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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Radpol Group Selects IFS For Manufacturing Operations

Radpol Group, a Polish manufacturer and supplier to the heating and energy sector, has chosen IFS Applications 8 to support its business-critical processes. The IFS system will be implemented in four manufacturing facilities owned by Radpol. Listed on the Warsaw stock exchange, Radpol manufactures heat transfer systems, products for the energy market, plastic water supply and sewage pipes, and gas pipe systems and employs 2,600 people. The group operates five manufacturing sites in Poland and its products are also exported to a number of European countries including Italy, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Lithuania, Estonia, Czech Republic, and Russia.

Following an extensive evaluation involving several ERP system products, the company chose IFS Applications as the solution best design to enhance Radpol's operational efficiency. IFS's experience in working with companies in the energy and manufacturing sectors was a key factor in its selection.

The IFS implementation will cover all key areas, including manufacturing, distribution, HR and payroll, maintenance, financials and accounting, as well as business analytics. Through better production workflow planning and stock accuracy optimization, Radpol expects to reduce their working capital with manufacturing and supply chain areas bringing in significant savings.

It is expected that total savings resulting from the implementation will allow Radpol to raise their EBITDA margin by at least 145,000 euros per year and reduce working capital by approximately 240,000 euros.

To read more about this IFS implementation and others, visit the IFS News blog.

The 2013 Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. The 2014 edition will be available in May, 2014. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information.

You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

 
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Wednesday, April 23, 2014

E-commerce for Manufacturers and Distributors

Ecommerce has been a boon to retailers, enabling them to enter new geographical markets, attract customers who prefer to buy online or at off hours, and compete successfully with much larger retail chains. Now manufacturers are finding they can reap the same benefits by selling online, not only to their distributors and business partners, but even directly to consumers.

But selling online requires planning. Manufacturers and wholesalers must consider how ecommerce will affect their retail partners, most of whom probably also sell online, and create a cooperative strategy that benefits both the manufacturer and retail partners. Below are some guidelines for manufacturers and distributors moving or engaging in B2B ecommerce:

1.Create an omnichannel customer experience. Both B2C and B2B shoppers want to access the same products and features, payment options, and customer services regardless of the channel they are using.

2.Integrate systems. For ecommerce to work, data must be able to flow between the ecommerce, CRM, inventory, shipping and financial systems. Customers need accurate, real-time information on things like product availability, sales prices, and shipping status.

3.Prevent potential channel conflict. Manufacturers often fear they’ll alienate their channel partners by undertaking B2C ecommerce. However, there are ways to prevent that. Creating joint marketing and sales promotions, tying partner trade funds to the manufacturer’s or wholesaler’s overall sales, and not selling under retail prices will help to avoid channel conflict as well as boost overall sales.

4.Leverage sales data. Analysis of sales data can not only give the manufacturer or distributor better understanding of sales trends and buyer preferences, but can also be helpful in showing channel partners how your ecommerce effort is affecting them. In many cases, the data will show improved sales for everyone.

5.Map out a multi-year plan. Research your sales and support channels and develop a three- to five-year roadmap for incorporating ecommerce into your other channels. Identify potential pilot programs to roll out to test the ecommerce waters.

To learn more, visit the NetSuite Blog to access a recent webinar on e-commerce for distributors and manufacturers and learn more about their products for large and mid-sized businesses.

The 2013 Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. The 2014 edition will be available in April, 2014. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information.

You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

 
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Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Cloud Computing: Managing Security and Data Privacy with Acumatica

As a provider of Cloud ERP (enterprise resource planning), Acumatica is acutely aware of the concerns customers have when it comes to utilizing an external provider for hosting and data storage.

Because Acumatica was built from the ground up to exist in a hosted environment in the cloud, the solution was developed with security in mind. Any browser-based application must utilize strong data encryption techniques to ensure the safety of all data between the client browser and the server-based data store. Ensuring that at least 2048-bit SSL encryption is used in any session based browser application is key. But there are more issues to consider when thinking about data security and data privacy, many of which simply come down to best practices in data handling.

The weakest link in any information exchange involving human interaction is the people. Many of the most common breaches of data privacy and security come down to insufficient understanding of the topic by the people handling that data. Information systems security and techniques such as encryption can partially be mitigate this factor, but every organization has a responsibility to train its people on the effective handling of private and sensitive data.

To learn more about Acumatica's Cloud ERP solutions and best practices for training and development of staff in the areas of security and privacy, visit the Acumatica News Blog.


The 2013 Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. The 2014 edition will be available in April, 2014. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information.


You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

 
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Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Effective Approaches To Replenishment for Warehouse Inventory Management

Most companies consider warehouse inventory as a necessary evil – an expense that they’d rather not have to pay but a requirement for delivering the necessary service level to customers.

The challenge for supply chain management is to have the optimum amount of inventory (just enough to provide the desired service level) in each warehouse by managing replenishment.

Typically, there are three approaches to replenishment – push, pull, and distribution requirements planning (DRP).

In the push approach, central supply (the plant) manages replenishment. Push has good visibility but the plant is furthest removed from the source of demand (customers) so will likely fall short on customer service at the lowest levels of the chain. In a pull system, replenishment is triggered by orders from the bottom of the chain ‘pulling’ inventory from the next tier, which in turn orders from its supplying warehouse, on up to the plant. DRP is a time-phased, forecast-based replenishment approach very similar to MRP, with the distribution network structure providing the connections rather than the bill-of-material.

While all of these approaches are viable, each has its strengths and challenges. To learn more about each one, and solutions for effective management, visit the Advanced Supply Chain news blog.

The 2013 Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. The 2014 edition will be available in April, 2014. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information.
You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

 
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Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Epicor SaaS ERP Streamlines Operations for Chirch Global

Illinois-based Chirch Global Manufacturing, a Chicago-area manufacturer of metal stampings and sheet metal fabrications recently chose Epicor Software Corporation as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provider. Epicor's robust cloud-based service was an ideal match for Chirch Globals strategic goals: fulfilling customer needs in the best way possible.

In addition, using the Epicor ERP solution has improved communications across the Chirch Global enterprise, enabling better, faster reactions to market demand changes and customer needs. The partnership with Epicor reflects Chirch Global’s continual commitment to innovation, to staying abreast of technological advancements, and to serve as an all-encompassing resource for the manufacturing community. With the inception of the Chirch Global Manufacturing Network that currently consists of 15 best-in-class businesses, the company is now poised to become the single-source provider for nearly any type of manufacturing need in the year ahead.

For more information about the Chirch Global-Epicor ERP implementation, and to watch video interviews with key decision-makers, visit the Epicor Inspired Insights blog.

The 2013 Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. The 2014 edition will be available in April, 2014. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information.
You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

 
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