ERP systems should include capabilities for business insights, supply chain management, and customer relationship management (CRM). Research conducted by IDG and published by Sage indicates that an investment into your company’s CRM system may yield positive impacts on your business later.

More Manufacturers Investing in CRM

Included in the IDG survey was a question about manufacturers’ investments into customer relationship management tools. Among those surveyed, 63 percent invested in technology to help them leverage customer relationship management to increase new sales.

Did it work? Fully 76 percent of those who said they invested in their CRM saw an improvement in their business, thanks to their investment.

Client Relationship Manager as Part of ERP Systems

A good ERP system offers useful, real-time data for decision making. One important part of decision making is customer data provided by a CRM system.

A good CRM system integrates sales and marketing dashboards with financial analysis so that the profitability of each account can be measured.  Data collected from a customer relationship management system can then be used to inform decision making.

You can offer your best customers a discount knowing you’ll make up the discount in volume, or you can offer other perks to customers who account for the majority of your sales. It’s up to you, but you can’t make this decision in a vacuum. You need accurate data.

As part of an ERP system implementation, CRM should be taken into account. Use cases, user interviews, and other data gathering before implementation is critical to ensure that a company’s investment into their CRM system will yield positive benefits.

Optimizing for Growth a Major Concern

The IDG study also asked an interesting question that ties indirectly into the question of CRM investment. Respondents were asked, “When making technology investment decisions to address key business challenges, which of the following outcomes is most critical for your company?”

Optimizing for growth was cited as important by 26 percent of the respondents. With a robust customer relationship management system such as the Sage CRM, you can optimize your data for growth. Reports by sales rep, territory, customer type, and more provide insights into where to invest or divest interests.

Customer Service Is Here to Stay

“The more things change, the more they stay the same”, as the old saying goes. The more manufacturers use technology to improve profits and grow their business, the more personal service customers demand.

A CRM system can help you go that extra mile and provide the service your customers have grown to expect. With a Sage CRM system, customer relationship management becomes easier. You’ll have access to order information, past orders, shipping data, and more.

According to Gartner research, cloud-based CRM accounted for 49 percent of all CRM revenues reported by service providers.  Cloud-based CRM offers a cost-effective, scalable, and secure method of providing the best CRM solution to your company at the best possible cost.

Now is the time to investigate CRM solutions for your company. With so much emphasis on service from among all manufacturing sectors, and more cost-effective CRM solutions at your fingertips, investing in CRM solutions can help you grow your business.

Sage CRM Solutions from IWI

Sage CRM solutions integrated with your Sage ERP can help you grow your business.  From enterprise software to business systems and more, when it’s time to improve your customer service, contact us. Call IWI at 1-866-916-3851 today.

Investing in automated business systems may help your business reduce human error and save a great deal of money each year. Just how much depends on your business and where automation can reduce such errors, but one common area where automated business systems helps is in warehouse and inventory management.

Investment in Business Systems Set to Grow

Manufacturers expect investments in technology to increase this year, according to an IDG Research Study conducted for Sage. They’re still spending on automated business processes, especially barcode systems in the warehouse. That’s one area, however, that continues to pay off in surprising and unexpected ways.

The report indicates that the second-highest priority among manufacturers is automating business systems and processes to better manage cash flow. Changes in both accounting systems and inventory management can improve cash flow and inventory tracking.

Investments in Automated Business Processes and Barcodes

Improving the efficiency of warehouse logistics and minimizing costly mistakes is high on the list of important tasks for many manufactures. According to the IDG study, 61 percent of those surveyed invested in technologies to improve warehouse logistics. These automated business processes resulted in an 86 percent improvement as a result of the investment, a good return for any business.

Automation Reduces Human Error

According to a study conducted by Wasp Barcoding Systems, if companies had unlimited money to invest in technology, 9 percent would invest in an automated inventory management system. Such technology investments shouldn’t be viewed as “nice to have.” If companies understood how much money these systems would save them, they’d quickly move them onto their “must have” list.

One small business quickly found out that by implementing an automated business process they could save $40,000 per year. An HVAC contractor featured in Small Biz Trends was losing money on parts and supplies that slipped through their manual inventory cracks. Once barcoding technology was installed in the company’s warehouse, they quickly found out where the gaps had occurred and were able to rectify their inventory mistakes. Their investment in automation reduced the human errors encountered during inventory checks and helped them save money.

Business System Automation Yields Surprising Benefits

If you’re considering investing in business systems, there are more benefits beyond improved warehouse efficiency.

These include:

• Precise inventory control: Barcode systems and other automation enables precise just in time inventory management. Never be out of stock on critical components or materials.
• Improved cash flows: Because precise inventory control reduces expenses, cash flows improve. You’ll have more cash available to invest in other projects.
• Reduce waste: Automated business systems can help you reduce waste and excess.
• Faster data: Business systems can provide faster, more accurate data. This can help you more quickly address changes in marketplace dynamics, buyer demand and more.
• Better tracking: Never be without essential supplies or equipment again. Barcodes can be used to track equipment, trucks, supplies and more so that you’ll always know precisely where they’re located. You can plan better and reduce downtime when you know where everything is at a moment’s notice.

Automated Business Systems from IWI

If you’re looking to automate your business systems, speak with an IWI representative today.  With so many choices on the market, it helps to have a vendor by your side who understands the nuances of manufacturing and can guide you through the myriad choices available.

From barcodes to barcode scanner systems and more, when it’s time to automate your business systems and invest in new technology, contact us. Call IWI at 1-866-916-3851 today.

Business systems that enhance supply chain visibility can help your business grow. A study conducted by IDG research for Sage provides insights into these and other methods that manufacturers consider to be of primary importance for business growth.

Top Considerations for Business Systems: Integration, Automation, Mobility

Among the top three priorities for technology investment by manufacturers, integration leads the way. Manufacturers want their inventory systems to integrate fully with their CRM systems, accounting, and sales software to help customers track shipments and provide real-time updates on where items are in transit.

Automation is also among the top three investments cited by the survey respondents. Manufacturers are looking for more ways to automate their businesses from front-end operations to sales and back-end fulfillment. Automation cuts down on costs, reduces human errors, and makes companies more efficient. All three lead to greater profits.

Lastly, when asked where they plan to invest their IT dollars, manufacturers cite using mobile technology to make sales and customer service departments more efficient. Cloud-based business systems and enterprise software are making data available to all employees, no matter where they’re working. This provides better information and updates which can, in turn, lead to higher customer satisfaction. The faster your sales and service team can answer customer queries about their shipments, the higher their satisfaction; and, the more they return to order from your company.

Insights into the Importance of Supply Chain Visibility

Nothing is more frustrating to customers than to hear “I don’t know” when they call and ask where their orders are in the shipping process. Businesses depend on reliable shipments to keep their doors open.

That concern is reflected in the IDG survey. When asked, “To what extent is your company experiencing challenges in the following areas in the daily operation of your business?”, 63 percent of companies responded yes, they are experiencing challenges in maintaining reliable shipments.

Investing in Warehouse Software Pays Back

In the same survey, companies were asked about areas of technology in which they had invested in the past one to two years, and whether or not they felt that investment paid off.

According to the survey, 61 percent of respondents had invested in software that would improve the efficiency of warehouse logistics and the accuracy of order fulfillment. The results of that investment showed an impressive 86 percent of respondents felt that this investment generated an improvement in their business.

Good Supply Chain Management Engenders Confidence

It’s really no surprise that investments into fulfillment accuracy generated an improvement in business. When customers get what they pay for on time and in good condition, they are satisfied with their order. When service is even better than they expected, thanks to robust enterprise software that includes supply chain management, they feel confident in their business decisions. Good service engenders confidence in a vendor, which in turn can lead to repeat business.

It’s an old saying that 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers, but ask any business person and they’ll say that it’s true. The less you need to spend on customer acquisition, the better. With good supply chain management and ERP solutions in place, you may find that customers order for the quality of your goods but return for the excellent service.

Sage 300 and Inventory Advisor from IWI

Real time insights into your supply chain are available with the click of a button. Sage Inventory Advisor seamlessly integrates Sage 300cloud (formerly known as Sage 300) and Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3) to product accurate, timely and actionable data to improve customer satisfaction and retention.  From enterprise software to business systems and more, when better data means increased profits, contact us. Call IWI at 1-866-916-3851 today.

Have your business systems been pieced together over time? Do you have a patchwork of software at different levels of technological maturity? Are you having interfacing and maintenance issues? If your software systems are not communicating, it may be time to switch to an integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.

Just like team sports, your business systems need to work together in order for your company to meet its goals. Many players working together can achieve much more than one player who is acting alone. While different business functions require tools that meet their specific needs, a problem occurs when the functional software is so isolated that it can’t work with any other system. They contribute to functional silos.

It’s a common problem that high-growth businesses share. As you add new offices, sales channels, products, and processes, you may have implemented short-term solutions to meet revenue goals. As a result, software applications were installed at different times and in different areas resulting in business process inefficiencies, software incompatibility, data loss, human error, complexity, and higher costs. When you have functional silos, challenges arise that can impede growth. Perhaps your company is already in this place. Or perhaps, you are headed down this path. In either case, it is important to begin to consider systems that will help you meet your long term corporate goals and that will enable growth and efficiency.

Teamwork is vital to achieving corporate goals. We require our employees to be team players; shouldn’t we require that of our software as well? Non-team players can be selfish, uncommunicative, and hard to work with. Unfortunately, this the case with much of our business software.

Many of the same qualities that define a good team player are qualities that you should look for in your business systems as well:

Effective Communication: A team player communicates well with other team members. Software that communicates effectively will easily integrate and talk to each other.

Sharing Information: Team players share information, knowledge, and experience that help the entire team. One of the most important benefits of “team playing” software is that data are shared among functions and processes without multiple data entry. This can be achieved through integrated enterprise resource planning solutions like Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3) or Sage 300cloud (formerly known as Sage 300).

Cooperation: Team players work with others and act together to accomplish a job. In the same way, business software needs to work across functions to achieve corporate goals.

Flexibility: Your team needs to deal with changing conditions and change course when situations change. Your business software needs to be flexible enough to incorporate future needs, growth and technology.

Active Participation: We want our employees to be proactive and identify problems. Good business software will run processes and indicate problems as they occur through alerts and dashboards.

Problem Solving: Team players identify problems and then collaborate with others to find a solution. An integrated ERP enables problems to be resolved across all functions.

Reliability: Team players show up and do the work they were hired to do. In the same way, your software systems need to work effectively and reliably.

Playing on a team requires collaboration; everyone needs to be striving for the same goal. The term, “collaboration,” has been overused. In the software technology world, it is often only used to define social media and conversation. But just talking about a problem won’t get you to the goal. You need to be able to share real data and processes. Your business systems need to enable cross-functional collaboration to meet company objectives for financial and market growth.

A big group of people using the same software doesn’t translate into collaboration. Cross-functional collaboration requires changing the culture, and often, your technology. Stand-alone software systems impose informational and operational silos. Departments cannot be integrated unless your business software talks to each other. Installing the most comprehensive system in each area that doesn’t communicate isn’t much better than no system at all. This means that sales, marketing, finance, operations, and service software should all be integrated, sharing the same database in real time. When all functions input data and have access to enterprise-wide systems, everyone can work together as a team. An integrated system gives the customer a better experience in addition to improving efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Contact us to learn more about our integrated ERP software, including Sage 300cloud (formerly known as Sage 300) and Sage X3 (formerly known as Sage X3), which will help your entire business work better as a team.

One of the key transformations in today’s manufacturing environment is the expansion of the enterprise to include more partnerships, closer customer relationships, and greater geographic focus. Manufacturers are looking for additional distribution channels and global production. Even if you are not expanding, you may be seeing increased international competition and price pressures in your traditional markets.

Global business is fast, aggressive and complex. Are you ready to compete in this market?

In order to compete, you will need to be agile, efficient, and flexible. You will need to overcome the challenges that global manufacturing raise. You will also need the right systems in place to support your business. The extended business model requires that enterprise systems are interconnected between customers, suppliers, and subcontractors to ensure free-flowing information. Your business systems need to support data sharing, financial reporting, and traceability.

Global markets offer revenue and profitability benefits

No matter what your size, globalization offers opportunities for revenue growth. Most economic growth is occurring in developing countries and, in many industries, that means an untapped market for your products. By expanding geographically, you are able to focus on growth in your existing product lines.

The most effective way to move into a global market is by developing new distribution channels. In fact, complex supply chains are shown to result in higher growth and profitability. Leveraging your supply chain can lead to optimized performance and create a sustainable advantage.

Global markets are more complex and bring more challenges

When you go global, you have to consider more complex issues and more volatile monetary and political situations. Changes can be rapid and unpredictable. Here are some of the factors that must be considered.

• Monetary issues—exchange rates, taxes, monetary devaluation, currency volatility
• Political issues—corruption, sanctions, military actions, protectionism
• Demand fluctuations—local competition, subsidies, depopulation,
• Resources—volatile prices, shortage of talent

These factors bring new challenges to your business.

• Outsourcing production, engineering, or logistics can result in longer lead times, increased risk, reduced flexibility, and less agility.
• Dispersion of the supply chain means that you need to manage more complexity in your distribution. It will be more difficult to maintain visibility and sustainability of your suppliers and customers.
• You will have to address different languages, cultures, and technology levels.
• Your business will need to understand tax structures, contract law, and the regulatory environment.

How to compete in a global market

In spite of the challenges that a global environment brings, manufacturers need to learn to compete not only to protect their current markets, but also to increase revenue and profitability. There are strategies to follow that will help you compete.

• Diversify your supplier and geographic base. Segment and tailor your supply chain based on demand. This will spread the risk and help sustain profitability.
• Partnerships and collaboration are the key to success. Some parts of the supply chain can be delivered more flexibly and cost-effectively through third parties.
• Improve visibility of your supply chain with better data exchange between production, suppliers, and customers. Greater collaboration and enhanced integration are crucial.
• Focus on providing value to the customer through innovation and service.
• Maintain robust metrics to measure your success or identify areas for improvement.

To achieve these strategic goals, an ERP with business intelligence is foundational to your success. An ERP can increase visibility, manage growth, improve collaboration, reduce costs, and streamline processes. With an ERP, you can centralize financial systems and decentralize your resources. An ERP that will help you navigate the challenges of global manufacturing will include:

• Support for multiple languages, currencies, taxes, regulations, and special characters.
• Provide real-time, central database access for all who need it, in the format that they require. All disparate data are gathered into a single database.
• Automation of standard processes and workflows.
• Scalability and flexibility to accommodate large or small locations with functionality as it is needed.
• Current technology that is easy to implement and update no matter where it is located.
• Interconnection with external systems to enable a collaborative work environment. Web access and standardized protocols are needed to deliver seamless connectivity.

As mobile devices gain more capabilities and become more cost-effective, they are a driving force for change on the manufacturing floor. Mobile interfaces have enabled manufacturers to add new services and cut costs. Advancements in technology have allowed for greater innovation and efficiency.

Workforce mobility is a top priority among manufacturing companies. In fact, best-in-class manufacturers and distributors are 119% more likely to provide mobile access to their business systems than their counterparts. (See How Do Your Business Systems Compare to Best-in-Class?)

Mobility is impacting all areas of the manufacturing process including order management, inventory management, material and asset tracking, labor tracking, and field sales and service. Mobility is a key enabler of lean automation by increasing productivity, accuracy, and communication. It enables mobile business intelligence through more devices on the factory floor collecting, transmitting, and using data.

Integrating mobile technology in your manufacturing solution will bring significant benefits to your business.

• Better Business Intelligence: Using mobile devices to capture real-time data on the manufacturing floor enables business managers to make better decisions with more accurate data. They are able to manage any process from any location, making decision-making more agile, as managers are not tied to an office but can be out where the decisions are made. With a mobile device, managers can access data to determine Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These critical data are made accessible through enterprise planning resource software like Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3) Enterprise Intelligence.
• Saving Costs and Improving Efficiency: More accurate information can lead directly to improved efficiencies and lower costs. Real-time data enables managers, both on the shop floor and in the front office, to react and change inefficient or broken processes more quickly. Using mobile technology can help reduce costs by eliminating paper processes, automating manual processes, and leading to immediate solutions of problems.
• Increased Sales and Competitiveness: Putting information into the field enables greater responsiveness to customer needs. Using mobile devices and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, sales staff can check inventory and pricing, submit orders, and take payment while at the customer site. This greatly increases order accuracy and reduces sales cycle time. Field service can receive work orders, access service history, and more while eliminating paper-based processes. Being more responsive to the customer increases customer satisfaction, the company’s competitiveness, and sales.

When implementing mobile technology for manufacturing automation you will need to address a number of challenges.

• Manufacturers must choose an application that will support their business goals, keeping in mind that employees may need new skill sets and learn to use new tools. The apps should be integrated with an enterprise resource planning system such as Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3) that supports mobile technology.
• You will need to choose the right device for the right process. Each business process in a manufacturing facility may need to be accessed differently. There are conflicting opinions on whether to only use industrial grade mobile devices or enable BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). If you choose BYOD, you will need to address security, scalability, and support. In some cases, it may make more sense to standardize on industrial-grade mobile devices made for manufacturing environments.
• Manufacturing systems are often information silos. Data is not connected or inaccessible, making it difficult to leverage into knowledge. In a mobile business strategy, data needs to be accessible and transparent. Information can be made accessible through data capture by a mobile device and the use of an ERP system that enables manufacturing automation.

It is essential to find, implement, and use ERP software, like Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3), in order to increase manufacturing automation.

Mobility is important in the warehouse as well. Follow this link to read more about warehouse mobility:  Enterprise Software with Mobile Access Promotes Agility.

IWI Consulting Group is available to help your business become more efficient through enterprise software and workforce mobility.  Contact us.

Last week, we talked about the new crop of challenges that have arisen in manufacturing management and strategies to address them. (Navigate the Challenges in Manufacturing.) We saw that marketplace changes have required that your business model change to remain competitive. Now let’s look at how your enterprise software should support you in this industry transformation.

Technology and market conditions are changing faster than ever.

The transition from an industrial marketplace to an information-intensive one has brought dramatic changes. Decisions have become more complex with the growth in technology, increased regulations regarding safety and sustainability, the blurring of industry boundaries, and the globalization of businesses.

In order to remain competitive in this changing marketplace, many manufacturers have reacted with flatter organizations that are more decentralized, enabling them to be more flexible and agile. Functions within businesses have been blurred with more collaboration and decentralization on processes and decisions.

Your enterprise software should help you manage change.

Your enterprise software should help you manage change rather than impede change. A big part of that response is whether your business management software can easily adapt to change and even help you adjust easily. Technology should provide you with the flexibility and adaptability you need to respond to rapid change in global trade and competition. An ERP allows you to do business without geographic or functional constraints while being more efficient and reducing costs.

Grade your enterprise software on these 6 key qualities that support change:

Does your ERP or business software have what it takes to help you through industry transformation? Here’s a checklist of key ERP requirements.

• Flexible implementation

Manufacturers need to be far more flexible in responding to changing environments. Fast response to customer needs and changing market demand are all essential to effective operations and business success. Autonomous production and operations units might be scattered geographically, but working within one common system.

Your ERP needs to support changes in strategies, regulations, and market dynamics. A flexible ERP is one that can be easily configured with modules and provide regular updates. It should offer multiple deployment options, including mobility. Implementing new capabilities needs to be rapid in order to meet the fast-paced changes in the marketplace.

• Efficient and automated processes

Businesses need to streamline operations for growth. Configured correctly, an ERP can lower administrative, operating, and inventory costs. Your ERP needs to accommodate new technology geared toward process efficiency. It needs to support end-to-end business processes, from order to billing. An ERP will help you maintain control, even as you distribute processes and decision-making, and eliminate overhead.

• Real-time analysis of information

Businesses need real-time access to information that enables decision-making. An ERP should allow you to respond quickly to unexpected situations whether those are internal or external. With an ERP, you can process data in a timelier manner to control operations, make decisions, and communicate. With data in the right hands, the business can be flatter and more agile.

The problem that arises in an information-rich marketplace is that managers are bombarded with data continually. Instead of being burdened with too much of the wrong kind of information, they need data that is specific to the tasks they perform and the decisions they make. With a business intelligence system integrated with your ERP, senior managers can easily access a wealth of data and make more informed decisions without the need for someone else to compile and analyze it.

• Collaborative processes

Manufacturers need to implement collaborative processes across departments, suppliers, and customers. In order to effectively and rapidly react to change, functional silos need to be eliminated.  Success and failure in one function affects activities in other functions. Your ERP should enable cross-functional collaboration using common data and processes. To facilitate communication, your ERP should be easy to use and accessible anywhere, anytime.

• Coordinated global operations

Even small businesses need to support global operations whether it is international sales or outsourced productions.  Your ERP should enhance communication, promote collaboration, distribute information, and facilitate e-commerce supporting multiple geographies, languages, and currencies. With the right technology, you can reduce the costs and complexity of doing business globally.

• Strong customer relationship management

Manufacturers need to become customer-centric. Your business isn’t the only one changing rapidly; your customers’ businesses are changing, as well. You can’t assume that what works today will work tomorrow. Instead, you need to put a system in place to be responsive to the changes in customer needs. Your ERP should provide tools such as customer relationship management (CRM) to help you manage your customer interactions.

In addition to technology, you need the right vendor to support change.

Not only do you need the right technology, but you need the right vendor to support change. Your vendor should offer products and services that will help you continuously innovate and improve in order to compete in a rapidly changing marketplace.

We believe that we are that type of vendor. IWI provides software, such as Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3), and tools including business intelligence, CRM, warehouse management, and human resource management that will help you continue to be successful. Contact us today if you’d like to implement an enterprise system that will help you manage change.

Manufacturing management can be challenging. Just when you think you’ve solved one problem, the next one raises its ugly head. Not only does it seem that you are always solving the next problem in manufacturing—the problems are arising faster than ever. It isn’t just your imagination—changes are happening more quickly than ever. Rapid changes in technology are transforming consumer behavior, customer demands, technical capabilities, and even legislation. This means that manufacturers need to change their practices to continuously innovate and streamline.

How the market is changing:

Technology innovation cycle is shorter. Technology improvements bring about many opportunities to add new services and cut costs. Advancements in technology enable greater manufacturing automation, new products, and service options. The problem isn’t advanced technology; the problem is how fast the technology is changing. It can be difficult to keep up.

Product life cycles are shrinking. Rapid changes in technology mean that product life cycles are shrinking. Think about the lifecycle of a mobile phone. New features and functionality are added every few months—a three-year old phone is considered ancient. This mentality is permeating nearly every manufacturing industry segment. What was new last year, is now old.

The world is getting smaller. Being competitive in today’s market means participating in the global marketplace. Being international is more than just sales; it includes global production and distribution as well. Many manufacturers are seeing more global competition which drives down prices.

Regulations are increasing. Thrown into this mix of industry transformation are increased regulations regarding sustainability and safety. The ‘throw-away’ aspect driven by shrinking product lifecycles have further drawn attention to the environment. In addition, with the globalization of the market, manufacturers need to consider international laws.

How manufacturers need to respond:

The market is changing and manufacturers need to change their business strategy and practices to remain competitive. Here are six business strategies that will help manufacturers compete.

Simplify manufacturing processes. Because manufacturers need to move more quickly than ever, it is critical to minimize production and design costs. Businesses can’t afford to implement processes with high costs and a long return on investment. Instead, manufacturers need to move to automated manufacturing and lean production to cut costs and deliver product quickly.

Narrow product focus. Market transformation may also require changing business strategy to focus on niche products and narrower markets.  Instead of a broad product mix, focus needs to be on shortening product development and lead times and improving product and service quality.

Tighten controls. In order to improve product quality as well as meet new regulations, more money may need to be spent in quality control. It is more important than ever to establish repeatable quality production. In addition, manufacturers need to know the rules for international business and follow them.

Learn to be flexible and agile. To enable quick response to rapid changes in the market, manufacturers need flexible skills and resources. To create agility, they need to reevaluate organizational design to improve communication and generate quick response. Flexibility and agility will assist manufacturers in improving R&D efficiency and the pace and value of innovation. Those who fail to embrace the new reality will be left behind.

Expand operations. While narrowing product focus, manufacturers cannot narrow their geographic focus. Instead, they need to expand to include international sales, implementing multi-channel distribution systems and perhaps global production. Partnerships may be essential in order to improve time-to-market and lower costs.

Improve customer relationships. In a fickle marketplace, customer relationships are more important than ever. After-market service and maintenance have become even more important to the revenue stream and the profitability of the company. Manufacturers need to consider service as a product.

Sound overwhelming? Modern ERP can help

When you need to be more agile and flexible while streamlining processes, a modern ERP is your answer. A modern ERP, like Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3) offers specialized add-ons while maintaining central data control. With this complete solution, you can streamline processes, produce a superior product, and improve customer satisfaction.

In the next few weeks, we will look at specific areas where an ERP can help manufacturers compete in this changing market. In the meantime, for more information, Contact IWI to implement a modern ERP for a challenging manufacturing environment.

Are you getting the most out of your business intelligence software? Are you able to pull the data and information you need to make better business decisions? There’s nothing more frustrating than investing in a business solution only to have it not produce the results you expected. Using a tool like Sage Enterprise Intelligence integrated with your enterprise software can transform your business when it is used correctly.

Companies can use business intelligence to strategically influence every part of the organization and transform key data and information into actionable insights to help businesses grow and respond to change. Both small and large companies can use business intelligence to gain a thorough understanding of their operations and form strategies to improve their future performance. While many companies view business intelligence as simply a data analytics tool, it is so much more than that. Business intelligence is a business solution capable of providing you with the answers you need to form strategic processes to support your plans for growth. While it can definitely help you analyze your data and understand patterns, it can also help you assess your current performance, forecast the future, and spur business action.

Business intelligence tools can help your company grow and succeed, but in order to do so, you have to use it correctly. We’ve created a list of practical ways you can use your business intelligence solution to support your business growth and plan for the future. Keep the following in mind as you explore how you can use business intelligence to expand your business:

Use business intelligence (BI) as a benchmark tool

Before you can begin accomplishing your business goals, you need to have a clear understanding of where your business is positioned now. BI tools can collect the necessary data from a variety of predetermined sources (these can include invoices, online sales orders, packing slips, etc.) The software will then analyze that data and report on key trends to help you gain a clear picture of your business. Almost any question you have about the current state of your business can be answered by analyzing key data sources with your BI tools.

Assess risk and identify areas for improvement

Business intelligence can help reduce business risk by providing users with an explanation on the relative profitability of every area of business. Business intelligence can also help you reduce the associated risk of unpredicted occurrences, such as losing a supplier to bankruptcy or losing a valuable customer to another company. By utilizing BI tools effectively, you can plan for these losses based on your current levels of supply and demand. When the time to make major business changes arrives, your business will be able to respond accordingly.

Measure the ROI of employees, customers, products and suppliers

One of the major benefits of business intelligence is its ability to help you predict and measure the ROI of your business decisions. Business intelligence can be used to analyze the cost and ROI of partnering with a certain supplier or adding a new product. When used effectively, it is a great tool for helping you measure the ROI of pending business decisions and strategies.

Forecast

Business intelligence is an excellent business forecasting tool. Many companies use their solutions to forecast inventory levels, customer behavior, and product demand. By monitoring the state of your business and collecting important data, you can gain an idea of your business’ future. While this information certainly cannot predict the future, it can help you create adequate plans for whatever the future brings.

Business intelligence is an invaluable tool to have in today’s marketplace. Knowing how to use it properly will improve your chances for success and allow you to focus on growing your business. Contact us today if you’d like to learn how you can better utilize your business intelligence tools. If you aren’t currently using business intelligence, let us know. We’d love to get you set up with a solution that integrates with your current business software.

Be More Productive with Sage Enterprise Intelligence Integrated with Your Enterprise Software

We are always looking for ways to save time in our daily activities. Time is one of our most precious commodities, so it is wise to use it well. Here is a simple way to eliminate busywork and add more time to your day so you can focus on more important activities.

Using a business intelligence solution integrated with your enterprise software can improve the reporting process and give you the information you need in a fraction of the time. An Aberdeen study suggests that using business intelligence can reduce time to notification of a significant event by 5.5 hours. Sage Enterprise Intelligence can extract essential information from large volumes of data stored in your enterprise software, such as Sage 300 and Sage EM (formerly known as Sage X3), and reduce time to decision.

Eliminate manual reporting time

Intelligent financial reporting enables employees to use time more productively by removing the manual element of data analysis. In turn, this allows for certain expenses or specified data sets to be pulled up in the blink of an eye instead of requiring hours of manual collection and data processing.

Improve focus on business objectives

Participating in the day-to-day operations can divert attention from overall business objectives and goals which are key to taking your company to a whole new level. Financial reporting using business reporting helps bring staff closer to those goals. Using custom dashboards allows things like slow paying debtors to be identified easily to be sure they are being monitored.

Maintain consistency and automate tasks

In an instant, business intelligence allows employees to draw key conclusions from volumes of data. Intelligent financial reporting features found in Sage Enterprise Intelligence give the flexibility to customize and manipulate reports to make them even easier to analyze and use. It is also possible to make sure your company’s brand identity is adhered to by customizing reports with the same look. The automation of these tasks saves time while also keeping the company image from inconsistencies.

Find problem areas faster

Business intelligence helps create dashboards that assist in product and revenue analysis. This provides the opportunity to drill down on key products that are high revenue generators and to emphasize products and ways to improve those that aren’t selling well.

Watch KPIs that affect your business

Key performance indicators (KPIs) offer so much valuable information, but they can take time to collect. With Sage Enterprise Intelligence software, reporting of these KPIs is made easy by spending less time generating them and more time using the information at your fingertips to evaluate and act on the results.

As you can see, there are many ways to save time in reporting accurate and relevant data. The nice part is that one-time customizations can be re-used over and over, making them even more time-saving. Ultimately, this allows for more time to focus on business goals and objectives while not compromising the quality or accuracy of the reports at all. Much of this comes from eliminating human error by letting the accounting system do the work for you.

In summary, business intelligence improves decision making processes, makes it easy to access and share information, enables analysis in real-time, reduces the chance of creating bottlenecks, and helps identify what might be wasteful or unnecessary. Sage Enterprise Intelligence offers all of this and so much more functionality to help in automating and speeding up reporting. To learn more about Sage Enterprise Intelligence, visit here. For further assistance, contact us here at IWI Consulting Group. We can help you get your job done while saving you time!