Enterprise Technology Blog

Here in Minnesota we use the phrase “heckuva deal” quite a bit. [Gas below $2/gallon? A heckuva deal.]

As a native Minnesotan, when I heard about the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, my immediate thought was that it was a heckuva deal for anyone who has been thinking about implementing new business software but was worried about the investment costs. As Key Equipment Finance explains on its website, under this act companies can claim an immediate, first-year depreciation of expense on business costs, such as software purchases, on your April ‘09 taxes. (Key has a great podcast on the topic as well.)

Now, this post isn’t meant to be a sales pitch, it’s supposed to spread the knowledge. I’m not sure if I was living under a rock until last week, but I hadn’t heard anything about this specific stimulus plan and when I put two and two together and realized how much a company could save (especially if they leased the software purchase), it seemed incredible I hadn’t heard more about it. The only caveat (because of course there has to be one!) is that this offer expires December 31st of this year. Even so, it’s certainly something to seriously consider if a software purchase has been on a list of company needs but been held back by the costs.

In case you didn’t believe me when I said in my last post that green manufacturing was gaining popularity, perhaps this article from Business Week Online will.

Although green initiatives might not be easily attained for all small manufacturers, it should, in my opinion, at least be entertained. Particularly in a dismal economy when growth markets are hard to find, the green movement has continued to gain traction. Van Jones, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, was quoted in the article as saying, “By aligning themselves with green industries, small companies in struggling sectors can build more sustainable businesses in the long term. There is a big opportunity to turn this breakdown in our financial and economic system into a real breakthrough.”

Time will tell how the green movement pans out, but it can’t hurt to at least look into the option and see what fits for you. Even if you don’t enter a green industry altogether, you could certainly see benefit from making environmentally-minded changes and improvements to your existing products and systems. You can attract new customers looking for greener products and retain existing customers with your proven devotion to improvement and responsibility. Seems like a win all around.

(As a note of introduction, Laura Monn will be joining Mark in contributing to the Enterprise Tech blog.)

Everyone is talking about going green. Or, at least they were until the financial markets took a nosedive. Ugly as that situation is, I think we should still be talking about going green. Why? Because going green makes green.

This article from Environmental Leader got me thinking about this topic. The article does a nice job of framing the present situation (‘In other words, green manufacturing – the creation of manufactured products with non-polluting, energy and natural resource efficient, economically sound processes and that are safe for employees, communities, and consumers – is now an encompassing, profound, board-level issue for manufacturers’) and laying out the necessary first steps (‘First, get a comprehensive view of carbon footprint drivers and then focus on the largest opportunity areas’).

Consumers are really starting to look at what they consume and a commitment to green could make or break their loyalty. If that argument doesn’t sway you, consider how much money you could save by making minor changes (like manufacturing energy-intensive products during off-peak hours which saves you money and makes the energy company more efficient).

The article talks succinctly about the issues that really affect manufacturers in their quest for going green, but what I’d really like is to hear more from you about what you are doing (or aren’t doing) and why.

InfoWorld strikes again with another list of 20 IT mistakes that must be avoided. Now I’m sure some of you will disagree with at least a few entries and, indeed, there is room to debate whether any one of them deserves top 20 billing. However, I think we will all be able to agree that each of the 20 deserves recognition at some level.

If you’d like to do a compare and contrast, InfoWorld pulled out the original top 20 from November 2004.

Put them side by side for a little fun - watch the pendulum swing on passwords.

On a personal note: I was hurt by number 20 from 2004, warning IT executives not to be taken in by marketing messages. Talk about hitting a guy where he lives.

SoftBrands and TBC International have joined forces to bring you Can O’ Worms: A Food Safety Web Seminar on Thursday, October 9Th. The live event was created to address the issues faced by food and beverage manufacturers, especially those who exist in the SME market. 

Register for Can O’ Worms here.

The free interactive forum will take a hard look at issues affecting food and beverage manufacturers, including:

• Food supply in a connected world
• Foreign imports of raw materials and finished goods
• U.S. exports of raw materials and finished goods
• Responses of affected countries and the impact of new legislation
• Responsibilities of producers, importers and consumers

To discuss the issues we’ve enlisted the help of two subject-matter experts:

• Dan Sechrist, COO for TBC International, has spent his career in the food and beverage industry. From global restaurants to manufacturers, Dan has experienced all sides of the industry. Dan will be sharing some of those experiences and what he learned.
• Jason Laskowski, Solution Engineer for SoftBrands, has managed several food and beverage ERP implementation projects.

Through their experiences, Dan and Jason have gained a rare understanding of the importance of people, processes and systems, especially in an industry where one misstep can mean financial ruin.

This is not a product-focused event, there will be no demonstrations.  The purpose of Can O’ Worms is to discuss the real issues faced by food and beverage manufacturers.

SoftBrands and TBC International look forward to your attendance.

Register for Can O’ Worms here.

If we are to believe the daily media reports, the economy is either in a recession or perilously close to slipping into one. If this is the case, one has to wonder why ERP spending continues to rise. SearchSAP.com gives us part of the answer in this post.

Quoting Jim Shepherd, a vice president at of AMR Research, SearchSAP.com points to two primary drivers of growing EPR spending: SMB’s survival instincts and more companies becoming global. 

I entered the ERP space on January 17, 2000. At the time ERP publishers were coming off the high of the Y2K scare and the economy was moving into a recession. As I recall, IT spending was predicted to stay constant if not be slightly reduced. Contrast that with what AMR is saying now and I’m left wondering why spending expectations are different today under what appear to be similar economical circumstances. 

Shepherd mentioned two, I’ve offered four additional possibilities below:

1. Economic growth has slowed, but we have not entered a recession - regardless of how it “feels” - so companies are moving forward with their IT plans.

2. We have entered a recession, but companies are more sophisticated today and see IT as a strategic investment that offers a quantifiable return by streamlining processes and increasing efficiencies.

3. Many of the SMB’s who bought new systems during the gloom and doom talk preceeding January 1, 2000 have, eight years later, outgrown those systems and the hardware has become obsolete. 

4. The links in the supply chain are becoming increasingly connected. A SME supplier to a larger enterprise is no longer electronically autonomous. EDI, RFID, etc. have dramatically changed the way companies up and down the chain communicate and if you don’t keep up, you don’t stay in business.

So many factors can impact the economy - the November election, Russia and Georgia appear to be heading toward a fullscale war, terror attacks on US soil are always a possibility - that what was is called a study can more accurately be called a poll. A snapshot in time, based on current circumstances, that could turn 180 degrees in the next 24 hours.

It’ll be interesting to look back a year from now and see how accurate AMR’s proved to be. 

It’s been too long since I’ve posted and have nothing to blame it on other than time, or lack thereof. 

This item from the IT Failures Blog at ZDNet came to me via Twitter.  Michael Krigsman, the IT Failures blog blogger, picked up the story from ZDNet’s Larry Dignan.  Larry is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and Editorial Director of ZDNet sister site TechRepublic and wrote a Wednesday post about the B&L shake up on his Between The Lines blog.

If one can re-tweet, I assume re-blogging is also acceptable so here goes.

The bottom line of the story is that B&L has decided to roll customer service under one person. Writes Larry Dignan: [Bausch & Lomb] named Alan Farnsworth, senior vice president of customer service and information technology and chief information officer.

Michael Krigsman looks at the positive side of such a move:

[B]y bringing together IT and customer service under one roof, Bausch & Lomb creates stronger connections between two critical information-related functions. Eliminating the boundaries creates tremendous opportunity for the company to bring strategic IT to bear on customer service. That’s got to be good for customers and therefore great for Bausch & Lomb.

Considering there are two sides to every coin, I’d like to turn this one over and look potential pitfalls.

I have no doubt that Customer Service gathers and stores more information than any single B&L department, if not all others combined.  Also, if SoftBrands is any gage, I’m convinced their CSRs spend more time in the CRM system than accounting in theirs, sales in theirs, etc.  None of this convinces me, however, that putting the Customer Service department under the direction of the CIO is a good idea…for any company.

Customer Service is just one of several functional areas requiring support from IT, its people and systems, but making it part of IT sends a message that the other departments do not rise to the same level of importance.  The truth is, there are competing interests and priorities that need to be managed and they are best managed by a neutral third party, not by someone who represents one of the competiting parties.  

Imagine sitting in a budget meeting with the CIO, discussing wish list of software and hardware you would like your team to have in the next fiscal year.  Then imagine having the Customer Service manage sitting next to you with her wish list.  How confident are you that your priorities would get a fair hearing.

I’m not suggesting intentional maliciousness or a conspiracy to keep you from getting what your team needs.  But, let’s face it, we are all human and we come with biases.  Ask yourself this: Two people ask you to loan them $5 each.  Both have legitimate reasons for needing the money.  One is a good friend, the other an acquaintance, but you have enough for just one. 

Which way do you lean?  Who gets the money?

The move by Bausch & Lomb to put Customer Service under the watch of the CIO is an interesting one and I hope it succeeds.  Not because I have a vested interest, but because I think it’s risky and I admire risk takers.

It is a move that deserves to be watched closely.

Download this audio podcast

Recall.

For consumers it can mean illness and, in some cases, death from ingesting tainted products. For producers a recall, however modest, can mean lost business and, often, bankruptcy.

The bottom line: Recalls are not good for anyone. 

For food and beverage producers surviving a recall hinges on several factors, not the least of which is the ability to trace up and down their supply chain from supplier to retailer.  There are many ways to implement lot trace in an enterprise, some good and some not so good. 

Today’s podcast explores the importance of lot trace to a food and beverage enterprise, the differences between single and multi-level lot trace, and what to look for when evaluating an ERP system to automate your manufacturing processes.

Download this audio podcast

Ok, I’ll concede that achieving yield perfection is pretty difficult, but that doesn’t me you don’t do your best to get as close as possible. After all, any variance on yield - high or low - costs the company cash.  If you find yourself on the low end - getting out less than planned - you can add customer satisfaction to the debit column, also.

Today’s podcast is a discussion of the importance of yield managment, how variances - positive and negative - impact the enterprise, and what you can do to improve your results.

Enjoy.

Download this audio podcast

Controlling costs through controlling inventory is Manufacturing 101. But for small batch manufacturers of food and  beverage products, indeed any perishable goods, the simple becomes complex.

Unlike big batch enterprises, where one line will produce the same product day after day, week after week, small batchers may run several products on one line, making tear down and set up a frequent occurrence.

Today’s podcast is for you, the small batch manufacturer.  In it we discuss what you want to look for in an ERP system when considering inventory.

WARNING: I’m departing from the normal tone of this blog by inviting you to watch a video case study.  Fischer & Wieser is a small batch manufacturer that produces more than 70 products on one production line.  Inventory variance was a major pain in their operation. The video illustrates how the right ERP system can make a major difference.