Companies Require Accurate Inventory Data to Function Effectively

“With our extensive product line, and the sheer volume of orders we receive on a daily basis, we needed a software solution to monitor this process effectively,” said Doug Trisnar, IT Director, Joshen Paper & Packaging. “Yet, we needed something much more comprehensive than a simple inventory solution. We wanted a software package that was capable of monitoring inventory turns, while simultaneously tracking potential shortages.”

Click here to read the full success story.

Basic requirements:

·         Flexible enough to accommodate the seamless addition of new distribution facilities.

·         Capable of integrating Web-based ordering.

·         Provide consolidated financial reporting.

·         Dissect fiscal information to the distribution facility level with the stroke of a key.

·         Track sales and commissions.

·         Comply with varying state sales tax requirements.

·         Comprehensive, flexible ERP solution.

According to Trisnar, “VAI understood Joshen’s business and our unique requirements. Knowing that VAI could implement an enhanced version of S2K to offer the integrated Web and financial reporting capabilities that we needed to continue growing our business was an enormous advantage from our perspective.”

 

“Joshen runs a fast-paced, customer-driven business,” said Claudio Gallina, Project Director, VAI. “Tailoring a quick, efficient, scalable ERP solution to meet its expanding needs was a challenge. Yet, our experience in customizing enterprise management software and our commitment to understanding Joshen’s business requirements from the ground up gave us the edge in constructing a solution that met all of Joshen’s current requirements and anticipated many of its future needs.”

VAI’s S2K solution allows Joshen to achieve all of its information technology objectives in one comprehensive package.  What’s more, one simple keystroke is all that is needed to perform to obtain essential management reports and financial information.  Notably, the e-commerce application has already added approximately 100 new customers to the company’s customer base.

 

Joshen had many challenges common to distributors and manufacturers.  A new version of their software and new Ecommerce modules provided the infrastructure needed to fuel growth. 

 

Control your inventory and streamline processing (i.e. make it easier for customers to do business with you) and there will be a great Return on Investment (ROI).  The economy is tight and we all have that pressure and constraint.  Inventory or as I like to say “boxes on shelves” has one of the highest returns.  Even small reductions in inventory translate to big savings.  Ship the right product on time to the right customer.  Purchase what you need, when you need it.  Give management dashboard-drilldown inquiries.  These are just some of the goals companies like yours can use to increase profitability.

 

What is equally great and worth noting is the working relationship between Joshen and VAI.  There is a team approach.  There are detailed question and answers.  Understand your client and help them achieve their goals.  You achieve your goals after you help others achieve theirs.  Both sides have a vested interest in each other and there is trust.

 

How would you like, how much better would you sleep, if you had faith that the people you work with really cared?

 

Dolvin Consulting cares.  Period.  We are here to help.  Contact us today to see how we can match your challenges with available solutions.  The ball is in your court.  We do not know who you are, but you know who we are.  Nothing to lose, it is just a phone call.  Pretend you have a bad connection and just hang up, if you do not like what you hear.  Just be prepared that what we discuss may actually benefit you, your company and your workforce.

Complexity in ERP Solutions

John C Maxwell, a well know author and friend to many, recently talked on one of his daily Minute-With-Maxwell video messages about the word Complexity.  In his daily messages he shares his thoughts about a word that someone has sent in.  John does not prepare or plan a response, the responses are candid.

Click Here to Play John’s Video

When John talked about Complexity he made the point of how educators tend to make the simple more complex in their efforts to teach about whatever subject was being discussed.  In contrast John feels that people that are communicators make complex topics simpler.

The need for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution tends to start out as a simple thought. 

Something along the lines of “Hey, if we shipped the right product on time, the first time we tried, then we would have happier customers” or “It sure would be nice if our purchasing department really knew what was in the warehouse instead of guessing”, “Heck, it might even be nice if what the computer said was on the shelf was actually correct and we could find it”. 

Problems often occur when those thoughts get translated to other people.  Are we trying to educate others or communicate a simple thought?  When and where does the meaning get lost?  “There is a hole in that canteen, plug it to stop the leak or replace it with something new”.  Our ERP system or lack of one is having a negative impact on our bottom line.  Let us fix it or replace it.

Internally there ought to be a team approach to collect all those “gee-wiz” thoughts in one place.  Are there enough issues that warrant looking for a new solution?  What is the financial impact of these issues? 

This is where a trusted advisor can help. 

While you are concentrating on your business and your challenges, there are others that can look at what you are doing, recognize the obvious and not so obvious areas for improvement. 

Ever notice how doctors look at x-rays?  They toss them up on the light board (they study that move in medical school by the way), mumble to themselves and flip through them quickly.  You sit there thinking about all the time you invested to get the images taken and to get them and yourself to the doctor and what they may tell the doctor, and he does not seem all that impressed.  It is the doctor’s experience and focus about what he/she is looking for that allows that quick analysis.  He does not have to look at the whole image, he can narrow it down to where the pain is located.  He is a professional and does this all the time.  The doctor knows what to look for.  So does your trusted advisor.

There are several other key steps that we will talk about in more detail in future posts, but for now here are a few key steps many organizations take in evaluating new solutions:

1.       Hire a trusted advisor.

2.       Company self discovery mode.

3.       Assemble requirements.

4.       RFQ process to select five candidates.

5.       First pass selection to narrow the field to four candidates.

6.       Executive overviews from four candidates.

7.       Second pass selection to narrow the field to three candidates.

8.       Discovery process with three candidates

9.       Second look demonstrations with three candidates.

10.   Self analysis of solution fit and company culture.

11.   Selection of final solution provider with contracts.

12.   Implementation project plan including installation, conversion, training and testing, etc.

There are a lot of details to fill out your plan.  Not everyone's plan will look the same.  Some companies may need other steps.  The list above is not meant to be everything for everybody.  The point is that having a road map and a tour guide can make the process a little less stressful. 

Dolvin Consulting is a trusted advisor that works with their industry resources to identify and bring solutions to your challenges.   We care, so Contact us Today to see how we can help your business. 

ERP Comparison Guides

Just a quick thought here about Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) resource guides.  I receive updates from my subscriptions online about various comparison guides.  Below is the link to a recent one.

Compare 19 Leading ERP Solutions 29 Ways

 
I find these guides can sometimes be helpful, but not in the traditional way. 

The problem with many guides is not the guide, it is just that they do not address your specific solution or candidate. 
 

No guide can list every solution, so what exactly are the criteria for inclusion?  Do these solution providers pay a fee, are they from bigger companies?  Are the solutions for your industry?  Distribution, Manufacturing, Retail management, Finance, etc?  ERP solutions exist for most organizations now, so it is important to know what you do, how you do it, and what are the key driving factors in your business.

 

Problem two:  Do they compare the criteria that matter most to you? 

 

It is nice to know what equipment the solution runs on, but is that as important as knowing if the software fits your company’s culture?  Contact information is nice, a convenience, but many of us are able to Google the company name.  Pricing information is really important, but most systems are modular and you select the modules you need today and add on as you gain experience and grow.  Why pay for something you are not going to be able to use?  A range is nice so that you can tell if you are at least in the ballpark. 

 

The list goes on and on. 

 

What the guides are really good at is getting you to start thinking about questions to ask.  What does our company need in order to operate more efficiently, reduce costs, and become more profitable?  Our staff is already working harder and not producing as much.  We have errors in multiple departments that seem to cascade.  How will this solution address those needs?

Does your organization even know what they do not know? 

You may know that inventory is not accurate.   You may know that you have a lot of returns.  You may know that it takes too long to pick, pack and ship an order. … Does your company have its processes mapped and documented?  Do you know what you would like to accomplish?  Is it worth risking disrupting everything you are doing and implement a system that does not work for your business?

 

Until you know what you are looking for, guides can actually misdirect you away from what matters most.  The guides are great if they compare the three to five candidates that you have selected to review.  Like a product search on a consumer electronics site.  Find the three televisions that fit your room and compare the features and functions to your needs and wants.  That makes sense.

 

First step is to find someone that you trust to help you navigate the constant flux in technology.  Then look inside, deep inside.  Solutions are journeys and are taken one step at a time.  Identify the top five issues that are having the biggest impact on your bottom line.  Search for solutions that address those challenges and then you have a starting point for the rest of the evaluation and selection process.

 

At Dolvin Consulting we are here to help.  Think of us as doctors.  We are here to ask questions, diagnose the pain points in your business operations related to technology, and help you find solutions that solve the problems.  Not just write you a script- here buy this software and call me in two weeks, if the pain does not go away.  Contact us today.  It really is easy to do and this part will not hurt. 

We were looking to enhance the performance levels of our staff

“We were looking to enhance the performance levels of our staff, thereby providing the best service possible to our customers and dealers.  After previewing VAI’s S2K line, we knew that it encompassed the robust features we needed to take our business to the next level.”

Syed H. Abdullah commented, “Access to a comprehensive view of real-time data has greatly enhanced Naghi Group’s operations.  In addition, S2K is so easy to implement and user friendly that the complete cycle from installation to go live was significantly reduced.  Our operations were up and running and reaping the benefits of VAI’s ERP solution in only a few months.”

Read the full story by clicking this link.

At the time, an antiquated financial software solution was being used to manage all general accounting activities for Naghi Group, but it lacked the integration capabilities necessary to communicate with the distribution and manufacturing software used by firm. As a result, many hours per month were spent reconciling data to produce essential fiscal management reports.

What they wanted:

·         Provide real-time financial information accounting data, general ledger integration and financial statement reporting.

·         The ability to monitor inventory counts.

·         Manage purchasing activities accurately.

·         Streamline its financial, distribution and warehouse management functions into one integrated ERP package.

·         Streamlined operations.

·         Improve the firm’s customer service.

·         Accurate and timely business decisions.

·         Improve the company’s bottom line.

Access to accurate financial information -- quickly and easily -- was essential to the firms overall fiscal health.

Naghi Group purchased VAI’s S2K Distribution Suite, which includes financial, order entry, inventory, purchasing and sales analysis modules.  The implementation integrated all of these primary business functions so that management could view one set of accessible, current information from which to make decisions.

According to Ed Fowles, VAI Senior Project Leader, “VAI provides 24x7 help desk support to ensure Naghi Group of a smooth and uninterrupted IT environment.”

VAI customized a seamlessly integrated ERP software solution for Naghi Group, providing access to all of the company’s key business operations.

What Naghi needed is what many companies need today to remain competitive.  They knew that they needed complete integration.  The left hand must know what the right hand is doing.  How can you make intelligent decisions in a timely manner without all the information at your fingertips? 

The process to get integrated can take time to achieve.  They knew their current system was not adequate.  They were smart enough to seek help. 

They found a partner that cared as much about them as they care about their customers.

Even companies that have an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution may not be taking full advantage of complete integration.  They may be using an older version of which they have outgrown.  In growing they may have implemented other systems.  Those systems may have different levels of integration. 

 

One thing is for sure.  Every time you handle data/information with any type of manual process, it is going to get corrupted.  Even automated data manipulation can cause errors.

 

Three points are evident:

1.       Customer service (giving and receiving) is critical.  Your customers pay for everything every time they choose you and your company over competitors.

2.       To be and remain competitive an organization needs a fully integrated system.  More complete and accurate information delivered on time in a format that makes sense to enable better and quicker decisions.

3.       Organizations need a trusted advisor to help them navigate the constant flux in technology.  There is too much hype and promotion and not enough questions and answers.  The only way to know if a solution will work is to understand your own company’s operations.

Dolvin Consulting works with Manufacturers, Distributors, and Specialty Retailers to help them understand their own operations and to implement ERP solutions that integrate the Enterprise, reduce costs, grow and become more profitable.  Contact us today to see how we can help you.  We care.

Exactly what is cloud computing?

“Exactly what is cloud computing? Can someone explain it, not in technical terms, but in easy to understand everyday language?”

A person asked this question recently in one of the forums that I subscribe to.  It must be a popular thought, because a number of readers eagerly gave responses.  Initially it seemed like it would be an easy question to answer. 

So I wondered why this person even posted the question, given the fact that if she is adept at posting the question and is listed as an “expert” in the forum that she must certainly have heard about Google.  So I typed the first part of the question in the search engine and it replied with 23,100,000 results in .28 seconds.  Kind of a lot of responses to sort through, so I entered the entire question and narrowed down the multitude a little.  Now there are 2,670,000 results in .48 seconds.  Imagine that.  We are so used to everything now, that it does not even surprise us that we can get millions of references to a single question in less than one second.

What is it exactly that she wants to know?

I noticed that none of the respondents bothered to ask “why” or any other qualifying questions to narrow down the possible responses.  How do we know what she really wanted to know?  How many times have we seen that the first question asked has little to do with what we do not know? 

 

The forum she is using is no doubt hosted in the “cloud”.  She also did not respond to any of the replies, so perhaps she was just using a timely topic or name-dropping to improve some ratings, someplace.  Then again in all fairness, if you looked at the responses, only one person even came close to answering the question in a human readable format. 

 

Even I was confused by some of the responses. 

In trying to help and prove what they know and to let everyone else know what they know, the people who responded must not have considered the second question part.  The part that says in easy to understand everyday language.  The one person who gave the best answer must have been a mother.  She used plain English and used an example that anyone could understand.  Of course it was not technical and there are a lot of other details that would be nice to know, but the person did not ask those questions.  She just wanted a plain answer to a simple question.

 

David Sandler was correct.  People are stroke deprived.  

So, what does any of this have to do with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions?  Well, all of it of course.  Many ERP solutions can be hosted in the cloud.  Whether this makes sense or not depends on a lot of other questions and answers. 

 

That is the most important point. 

 

Selecting an Enterprise solution requires time and analysis to define the business requirements.  Hiring a consultant or trusted advisor, building groups and/or committees, interviewing company personnel, narrowing the selection to no more than five contenders, then four, and then three from which a final selection will be made. 

 

Implementation is a big part of any solution. 

A commitment to your customers and suppliers is crucial and so is training.  What good is a great software package, if no one knows how to use it effectively?  What happens if you have a great solution and you lose half of your customers along the way?  Remember customers?  They are ultimately the ones paying for, well, everything. 

The solution must be efficient and effective to generate a good Return on Investment (ROI).  There are often many schedules and pieces that must be managed though a project management system so that nothing gets lost along the way. 

Remember, that just because your organization has always done something a certain way does not mean it is productive or necessary.  Who gets trained?  With today’s economy most companies have eliminated the slack and everyone is doing more with less.  Can you afford to not train those people?

Bottom line:  Questions and Answers. 

Do not go swimming without a lifeguard.  At Dolvin Consulting we work hard to make sure you have the right solution for your challenges.  Contact us today to see how we can help you find a solution that works.  We are here to help.

Making ERP Data Easier to use and More Valuable

In the end, ERP is all about measuring data and using that data to make better, faster decisions.
According to Krigsman, “You can measure anything that you can input data about.  ERP is all about how to get data in, how to calculate data, and how to get it out. All these areas will be improved.”

Where Will ERP Be in 2 Years? Click here for your copy of the three page report.

Inside-ERP recently published this article.  There are some timely topics inside and it is worth the quick read.  The first thing that was designed to grab your attention was the article headline

“Where will ERP be in 2 years?”  Well, that is really not a stunner of a question. 

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are well utilized now as they will be ever increasing in use and scope.  It is how you drive efficiency in your organization.  What you are going to see are organizations further integrating more and more of their operations under a single “ERP Roof”.  That is, they will purchase and implement new modules and further learn and utilize their existing modules.  As a footnote here, most ERP solutions are arranged in modules that match either departmental or functional roles in the company.  It actually is this footnote that determines which tier of solutions are appropriate.

 

Many companies have systems that were purchased to address part of their needs.  It is what they needed at that point in time or what fit their budget.  They may have purchased different packages from different vendors, say Inventory and Customer service from one and Warehouse Management (WMS) from another.  They have invested lots of time, energy and money integrating the multiple systems.  This gets cumbersome and costly as you try to upgrade one system and are forced to reintegrate the separate systems or wait until updates are available for both.  The same is true when a business makes too many modifications or customizations.  The standardization is removed as well as the stability.  

There can be a real loss of competitiveness from separate systems, because the organization cannot implement new or needed technologies quickly enough.  For example, adding new trading partners in an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system or adding or enhancing Ecommerce solutions, or Business Intelligence Analytics, or integrated logistics.

 

So this is the area where companies are going to need to focus. 

It really does not matter if the solution is in-house or cloud-based.  It is the functionality and “completeness” of the solution that matters most.  There are of course many details to consider when deciding where you solution will run, but the business needs will be the driving force. 

 

The article talks about simplifying the installation and user interfaces.  The user interfaces can always be tweaked to make them easier to navigate.  Executive level dashboards are likely the future for many.  You can get a quick snapshot of key metrics and then drill-down for details based on what is important to you-the-individual.

 

Simplifying the installation is altogether a different issue.  There is always room for improvement here, but do not ignore the fact that this is not “boxed” software.  It is often complex to implement, because the business operations are complex. 

 

You are not trying to tie together a word processor and spread sheet. 

 

You are integrating multiple departments, and lots of people and functional roles.  Good software that is affordable is going to have multiple configuration steps so that it closely matches the way you operate.  When the standard tailoring questions cannot configure well enough it is either a choice of changing the way you do business to match the software, modify the software to match your operations, some sort of compromise or consider that you have not made the right ERP selection.

 

Simplified is a great goal, but functionality is more important.

 

Enterprise efficiency is driven by the functionality and fit of the solution.  The more that is integrated, the better the right hand knows what the left hand is doing and management can make more intelligent decisions more quickly.  Remember that great functionality must be balanced with company culture.  If your people are used to working with spread sheets and you throw a major ERP solution at them without training and support, you will have the makings of a failure on your hands.  In this case it does not matter how good the solution is, it just does not fit.  A majority of the work implementing a new solution is up-front including the costs, which means that after you get over the “hump” and if you have the right solution, you start benefiting from the effort and investment.

 

There are a lot of decisions to be made and details considered when selecting a new installation, upgrade or replacement ERP solution.  At Dolvin Consulting we believe you need a trusted advisor to help you learn about your own organization and research the appropriate solution.  This is really the first step.  Solution providers can make all the dazzling changes they want, but until you know the driving metrics in your organization you have no way of knowing if the solution will fit. 

 

Replacing an ERP solution is like an organ transplant.  Consider a Heart transplant.  Would you do the operation if you did not really have to?  Would it not make sense to make sure you have the same blood type, RH factors and all those other medical terms checked?  How about the surgeon and his team?  What about the hospital that is providing the support and recovery?  Is there spare blood available?

You get it now.  This is risky and worth it, but you first need to know what you do not know.  Contact us today.  We are here to help you.  We care and want to help.  We do not know who you are so it is your responsibility to reach out for help.  Perhaps even for a second opinion.

We Could Not Balance our Inventory with our ERP Application

Maple Leaf’s Karen Pope commented, “We couldn’t balance our inventory with our ERP application, and inventory shortages sometimes resulted. Yet, we needed much more than an inventory solution.  We had to resolve the integration problem and streamline the entire manufacturing and distribution process at the same time.  We needed a true WMS solution, and only a company willing to learn our business from the bottom up could formulate a workable solution.  When VAI submitted its proposal we knew we had found the right company for the job.”

Read the full article by clicking this link.

Real-time inventory management is an essential component of production management.

Prior to implementation, the company employed a patchwork of non-integrated systems, primarily home-grown software and off-the-shelf products.  The warehouse software ran on a PC-based system.  At the end of each day, all remaining inventory balances were transferred into an ERP program.  Since the systems were not integrated, the balances rarely coincided.

 

The company was unable to quantify losses.

 

·         Maple Leaf required WMS and ERP applications capable of full integration. 

·         The solution needed to integrate all facilities and all phases of the manufacturing process.

·         Key employees at various locales must know, in real-time, exactly where a duck is in the manufacturing process, where it is located in the warehouse and at what facility the duck product resides.

The team from VAI reviewed Maple Leaf’s existing systems, analyzed business operations in detail and helped design S2K for Warehouse Management.
 

“We faced a formidable task in designing a WMS package for Maple Leaf,” said Larry Murphy, Vice President of Research and Development, VAI, “but we knew that our experience in enterprise management software gave us the capacity to design a cost-effective, tailored, fully integrated solution to meet all of Maple Leaf’s requirements regardless of the inherent complexity.”

Karen Pope, Manager, Business Applications, Maple Leaf Farms said, “Knowing that VAI had a reputation for being able to design completely integrated ERP packages in a variety of industries was an enormous advantage. We knew that integrating our operations and improving control of the production process would be a complex undertaking. VAI’s record of achievement made us comfortable, as did our overriding desire to produce better products and improve customer service and satisfaction.”

The entire duck manufacturing process is tracked utilizing one keystroke because the system tracks the duck, in whole or part.

 

The system tracks every scan, giving Maple Leaf a full inventory track and movement history as well as a complete employee efficiency tracking system.  The ERP implementation yields greater inventory control for Maple Leaf and enhances customer service.  The invoicing process is totally streamlined.

 

This is a true success story from many aspects.  Better inventory control, better shipment, fresher products delivered to their customers. 

 

Happy customers equals a better and growing business.

It is also apparent that VAI feels the same way towards Maple Leaf Farms. 

“… only a company willing to learn our business from the bottom up could formulate a workable solution.  When VAI submitted its proposal we knew we had found the right company for the job.”

 

There probably is no better endorsement for an organization.  VAI took the time to learn.  They did not go in and “tell” this company how to run their business.  VAI understood that Maple Leaf Farms knew what they were doing, but that they also needed a better tool set. 

It is like doing a home improvement project.  You have some basic tools and you struggle through the project and when it is done, there is a certain amount of pride in completing a job-well-done.  Yet when you watch people that do the same work for a living, you are impressed with the tools they have and use, the professionalism, and their confidence, not to mention how much quicker they get the work done via their teamwork.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) work.  They work really well when they are matched correctly with the challenges.  There are many different systems and most work well.  The challenge is finding the right fit.  The right culture, like VAI taking the time to listen, is a key ingredient. 

It is not a comfortable feeling to rip out your existing systems even if they are broken and replace them with something new.  What if the new system ends up being worse?  You need a group of professionals that have confidence and experience in your industry.  Most companies just need to feel confident that it can be done.  You know where you are, where you want to be, and it is the middle part (getting there) that often takes a leap of faith.  Working with those that have been in the middle before helps.

Dolvin Consulting work with partners VAI and IBM to deliver real world solutions to real world challenges.  Contact us today to begin the conversation.  We care and we believe that we can help.