Business Automation and Software Blog

When most of us think of supply chain, images of warehouses, trucks, and shipping boxes might come to mind. But what doesn’t necessarily come to mind is data.

That’s right: data. Data can also count as part of the supply chain, but in this case, it’s a supply chain that is feeding information into business intelligence (BI) software. And it’s a supply chain that can often be surprisingly overlooked in the consideration of a BI solution.

The next new thing in cell phones has arrived: Major networks are advertising their 5G networks, and the newest 5G-enabled phones are hitting the market. While many will assume—rightly so—that this means more speed and probably a new phone to accommodate that speed, 5G is actually so much more than the chance to load the latest Snapchat story faster. It actually has some significant implications for business technology.

Ask anyone about their current ERP solution, and chances are you’ll get a variety of different answers. Some love it, some hate it, and most of that love-hate relationship has nothing to do with the ERP’s functions. Any ERP can be an incredibly significant solution for business; if implemented correctly, it can create a more efficient and productive manufacturing or distribution organization. However, the best ERP systems in the world—systems like SYSPRO and others—will not make any difference to your rate of collaboration or increase productivity if employees are reluctant to adopt the new software.

Most of us like to think that we are savvy shoppers. We read Amazon reviews, talk to friends, and price compare across the internet. Some even search for coupons, promo codes, and holiday weekend sales events. But contrary to our own popular belief, it’s actually emotion that drives purchasing behaviors. One Harvard professor’s research goes so far as to document that 95 percent of purchasing decisions are actually subconscious.

When most of us learned about clouds in elementary school, we learned terms such as cirrus, stratocumulus, and cumulonimbus. Most of us likely did not learn about clouds that were available “as a service.” But nowadays, when we hear someone reference “the cloud,” they’re likely talking about something technological rather than meteorological.

Today’s CFO role has morphed from that of head bookkeeper to a significantly more strategic role, telling the story of where the company has been and driving the narrative for the company’s future. This narrative is powered by data that helps drive efficiencies, save costs, and generate growth. With more data available than ever before, it’s important that finance teams can find the most valuable insights as quickly as possible.

One of the most important recent business trends, digitization is a profound transformation of activities, competencies, processes, and models to leverage the capabilities and impact of digital technologies, all while keeping both present needs and future opportunities in mind.

Your ERP system is the backbone of your organization’s data and success. You know you need one, but the idea of selecting and implementing one can be as intimidating as cleaning out your closet. It’s going to take time and intention, and you might be tempted to just shut the door and save it for another day. Except you also know that putting it off can just make it feel that much worse in the future when you really have to clean that closet.

Inventory management sure has changed over the years: from hand counting and paper records, to matching computer printouts to bin contents, to relying fully on technology to inform our inventory needs. Progress continues to march forward, including new ways of thinking for inventory management in manufacturing and supply chain.

As the newest batches of college grads prepare to cross the stage and start their careers, they’ve probably done research into the most up-and-coming jobs or industries and planned accordingly. Jobs they can hold now didn’t exist when their parents graduated college, and technology will evolve such that the next generation will have several completely new job options we haven’t even thought of yet. Consider that twenty years ago, there was no such thing as a social media specialist or app developer. Tomorrow, we could be facing a world where it’s normal to not have postal workers, cashiers, or taxi drivers.