Acumatica Cloud ERP Software Keeps Businesses Running Through Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy had a wide-ranging and devastating impact as it slammed though the U.S. East Coast just a few short weeks ago. While power and internet service was out for hundreds of thousands of businesses and residences all along the East Coast for well over a week, smart technology planning and adoption of cloud technologies kept businesses like AME Corporation up and running, and in touch with their employees, their customers and suppliers, shortly after the storm subsided.

AME Corporation specializes in custom rubber and plastic components and sealing solutions, with locations in New Jersey and Shanghai, China. About five years ago, AME Corporation’s President and CEO Ehren Dimitry had the foresight to understand how cloud computing could really give his business a competitive advantage, and could help save his business in the event that natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy strike.

AME uses Acumatica’s built-in business wiki to create and store standard operating procedures, workflow diagrams, and collaborative documents between operations in New Jersey and Shanghai. AME is working with Acumatica partner SIPD Services to fully integrate Box, AME’s preferred cloud-based file repository and collaboration service.

To view a short video of AME Corporation’s president and CEO showcasing their decision to use Acumatica, and to download the case study featuring AME Corporation, visit the Acumatica blog.

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Infor Wins Technology Innovation Award at Equip'Hotel Show

Infor, a leading provider of business application software serving more than 70,000 customers, announced that Infor Hospitality has been awarded a prestigious Equip’ Innov Award for one of the most innovative products in the technology category at the Equip’ Hotel Industry Conference and Exhibition in Paris.

Infor HMS was selected because the application has made significant strides in cloud, mobility and social network integration solutions, expanding rapidly into international markets. Infor HMS is a multi-departmental application that touches the important areas of the business – whether it’s financial asset management, central reservations, revenue management or corporate office, on-property operations, sales, marketing, maintenance or staffing schedules. Infor Hospitality connects hospitality-specific strategy and plans to front- and back-office systems so organizations have tools to operate more efficiently, make better decisions faster and maximize revenue opportunities.

Learn more on the Hospitality Upgrade blog.

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Document Scanning & Distribution Enhances Sage ERP X3

Inixion Ltd. has recently announced the full release of their Document Scanning & Distribution enhancement for Sage ERP X3 – providing users with Advanced Document Management functionality.

The new release provides desired tools for companies wishing to automate paper based processes and begin the transition to paperless interaction with customers, suppliers, prospects etc. These features are to easily scan paper documents such as supplier invoices and correctly archive them with the corresponding electronic record within the ERP system, and also to simply automate the distribution of outgoing documents, typically to multiple email recipients.

To learn more, visit the Inixion website.

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ERP Can Reduce Analysis Paralysis

Is your company a victim of analysis paralysis? There’s always one more report, one more piece of data and one more perspective you can digest before making a decision.

Distributors are taking advantage of technology to pull more and more data, but if you don’t have the right systems in place, data can be difficult to process.

Making decisions too soon is a mistake, but so is making decisions too late after customers or competitors have moved in another direction. When a manager has too much information, it’s likely enabling the manager to procrastinate on important data-based decisions.

Having a well-crafted ERP system with the right tools to drill down into the data is a solution to the analysis paralysis problem.

Read more on the Modern Distribution Management website.

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The Business Benefits of SaaS Software

The benefits of SaaS software have continued to gain momentum in the context of today’s economic uncertainties. The business benefits of SaaS software are contributing to this growth.

Internet security and compliance firm MXSweep recently cited six business benefits of SaaS solutions:

1. Lower total cost of ownership
2. No infrastructure concerns
3. Faster go-live time
4. Easier upgrades
5. Use-based pricing
6. Improved security

Cloud-based solutions such as SaaS software can help organizations incorporate, design, deliver, or manage software development to build smarter products and services and increase the utilization of hardware and IT staff, all while managing risk and cost across the software development lifecycle.

To read more, visit the Epicor blog.

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3 Questions Every Distributor Should Ask About Analytics

Data doesn’t speak, it only responds.

Turning data into usable information is the responsibility of the user. It’s up to you to analyze your mountains of data to seek out the answers you’re looking for.

Whether you’re a multimillion-dollar company or a small start-up, distributors must answer three analytics questions:

1) Is my business doing OK? Or more specifically, how is your industry doing?

2) Which KPIs should I be focusing on? Distributors should ask: How are sales doing? Margin? Inventory turnover? Receivable collections? Personnel productivity? These things really make the difference.

3) What do my customers need? It’s not enough to focus your efforts on the 10 biggest customers because those 10 customers aren’t necessarily the most profitable customers. They may, in fact, be a resource drain.

Read more on the Advanced Distribution Today blog.

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VAI Provides "Role-Based" Computing with S2K Enterprise Release 5.4.

New S2K Web Client Provides Flexible Interface to Enhance User Productivity

RONKONKOMA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.), a leading provider of ERP software, announced that Release 5.4 will offer a windows client and a web client for an enhanced user experience. The S2K Web Client will provide anywhere, anytime access from any device with a browser, and provide seamless integration with other web applications. Additionally, this interface will enable social possibilities with integration to IBM’s Smart Cloud for Social Business platform. The IBM Smart Cloud Solution provides enterprise-grade file sharing, communities, web meetings, mail and calendar for any organization.

“ERP systems today provide a wealth of applications and functions that can sometimes overwhelm the user”

By running business applications through a web browser, users can leverage VAI’s S2K Enterprise Portal technology to create role-based access where screens, applications, and dashboards have been consolidated and customized for the specific role of the user. Through the use of single sign-on, the user can consolidate multiple applications including S2K CRM, S2K Analytics, S2K Enterprise and IBM Smart Cloud, all within one browser session. Additionally, users can configure their own workspace by accessing a myriad of S2K and collaborative portlets that can be arranged on their home screen for immediate access to essential information.

“ERP systems today provide a wealth of applications and functions that can sometimes overwhelm the user,” said Joe Scioscia, VP of Sales, VAI. “Allowing users to tailor their screens to the exact applications and information that is important to their role will increase employee productivity and allow the user to react quickly to business demands. Role-based computing is the next evolution of ERP software and VAI is excited to bring this dynamic user experience to our client base with S2K Enterprise Release 5.4.”

About VAI (Vormittag Associates, Inc.)

VAI is a leading independent mid-market ERP software developer renowned for its flexible solutions and ability to automate critical business functions for the distribution, manufacturing, specialty retail and service sectors. An IBM Premier Business Partner, VAI is the 2012 IBM Beacon Award Winner for Outstanding Solutions for Midsize Businesses. VAI continues to innovate with new solutions that leverage analytics, business intelligence, mobility and cloud technology to help customers make more informed business decisions in real-time and empower their mobile workforces. VAI is headquartered in Ronkonkoma, NY with branch offices in Florida, Illinois and California. For more information, visit www.vai.net, follow @VAISoftware on Twitter or “like us” on facebook.com/VAISoftware.

Contacts

fama PR
Gail Scibelli, 617-986-5019
vai@famapr.com

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NetSuite's SuiteCommerce Catches the Asian e-Commerce Boom

NetSuite Inc., an industry leading provider of cloud-based financials and ERP software suites, recently announced the availability of NetSuite SuiteCommerce for Asian businesses, bringing the Commerce as a Service (CaaS) capabilities of the platform to a region where rising incomes, a growing middle class, and increasing web access have driven a rapid adoption of eCommerce. Key to NetSuite's CaaS initiative is NetSuite SuiteCommerce, a new commerce-aware platform that enables businesses to manage interactions with other businesses and directly with consumers on a single cloud platform across multiple touchpoints, including websites, smartphones, tablets, in-store and social media. It delivers an enhanced customer experience and works seamlessly with NetSuite's advanced order management capabilities.

Read more about this development on the NetSuite website.

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Do You Have a Lean Demand-Driven Supply Chain?

Much of the focus on supply chain management in the business literature is on basic formulas, lead times, and other factors that impact supply chain management outcomes. But lurking across your enterprise and the supply chain are other powerful forces, and missed opportunities, that influence supply chain policy. These points of influence can create obstacles and dilemmas to getting a grip on your chain.

Read more on the Infor blog, the Informed Distributor.

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Are Mobile Apps The Next Big Thing For Distributors?

Customers want quick, easy access to your products. They want to know a few key things like: Where is my order? Do you have a product in stock? When can I get it? How much does it cost?

The Electrical Distributor Magazine reviewed a new mobile app made by Grainger which allows instant access to the company’s 900,000 products. Grainger is blazing the path. Eventually, every distributor will have to do this. Mobile apps will make maintenance, repair and operations easier, as professionals search for products, see account pricing, check availability and order products from anywhere.

Read more about this new development on the Advanced Distribution Today blog.

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AME Selects Acumatica Cloud ERP to Integrate Domestic and International Operations

Acumatica, a leading global provider of cloud enterprise resource Planning (ERP) and financial software, recently released a successful case study of cloud ERP migration, showcasing one of their clients, AME Corporation.

AME Corporation is a manufacturer and distributor/supplier of rubber and plastic components and sealing solutions, with locations in New Jersey and Shanghai, China. Migrating from an older client-server ERP system, AME’s new requirements included a scalable user licensing model, integrated financials, supply chain and document management, multi-user licensing support, and multi-location capabilities all delivered as an integrated cloud solution with built-in contingency planning.

To learn more about the project, visit the Acumatica website.

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Manufacturing the Cloud: The Future Looks Bright

NetSuite has recently upgraded to the 2012.2 release and from a manufacturer’s perspective, there are several highlights:

1) Manufacturing Work in Process: Manage your shop floor activities with finer control with the new Manufacturing Work in Process (WIP) functionality. This new functionality adds a multi-step process, which includes work order issue, work order completion and work order close.

2) Revision Control: Track effective and obsolete components in a bill of materials (BOM) with effectivity dating or revision control.

3) Lead Time per Location: Enter lead time and safety stock levels on a per-location basis. With the addition of this capability, users can refine their planning process with more accurate safety stock and lead time values.

4) Cycle Counting: This new feature provides warehouse managers with a higher level of inventory accuracy, enabling tighter control over the company's assets.

5) Serial Number Generation: Lot and serial tracking has been in core NetSuite for many years, but with this new functionality we can auto-generate the serial numbers for you with a prefix.

To learn more, visit the Cloud NetSuite blog.

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Advanced Distribution Software Extends Microsoft ERP for Distributors

I.B.I.S., Inc. recently announced the availability of Advanced Distribution Software, a new enterprise software solution designed to meet the ultra-sophisticated needs of today’s distributors. Built on Microsoft Dynamics® AX, Advanced Distribution Software offers seamless integration, real-time information and industry-specific functionality which enable distributors to succeed in a competitive marketplace.

Advanced Distribution Software offers unique extended features, which are available individually or by the bundle: Advanced Revenue Management, Advanced Order Management, Advanced Inventory Management, Advanced Demand Planning, Advanced Fulfillment Management and Advanced Business Intelligence. The software gives users maximum visibility across their internal and external supply chains and allows them to respond quickly and confidently to market changes.

To learn more, visit the Advanced Distribution Software website.

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What's Your Company's Cost to Serve?

How does your company’s cost to serve customers compare with other distributors?

1. It’s high because we provide the best service, but our margins compensate us for it.

2. Our cost to serve is lower than our competitors. This is our business strategy.

3. I really don’t know, as we don’t keep track of cost to serve.

This article from the I.B.I.S. blog describes methods you use to can control cost to serve in three critical areas: freight cost, cost of extending credit and selling cost. Is your campany at risk for being dependent on larger accounts for all of its profits? Are you ignoring the opportunity to make smaller orders profitable?  Read more...

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