Is it time for your business to update its use of technology?

The world of work continues to change – I often wonder how are we are supposed to keep up! It seems only yesterday that voicemails were a new and exciting innovation in the office. However, I recently discovered through an article in The Financial Times, by Lucy Kellaway, that JPMorgan have just scrapped their voicemails and that Coca-Cola decided to“press 3” and delete their voicemail system last year.  It seems that voicemails are no longer regarded as a valuable or essential communication tool in the modern office.

I also learned that over 100 years ago, it was actually JPMorgan who were one of the pioneers of telephone use in the office environment. Whilst other banking institutions were shunning this new gadget, JPMorgan's London office was placing their first major telephone order.

The Technology Evolution - Can Your Business Afford to “Wait and See”?

The example of JPMorgan sums up the nature of both business and technology – evolution is never ending (some would say relentless).  The real question is at what point do small and medium-sized businesses adopt new technology and move from the old (or should it be “less new”) to the latest?  Should your business strive to be an early adopter, or be a more “wait and see” type of organisation?   In the past, the“wait and see”principle had some merit. Wait for the prices to fall, and in the meantime, see your competitors make the mistakes.

These days the risk of the “wait and see”approach may be too great.  Those business that don't embrace new technology may fail to attract customers, employees and investors.  Companies that adopt new software solutions are able to be more efficient and more customer-centric. See how Ingimex has become more efficient and is now out-stripping the competition as a result of changing its ERP* software. 

"We’ve got a much, much shorter lead-time than our competitors”

Jeremy Gallen, Engineering Director, Ingimex

How do you know if your business would benefit from new business software?

Running a successful business is already full of external challenges – winning new customers and keeping them, being better than the competition, wondering if consumer confidence is really picking up or what the impact of the “The Great Fall of China” will be.  If, in addition to these external challenges, you’re finding that internal challenges like -  financial reporting, processing orders, managing suppliers - are draining your time and energy, you might want to read: 15 Red Flags: Is Your Accounting Software Hurting Your Business?

Life is Complicated - But Running Your Business Shouldn’t Have To Be

Running a business shouldn’t have to feel complicated. You should be able to connect your people, processes and systems. You should be able to have control over your financials, simplify your supply chain, and streamline business operations. You should also be able to seamlessly link all this with managing your calendars, emails, files, and spreadsheets. You should be able to access your information anywhere, on any device at any time, and be confident it’s up to date. You should be able to know that, as your business grows, your technology will continue to support you and grow with you. Learn more about what you should be able to do.

Why not take a leaf out of JPMorgan’s book (probably an ebook by now) - let go of the old and embrace the new.

*Enterprise Resource Planning - Often called ERP, ERP system, or ERP software, enterprise resource planning helps organisations manage their financials, supply chain, manufacturing, operations, reporting, and human resources.

Perfect Image have an opening for a Dynamics GP Consultant (Grade 3).

The position is for a full time position based in Newcastle upon Tyne in the North East of England, working on a growing team of consultants which includes the UK’s only Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for Microsoft Dynamics GP (and one of only two in Europe).

The full job specification is below and you can email me your CV to cv@nospam.azurecurve.co.uk (remove the nospam.).

The typically approach we have is that in the first instance I’ll review the CV and, if it shows the appropriate skills, I’ll conduct a quick phone call to confirm experience and system knowledge (no pressure), before we look to organise an in person interview with the relevant people at PI (HR Manager, the Director of Project Delivery and I) for anyone successful on the call.

Please only candidates who have not already applied via a recruiter and ABSOLUTELY NO RECRUITERS. If these rules aren’t abided by, I will immediately delete the CV.

Click to show/hide the full job specification

As you all know, you can either install Team Foundation Server (TFS) on promise, or use the cloud-hosted service called Visual Studio Online (VSO). They both offer very similar, but not exactly identical capabilities. Some features of TFS are not supported by VSO; on the other hand, VSO gets new features more rapidly than TFS and it also have a few unique abilities.

One major advantage or TFS over VSO is the ability to modify process templates – adding new fields, hiding unused ones, creating work item types, modifying states and workflows and so on. VSO came with some features to mitigate this limitation (such as you can use tags as a replacement of custom fields), but many teams really need customized process templates.

But that’s going to change. I’m sure it’s taken major engineering effort, but finally Visual Studio Online is going to offer many of the process customizations you may hunger for: new fields, new work item types, you name it. It also comes with some features, such as inheritance of process templates (customized templates will inherit changes in the original template).

If you want more details, the following blog post may be the best starting point: MSDN ALM blog: Visual Studio Online Process Customization – Update.

I think it’s a really major step for adoption of VSO. There are still less and less things that you can do in TFS and not in VSO.

It’s Friday and it feels like Excel week so far. Firstly, watch Derik walking you though Dynamics CRM’s immersive Excel feature that was released as part of the Spring 2015 update.

Then listen to the Dynamics CRM Podcast where Matthew Anderson joins us to tell us some things we didn’t know about the 2015 update 1 immersive Excel functionality.

Give us your feedback, all of it: good, bad, and ugly, I’m sure we can take it. Suggest new topics either in comments or by sending your ideas to jar@crmtipoftheday.com.

No matter the industry your business operates in, it must maintain a steady flow of clients. To do this, it must establish a brand that is focused on providing exceptional customer service. Fortunately, there are many tips you can follow to improve the customer service your business is able to provide, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM is here to help you achieve this goal.

Develop a foundation of knowledge

If you don't know anything about your customers, then how can you exceed their expectations? You can't, and this is the exact reason you need to build a foundation of knowledge about your customers. Your daily interactions should be stored in a CRM, which can then be used to analyze the interactions. You'll gain knowledge and insight into your customers' preferences, allowing you to better provide your services to them in a way that optimizes customer convenience.

What can Microsoft Dynamics CRM do for you?

It helps provide around-the-clock availability, has massive scalability features, and actionable customer insight. Your frontline employees will feel empowered to offer excellent customer service on a regular basis, knowing that they have the resources they need to effectively exceed your customers’ expectations.

Microsoft Dynamics CRM allows you to start a case and update it as many times as you like. You can use the system to identify which cases have been stalled and which ones are making the most progress. You'll be able to effectively and efficiently measure the mechanisms you use to provide customer satisfaction, allowing you to alter your customer service tactics to better meet customers' needs. All metrics can be formatted into visual formats, allowing your workers to have a better understanding of whether or not their efforts are paying off.

A CRM system also makes it simple for workers to share information with one another. For example, let's say a customer calls in to set up an automotive service appointment. The call can then be directed to the service department. Employees in the service department can bring up the customer's information in the CRM, allowing them to have an inside view of the customer's name, car make and model, and any prior services that have been performed. By already knowing this information, it simplifies the appointment-scheduling process.

If you're looking for a way to improve customer service -- and you should be, always -- then it's important to deploy a CRM system. You can accurately view, measure and analyze the customer experience lifecycle and make any changes that need to be made.

By Socius, a Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner in Ohio and Kansas (http://www.socius1.com/solutions/crm/keep-crm/)

The post Creating Excellent Customer Experiences with Shared Knowledge through CRM appeared first on CRM Software Blog.

The manufacturing and distribution industries are fast-paced and highly competitive, which introduces many challenges – one of which is inventory management.  In order to stand out ahead of the others, you need to be able to provide customers with quality products, in the right quantities, at the right time. Gain greater insight and control over inventory by deploying strong technology.

There are many methods and software solutions that can assist with managing inventory counts, however, you need to know more than just what’s in the warehouse. Manufacturers and distributors need to be able to identify trends with what customers are ordering so that the warehouse is stocked appropriately. Modern business management technology, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, can provide the insight you need to satisfy customers and your bottom line.

Robust ERP solutions, such as Microsoft Dynamics® GP, offer powerful inventory management in addition to other tools. You can manage all of your core business data from within this single, integrated solution including financials, supply chain and inventory, manufacturing and distribution operations, and human resources and payroll processes. It’s easier to enter, access, and use your data when it’s located within a centralized solution. In addition, your data can work together to provide a bigger view of your operations, productivity, and profitability. Not only can you have reliable inventory counts, you can identify trends with customer purchases. You may identify products that are increasing or decreasing in popularity and adjust safety buffer levels as well as procurement strategies accordingly.

In addition to improving inventory control, you can use Microsoft Dynamics GP to improve customer satisfaction. Your sales team can check on inventory availability while negotiating with a customer, for example, without putting the customer on hold. In addition, while discussing replenishment orders, your team can boost up-sales and cross-sales by offering items that may be complementary to what your customers already purchase.

Inventory insight and control is good for your customers and your business. Contact InterDyn BMI to learn how ERP can provide the insight you need to deliver the products your customers want, on time, and profitably.

by InterDyn BMI

Microsoft Dynamics® GP is a highly batch-oriented system. It was designed to allow transactions to be stored and then reviewed or audited before they are populated into the financials, including the general ledger.

Pam Burnham

There are third-party posting solutions for Dynamics GP that will allow you to circumvent this review or auditing step, and many people may use these for Dynamics GP itself or for solutions from independent software vendors, including barcode scanning applications for inventory management and fixed asset management.

But does real time posting make sense in every instance? In this audio podcast featuring Panatrack resident Dynamics GP expert Pam Burnham, we gain insights to real time posting: when it makes sense, and when it does not. Can you post some types of transactions in real time and audit others before they are posted? What are the specific questions that ought to be asked as a company plans its own approach to posting to Dynamics GP in real time?

“You could post by transaction type, or set it up to post by batch ID assignment," Pam says. "So if you get new people or temporary people coming in, you can treat them differently than the people you know and trust who you can set up in a batch ID to be able to post in real time. But new people coming in can be set up so you can audit them.”

Get these and other insights in this informative podcast when you stream this audio file! And stay in-the-know by subscribing to the Extended Business Podcast series!

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Over the years Sabre has been involved in a number of manufacturing product configurator selections at different customers. We did this in the role is as a product selection specialist - selected for our extensive experience with Manufacturing ERP and the principles of manufacturing such as bills of material, routings etc..

This is a short primer for those looking at getting a product configurator.

What is a product Configurator

A product configurator is a software product designed to "design" something by selecting from a set of options (often called attributes) in combinations that you as a business allow.  For instance, if you go to almost any big automotive company website, they have relatively simple product configurators for selecting a car and choosing options.  A very powerful configurator example is also on the website of DELL.

The most important aspect of these products is that you select options, and they restrict or block your ability to choose unmanufacturable products.  I don't think unmanufacturable is technically a word, but in this context it means something that you would not want to sell. It might be because the price or costs don't make it worth it - or it might be because it's so fabulously ugly you know people will return it - or it might be because it simply can't be made.

The best way to think of a configurator is to compare it to Excel.  Think of the rules as being like the formulas and data in a spreadsheet.  You create the rules based on what you need.  If you don’t do it correctly (like with a spreadsheet) you can end up with something unwieldy and impossible to understand.  If you design and carefully implement rules, they can be easy to manage and maintain.

So a configuration is made up of 2 parts.

• Rules (generally engineering or sales rules - "our Formulas")
• Engine (the configurator - "Excel")

How do you implement a Configurator?

1. Choose the right person
   Avoid the pitfall of choosing a junior staff member to implement this.  You would never get a junior staff member to design your product catalog - and this is an electronic product catalog. You must choose a senior person
2. Plan The Rules
   There are 3 types of rules this person (or several people) will write.  Focus on the Sales Rules only until they are rock solid.  Otherwise you can get into a vicious loop trying to get Materials Rules working.
   • Sales Rules - which are the "catalog" part of the rules.  These must be FINISHED before proceeding to the next step.  We recommend they are deployed because someone saying "I'm Finished" doesn't mean they actually have tested and confirmed they are working.
   • Materials Rules - which technically defines the "bill of materials" of a part.  This is a tricky activity especially if nobody has ever actually sat down and "codified" how you define your BOM. Most companies simply copy a similar configuration and make a change.  Computers need to build up the BOM from nothing.  They're not smart enough to change an existing one.
   • CAD Rules - it's not always necessary to do the materials rules first - but it can be hard to define CAD drawings for products if you don't know at least the main materials required.
3. Allocate the ResourcesDon't be overly optimistic about how long the project will take.  The collecting of the data you need to write your rules is almost like a forensic investigation.  The rules will not be all in one place.  I have found that I've needed to interview every person involved in a product catalog 3 or 4 times to find all the exceptions and emails and scribbled notes that contained the data that would go into the rules.

Why not Write my own Configurator

Finally, we get to the "why can't I just write my own and save money".

Writing your own configurator is like writing your own version of Excel.  I have seen it done a number of times, and 100% of the time the configurator is abandoned when the employee who wrote it left.  One customer told me the total effort to write their own configurator (over 10 years) was over $1M and we replaced it with an “off the shelf” product in 5 months at a cost of about $100K. Labor to create the rules was extra - but it was 1/4 as labour intestive as the "home made" version had been.  The previous product had REQUIRED their $75K per year programmer to remain on staff to change even simple things like a price.  The new one had no such issues.

For more reading, look at my previous blog.

Product Configurator Review

Also your need for a configurator depends on your mode of manufacturing

ERP Requirements for different Modes of Manufacturing

Feel free to contact me directly if you have any questions on this subject - robert@sabrelimited.com

by Sabre Limited

Greater control is about having visibility into how your business is performing—it’s about knowing that your system will help drive decision-making processes and enable your people to be more proactive and productive. Microsoft Dynamics NAV give you the confidence that the right people in your organization are making the right decisions. And it delivers the insight you need to monitor business performance from every possible angle—from employee time and resources to inventory and shipping.

Grow your business with NAV by giving your employees the insight to find and utilize information effectively:  

Streamline Financial Practices.  The intuitive RoleTailored interface delivers personalized access to the information and task most relevant to your role-including key financial processes.  With immediate access to the data you need, you can respond quickly and effectively.

Get a Clear View of your Financials.  Increase financial transparency with integrated systems, shared data, and drill-down capabilities that give you visibility into your transactions and audit trails.

Provide self-service reporting tools and real-time business intelligence.  Help your people make fast, informed decisions using powerful business intelligence data and significantly reduce ad-hoc request to the IT department for reports and other information.

Learn more by:  Visiting the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Information Page

or   Downloading the Microsoft Dynamics NAV Brochure

Posted by iCepts Technology Group Inc.  A Microsoft Dynamics NAV Partner in Pennsylvania