Sage Blog

Although our head office is in the UK, Sage ERP X3 (as a global product) is part of an international community that collaborates on product development, with an international team to aid global product deployment and after sales support through shared knowledge, skills and resources.

Our global conference

This month the Sage France team played host the Sage ERP X3 Global Sales conference, inviting over 500 Sage ERP X3 staff and business partners from 17 countries around the world over to Paris, making it the largest Sage ERP X3 event held to date. This event is billed as a conference, but the underlying raison d’être (picking up the lingo already!) is networking.

A networking natural?

Now, some people thrive in a ‘networking environment’ – effortlessly floating between colleagues old and new, picking up business cards and drinks like this event is their single purpose in life. Managing to juggle nibbles, a glass of champagne and picking their next victim in one easy swoop.

Other people find networking awkward and unnatural, struggling with the notion of polite ‘chit-chat’ and are just not comfortable working a room. Networking takes a lot of effort and a certain degree of practice, and we have all been guilty of standing in the corner with our colleagues rather than meeting new people.

But does networking, really work?

Business networking is an effective low-cost marketing method for developing sales opportunities and contacts, based on referrals and introductions – either face-to-face at meetings and gatherings, or by other contact methods such as phone, email, and increasingly social and business networking websites.

Social media has, in part, taken away the personal aspect of day-to-day networking, and enables us to meet contacts at a distance, but surely online networking can’t replace the value that face to face contact brings? And one would assume that the quality of relationships would be diminished through the lack of the human contact and rapport building.

Social networking can bring us closer to people and communities that we would never have the opportunity to meet in the ‘real world’ but in actuality it  doesn’t replace a face-to-face conversation, but more acts as a soft introduction.

Working for a larger business, with a wider social ecosystem the need to network face to face becomes more necessary. The key here is identifying the reason, or a goal for being at the networking event and stick to it – do you want to meet your counterpart from a similar organisation? Track down the supplier that messed up your order? Or perhaps find new job opportunities?

Networking can bring us better deals, higher value service, invites to more social events and new Linkedin contacts, but in my opinion the most important thing it brings us is trust. Trust that our colleagues, suppliers, partners are on the same path as us and are looking to achieve a common goal.

Julia Commons, Sage ERP X3 team

Big data is just that; huge sets of data that are constantly changing, which means that it’s really difficult to cajole into any meaningful form of information.

Wikipedia describes big data as the “term applied to data sets whose size is beyond the ability of commonly used software tools to capture, manage, and process the data within a tolerable elapsed time. Big data sizes are a constantly moving target currently ranging from a few dozen terabytes to many petabytes of data in a single data set.”

Data warehouses

Big data is usually stored in a data warehouse – that is if you want to be able to analyse and interpret data for use in your everyday business. A data warehouse can incorporate Business Intelligence (BI) tools, which take extracts of data into a repository to allow you to access the key information you need without referring to the whole dataset. The thing is, not every data warehouse provides you with the capability you require, as many vendors are currently in the process of evolving their solutions from solely an information store to providing analysis tools for extracting more meaningful data.

Gartner recently stated that “we are seeing data warehouse platforms evolve from an information store supporting traditional business intelligence (BI) platforms to a broader analytics infrastructure supporting operational analytics, corporate performance management and other new applications and uses, such as operational BI and performance management.” This indicates that the market is shifting from storage and access to delivery and comprehension. In fact Gartner predicts that by 2013 most data warehouse vendors will offer something that is based more around information management and focuses on getting data out.

Planning for the future

If you have large sets of regular data that are input into your business systems and you don’t have the tools to manage your data effectively, you may end up with lots of data with no way to analyse trends. Modern businesses demand much more than just joining up common tasks within their organisation and are now more concerned with getting meaningful information out. A recent study from IBM showed that 83 % of CIOs have visionary plans that include business intelligence and analytics, confirming that businesses really want to act on the huge amounts of data that they have at their disposal.

Understanding business data

We believe that businesses want to gain a better understanding of their data to so they can plan for the future and make decisions made on knowledge and fact. Business intelligence is a fundamental part of any business, that’s why we make it available to all Sage 200 customers as standard; in fact you can see some of our Sage 200 case studies to find out what our customers think.

More and more businesses want to use the data they have accumulated over the years and be able to access it easily and interpret information. Business Intelligence allows businesses to have greater control and agility through better visibility of data and multi-dimensional analysis, so they can measure key metrics enabling them to spot things like underperformance and take action.

Informing decisions

In this economic climate, the ability to make informed decisions is key. Business Intelligence, such as that available with Sage 200, allows businesses to identify who their top customers are, which products are selling the most, what’s most profitable and what’s in stock/on order so they can plan effectively, ensuring that customers are kept happy and profits are maximised.

Victoria Ferrer, Sage 200 Team

For more information on our finance, CRM and business intelligence software visit Sage 200.

So the market conditions are good, you have the best minds in the field working on your product…. the PR machine is in full action and you have shelves waiting to be filled in all major stores… we all like to shop after all, but have you ever give much thought to how your products are made?

No two products are the same and different types of products require different manufacturing processes, usually defined as process, discrete or mixed-mode manufacturing.

Process manufacturing

The simplest definition of process manufacturing is defined by products that, once manufactured, cannot be distilled back into their original components.  Examples of process manufacturing are wine production, soft drinks, plastic products etc. Once the grapes have been crushed and the other ingredients added, you can no longer return the grape to its original form.

Discrete manufacturing

Alternatively, discrete manufacturing refers to the production of distinct goods that can be easily counted, touched or seen. Examples of these products are televisions, cars, white goods etc in theory these products can be broken down onto their composite parts at the end of its life cycle, and recycled.

Mixed mode manufacturing

Mixed mode manufacturing is a combination of process and discrete manufacturing that allows businesses the agility and flexibility to switch between the two manufacturing processes, or to combine the two for the production methods of one product. A great example of this would be the production of a standard product, with the ability to manufacture a one off design.

Traceability

Traceability of components is an important aspect of all manufacturing, but specifically in the food, drinks and drugs industry…. ever seen a food recall notice in the supermarket? A relevant bill of materials will support this requirement, detailing the raw materials that are needed to manufacture the end product. This will of course vary between process and discrete manufacturing, as the units of measurement will differ from distinct parts to liquid or weight quantities.

Bringing it all together

Designed with manufacturing in mind, ERP software solutions can accommodate the many different types of manufacturing that support your business processes. This includes outputting the correct reports and ensuring that your manufacturing process is linked to your financials, stock management and distribution type features.

Primarily as a consumer, maybe down to the fact that I am a girl (….sincere apologies to all feminists, suffrages and Germaine Greer) but I have never really considered what goes into the production of everything, from my Pinot Grigio to my Sky+ box, and I can honestly say that I find it fascinating.

Quality first

Let’s face it, good manufacturing of a quality product firstly motivates us to buy a product, secondly (if the product pleases us) to become a loyal customer, with a penchant for said goods. Thirdly, and ultimately, to become an advocate, a customer who thinks said goods are so extra-ordinary that we want to tell the world, and we then become the ‘super customer’.

This is of course, partly down to marketing, the brand identity, the price point and the market conditions, but lets’ not forget the value of a well made product, and the legacy it provides businesses with.

Julia Commons, Sage ERP X3 Team

Before you get carried away this is not the latest J.K Rowling book, or indeed any other form of wizardry, Gartner Magic Quadrants are an industry recognised means of offering a visual snapshot of a market’s direction, maturity and participants.

With a huge variety of ERP software products available, it is important for prospective and existing customers alike, to choose a business solution that not only satisfies their needs on features and price, but also on the vendors security in the market, product strategy and innovation, to name but a few.

Market analysts

This is where market analysts add huge value to software procurement, as they provide visibility on software strategy that would not be available to individual companies, largely due to vast cost of this research and the sensitivity that typically surrounds product development.

At Sage, our aim is to provide our prospective customers with the information needed to select a software product and supplier that is the correct choice for their business, which is why it is important to ensure that the breadth and depth of features available in Sage ERP X3 are well communicated.

When assessing a software supplier, Gartner looks at the vendors ‘Ability to Execute’ and the ‘Completeness of Vision’ to asses ERP products against other solutions available in the market place, this helps determine software vendors as Niche Players, Visionaries, Challengers and Leaders.

Sage ERP X3

Sage ERP X3 has been in the UK market for nearly 2 years now, and we were given the status of Niche Player in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for ERP for Product-Centric Midmarket Companies* in December 2010. As a new product to the market Sage ERP X3 was evaluated based on its ability to execute and completeness of vision.

Graeme Edwards, Head of Commercial Marketing explains how important it is for Sage to gain independent assessment from Market analysts for the benefit of our customers;

‘We are very proud to have been named a Niche Player by Gartner, as we believe it confirms that Sage ERP X3 is considered as a global Enterprise Resource Planning solution for the mid-market.  Last year our commercial marketing teams accessed over 180 market reports and we utlilised 6 toolkits, all of which were used to inform our strategic direction and market forecasts.

We can also use Gartner to ‘re-enforce’ the strategic decisions we make – when Gartner releases key statements or reports on certain topics (mobility, or cloud for example) we can refer to these to demonstrate we are a forward thinking and innovative company, and are delivering exactly what the market requires.  Leveraging research from Gartner and other industry analysts is a key component to our success and standing in the market’.

Julia Commons, Sage ERP Team

*Gartner, Inc., Magic Quadrant for ERP for Product-Centric Midmarket Companies, Christian Hestermann, et al, December 17, 2010.  Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Many companies are feeling the strain of current economic conditions. This strain often increases pressure on the “selling part” of a business. Business owners are looking for innovations from the sales team to “find” the revenue. The trouble is enthusiasm for new innovations is often low when working in tough times – it’s just a push to “find the deals”. Planning for and executing best practices or innovations goes by the wayside.

So, articulating the benefits of a proposition is a key skill. It’s not enough to say “here’s a great CRM tool, where can we make it fit?” It is all about proving where software can make a difference – in terms that really matter:

• increasing revenue,
• avoiding costs,
• or improving service

Returns that can be shown to be objective, detailed and quantifiable.

No, more than ever, is the time to be measurable. How do you make sure you think in terms of benefits ?

Where to start? Understand the current processes in a company. How long do typical activities take to complete? How many steps and people are involved? What does that add up to in time (and money)? How can they be improved – looking not just at direct costs but also the risks of lost or incorrect steps along the way. Now think about CRM tools and how they can improve upon the current situation. What is that worth to a buyer – in terms that really matter – Increasing Revenue, Avoiding Costs or Improving Service?

Shape your conversations to those discussions. Talk about the returns, the money saved or the value created. The return that will “keep on giving” each & every day. Show a tangible return on investment, with real savings that can be measured in months, not years. Help the company commit to a well defined project that demonstrates tangible improvements to current processes. And be sure to engage the “selling part” of the business – find a group of salespeople willing to innovate to achieve for themselves and ultimately, their company.

Be prepared to be measured.

This week our ERP, HR and Payroll teams are attending Softworld in London. Softworld brings business software vendors together with businesses looking to choose the right business solution.

Pop by our stand (AF130 and HR330) or if you can’t make it we’re showing our live Twitter coverage here at the Sage Blog:

Ahead of Softworld, guest blogger Fran McKee, Marketing Director of Sage Business Partner Pinnacle, talks about how to successfully implement an ERP solution. Pop by stand AF130, at Softworld and ask Fran about a free business audit.

Leading businesses from across Europe will this week grace the doors of Softworld (18^th & 19^th Oct Excel London) seeking the right ERP solution fit for their unique business. Many operate globally and across multiple sites so naturally prompts the question, what are the critical success factors of selecting and implementing an ERP solution? Enormous benefits can be reaped from a well planned implementation, however even the most successful businesses have suffered massive ramifications from poor ERP implementations.

Finding the right partner

Attending vendor gatherings such as Softworld helps the process right from the start. The search for vendor capability is fundamental to finding the right product, and importantly the partner, that is capable of project delivery and support of the solution. Attention to the quality, capabilities and capacity of the implementation team from the vendor is crucial. Engaging the right consultants, at the right time, coupled with a proper requirement exercise beforehand will assist in getting the implementation right at all stages.

Management support

Getting support from management at the outset ensures the business is committed to best of breed processes that can be realised through the selection and implementation of an ERP solution.  This means investing people and time into process adaptation, data cleansing before transformation into the new ERP solution and sufficient testing before go live. Making sure the project manager within your business is right – communication internally and externally is essential.

Training

Successful implementation of ERP requires an educated and well trained workforce so the users understand the changes in workflow and jobs that the new ERP software and business processes bring.  This is especially important for companies who operate globally and across multiple sites. Continuous roll out of training programmes for existing and new staff reinforces existing processes while also introducing latest software releases and technology changes.

A common understanding

A useful tip is to create a “glossary” of industry specific terminology and processes which are clearly understood by the ERP implementation provider. Misunderstood terminology can lead to significant increases in both implementation costs and time.

Keep the project moving

Ensure key management and staff agree to measurable steps, goals and project milestones with the vendor throughout the implementation process to ensure the project keeps moving. Perhaps hold last payment to the vendor to ensure all their commitments have been met. Be realistic – don’t be tempted to go-live before you are really ready!

Fran McKee, Sage Business Partner Pinnacle

Don’t forget to visit the Sage solutions team and its ERP partner Pinnacle at Stand AF130 Softworld, 18^th and 19^th October Excel London and discover how Sage’s ERP software solutions can support your local and global operations.

Ahead of Softworld guest blogger, Rebecca Bradley from Sage Business Partner CPiO, talks about the importance of carrying out regular business audits for the health of your business. And if you’re going to Softworld pop by our stand AF130, say “hi” to Rebecca and sign up for a free business audit.

Don’t wait for an undiagnosed business pain to make changes to the health of the organisation – prevention is better than cure.

Pain drives many strange decisions – especially in business. Whether it is a distribution process in chaos or customers leaving due to poor service, it often takes a serious issue to drive the UK’s businesses to consider new IT solutions. Yet such a reactive approach does not guarantee a solution that will drive the business forward. Just as a headache may mask another, more serious, problem that needs diagnosis and appropriate treatment, papering over the cracks in distribution with a new, standalone warehouse system is unlikely to be the best solution for the business as a whole.

Buying Technology

Why are businesses buying new technology? In a tight economic climate with fierce competition, it is understandable, although not laudable, that most will require a significant prompt. But what is that prompt? A requirement for a new sales ledger? Or the clear business objective to reduce credit control days?

The approach to the purchase will without doubt dictate the benefit that is attained. Those organisations that have a clear view of business issues that need to be addressed through technology are suffering the same pain as the competition but their attitude to solving, or salving, the problem is very different.

Indeed, it is those organisations that regard IT as a solution rather than a series of isolated products that have an edge. They take a proactive approach to achieving incremental business benefits and demonstrate an understanding of the critical value of IT to the business.

Achieving Benefits

Such a proactive approach requires a shift in mindset. Organisations must move from viewing IT as a necessary evil to a tool that underpins every aspect of the business. CPiO regularly works with companies to understand what is driving their business and how important a clear and coherent IT strategy is to achieving strategic goals.

The proactive use of alerts is a prime example of a simple technology that improves efficiency and effectiveness. Rather than relying on a weekly stock report to ascertain order requirements, alerts can automatically inform the business when minimum stock level has been reached. Taking the process to its logical conclusion: that alert could automatically trigger an order with the relevant supplier.  Not only does such a system minimise the chance of out of stocks, hence improving customer service, but it also frees up staff from time-consuming trawls through stock level reports.

The use of alerts is an example that can be applied across the business and provides a clear demonstration of technology’s ability to enhance the human interaction that remains a key element of business success. This proactive management requires a company to regularly review its requirements and evaluate those needs in light of technology. An audit of systems and business processes enables a company to future proof its investment and accessing the skill gaps in the organisation, leading to a more creative use of IT to solve real business objectives  and not just reduce pain.

Interested in a  free business audit? Pop by our stand at Softworld or drop our customer team an email.

Rebecca Bradley, CPiO

How often during your day-to-day operations, do your employees duplicate or even triplicate data entry into disparate business applications?

New customers need to be put into your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) for sales and aftercare, right? But you also need them in your finance system so you can bill them.  Employees get put in your HR and Payroll solution and then the HRM cost is input separately into your journal? Suppliers in your Sales system and your purchase ledger….the list goes on, as do the associated personnel costs.

Integration Generation

Different business applications manage customer information; front-office employees use CRM applications that support customer-facing activities, such as sales, marketing and customer service. Whereas back office employees use ERP systems that support transactional reporting and compliancy activities, such as invoicing, account receivable, cash-flow management and financial reporting.

While front-office applications have historically been developed around the idea of cross-organisational collaboration, back-office applications, by contrast have been insular in nature. This may possibly be  due to the legacy of the systems or perhaps the need for increased security within finance operations that has lead to reluctance in opening this data up to the rest of the business.

The lack of cross pollination of data from front to back office has historically lead companies to run business applications that have struggled to address key business needs. This is particularly true where  customer related processes cross from front to back office processing such as sales order processing and supply chain management, leading to silo’s of information, administrative inefficiencies and process duplication.

Today’s CRM and ERP systems have gone someway to address these common problems experienced in medium and large sized businesses –enhanced integration, workflow management, exceptions monitoring, mandatory fields and data moving from one part of the application to the other have all provided capabilities that increase front to back office integration, for example:

• Consistent data across ERP and CRM applications.
• 360 degree customer visibility, regardless of whether the customer data originated in the ERP or CRM.
• Straight through processing – which enables a user to initiate a transaction, and then automatically trigger all the business related processes.

The Sage integration advantage

I’ve been lucky enough to work within the team at Sage that looks at these challenges and develops solutions, such as Sage ERP X3 to address them. Front-to-back office integration is essential for companies – regardless of their size – to bring together disconnected employees, applications, data and develop business processes in order to help drive revenue, serve customers more efficiently and reduce cost.

Our approach to assimilating business management software is to focus on improving and simplifying the integration experience for all of our users. This is achieved by developing ERP products that, out-of-the-box, are compatible with market leading Sage CRM solutions. We also have our own integration contract. This technology, known as SData, is a common interface that enables desktop, server and web-based applications to communicate with each other and is used across the Sage organisation around the world.

The Sage ERP advantage

Using SData, our flagship ERP products now provide out-of-the box integration with Sage CRM solutions.  This equips businesses with a low cost, low complexity solution that in the short term gives the user consistent customer data across their front and back office environments, provides straight through processing and a 360 degree view of the customer. And in the long term will provide a decrease in administrative costs, increased customer satisfaction and the opportunity to build a sustainable competitive advantage.

Julia Commons, Sage ERP Team

Visit our ERP pages for more information.

Technology Research company, Gartner describes Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERP) as the following: ERP improves business processes and the use of information across an organisation by integrating functions such as finance, order management and purchasing into a set of interconnected modules.

All clear now?

In simple terms, I would describe ERP as software that integrates all information and processes of an organisation into a common system. Enterprise Resource Planning software (ERP) can provide significant benefits to companies looking to take advantage of improving economic conditions. Improved cash-flow, enhanced financial and business-wide reporting, and a reduction in duplication of data entry are just some of the tangible benefits.

Evolving expectations

The market for ERP software changed significantly after the financial meltdown of 2008, since then businesses have witnessed a slow, fragile return to growth. Firms now want to see a faster return on investment, and products that are quicker and easier to install and integrate – all features found in Sage ERP 1000.

Deployment of ERP software can have a profound and positive impact on revenues. A sharp reduction in duplication of data and processes, improved cross departmental communication and better financial reporting are just a fraction of what ERP software can deliver, provided that the product is chosen carefully and the deployment and ongoing maintenance are managed well.

An emerging trend in the market is the need for quick to implement, international ERP solutions that support domestic locations, as well as offering strong international features, multiple language and currency support, multiple chart of accounts, all delivered to multiple locations – all features of Sage ERP X3.

Our free whitepaper ERP – building on the basics will help you find out more more about how ERP is evolving to meet the demands of you business.

The benefits of ERP software

Although they can be hard to quantify, the financial benefits of ERP may be realised in many different ways. Some organisations use ERP software to make savings in departmental budgets; being able to compare cost savings with revenue gains, leads to better decision making when setting targets.

ERP systems can also make it easier to identify non-productive areas of the business, allowing managers to move staff to where they can better benefit the organisation. Still more savings can be realised by speeding up the monthly close process, in which a firm’s books are temporarily closed and analysed to produce a set of financial statements that indicate how well the company is performing.

A faster close process allows management information and analysis to be made available sooner, giving the organisation more time in which to analyse the figures before producing financial statements. Full or partial automation of this process by ERP can lead to significant reductions in the close cycle. The boost to business from these financial benefits is obvious. Better cash flow and liquidity is a critically important part of both riding out an economic downturn and taking maximum advantage of the recovery.

The question of compliance

The compliance landscape has become harder to navigate safely in recent years. The last UK government passed record amounts of regulatory legislation and in the wake of the financial crisis the financial industry in particular has been subjected to further scrutiny.

The financial services industry serves as an ideal illustration of the importance of data governance. The crisis in 2008 ensured that the customers of financial institutions are more clear-eyed than ever about the risks they run in investing their money. Trust is imperative and quite rightly, potential customers insist on knowing that their confidential information is safe.

ERP software can help companies re-engineer their business processes to ensure compliance with government lead legislations such as Sarbanes Oxley or IFRS (…to give but a few examples). Sage ERP X3 is particularly strong in helping companies to achieve and provide evidence of compliance with the above legislations through providing comprehensive audit facilities, embedded work flow, field auditing options and strong security.

Positioned for growth

As the economy emerges from recession, firms need to ensure they are positioned for growth and able to take full advantage of the changing conditions. It is clear that the advantages in terms of operational efficiency, financial flexibility and inter-departmental communications offered by ERP systems can provide a distinct competitive advantage to those firms with the foresight and capability to deploy them.

There can be no doubt that ERP software is evolving to meet the demands of businesses both now and in the future. Sage provides a number of solutions aimed at different organisations, taking ERP out of its traditional enterprise environment and making it available to specific industries and niche markets.

Julia Commons, Product Marketing Manager, Sage Enterprise Solutions

Download the free whitepaper ERP – building on the basics; how ERP is evolving to meet the demands of you business or visit our ERP software pages for more information