As ERP consultants who support many Sage PFW ERP customers, we want to make sure everyone knows that Sage has announced the official retirement of Sage PFW ERP (formerly Platinum for Windows) on March 31, 2014. In our ERP software industry, we see that software is discontinued and for a variety of reasons. A few reasons a publisher like Sage may choose to discontinue ERP software like Sage PFW ERP is the lack of support by third party providers, technology that is out of date and a lack of functionality that is now found in today’s modern ERP software. In this case, Sage has clarified that it is the level of functionality provided by Sage PFW that has led to the decision to retire the solution. Since Sage PFW ERP was written with Microsoft Visual Basic programming language it has become increasingly difficult for Sage to support this outdated language. Sage has tried to support this platform for loyal Sage PFW ERP customers and now it is time to consider new options since Microsoft ended support for Visual Basic in 2008. Sage has seen a growing number of customers migrate to more functionality rich and modern solutions that provide a surplus to the benefits of Sage PFW ERP, the company decided that it is the right time to end Sage PFW ERP’s successful run.

As a distributor, you may think that the new wave of B2B eCommerce does not relate to your business or has no effect on your competitive advantage.  However, in order to remain competitive in today’s market, eCommerce for distribution companies is a must. If you do not jump on the train while it’s in the station, you could likely be left in the dust. So why should you change the way you have been doing business for decades?  

Keys to Growth:  QuickBooks CRM and a Customer Relationship Strategy

It is our experience most companies start their business using a back office accounting software like QuickBooks.  In the beginning if you have a limited amount of customers it is somewhat simple to manage your customer relationships manually using QuickBooks, a Rolodex or perhaps a paper and pen filing system.  If your company grows as anticipated soon you will require a customer relationship management (CRM) software system. In order to select a CRM system it is good practice to develop a CRM strategy.

There are 15 common MRP mistakes distributors and manufacturers make.  If you are a manufacturer or distributor please join us to learn supply chain management tips from the experts.  Manufacturers and Distributors have the same problems no matter what products produced or sold:

QuickBooks is by far the market leading entry level ERP software available on the market today.  It is an excellent ERP software solution for smaller companies or companies with basic requirements. It is our opinion QuickBooks is the easiest-to-use accounting software available.  QuickBooks does not require formal accounting training to master. This is probably the reason QuickBooks dominates the market share in the entry level ERP software/accounting software category.

E-commerce for Manufacturers

OK so many readers have probably seen this statistic floating around by now, but it is truly amazing and illustrates how important eCommerce really is for B2B’s:

I wrote another blog article recently on what “good EDI support” is and the feedback we consistently received talked about the ability to understand business processes as well as the technical aspects.  I think this is an age old battle and one that we see in our sales efforts every day.  The question is where does EDI belong?  Does it belong on the business side?  Or does it belong on the IT side?  In order to answer that (and I think the answer varies depending on the company) an organization must know what their business goals are and that’s where the disconnect happens when it comes to efficient EDI solutions and using EDI to meet business goals.  

If you are not already conducting a business process assessment, please read our business process assessment blog series to learn how to unleash profits by finding ways to work more efficiently. In this series we are covering the steps to starting a business process assessment to help reduce inefficiencies and increase profits.   In our previous blogs we covered; 1) how to create a business process project management committee 2)  questions to ask by department  3) how to develop a comprehensive business process assessment document to measure and assess the existing business processes  4)  how to create and define your milestone and project projections.  Have you ever worn old shoes to the point where they are hurting your feet?  The joy of wearing a new pair of shoes makes you wonder why you were walking around in those old shoes for so long.  This is much like the benefits you will discover when you complete your business process assessment and find a better way of running your business.

If you are looking into online CRM options, you are most likely looking at Salesforce. Did you know that when you compare Zoho vs. Salesforce, you’ll discover another online CRM option that is just as good as Salesforce at a fraction of the cost?  Let’s compare Salesforce with Zoho Online CRM and review 3 key benefits  of Zoho vs. Salesforce that will help you avoid overpaying for an online CRM solution.  In our comparison of Zoho vs. Salesforce, we will look at; 1) overall features 2) the total cost of ownership and 3) the ability to integrate with your back-office accounting software.

There are some common issues that businesses face after implementing accounting and ERP software systems.  As certified ERP software consultants, we have helped many businesses over the last 20 years successfully implement ERP systems.  Based on our experience, we wanted to share some great ways to overcome these ERP software mistakes.  Let's not cry over spilled milk and learn how to avoid future accidents in your business.