In the years leading to 2000, many manufacturers realized it was necessary to prepare for a potentially disruptive transition in the IT functions when the turn of the century arrived. With thoughts of internal systems not functioning properly – or even stopping the manufacturing processes altogether – action was required.
Service-oriented architecture (SOA) continues to emerge as the dominant technical platform for building next generation business applications. The potential of SOA to transform enterprise software applications has been well documented within leading industry trade publications. This white paper will attempt to cut through the hype surrounding the technology by (1) examining the manufacturing pains that are driving the conversion to service-oriented business applications, (2) breaking down the essence of SOA, (3) focusing on the relevance of SOA as a tool for continuous business process improvement, and (4) comparing and contrasting the Made2Manage SOA product development strategy with that of other ERP vendors.
Today’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are challenged to provide the architectural agility necessary to support businesses in a high-change, global environment (e.g., to accommodate merger and acquisition [M&A] activity, new financial or regulatory requirements, organizational restructuring, or new business processes). A recent IDC survey shows that the negative impact of business disruptions attached to ERP modifications is simply too high: a 20.9% decline in stock price, a 14.3% revenue loss due to delayed product launches, and a 16.6% decline in customer satisfaction.
This document is written to address the specific issues related to CRM and Sales Professionals. When considering a CRM solution, it is critical to understand the needs of your sales team members and how they would utilize this CRM application on a daily basis.
Despite the explosion in the number of ways customers interact with a company, benchmark research carried out by Ventana Research shows that contact centers handle the majority of customer interactions. As the primary interface point for customers, the center thus is the de facto face of the company, and how an agent handles an interaction can have a significant impact on perception of the company and its brand, and as a result on its business performance.
Customer profiling is one of the main driving actions that help in obtaining benefit from CRM. Simply put, this activity tells you who your customer is so that you can market and sell your services to him.
Many confuse the purpose of a job advertisement with a job description. These are both valuable tools, but are not replacements for one another.
ERP solutions are data-driven. This is arguably the most beneficial technology feature because it alerts users to the specific inventory needs right down to quantities and timing. The right ERP tool can analyze historic and current data such as customer orders, inventory balances, usage/shipment of each product, seasonal trends, etc. and apply these insights to future inventory predictions. Armed with this knowledge, manufacturers can make more intelligent decisions regarding how much inventory to keep in stock and how best to respond to customer demand, regardless of seemingly unpredictable fluctuations. This help ensure investments are being made in the right place and that operations remain efficient.
Paid search marketing solutions offer a broad range of functionality to make your online advertising campaigns easier to manage and much more effective. This article highlights the key features you’ll want in your paid search marketing solution.
By implementing VAI’s S2K for Distribution, Smith Drug Company enhanced existing, and acquired new and valuable technological capabilities. Due to S2K’s user-friendly interface, employees can quickly create reports and retrieve customer and order information. As a result, calls to Smith Drug Company’s IT department dropped 75 to 80 percent, noted Isaac Rogers, Vice President of Operations. This allows personnel to make better use of time, focusing on exceptional customer service and accurate inventory management.