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6 Ways to Achieve an Easy Software Implementation

Software-ImplementationDuring the years of experience in software implementation, we have met business leaders that have various points of view on the use of IT technology such as ERP system, CRM software, as well as software implementation and software Integration in general. Perhaps you recognize yourself as one who:

Currently, do not have a software management system. You put a system implementation on hold and keep using Microsoft Word and Excel to store your sensitive data until you really have no choice but to upgrade to an ERP/CRM system

Currently, use a legacy system.  You keep using your legacy system for a few more years and continue making minor fixes here and there to accommodate the changes in your industry/business

Go through with a software upgrade anyways. No matter what you’ve heard or what you’ve previously been through during previous IT projects implementations, you still go ahead with a software upgrade because you know in the long run this will be best for your company’s prosperity and employees.

Software Implementation: Fear of Change

Why Software Implementations are known to be so painful to Business Executives? Among the most commonly called causes are price, time-consuming, and fear of big change. It’s an actual fact because often the final price is so expensive. Normally, implementations take more time than expected, while staff are resisting to the change in business processes. New systems seems too complex, so they pretend they were better off with Excel Spreadsheets and Word Documents, or their old legacy system.

Helpful Reading:

Achieving the Easiest Software Implementation Ever

Here are some pointers that will allow you to have a smooth implementation and avoid major problems, as listed above.

1.      Put together a small internal team to oversee & manage Implementation Project. Easy Software Implementation

An internal team, made up of 5 employees or less, is critical for a successful software implementation. This group should be continuously interacting with all the departments and top management as well. They work hand in hand with the ERP Service Provider.

On top of this, it is best if these employees are not distracted by their normal daily tasks as they should fully commit their time to the software implementation project. This will ensure everything is running smoothly and everyone’s needs are met.

2.      Hire a qualified IT/ERP Provider

Many Small and Medium size Enterprises do not always have an in- house IT team. Nowadays, an in-house IT team is not even necessary due to the emergence of cloud computing and Software as a Service.

However, it is highly important to hire the right Software Provider that can act as your IT Consultant and ERP implementation team for your SaaS ERP project. A qualified ERP Consultant/Provider should have:

  • the necessary IT experience and knowledge
  • a solid business understanding
  • great communication skills, as they will be working hand in hand with your internal team (as mentioned in #1)
  • provide a detailed analysis of the different costs upfront (including any potential fees for unexpected situations during implementation)
3.      Get the full support from Management

Management should remain unified in supporting the project. They should continuously encourage and motivate their teams not give up.

The support of top management is not only the financial backing but more for encouragement, as this may be a difficult time for employees to get accustomed to a new system and potentially new processes.

On top of this, as there will be a lots of end user training, it can be very helpful if management can alleviate certain team members from regular responsibilities – especially the internal implementation team during that short period of time.

4.      Make the Right ‘IT Budget’ Decisions

Management must define the role of IT before any decision can be made. IT can play a major role in meeting the company’s objectives, which is why the Accounting department should fully understand the IT strategy in order to make the right decisions regarding software investments.

It’s about seeing IT not as a cost but rather as an investment.

5.      Introduce staff to new processes & standards PRIOR to Implementation

Usually, SMEs have informal, undisciplined types of environments and processes.

The big problem is that ERP systems and other software solutions bring in procedural rigidity and discipline. This is when user resistance and conflicts are likely to arise.

Leaders need to bring in some process consistency & standardized procedures before software implementation begins. It’s all about easing employees into this new work environment.

6.      Train your whole team on how to use the new system

Investing in end-user training is not optional if you want to have a successful, smooth software implementation.Investing in end-user training is not optional if you want to have a successful, smooth software implementation. If your employees do not know how to use the system the right way, they will begin to resist and your team still won’t be working as efficiently as possible.

For successful training, begin this process during implementation and continue after the Go-Live date as well. Follow these steps:

  • establish goals
  • have the internal team assess each user’s needs and training requirements
  • create a training program and schedule
  • have the IT Consultant/ERP Provide educate and train the users

Let’s summarize: to achieve an easy software implementation you should:

  • Put together a small team at the company to manage the Implementation Project
  • Hire a qualified IT Provider
  • Get full support from top Management
  • Define the role of IT to make better budget decisions
  • Introduce staff to new processes & standards early on
  • Thoroughly train end-users on the new software

Not sure if your business is running as efficiently as possible? Request a FREE one-on-one 1-hour consultation session with our in-house experts.

 

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The End-of-Year Checklist for Process Improvement

process-improvement-checklistIt’s already nearing the end of 2016. Crazy how fast time flies! For many people, this time is the busiest, filled with corporate events, family gatherings, holiday shopping, vacations and more. For many businesses, especially in the retail industry, it’s also one of their busiest times of the year. However, there are those industries or companies where December is a quiet month, making it the perfect time to look ahead and plan for the upcoming year. It’s when executives can finally set aside a few hours or days to establish and finalize next year’s budgets, prioritize upcoming projects, assess employee performance and review goals and benchmarks for the following year. What our consultants always encourage is to also set some time aside to review business processes and determine which ones aren’t working well anymore. For example, are you noticing an increase in unhappy customers, an increase in manual data entry, duplicated work, an increase in costs, missed deadlines, frustrated, and unproductive employees…? If so, it’s definitely time to improve the processes that don’t work and are leading to these problems.

In today’s world, things can change in an instant. Therefore, your business processes may have been efficient 5 years ago (or even one year ago!), but today, they are considered inefficient or outdated due to new technology, new goals, industry or consumer changes, etc.

So what can you do about it?

We’ve compiled an End-of-Year Checklist for you so that you can overcome challenges and improve outdated processes for 2017;

  • Write down the main problems/challenges you’ve noticed this past year;
    • Where are costs going up? Where are most of the delays occurring? How come customers or suppliers are growing more unhappy? Why are deadlines constantly missed? Why are errors increasing? …
  • Analyze these processes. Focus on either one or many of these problem areas and make them your priority for 2017. A great way to really understand what’s going on is to speak directly with the employees who are affected by the processes and get their feedback on why things aren’t working so well anymore. Perhaps they have an idea on how to improve them. It’s critical that you and everyone involved understand exactly what these specific processes are meant to do before addressing the problems and redesigning the processes.
  • Restructure those inefficient processes; brainstorm with your team and jot down all the ideas to solve these problems. Many companies refer to a consultant during this step, to help them find possible risks and points of failure of each possible solution.
  • The next step involves securing the resources required to implement change (change = new processes or process alterations required to improve efficiency & solve current challenges/issues). Do you need to hire someone new? Do you need to implement new software applications or outsource an IT provider for their services? Whatever it may be, now’s the time to set the budget (make sure it’s a realistic budget!).

For example, let’s say you realized that costs rose with the increase in incoming purchase orders in 2016. Perhaps this was due to hiring more sales reps to input all of these orders into the management system. Now you have more salaries, more manual data entry, and in turn more errors (human errors are likely to occur with data entry). With more errors in customer orders, there are more unsatisfied customers. What is a possible solution to this problem? Reduce the manual data entry or human intervention when it comes to incoming purchase orders through the use of an automated and integrated Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) service. With EDI, incoming Purchase Orders (POs) can be integrated directly into your management system. No human intervention required! This then reduces errors, plus improves the speed in which orders are processed and delivered to customers. A new budget will then be required for 2017 for an EDI integration project.

Going through the above checklist before the New Year will allow you to see real improvements next year. Now’s the time to ensure that your processes are effective and streamlined, your employees are productive, happy and properly trained, customers are satisfied and the technologies used are up-to-date, simple and a good fit for your business. We find too many businesses with complex software solutions, at which point their executives then wonder why their processes are so complex. By 2017, companies will look to have more affordable, flexible and simple solutions in order to have more agility for change. Set your plan and realistic budgets in order to benefit from efficient, streamlined processes.

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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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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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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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How A Proper End User Training Can Improve Performance After A New Software Implementation

This post was updated to reflect current trends and information.

software-user-training

When speaking about a new software implementation, a bank of hours for end user training is typically brought up in the discussion. More often, IT Software Providers will refer to this service as optional, leaving business executives with the belief that the training is unimportant or not fully necessary for a successful implementation. This false perception associated to user training can later causes issues for the company, such as user resistance, unsuccessful implementation or not fully understanding the system benefits, as originally promised by the IT Software Provider.

Read more

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User Training for New ERP Implementation – Done Right!

User Training for New ERP Implementation – Done Right!

In many of my previous articles, I repeatedly mentioned the term “user resistance” when it came to implementing a new software solution at a company (no matter its size). I tend to put quite a bit of focus on user resistance since this happens all too often at companies and it can easily be stopped (with a bit of work of course)! 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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Here’s how to ensure you don’t fall behind with your Software Upgrades

We know signing on to do a major software upgrade at your company is a big deal. We make sure our customers do not treat this process lightly as there are many factors that need to be considered prior to any software implementation  However, nothing should stop you from going through with this improvement, since, after all, it IS an improvement. Read more

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The Learning Period of a Software System Implementation

The Initial Transition to a New Software System

The implementation of any new software system can always seem a little daunting at first. What’s important to remember (and keep reminding yourself) is that this phase of any software project doesn’t have to be so terrible. Typically, what can take the most time is the initial transition from the old system to the new (or in many cases, from NO system to A system – this is when companies have been relying primarily on using Excel Spreadsheets, Word documents and Email). During this initial transition we have a ‘Learning Period’, where, of course, employees need to learn how to actually use the new software application.

Read more

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