Investing in an ERP System......The Key to Automation

Many businesses follow a similar technology path as they transition from a small to medium to large business, migrating from "off the shelf" business software platforms, like QuickBooks, to ERP systems that can manage complex business requirements and enable continued growth. With names like Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, NetSuite and Epicore, ERP systems can provide small and medium businesses functionalities that rival those of Fortune 500 companies. Many ERP systems are available through a SaaS cloud platforms reducing investment cost and decreasing implementation time from months to weeks.

Once a business has purchased and implemented an ERP system, getting the most out of the investment is a universal challenge. The biggest opportunity, post ERP implementation, lies in automating manual processes. Automation has a direct impact on productivity improvement, revenue growth, error reduction and customer satisfaction.

While there are many automation opportunities, here are the first four high ROI areas I suggest clients work on immediately post ERP implementation.

1.     EDI – Electronic Data Interchange. This is the universal electronic transaction language for commercial and government business worldwide. An ERP system can speak EDI and transactions that previously utilized snail Mail, email, fax or phone can be transmitted instantly from another EDI capable business without manual intervention.

2.     Manual Orders – If you receive orders via email in .pdf format SaaS platforms can translate these orders into an EDI and automate entry into the ERP system eliminating costly manual entry processes and eliminating manual entry errors.

3.     Inventory and Product Data – Offering your products or services online is the goal of a growing business. An effective solution is all about the data it’s built to run on. Maintaining inventory, pricing and product data through an automated process is the key to success for any on-line sales and service platform and will exceed customer expectations and generate return customers and a growing revenue stream.

4.     Amazon & Third Party Sites and Marketplaces – Companies that utilize Amazon Seller or FBA services and work with customers utilizing third party marketplaces like SciQuest, Ariba, SAP and Coupa quickly realize there are dozens of time consuming and manual processes that can be automated through SaaS solutions or direct ERP configurations. Once transaction can flow through Amazon and third party marketplaces electronically and without manual intervention or updates.

Most importantly don’t try and do all the work yourself. Utilize a third party consultant, user groups, networking opportunities and the SBA to tap into the valuable experience and advice of those that came before you. The right solution may be a bit different for each business but getting it right will help you get the most out of your ERP investment and enable you to meet the goals of your business.

Andrew is the Founder & President of FourFront Consulting. Andrew works with small and medium businesses in the development and execution of business strategies and technology solutions.  

FourFront Consulting Partners with Portalink

For Release 03/20/2017

FourFront Consulting Announces Partnership with Portalink

San Diego, CA — 03/01/2017 — FourFront Consulting announced today a formal agreement, as an Accredited Partner, with Portalink a leading workflow automation software company. This partnership will enable FourFront Consulting to provide the complete suite of Portalink order and invoice automation solutions to clients effective immediately.

FourFront Consulting

FourFront Consulting is a provider of business development, sales process, technology solutions, leadership consulting, and negotiation services. FourFront Consulting enables small, medium, and diverse businesses to improve and optimize their performance, grow profitably, and to sustainably expand their market share. They also assist Public Sector and Fortune 1000 companies identify market trends and build effective market strategies, meet small and diverse business goals and build mutually beneficial business partnerships.

Portalink

Founded in 2007, Portalink’s mission is to transform the way that businesses transact with their trading partners, particularly in the exchange of purchase orders and invoices. Through a suite of industry leading technology solutions, Portalink helps organizations improve productivity, reduce overhead, reduce processing errors, improve order-to-shipment cycles, increase sales and improve customer service.

For more information about FourFront Consulting:

Catherine Strittmater, FourFront Corporate Relations 619-376-3156 Website: www.fourfrontconsulting.com

For more information about Portalink:

John Marshall, Chief Marketing Officer +61 410 634453 john.m@portalink.com Website: http://www.portalink.com/ 

Go to Your Local Events

I recently attended an event in my local market that provided me access to public procurement officials with access to decision makers, procurement opportunities and business networking opportunities. The best part of the event was that it was FREE! I made new contacts, met potential customers and had the chance to meet entrepreneurs with energy and attitude that fired me up! All of us struggle with managing and protecting our time and more often than not we protect our selling time in lieu of local events such as these. I do it, we all do it! But these local events can be awesome business development and networking opportunities that uncover new and relevant contacts, opportunities and partnerships that will create new selling opportunities for your pipeline.

So how do you narrow the focus on these events and ensure your give yourself a better chance of attending productive and relevant events?

1. Know what's out there. Sign up on mailing lists which notify you of events. Organizations that offer this service include the SBA, SCORE, SBDC and your State, County and Local Government procurement or small business organizations.

2. Ask about the event. Call the organizer to ask a few questions to determine if the event is the right for for you. If the event is heavy IT focused and you sell brooms or staffing services you may want to pass. Tap your own network to get information on previous events, Bad events will be easily uncovered and should be avoided.

3. Attend! Sometimes you have to go and see for yourself. If you do your research and it looks like a fit....go! Reduce your risk by attending events close to your business to minimize travel and cost. Keep an open mind and use the event as a sales AND networking event. 

The lesson here is that the most successful sales people, and businesses, use effective networking opportunities to grow their business. Networking is about finding new sales opportunities but also meeting people that could be future partners, employees, mentors and competitors. Showing up is just the start.....get out there and show what you've got!

Good luck and good selling!

Why Do We Hate Our Own Sales People?

I came across an article on LinkedIn, written by Peter Smith of the Meaford Group, that does a great job capturing many discussions we have with clients on a regular basis. The artical is titled "Why do we hate (our own) sales people?". I encourage you to read the article and engage your organization in a discussion on the cultural, business standing and performance of your sales organization. We believe that focus from the top can have a big impact on the bottom line in every organization.

Here are the key points from the article:

• Make sales a proud profession in your culture because if you don't sell, you are dead.
• Don't tolerate the derogatory jokes or snide remarks about your sales reps. Squash the people making them or better yet, make them a sales rep for a while.
• Don't confuse people with job titles. Sales people are hired to sell. Call them that. If a person is worried about having sales in their job title, then they probably do not have the right DNA.
• Train them. There aren't college or university courses on Sales as there are for Marketing, HR, Finance, Accounting or Engineering. You can't hire a person with a Bachelor of Science in Sales so the onus is on you to equip them with the skills required - from making their first sales call to negotiating a complex sales contract.
• Pay them a lot. If they get rich, so does your company. These are your top performers. Don't begrudge them their BMW's

Good luck and good selling!

http://meafordgroup.com/posts/37-why-do-we-hate-our-own-sales-people

Using The Resources Available

When we interview clients we get typically get asked about the work a consultant can do to help gain share and expand their business. Well, the answer is sometimes "it depends!" A new business is often learning how to understand if their business plan is effective, setting up foundational business practices and ensure that the "base" is solid. Many new businesses may benefit from utilizing the free services and resources available from the SBA, PTAC, SCORE and other organizations prior to spending critical and scarce start up resources. By doing this a new business can then more effectively determine the services that a consultant can provide as a jumping off point to what they can receive for free. Utilize the links below to the national organization sites and determine your local resources and get started engaging today!

www.sba.gov, www.aptac-us.org, www.score.org, www.americassbdc.org