible?  If it were, there would likely be less labor costs relative to increased production.  Less costs and less production is clearly a down cycle in the business as is more costs and less production.  Ideally you want less costs and more production. 

Automation is the key.  But, automate what, how?

For most manufacturers and wholesale distributors the key often revolves around inventory levels, processing and handling.  Inventory tends to have the greatest Return On Investment (ROI).  Inventory management is somewhat like upgrading your kitchen in your house remodel.  The kitchen remodel generally returns the most on investment.  Other upgrades make living more comfortable, but Kitchens have one of the better paybacks.

Increased accuracy in order and pick/pack/ship processing due to warehouse layout optimization, receiving efficiencies including barcoding and scanning, automated put-aways and cycle counting are just a few examples that can contribute to more efficient operations.

Most businesses that have survived the economic fluctuations are running fairly well and have probably automated at least some and likely much of their facilities.  Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) are the key to the automation.  Unfortunately these systems are not always fully implemented.  Sometimes the implementation plan was a phased approach, but never completed.  Sometimes the organization had a loss of faith in the promised return.  The causes are many, a bad match between sales and purchasing, lack of education, or lack of funds to fully implement the solution. 

WMS systems are great, but they do have to match the business model.  Typically the greatest efficiency in WMS comes from a fully integrated solution that is part of the native Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution.  However, if the ERP solution is not a good match, the WMS module will tend to exacerbate the problems.

A thorough review of business operations makes sense before purchasing or upgrading your WMS solution. 

Are there plans and budget available to outfit workers with wireless equipment, barcode scanners, printers, and other tools?  The benefits of WMS will be limited without the corresponding equipment.  Automating labor collection and reporting is another benefit of WMS systems.  A phased-in approach is a valid model as long as the implementation is completed.

How much paper is involved with the current processing of orders, receiving and counting?  How will a WMS system reduce this overhead?  Will your people be convinced?  What is the baseline and what metrics are needed to gauge the project success?  Without an electronic system how can workloads be optimized?  How much time and effort is needed to check orders? 

How much does the administrative overhead affect your profitability?

Achievable goals include year over year decreases in labor costs relative to production, order, pick and shipment rates of 99% accuracy.  To enable these accuracy levels organizations will typically need to implement bin management in their WMS system, real-time paperless receiving and put-aways, automated picking and cycle counting.  Manual systems require a significant amount of administrative overhead and paperwork which contributes to inaccuracies. These inaccuracies increase if batch, lot or serial number processing is involved. 

High accuracy rates are not the end goal, efficiency is.  High accuracy rates are what enables business to concentrate on real operational efficiency improvements. 

To get started, businesses need to conduct a business process review including evaluation of the incumbent and competitive ERP software including WMS systems, including any upgrades to their current systems.  This is only a start, but it is an important an unavoidable step in the right direction.

Buy-in at all levels in the organization is an important component to not be forgotten. 

Owners and/or management cannot just decide one day to push out a whole new way of doing business without proper training and education.  From the shop floor, warehouse, to the back office, management and top level personnel, everyone needs to understand that the change will help them to do what they do more efficiently and productively.  Set the expectations and gain consensus on the outcome. 

This is a real test for the leadership in the organization.  

How is your organization dealing with change, leadership and inventory challenges? 

Dolvin Consulting works with your team to identify and remediate the causes of inefficiency in your organization.  Contact us today to see how we can help. 

ERP Mobility

Your customers are mobile, your sales people are mobile, everyone is talking about the cloud, it must be heaven.  The reality is we are on the ground and there are times when we are connected and when we are not.  Is your Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution running reliable like a sports car on the freeway or is it like an old farm truck with rust, bolted-on additions and constant repairs?

“If it ain't broke, don't fix it” – Bert Lance.

Not broke is not the same thing as fixed.  It means you are getting by.  Simply working is not the same as efficient.  There is a difference when you drive a new car versus a slightly used or old bucket of bolts.  ERP solutions start out shiny and new.  They get a little wear and the physical equipment gets a little older.  You keep up on the maintenance, at least initially when it was bundled in the purchase, and now it is just another line item in your overhead that you wish was not so big.  There are more and more mechanics.  There is more confusion as to where the actual problems exist as the symptoms are misleading.  There are too many aftermarket or third party add-ons and no one source is responsible for the entire solution, except you.

Add to all this mass of confusion the need to mobilize your salesforce.  What?  They have smart phones and we send them out on the road, aren’t they already mobile?  They call us to find out where to go next, what the customer owes, and inventory availability.  We just wish they would actually go where and when they are scheduled.

What?

Mobility software solutions have the ability to work while connected and while disconnected from your systems and synchronize after being disconnected.  Mobility software can exist as a bolt-on to what you are already using and is where many organizations start.  Somebody, somewhere created something that your people will somehow, after too much time and expense, finally figure out how to integrate with your system and then invest a lot of time keeping it integrated.

In contrast your solution provider may have or is developing a fully integrated solution.  This solution is typically clean and simple and has the same interface and conventions as the main ERP solution.  The mobile solution is typically fast and effective for everyday use.  Users can easily search for customer or inventory information, pricing and availability, create and send orders.  In some cases the mobile applications can be utilized by both internal personnel as well as customers. 

Once you are mobile enabled it opens the door to more effective connections with your customers, it is an enhancement to your relationship.  Trade shows, onsite customer visits, on the street.  You are conducting business where and when it needs to happen, not just in your back office.

So what should you look for in your solution?

• Work well online as well as offline.
• Minimal need for additional equipment.
• Minimized data usage on cellular networks.
• Intuitive searching and selecting.
• The ability to take advantage of mobile bar code and image capture applications.
• Connectivity to Bluetooth devices such as scanners, printers, and credit card devices.
• Signature capture.
• Payment collection.
• Geo location and navigation.
• DSD route sales.
• Immediate sales and delivery.

How would your organization compete better with a fully integrated and supported set of applications by your ERP solution provider?

This might all sound futuristic, but these solutions exist now and your customers are expecting these types of solutions.  Why?  Because your customers have their own demands and your products are needed when they need them, on their schedule. 

Mobility or not, you do not need the solution just to have the solution.  You need the solution to service your customers the way you would expect to be serviced.  Remember always that everything you invest in your company should have your end customers in mind.  You could have the best of everything, but if you do not have anyone to purchase your product or if it takes too much effort to do business with you, then they will go somewhere else even if it costs more.

What are your thoughts?  Share them here to benefit your fellow readers.  I am sure they would appreciate it as much as we do.

Navigating your way through the constant flux in technology and how it specifically impacts your business needs takes effort.  A trusted advisor like Dolvin Consulting helps in many ways including helping you to recognized and narrow your focus on critical impact areas.  Contact us today to see how we can help your team drive more efficiency in your operations. 

Two Signs ERP Changes are Needed

Most know that manufacturers, distributors and other midmarket organizations depend on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions to increase productivity and deliver great customer support via an integrated information repository.  You know the analogy, the left hand knows what the right hand is doing, less errors, better performance, and faster access to business metrics.

 

There are many signs that you may have outgrown your ERP solution.  Every organization struggles at some point in time.  The struggles are equal during periods of growth and decline.  The economy is cyclical and so are business operations.

 

Below are two signs.  How many more affect you personally? 

 

Sign-One:  You increase your labor force and you do not get an equivalent increase in productivity.  The extra personnel just seem to be less productive. 

 

When your business grows it makes sense that you may need more people to interact with customers, process orders, handle procurement and finances.  It makes sense, doesn’t it?  Perhaps it does, but how many are necessary and how many are too much?  How many actually just increase overhead?  How many more do you need to manage the workforce?  Are you creating the need for an extra level of management?

 

If you double your warehouse work force, should you be able to pick, pack and ship twice the number of orders?  Should you be able to triple the number of orders?  What is the ratio of people to orders processed in your organization? 

 

If you actually ship twice the number of orders, how many customer service people does that translate to?  How many people do you need to add to the Finance department to handle billing and reporting needs?  How many more supervisors and managers are needed to address the increase in workforce. 

 

It might make sense to take a look at how your business is physically organized before you add people.  Not that you do not need more people, the real question is how many and where? 

 

For example, would arranging your inventory locations in a more efficient way for stocking and picking make more sense?  Would conveyors or barcoding or other form of automation increase productivity enough so that you can minimize hiring? 

 

In contrast suppose business has shrunk, how many roles can be consolidated?  How can you empower the remaining personnel with the right tools so that their productivity increases and you can maintain business operations and then prepare for the next growth cycle?

 

How efficient is the software you use to process information?  How many separate systems do you use?  How many steps does it take to enter an order?  How much time does it take?

 

 

Sign-Two:  You increase your inventory level and still have troubles meeting customer demand.

 

How much is too much inventory?  What are your customer’s expectations?  What does on-time delivery mean?  What delivery does your competition actually deliver?  Is there anything real about Just-In-Time (JIT) inventory?  Who do you know personally that can make that type of system work?

 

Manufacturers have lead-times for the products they produce.  Distributors need systems that build that lead time into their procurement process so that customer demand and sales history can be balanced to ensure that you have enough inventory on hand to meet expected levels with a reasonable amount of safety stock.  In other words, you can meet customer demand without overstocking your warehouse.

 

A purchase “deal” is not a deal if that inventory sits in your warehouse too long.  A special price so one business can basically dump their inventory is not a deal for anyone, if that inventory sits and takes up space.  Physical space, overhead, taxes all add up and can easily out-cost any purchase savings.  A deal is not a deal unless you have a customer ready and willing (and has the monetary resources) to buy the product.

 

Can you find your inventory?  Do you purchase more, because you cannot find what you thought you had?  How accurate is your current system?  What tools and processes does your current system have that helps to keep your inventory accurate?  How often do you have to count your inventory to know what you have on hand?  Is the only time you feel confident on your inventory levels is immediately after the counts have been posted?

 

There are numerous indicators of inventory inefficiency and tools and software to address the challenges and problems.  Most businesses struggle in determining just where the bottleneck is occurring.  Otherwise, they would have fixed it already.  The problem often lies deeper than the observable symptoms.  The alternative is equally pressing.  A business knows where the problem is, but lacks the resources to properly address the problem. 

 

Either way short term patches and fixes designed to address the problem will inevitably make the situation worse when a decision is made to make these fixes permanent without addressing the underlying issues.  Until you get to and address the heart of the problem, the problems will repeat.

 

 

So many questions and too few answers.

 

 

These two signs are just the tip of the iceberg.  What keeps you up at night?  You have questions and we have answers.  You may agree with some of these statements and disagree with others.  Why not share those thoughts here for your fellow readers.  I would love to hear what you think.

 

Dolvin Consulting works with industry experts to help your business identify and remediate the obstacles that are holding you back today.  Contact us to see how we can help.  Only you know how great the pain is and the impact it has on your operations.  We understand and can help.

 

Technology for Growth

First things first, the obvious, smaller companies have smaller budgets and less resources to implement technology changes.   Even changes that increase efficiencies and throughput.   The challenges are similar for large and small organizations, it is just larger organizations generally have more resources available.  The relative impact is generally equal though.

For smaller organizations the stakes are relatively greater and the margin for error much smaller.  For example, a budget overrun or deadline exception will have a negative impact on a budget for a larger organization, but it can be devastating for a smaller organization and effectively put them out of business.

Ironically technology itself can help.

When it comes to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, there are many different variations that are tailor made for many industries.  Often the variations came from home-grown solutions from companies that could not find the right solution and built their own and over time starting selling that to other companies in their industry.

With so many solutions and so much history now, you have to wonder why budget and time overruns occur.  The reality is it happens all the time.  Much too often.  Somewhere there was a breakdown in communication.

There are three basic categories to ERP solutions.  Each category has many components, but they all funnel into these three.  

The software or programs are module oriented where modules are based on departmental or functional roles in the organization. It is responsible for the collection and presentation of the information the solution stores.  ERP software typically has an initial license fee and annual maintenance.  I have had conversations where a prospect just could not justify why the software cost so much, after all it was already written.  I did my best to explain that the annual fee, perhaps more so than the initial fee was for future support and not so much for what was already written.  Business needs change and ERP software solutions need to change to match the business landscape.    

Remember that ERP solutions are designed to integrate the organization, the entire organization.  The more of your company that is included in the solution, the greater the efficiencies can be and therefore cost savings and increased profits.

The second component is the hardware or physical equipment the software is designed to run on.  This includes a central database of information that is shared by a server and distributed to clients.  The clients are everyone that accesses the information at one level or another including web delivery.

In some cases companies will choose a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution which is a subscription based solution where someone else manages the infrastructure.  This type of solution is talked about a lot lately and is referred to as Cloud solutions.  For many, if they are not already using a hosted solution, they are one or two generations of software or hardware away from this type of solution either in part or in whole. 

On premise or hosted in the Cloud is a personal choice that really is dependent on more details than can be discussed in an online column.  It is not the point of this writing and there is no one right answer.  Each challenge needs to be matched with an appropriate solution. 

Cloud is irrelevant.  The solution as a whole is the important part.

Here is the point.  With some careful planning and analysis the software and hardware costs can be estimated fairly well.  The solution usually falls into a range that is predictable and can be clearly documented as to why it is smaller or larger than estimated.  For example, the solution is now expanded to cover another division and there are more users, clients and the need for more robust database server solution.  This, by the way, is a particularly great benefit of Cloud solutions in that the vendor should be able to scale the solution resources easily (either up or down).

So where is the problem?  What is the third component?  Where do so many organizations lose control of their budget, their time, their patience?

Implementation.

Implementation which includes training, conversion and support.  In a rush to close deals or fear of limited budgets and losing a deal this component of the solution is often given too little analysis.  Granted some of the components are harder than others.  How much training do your users need?  Do you learn to swim by jumping in the water?  That is sink or swim.  Sinking is not a good option for most companies. 

Conversion, if it has been done before between the From-Solution to the To-Solution can be estimated fairly well.  If it is a new conversion, there is still historical averages that can be used.  Some solutions are programed, some are re-keyed, and some are a combination of both methods.  A big category is the decision on how much and which type of history should be converted.  Do you phase out one system and build history in the new solution or do you convert everything so everyone uses the new system.

Support is relative to everything else.  Too little training and planning means more support later.  More support up front usually means less hiccups later.  You cannot bypass support.  New ERP solutions are a series of complex interrelated components.  They are not off the shelf box or quick download solutions. 

Your organization is not simple and neither will your ERP solution be simple.

Technology can help collect and organize information.  Information you need to make decisions in deciding what solution to select and implement as well as manage the implementation project.  Information you collect and analyze to manage your business with the solution you select. 

Information is key and technology is a vehicle for collection and delivery.  The solution is the important part and the technology is the delivery mechanism.  There are no shortcuts in implementation and it is the most variable component in a solution and therefore needs the most attention to prevent unpredictable budget overruns.

Dolvin Consulting works with your team and brings together industry experts to help you manage the chaos associated with ERP solutions.  Contact us today to learn how we can help.

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.

Inventory Management Visibility

In order to make better decisions management needs good visibility into their inventory.  Financial, operational and purchasing decisions are better when based on accurate and timely information.  Elimination of manual processing increases the timeliness and reporting capabilities which overall increases customer service levels.

 

Customer service matters. 

 

What processes are being implemented at your organization to increase your customer’s satisfaction?  What improvements are your competitors making?

 

The right Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution provides the framework for the different departmental functions to be integrated into one weave.  What makes “it” the right ERP solution?  There are many solutions to choose from today. 

 

It becomes the right solution when culture meats function. 

 

Every organization has a culture, a way of doing business.  Every ERP solution has a process which maps transaction and reporting functions to organization challenge.  The key is finding a solution that addresses the core needs while providing a growth path to future challenges. 

 

When manufacturers deal with inventory they typically will take advantage of a Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP) module to manage how much inventory they have in their warehouses at any given time.  Real-time or near real-time reporting is optimal, and as a result better suggest how much of any particular inventory item to manufacture or purchase.

 

A consolidated view of historical usage allows both manufacturers and distributors to accurately project and plan for future need and create the optimal production or buying levels.  This accuracy allows the organization to react faster to changes in demand.

 

Companies need the visibility that ERP/MRP solutions provide. 

 

Monitoring and tracking inventory movement on the shop floor as well as in the warehouse allows organizations to plan better and minimize out of stock situations which results in better customer service and ultimately savings through automation and increased efficiencies.

 

Customer service should be a critical component for any organization. 

 

Take your own shopping or purchasing experience in mind.  How often do you like hearing “we can back order that for you” when you try to order supplies.  How competitive can your salesreps be if they have no clear idea of what is available when they are in front of your customers?

 

Greater inventory accuracy increases speed and efficiency.  Efficiency that purchasing, sales and customer service as well as production departments all take advantage of to perform their functions.  Management has the information they need to make decisions with greater confidence.

 

One of the bigger challenges is implementing the changes and new solutions needed with ERP solutions.   It is one thing to write or talk about solutions, it is quite another to commit to the changes.  Inevitably a lot of the effort should be made up front to document the processes currently being used so they can be addressed and mapped to a potential new solution. 

 

This is where the culture piece fits in.  How many steps does it take to perform a function?  A solution could be very capable, but take too much effort to achieve the advertised results.  This is also not to say that just because there are steps involved that they should be avoided.  Look for ways to automate the collection of information.  Even though there may be some additional steps involved compared to what you do now, the accuracy and benefits are usually worth the effort.

 

Making a change to an ERP solution is not comparable to picking box software of a shelf. 

 

It takes a lot of planning and analysis as well as fiscal commitment to implement an ERP solution.  Most people understand the potential benefits of increased inventory visibility and the efficiency of newer ERP solutions.  Many are concerned about the likelihood that they will have to change their operations or will have to make extensive modifications.  Neither is a good choice.  Unless there are unique requirements, you should be looking for a flexible solution that only needs minor modifications.

 

Look for solutions that provide consolidated dashboard views that give you drill-down to details.  Savings come in many forms, but typically involve automation of one type or another and the elimination of manual report processes.  Paper intensive tasks are other areas where organizations can achieve significant savings.  Planning decisions are more effective with accurate information. 

 

Make sure your system collects the right information.

 

Your competitive advantage starts with a comprehensive ERP solution that integrates your Enterprise.  Finding the right solution may take some effort, but in the long run, if you select the right solution you will wonder why you took so long to make the decision.

 

Let Dolvin Consulting help you find the right solution.  Contact us today to see how we can help you find the right solution for your challenges.