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Our Most Requested Management Software Solutions & Services

In today’s business world, the right technology can make a world of difference. IT experts are always pushing to install the best hardware, software, IT services and cloud applications to simplify the lives of business people. This year has been another big year for IT advancements and we couldn’t be more excited about that. We love seeing businesses leverage technology with the right solutions for them, in order to benefit from efficiencies and cost savings.

Here are our most popular and most requested management software solutions and services.

EDI2XML Translation Service

Year after year, we keep seeing an increase in demand for EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) services. Business executives don’t want to hire a full-time in-house EDI specialist anymore to handle their EDI transactions. Nor do they want to hire more customer service reps to manually enter all incoming purchase orders anymore. Many retailers and suppliers are now requiring that any company they do business with must send and receive documents, like Purchase Orders Invoices and Advance Shipping Notices, via EDI.

Companies today are looking not only to implement EDI but to automate this entire process with an outsourced EDI provider. This is why our EDI2XML Translation Service has been one of our most popular services this year. We handle our customers’ EDI requirements from A to Z; we convert their incoming EDI documents into their preferred file format, such as XML (and convert their outgoing XML documents into EDI), as well as handle all new Partner and document setups and manage their continuous communication with their Trading Partners. Our service is affordable, our setup phase is quick and our EDI support team is easily accessible and available; making it the perfect EDI service for any business.

EDI2XML Translation Service

Try it for yourself today!

 

QBR Business Continuity

With ransomware cyberattacks increasing worldwide, it’s not unusual for business executives to come running, asking about our QBR solution. Using the latest technology on the market, this Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery solution is THE best way to protect your data from hardware/software failures, human error, natural disasters, ransomware, computer viruses and more.

No matter the disaster, QBR allows you to recover your data quickly and easily. Businesses can no longer afford to incur downtime that lasts days or weeks, only to later realize that their old, dusty backup tapes haven’t been working for months! With on-site and off-site virtualization, ransomware detection, advanced screenshot verification emails, infinite cloud retention, unlimited agent licensing, instant recovery of entire servers/workstations and more, a company’s data is well protected!

QBR Business Continuity

Learn more about QBR here.

Management Software Solutions – The ErpWizard Suite

We are definitely still seeing a demand for complete Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems in the business world. The demand comes from companies that either don’t currently use IT systems to manage their business operations, but instead still use Microsoft Office tools like Excel and Word, as well as companies looking to update their outdated, complex, expensive ERP software.

The transition to a simple, modern ERP system, like our homegrown system – The ErpWizard Suite, has allowed companies to increase visibility into their operations, improve data quality, reduce manual data entry, improve customer service and increase productivity. At the end of the day, when a company has found the right ERP system and Software Provider for their business, they can automate and streamline their processes and improve business agility and performance. That’s the goal of any ERP system. Unfortunately, not many companies realize these benefits at the end of their software implementation (you’d be surprised how many companies don’t even successfully make it to the end of their implementation!).

Technology in the workplace is meant to make business people’s lives a whole lot easier, which is why executives are realizing the importance of a helpful, available, and accessible support team, a flexible, easy-to-use system, and affordable IT costs.

ERP system qualities

Here are some of the main qualities of an ERP system that business executives are looking for:

  • Flexibility
  • Can easily integrate with other systems
  • Is effortlessly accessible from anywhere, at any time to allow users to stay in touch with business operations, even while on vacation or on a business trip
  • Easy to use, with a simple, modern interface
  • Is continuously updated to accommodate to the ever-changing business environment
  • Is well supported by an available and accessible IT support team
  • Is affordable !!

This year we have been especially excited about our newly improved ErpWizard Suite. Now, with its new modern, sleek interface, end users will actually enjoy using an ERP system. It’s about time companies moved away from those complex, boring looking, out-dated systems and towards simple, visually appealing management applications, that won’t break the bank.

What do you think of ErpWizard’s new look?

WIMS 2.0 – Warehouse Management

 

Warehouse Management is another popular software solution, usually integrated within a company’s ERP system. This system allows for better visibility and control of all warehouse activity, which is an absolute must today. A Warehouse Management system allows businesses to know;

  • What’s been delivered and when

  • Where all items are stored in the warehouse facility

  • Which items to pick and how much to pick for delivery

  • The right items to pack using the right shipping cartons and materials

  • What items to ship and where to ship them

All of this is exceptionally important in order to reduce operating expenditures, increase data accuracy, shorten fulfillment lead times, move inventory faster and increase data accessibility. By using wireless scanners, this inventory data collection system is truly bringing better control and insight into warehouse processes. If a company’s warehouse is in order, customers are better served and happy!

Business Intelligence & AnalyticsBI

A big favourite among our customers is our Business Intelligence offering. Our Business Intelligence experts are integrating Tableau Software’s BI solution into our customer’s management system in order to provide detailed analyses with customized drillable dashboards, using all real-time data. Our customers are now able to identify hidden trends and strategic information, turn raw data into visual graphs and tables, identify new business opportunities, spot areas of weakness and avoid problems. The insights that our customers are getting from this Business Intelligence solution is giving them the ability to stay ahead of competition.

Contact us to see how our Business Intelligence experts can help you!

The Best Management Software Solutions

mobile-app-1We are certain that demand for these management solutions will only increase, as executives are actively looking to transform their businesses using the latest technologies on the market. We predict that mobile business applications will make this list next year, as business owners are looking to supply their on-site teams with access to their management system to input and review real-time data. Modern, visually appealing, easy to use applications don’t just have to be for personal use; companies should be benefiting from these types of applications as well! One thing is for certain; businesses are looking beyond the brand name when it comes to software systems and taking the time to ensure that the Software Provider and offerings are a good fit for their company.

Contact us today to learn more about how we can help YOU.

 

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How To Identify The Right IT Partner To Solve Technology & Business-Related Challenges

I truly believe that there is a right and a wrong IT Service Provider for every business. There could be many right Providers and many wrong Providers. It’s not to say that there’s just one right IT Provider for every one company. The tough part is in determining if an IT Service Provider, or as I like to call them, an IT Partner, is right for YOUR company.

IT is a Value Driver

IT-partnershipIn today’s business environment, there’s no denying that IT is a real value driver. We keep finding way too many companies that are still playing “catch up” rather than “getting ahead” of the game, because they are not leveraging technology, as they should be. What business owners don’t realize is that by relying on an IT partner (on the right partner of course!), they can go from just surviving to thriving, due to the benefits they will receive from efficient technologies and helpful IT services. Companies are growing at such a fast rate, industries are evolving and consumer demands are constantly changing. Using technology to solve business and technology-related challenges will provide employees with more time and money to concentrate on what really matters to ensure business growth and success.

Therefore, now that we know how important utilizing technology is to a company, it’s time to determine how a business owner can hire the right IT Provider for their company. This Provider should be a good fit for them in every aspect; their software offerings should be flexible, easy-to-use, customizable, within budget and able to integrate with other systems and their support team should be friendly, available, responsive and dependable. On top of this, their IT consultants and developers should be providing expert advice and opinions for the betterment of their customer’s company, NOT to simply make a sale. Many Providers will push customers to buy more systems or services before even solving the customer’s original challenge or issue. At that point, they are adding issue after issue, increasing internal problems for the customer. This is how companies get a real bad taste in their mouth for the IT industry and tend to stick to the wrong IT Provider with the idea that “better the devil you know than the devil you don’t”. It’s unfortunate because not all IT companies out there do this. Namtek Consulting Services opened its doors with the mission to solve business and technology-related challenges of Small & Mid-size companies and to ensure that the IT strategy its team defined for each unique customer supports that customer’s business strategy. The IT services and solutions provided are meant to help businesses find new avenues for growth and to save companies time and money in order to accomplish vital business goals.

So, here are a few things to keep in mind when looking for your next IT Partner;

  • Find out how available and dependable their after-sales Support team is (don’t determine this based on the responsiveness of their Sales team). Are they accessible via phone and/or email? Do they respond back to customers within a 24-hour window? Can you build a good relationship with this team, since they’ll be your “go-to” once you’ve implemented your software systems. It’s also important to know if they’ll also be around even if your company doesn’t experience issues; are they continuously trying to find new and better ways of enhancing your software systems and/or streamlining your business processes? As an IT partner, they should always be willing to do what they can to increase business efficiency for their customers. The relationship you build with your IT partner will be extremely important because together (IT experts + your company’s team), you’ll be able to truly solve all of your business and technology-related challenges.
  • An IT Partner that has developed solutions that can be integrated with other solutions and can work with other vendors. This helps to create a seamless customer experience. At the end of the day, we want what’s best for the customer. It’s tough when we keep seeing other Software Providers refuse to provide access to their customer’s database so they can integrate their system with another solution (like an eCommerce Store). This causes a lot of headaches for the customer and just makes their job that much harder.
  • The IT Partner has the ability to carefully listen to a customer’s challenges, assess their needs and then identify the desired experience for that customer. Every business is different; there may be similar processes and products sold, but every owner has different views for their business or has different expectations. We encounter all sorts of people from companies and each and every one of them has a different view of software solutions and different wants and needs. Therefore, if your IT Partner can identify the right experience that will fit well with your business, they’re a keeper!
  • The software solutions provided are flexible, scalable, user-friendly and affordable, as I mentioned earlier.
  • You can get a real sense that the IT team is honest, reliable and transparent in all of their dealings with you.
  • You feel like a real partner rather than just a sale to the IT Provider.
As a side note:

Unsuccessful and painful software implementations can still arise even if you have chose the right IT Partner for your business. How does this happen? As I have mentioned in many previous articles, a software implementation is a joint effort; between the IT Provider and the Customer. Having the right leadership within a business to bring a positive mindset out of the employees (or users of the new system) will allow these employees to accept the new system, accept all the changes that will be coming with this new system and move forward peacefully. Otherwise, employees will resist and refuse to help bring this implementation to a successful end. Common complaints that may be heard are “this system doesn’t work”, “I’m not used to doing it this way”, “I liked the old system better”… Any change is difficult but with the right encouragement and proper training, it can be done successfully.

Therefore, before you decide that you will stick with your current IT Provider, even though you know they aren’t a good fit for your company, contact us to see if our partnership will be right for you. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

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Why Are Businesses Still Unhappy With Their IT Provider?

business-IT-relationshipI am sure many of you, in the business space, have a smartphone, tablet and/or laptop, where you have already downloaded tons of the latest apps for your own personal use. It can be to manage and track your financial spending/expenses, to better communicate with relatives or friends from abroad, to manage your agenda and schedules, to take and edit photos, etc. There are so many applications out there that have made people’s lives that much easier. So then, I ask, why can’t companies also benefit from simple, affordable, easy-to-use, flexible software applications to manage their business operations? Why are there still too many complaints against business software systems and IT Providers?

Every time I speak with business managers about their company’s management system there is never anything good they have to say about it. How can this be? Why, in this day and age, where technology has advanced so much and where we can literally manage every aspect of our lives through apps, are businesses, large and small, still unhappy with their IT Providers and software solutions? Too many complaints are being shared out there by many business managers about their management systems, their IT Providers and the service they are provided.

Common Complaints

Below are a few common phrases I keep hearing from business managers. Let us know if you can relate to any of them;

  • My IT provider is never available when I need help or simply have a question.
  • My system is not flexible.
  • I am spending way too much money on this system and not seeing improvements.
  • My system implementation has cost me hundreds of thousands of dollars and has lasted over 2 years – how is this possible?
  • I do not feel I am getting innovative solutions to tackle our business challenges.
  • I do not have a relationship with my IT provider.
  • Our system has caused my entire team too many headaches.
  • Integrating my system with a third-party ecommerce site or another software system is a hassle; my IT provider is not making it easy to give me access to the company’s database for integration purposes.
  • Prior to the implementation, I was never told there would be all of these additional costs.
  • My employees hate using the system.
  • We have a full ERP system and yet we still need to extract our data into Excel spreadsheets to analyze our data.
  • My software issues aren’t being resolved in a timely fashion.
  • I am not happy with my system but I’ve already spent too much time and money to switch now.

Our team believes it’s about time that business people actually enjoy using their management system and have a positive, strong, close relationship with their IT Provider. This is exactly why we develop high-quality, flexible yet affordable software solutions and provide available support. We want to help businesses overcome their challenges through innovative solutions and accessible IT services. We aren’t here to make it MORE difficult for business people to complete tasks and manage their operations. I know that “IT” has had a bad rap and business owners associate it to more expenses and more headaches, but this isn’t the case with all IT providers. You just have to pick the right one that fits well with your business environment.

We make it a priority to treat each and every customer like a valued partner not as a sale, like most software providers. We strongly believe that when there’s a good partnership between the IT team and the Business team, a company can truly see real improvements and benefit from efficiencies throughout their entire organization. Many business owners don’t realize that this relationship is crucial for a positive software implementation and a positive IT partnership for years to come. Simply going with brand names or popular providers doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the best solution and fit for them.

Aside from concentrating on the software system itself, companies should also pay attention to the IT company. Who’s behind these systems and services? Who will be my main point of contact in the sales department as well as in the software support department? Am I simply given a form to fill out if I have an issue or can I email or call someone directly and get immediate assistance? Looking into the after-sales support service is extremely important because it is not enough to simply assume that the responsiveness of the support team will be the same as the sales team you dealt with prior to your software purchase. Many businesses have noticed that their post-implementation support was unavailable and unresponsive for weeks at a time. This is truly unacceptable. Companies rely heavily on their software systems to manage their operations and if there is an issue, it should be acknowledged by the IT provider and handled in a timely fashion.

This is how Namtek Consulting Services has differentiated itself from other IT providers. We’ve taken the time to listen to our customers and pay attention to their challenges so that we can be available and responsive to tackle their issues and provide helpful, innovative solutions for them. Customers can pick up the phone or email a support staff directly when needed. This makes for a better relationship and a happier software user. We continue to work hand in hand with our customers, even after any software implementation, since we understand that the business world is constantly evolving and technology is continuously advancing, so business and IT must work together to ensure company efficiency.

We are trying to change the perception that many business managers have of the IT industry where software providers charge high fees for inaccessible support and inflexible, complicated solutions. We treat our customers like a partner, rather than just another customer. Removing this love/hate relationship between IT and business is the goal. Technology in the business world is extremely valuable and everyone can benefit from implementing innovative, flexible, high-quality software systems that are a good fit for their business.

Therefore, to ensure that you and your team are happy with your IT provider and the software and services they offer, tick off the following:

  • The software solutions are flexible, scalable, easy-to-use and affordable
  • The support team can be reached by phone and/or email and you have a point of contact
  • The IT team is honest, reliable and transparent in all of their dealings
  • The IT team treats you like a valued partner and takes the time to listen to your business and IT needs
  • The IT provider is continuously offering valuable, innovative solutions to fit with your growing business to ensure continuous efficiency
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How Modern EDI Can Be Your Missing Piece to an Efficient Company

At this point in time, I’d say that most of our readers know what EDI is. We’ve written tons of articles and continuously provide educational resources on it. If you are still unsure of what EDI is and what it can do for your business, please refer to our EDI slide presentation or download our Intro to EDI guide to get better acquainted with this business communication method. Read more

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The Rise of SMB Cloud Adoption [Infographic]

We are true ‘Cloud’ lovers here at Namtek Consulting Services! We have seen first-hand the many benefits that our customers, big and small, have realized with our cloud offerings – from our EDI2XML service to our ErpWizard system in the cloud. Read more

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Why Should SMEs Consider Outsourcing Their IT Services & Support?

Wouldn’t it just be better and more cost-effective to simply hire a full-time in-house team of IT programmers? Unlike what most Small and Medium Enterprise owners believe, this is false. For these companies, finding the right in-house team and retaining them long-term is very difficult. On top of this, running an entire IT department can […]

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EDI, EDI, EDI…Why its demand has drastically increased

EDI Communication is in high demand right now. Many companies are quickly realizing how beneficial it is to trade important documents with their suppliers, retailers or business partners via electronic means. Others are receiving direct instructions from their partners to begin using EDI in order to continue doing business with them. Basically, some companies aren’t getting the choice and others are taking proactive steps to ensure they are ahead of the game so that they are as efficient as possible. Read more

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How to become EDI compliant with large retailers like Sears, HBC, Costco, Wal-Mart and Target

If you are looking into getting into business with large retailers like Sears, Wal-Mart, Target, Costco, HBC, Amazon, etc., then you will most certainly require EDI. Nowadays, most large retailers demand that their Trading Partners exchange all documents, like Purchase Orders, Invoices, ASNs, electronically [EDI]. This may seem like such a hassle at first but once you find the right EDI Provider (at the right price), it’ll all become quite easy and quick. (To know what’s involved in the setup of EDI accounts by EDI Providers, read this article.) Read more

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Ease of Use, Support, Price or Functionality: What’s more important when choosing your Management Software Solution

What’s the most important aspect when choosing a new Software Solution

Choosing a new, upgraded ERP Management System for your company can be a long process – usually lasting about 12 to 15 months, depending on the size of the company. Most top-level managers dread this process, which is one of the many reasons they tend to stick with their out-dated systems for so long. Read more

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EDI as a Service: Understanding the Concepts

What is EDI “as a Service”? At Namtek Consulting Services, we have been providing a service called EDI2XML Translation Service. As many already know, EDI requires expertise and knowledge in the field; not any IT professional can handle a full EDI project. This often makes it difficult when businesses are told by suppliers or retailers […]

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