What Your Employers & Customers Aren’t Telling You About Your ERP Technology

Fuente: inddist.com

You’ve been running your distribution business on the same software for more than a decade. It paid for itself years ago and still performs the same basic functions it did when you logged in that very first time. You have every reason to feel proud of making a sound technology investment way back when.

What others — including your employees and customers — might not tell you, however, is that this same software could be slowly, inexorably strangling the life out of your business.

DEEPER INSIGHTS

Growing a Modern, Integrated Distribution Business

I recently spoke with a wholesaler who was a “power user” of one of our legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms dating back to the mid-1980s. He admitted that his software had outlived its purpose as far back as 2002. He finally upgraded to a powerful, modern solution in 2014. So, what happened during the intervening years? “We coasted, and it hurt us,” he said. “I knew I needed to make a change, but kept coming up with reasons to wait till next year.”

What this business owner would tell you today is that had he replaced his old software even four years earlier, it already would have paid for itself multiple times through increased efficiency, reduced labor and inventory expenses and improved customer satisfaction.

“It’s always easy to put off an important decision until next month or next year — especially when it involves a financial investment,” he said. “But the worst thing you can do is convince yourself that indecision doesn’t carry a price of its own. And that price can be very high.”

This business owner saw firsthand what he had been missing simply by observing his employees, who were now “willing to explore new ways to service our customers.” With the old system, they had a limited ability to capture important information on customer buying patterns. They were spending hours each day on price maintenance rather than focusing on building sales. They couldn’t analyze their business performance beyond a few canned reports.

With the new software, however, all of this changed. “I suddenly saw long-time employees who were re-energized and who had confidence that they could attack problems in new, more efficient ways. It was like they had been waiting for me to give them these tools for several years. How do you assign a value to that?”

Impact Throughout The Business

Unlike transaction-based legacy systems, unlimited access to your business data in a modern, open database environment can give employees the ability to analyze, providing real-time information to make better decisions and call out exceptions. This can lead to improved customer service and growth.

As employees accomplish more in their daily tasks, customers will see faster responses and more accurate service. For example, collaborative order entry reinforces customer confidence and prevents expensive errors from incorrect material orders and deliveries.

Likewise, mobility in more modern ERP systems can extend the application to workers outside of the office (e.g., giving the sales team data connectivity on the road to update order status). According to one distributor, “In an environment where everyone expects information now, I believe mobility with our ERP system gives our sales team access to the data needed to meet those expectations. We also receive real-time information that allows us to review open quotes, outstanding A/R, etc. to address while making a call to an account. In short, it allows us to work smarter, faster and with the most up-to-date data.”

Modern systems can also offer other sophisticated functionality that is important to HVAC and plumbing distributors, such as volume rebate tracking, customer-facing order entry, front counter capabilities, document imaging, job-based pricing, assemblies, disassemblies and modifications. For example, job-based pricing provides the ability to quote a job and store those prices for the material in a contract, so that the prices are guaranteed throughout the job. 

Enabling Sales and Profits

Bob Dylan wrote, “If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying.” The same seems to be true in the context of operating a distribution business. The wholesalers who are most energized and, often, most successful, are the ones who understand that technology is a sales and profit enabler, not a cost center. They are continually looking for ways to harvest additional competitive value from their systems, and when those systems have been maxed out, they carefully select a new system with proven potential to drive their growth for the next several years. 

Conversely, there are businesses that continue to rely on an outdated solution simply for the reason that it still turns on every morning. It’s no wonder that many of these business owners are working harder than ever just to maintain some semblance of the sales and profitability they enjoyed 10 years ago.

Michael Lovelace

Director of business development, distribution for Epicor Software

Which are you? A business owner committed to aggressive growth and to attracting and retaining high-energy employees who look forward to coming to work each day? Or are you experiencing a steady erosion of your business as customers move to competitors?

If you’re the former, I congratulate you on your willingness to seek continuous improvement through leading edge technologies. If you’re the latter, I urge you to make the investment you’ve been postponing for so long. Haven’t you already paid too high a price?

Planean ejecutivos acelerar inversión de TI en almacenes

Fuente: http://www.logisticamx.enfasis.com

En estudio de Zebra se indica que la mitad de los profesionales tenían previsto cambiar a un mejor sistema en 2015, mientras que el 75% lo tiene programado para el 2020.

 

  

El estudio compara la información de más de mil 378 jefes de gestión de tecnología y profesionales de operaciones de almacenes sobre las expectativas del 2015 frente a las del 2002.

Nota relacionada

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Presenta Zebra equipos para transporte y almacenes

Tecnología, necesaria para la maximización de flotas

Reconoce Zebra a sus mejores socios en América Latina 

De acuerdo con el estudio realizado por Zebra Technologies llamado “Warehouse Vision 2020”, las expectativas de los consumidores impulsarán una mayor inversión en la tecnología de información (TI) y en las funciones operativas de las bodegas durante los próximos cuatro años, ya que las empresas de manufactura y logística continuarán realizando ajustes para la entrega directa a los consumidores.

El estudio compara la información de más de mil 378 jefes de gestión de tecnología y profesionales de operaciones de almacenes sobre las expectativas del 2015 frente a las del 2002. Fue aplicada en octubre de 2015 y participaron 12 países: Australia, Brasil, Canadá, China, Francia, Alemania, India, Italia, España, Reino Unido, Estados Unidos y México. 

Mark Wheeler, Director de Warehouse Solutions de Zebra Technologies, explicó que los tomadores de decisión de TI y profesionales de operaciones en las bodegas y centros de distribución tienen que identificar nuevas formas de mejorar la productividad y reducir costos para permanecer competitivos. Subrayó que la mitad de los encuestados indicaron una preocupación por el rendimiento del trabajo en el proceso de cumplimiento de pedidos: “en Zebra vemos esto como un área clave de oportunidad: proporcionar a los trabajadores con las herramientas que necesitan para hacer su trabajo con precisión, y de forma productiva ayudar a las empresas a cumplir y superar las expectativas del cliente para la precisión y entrega puntual.

Entre los resultados del estudio destaca que más del 40% de los encuestados citaron un menor tiempo de entrega, como medida clave que requiere una inversión de almacenes y bodegas. Además, un 76% espera un incremento en el número de ubicaciones de los almacenes y en el volumen de los productos enviados fuera de estos, lo que indica una mayor demanda de los consumidores.

La mitad de los profesionales de operaciones y TI tenían previsto cambiar a un mejor  más moderno sistema durante el año pasado, mientras que el 75% de ellos lo tiene programado para el 2020, con el fin de ayudar a controlar el aumento de las ubicaciones de los almacenes y los artículos enviados. El 51% esperaba una mayor inversión en los sistemas de localización que supervisan el inventario y los activos de la bodega en tiempo real durante el año pasado. Para el 2020, este número alcanza hasta un 76% de los encuestados.

Los ejecutivos anticipan un incremento de las mercancías entrantes que serán etiquetadas con códigos de barras durante los próximos cinco años, cifra que pasará del 66% de los encuestados el año pasado al 82% para 2020.

La inversión en procesos y herramientas para el 2020, son algunos de los planes de los encuestados: 76% busca crecer el volumen de artículos enviados, 73% equipar a todo el personal con tecnología adecuada, 68% escanear el código de barras, 66% implementar el uso de tabletas y el 62% acercarse más hacia la tendencia de internet de las cosas. 

Apple & Companies to Deliver New iOS Work on iPhone & iPad

Fuente: news.sap.com

Companies to Deliver New iOS Apps & SDK to Create Powerful, Native Enterprise Apps

CUPERTINO, Calif. and WALLDORF, Germany — Apple® and SAP today announced a partnership to revolutionize the mobile work experience for enterprise customers of all sizes, combining powerful native apps for iPhone® and iPad® with the cutting-edge capabilities of the SAP HANA platform.

This joint effort will also deliver a new iOS software development kit (SDK) and training academy so that developers, partners and customers can easily build native iOS apps tailored to their business needs.

Apple CEO Tim Cook and SAP CEO Bill McDermott meet at Apple’s campus in Cupertino to announce a new partnership to revolutionize work on iPhone and iPad. Courtesy of Apple/Roy Zipstein

“This partnership will transform how iPhone and iPad are used in enterprise by bringing together the innovation and security of iOS with SAP’s deep expertise in business software,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “As the leader in enterprise software and with 76% of business transactions touching an SAP system, SAP is the ideal partner to help us truly transform how businesses around the world are run on iPhone and iPad. Through the new SDK, we’re empowering SAP’s more than 2.5 million developers to build powerful native apps that fully leverage SAP HANA Cloud Platform and tap into the incredible capabilities that only iOS devices can deliver.”

“We’re proud to take this special partnership between Apple and SAP to a groundbreaking new place,” said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP. “In giving people an agile and intuitive business experience, we empower them to know more, care more and do more. By combining the powerful capabilities of SAP HANA Cloud Platform and SAP S/4HANA, together with iOS, the leading and most secure mobile platform for enterprise, we will help deliver live data to people wherever and whenever they choose to work. Apple and SAP share a commitment to shaping the future, helping the world run better and improving people’s lives.”

The companies plan to deliver a new SAP HANA Cloud Platform SDK exclusively for iOS that will provide businesses, designers and developers the tools to quickly and efficiently build their own iOS apps for iPhone and iPad, based on SAP HANA Cloud Platform, SAP’s open platform as a service. These native apps will provide access to core data and business processes on SAP S/4HANA, while taking full advantage of iPhone and iPad features like Touch ID®, Location Services and Notifications.

A new SAP Fiori for iOS design language will take the award-winning SAP Fiori user experience to the next level by combining it with a consumer-grade iOS experience to deliver on the robust user needs in the enterprise and enable developers to build next-generation apps. To help SAP’s 2.5-million member global developer community take full advantage of the new SDK and Apple’s innovative hardware and software, a new SAP Academy for iOS will offer tools and training. The new SDK, design language and academy will begin rolling out before the end of the year.

As a part of the partnership, SAP will develop native iOS apps for critical business operations. These apps for iPhone and iPad will be built with Swift™, Apple’s modern, secure and interactive programming language, and will offer a familiar user experience with the SAP Fiori for iOS design language. Workers across industries will be empowered to access the critical enterprise data, processes and user experience they need to make decisions and take action right from their iPhone or iPad through apps designed to enable a field maintenance worker to order parts or schedule service, or a doctor to share the latest patient data with other healthcare professionals.

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable approximately 310,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

Apple revolutionized personal technology with the introduction of the Macintosh in 1984. Today, Apple leads the world in innovation with iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. Apple’s four software platforms — iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud. Apple’s 100,000 employees are dedicated to making the best products on earth, and to leaving the world better than we found it.