In any business, be it logistics or otherwise, efficiency is the answer to optimal productivity, which in turn results in increased profitability. ERP is proving to be a proactive method of achieving these exact goals in the up-and-coming enterprises of our current day and age. That being said, an ambitious business owner should want to implement this solution as an investment in the growth and effectiveness of their business.

This is a simple yet effective guideline to the implementation of ERP, specific to a logistic business. But first, let’s be clear on what this entails.

What is ERP

ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. It really took flight in the late 1990’s during the Y2K scare and introduction of the euro. Businesses did away with their legacy systems and started using ERP. This system provides access to employees and partners by means of e-commerce technology.

ERP is an all-in-one business management solution that allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of your business from one easy source.

ERP systems include the following characteristics:

• A united system
• Operates in real time
• An integrated database supporting all the applications
• A consistent dashboard across the modules
• Enablement of the system with intricate application or data integration by the IT department, provided the implementation is not done in compartmentalised sections.
• Placement options include: in house, cloud hosted, or SaaS (software as a service)

How is this Applicable to the Logistics Industry?

As an industry that relies heavily on data capturing and management, an EPR system is perfectly suited to the nature of your business. Monitoring and logging information is important. This is what helps track and manage such a complex business model. Why would you not want to have the power to oversee your entire business from one single point? Benefits include the following:

• Optimize inventory control
• A personalized dashboard allowing for monitoring of orders, sales and distribution from one centralized point
• Track previous sales trends to prepare for future efficiency
• Accelerates distribution times by 23%
• Realtime data analytics
• Identify out-of-stock inventory, handle inbound orders from suppliers, and execute outbound orders
• All features are accessible from a desktop or smartphone
• Implementation and support from software vendors
• Improves distribution
  • Improves distribution management of freight operators
  • Records datasets from multiple sources eg: in house records, internet, social media
  • Displays information through maps, charts and graphs
  • Streamlines delivery to customers using the data collected
  • Encourages communication between suppliers, distributors and retailers
  • Allows for live information to be delivered to drivers regarding traffic and delivery destinations.
  • Reduces operational and administrative costs by 23% and 22% respectively due to effective, real time communication
  • Personalized system to suit specific needs
• Manages staff
  • Log employee hours
  • Track rest times of operators
  • Collect staff performance data
  • Maintain a steady stream of staff, distribute contracts, and schedule hours

Where to Start

Now that it is evident that ERP systems are not only extremely beneficial, but almost a necessity to your expanding logistics business, let’s look at the process of implementation.

Step 1

Choosing a Software Vendor

Find the right software vendor and personalized software to suit your specific business. This would be imperative to experience the full benefit of the system. As ERP is not a new concept in the market, it should not be difficult to find a vendor in your area. When shopping for the right system for your business, consider the following:

• Recognize five key factors of the product you see most fit for your business
• Identify the essential factors necessary for your business
• Avoid outdated technology
• Minimize risk in ways that satisfy your budget
• Determine how your top choices stack up against similar systems

Step 2

Choosing the System That Suits You

ERP systems are applicable to several different industries. The ERP SD (sales and distribution) module would be best suited to a logistics business and consists of the following components:

• Master data
• Basic functions subdivided into multiple components, such as pricing and output, to name but a few
• Sales
• Shipping
• Transportation
• Localization
• Foreign trade
• Invoicing
• Marketing support
• Electronic data interchange
• Sales and Logistics Information systems

Step 3

Staff Training

Any new system, policy or protocol implemented into a business requires training and support. Equipping staff with this knowledge will allow them to competently make full use of ERP. It is advisable for your business to provide as much training and support as possible.

Online training is available from certain software vendors. This online training proves to be comprehensive and conclusive enough to give your staff the tools they need to proficiently operate your ERP SD system.

Step 4

Day to Day Operation

As you must have realised by now, an ERP system is user friendly and comprehensive. It is important that management staff are well informed and active users of your new software. Even though support be available from your software vendor, it is a good idea to have an inhouse “expert”.

This person should oversee everyday operations to make sure that staff are using the system correctly and that all the necessary data is being used in the best way possible.

Step 5

Keeping Your ERP up to Date

Isn’t it scary how fast technology is developing these days? You get a new device today and by next month it is superseded by something bigger and better. Before you’ve even had the chance to experience the one you have to its full capacity, it is redundant. The same applies here. It would be most beneficial for you to keep up to date with updates and expansions of your ERP system. In this field, there are constantly new and better developments being released to make our lives and productivity that much more efficient. Don’t get left behind.

General improvements

The following new features and enhancements are available in both Sage 300c web screens and Sage 300 classic screens:

• Export Declaration Number field. On the Taxes tab of the A/R Invoice Entry and O/E Invoice Entry screens, an Export Declaration Number field allows you to enter export declaration numbers for exported goods. This information is required for tax purposes in some jurisdictions (such as Malaysia and Singapore).

Sage 300C Web Screens

This release includes the option to install Sage 300c web screens: modernized versions of Sage 300 screens that you can use in a web browser.

Web screens run in parallel with the classic Sage 300 desktop screens, so there’s no need to choose between desktop or web. Everyone in your organization can use the interface that best suits their needs, while working seamlessly with a single shared set of company data.

Here’s a quick overview of what’s new in Sage 300c 2018 web screens:

• Find and open recently used windows. On the web toolbar, a new Recently Used Windows list displays windows you’ve opened recently, making it easy to quickly find and open those windows again.
• Improved performance in the Finder. The Finder displays results faster than in previous versions of Sage 300, particularly when using a large database.
• Improved import/export process in I/C Physical Inventory Quantities screen. When importing and exporting data on the I/C Physical Inventory Quantities screen, you can now choose to import/export data from the detail table (select Inventory Worksheet Header) or the fields above the detail table (select Inventory Worksheet).

Upgrade to Sage 300 2016 today and enjoy streamlined workflows, improved usability, Affordable Care Act compliance, and more. Take advantage of all the new customer-driven enhancements that are included in Sage 300 2016 so you can be even more productive.

Ensure compliance with Affordable Care Act requirements

With Sage 300 2016, you can ensure your company meets the new requirements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). To address the legislative requirements, a tool called My Workforce Analyzer1 in Sage Payroll 7.2 will help you stay compliant with government regulations.

Assistance with ACA reporting includes:
• Establishing employee work hours.
• Verifying full or part time status.
• Showing health care coverage costs to determine affordability.
• Tracking self-insured employee coverage.
• Reporting employer-sponsored health care coverage on W2 forms.
• Printing forms1094-Cand1095-C.

To learn more about Sage 300 and ACA, please visit the Affordable Care Act center on Sage City.

Connect your entire business

Sage 300 is integrated with the latest versions of Sage Payroll (7.2), Sage Intelligence (7.6), and Sage CRM (7.3), allowing you to improve effectiveness and make better decisions across your business.

Enjoy easier posting, reporting, and bank reconciliation

You can now post invoices, receipts, adjustments, refunds, and more directly from the entry screens for GL, AP, AR, and Bank Reconciliation. A significant time saver, you no longer have to run an entire batch to post an individual invoice or receipt.

Add clarity with improved tax tracking reports

When printing the Tax Tracking report by fiscal period, you can now specify a range of fiscal year/periods to include. This allows you to run tax reporting on periods other than the fiscal year to increase flexibility in tax tracking and planning.

Get more from an enhanced Business Care plan

Sage now offers three new Sage Business Care plans, which feature more support options and discounts on services, events, and more as well as access to add-on solutions such as Sage Intelligence, Sage Payroll, and Sage CRM.
Depending upon the plan you choose, you’ll receive enhanced support from our customer support team, which includes:
• Customer support when and how you need it.
• Discounts on Sage training classes for individual and team solution education.
• Discount registration to the Sage Summit annual solution conference.

Along with the enhanced support and discounts, some new plans include additional Sage solutions to help you gain better business insight, forecast demand, and win new business.

Save time when designing reports

When designing custom financial reports using the Sage Intelligence Report Designer with Sage 300, you now can:
• Automatically detect missing accounts from reports.
• Exclude zero value rows from reports to make them easier to read.
• Select dynamic ranges that detect any changes to the General Ledger.

You will also be able to distribute reports with calculated values or with embedded formulas, to see how calculations were made. Plus, additional reports were added to the online library and will automatically be uploaded into Report Manager.

Do contact us regarding the new SAGE 300!

The next major release of Sage 300 ERP (named 2016 but released in 2015) will be dropping support for Pervasive.SQL and Oracle as database servers. This means the only supported database will be Microsoft SQL Server.

The database world is changing and Sage 300 ERP needs to change with it. That’s why they are making these changes.

It is always harder to define how successful an IT project such as ERP implementation has been in comparison to a financial procedure or even the aims of a manufacturing entity. This is why it is always better to have a written-down set of expectations that you have from a project after it goes live. If you do not have this, then anything regarded to the success of your ERP implementation endeavors just becomes an opinion. In worst cases, the number of opinions becomes more than you would care to count. In case your organization does not have the best work ethic and people are more interested in negative discussions about the aftereffects of the said implementation then you can be jolly well sure that it will be deemed a universal failure.

It is always better to have a group of criteria that can be measured properly. This is helpful for the team that is dealing with implementing the processes and also for the organizational health in the long term. This is also comes in handy in resources being allotted in the proper way. Overall, there is a sense of focus among people who dedicate themselves to the cause of implementing ERP solutions.

This needs to be done before your project goes live. Remember that this is the biggest determinant of whether you have succeeded or not. Unlike popular conception it need not be too tough to measure the success of ERP implementation. The first indicator is your self-satisfaction regarding how the implementation was carried out. You can always come up with catchy statements to motivate people into adapting this procedure and it can contribute to your success in the end. You can also set time limits for achieving the goals that you have set yourself. With every sequence, you can take the bar higher.

It also needs to be kept in mind that as a business organization you should be able to reach a common ground as to what should be regarded successful and what not. It is important that your peers or workers do not end up criticizing the guys responsible for implementing the ERP processes in a random manner just because they have been unable to achieve some aim. With random – and unwarranted – criticism they will not be in the right frame of mind to do their work properly or look for answers in case of failures.

They need to be given the leeway to express themselves properly and come up with ways to avoid failings. After all, success is built on a pillar of failures. Instead, they need to be encouraged and congratulated when they are finally successful in their endeavors. After all, water, and not sand, is needed to grow flowers.

Do contact us for more ERP related questions.

When you are trying to implement ERP solutions such as Sage 300 or SAP Business One in your company the biggest problem that you will face is in terms of changing the business processes of your company in such a way that they can get used to what is known as an unconventional mode of operation in today’s world. The timing is highly important over here. The same can also be said of customizing ERP in such a way that you can have the edge that you previously had from the point of view of strategic business processes.

The major reason for such a statement is the fact that there are not too many business processes that are sure to provide you a strategic edge over that of your competitors. You will always see that people in your company are resisting this much-needed change. These systems have been created and then maintained following years of observation and appreciation of what works best for individual businesses. It may be so that the way your business works does not conform to ERP principles. This means that it can work even better.

In spite of this, you will be opposed in your company. This is because people will have to do something that they do not wish to do in the first place for the simple reason that it is unlike the way your business is supposed to function. So, the question is how to be successful in this case. For starters, you need to create a mental distance with your peers and friends even if you acknowledge the concerns that they have. On top of this, you need to be sure yourself as to whether the policy that you are following is in the best interests of your company. You need to be strong enough to say no at times.

This is where your strength of character comes into play since such situations can drain you completely from an emotional point of view. At times, your colleagues might come and say that ERP implementation might harm their prospects for the year, you need to stand firm in the face of the storm and retain your faith in the ERP processes. You need to know what the advantages of implementing these systems are going to be. It is also important to be secure in the knowledge that these norms are the best in the business.

With ERP you can be sure that in actuality you are carrying out some corrective measures that have been necessary for a long period of time. This might actually benefit your company in the long term and in more ways than anyone might care to understand. This is where prior education and training are of such importance.

Do contact us for more ERP related questions.

It is often said that when you are trying to implement ERP the costs can go up to double of what you had expected originally. Once stumbles upon this realization after the entire process has been completed. There is no shadow of a doubt that you are bound to spend much more than what you had planned initially with ERP implementation especially with top-class software such as Sage 300 and SAP Business One.

However, this does not mean that you cannot stay within limits and also use the funds to implement the project successfully. There are a few things that need to be done in this regard.

For starters, you need to work closely with the various stakeholders such as the information technology department in your office as well as your software vendor. This list is also inclusive of the implementation experts. The only time you can be sure that there is no looking back is when you the scope of your project increases suddenly. You need to know how to keep the working relationship going even while saying no to requests for more money. The second thing that you can do is have a training plan that has been defined properly for the perusal of one and all.

This will come in handy for the different teams dealing with various stages of development, implementation, etc. If you lack a written plan that does not have proper objectives as such, you will obviously spend much more than what you had intended to. A majority of the sum will be spent in educating people. Without proper details people will always ask for more classes and there is very little chance that you will be able to deny them in a justifiable manner. You can also deal with this issue by regarding your budget as a financial flow that lasts for a certain period of time.

This process should cover the period from when you start the project till a couple of months after you have gone live. You should be able to set up things in such a way that you do not need to spend more than 75% of the budget even when factoring in all the known expenses. There will be plenty of work to be done – you can divide it into needs and wants. If you can cover all this in just 75% of the specified budget then it is a fabulous situation to be in. You will not need to make any hard choice as such.

In case you can use the 75% of your budget to cover all your needs but not all the wants then you may need to trim that least so as to arrive at a profitable situation. If the said amount is insufficient to cover even your needs then the scope needs to be re-evaluated and downsized and you have to make good choices regarding areas where the risk exposure can be increased. You can easily get the most-efficient and talented workers from different parts of your organization and thus make the necessary adjustments.

You can always do away with the consultants and pay more to the talented people in your company to implement ERP. The remaining 25% needs to be used in final phase – in the six weeks that immediately precede the project becoming live and then the immediately-next 6 weeks. You can always be sure of problems you had not accounted for in such situations. Then, you need to be assertive so that money can be spent as you see fit. This will help the rumors die down and make people more confident as they realize that the problems are getting solved. This is when your implementation will be successful as well.

Do contact us for more ERP related questions.

A process for training end users, which also happens to be effective enough, is one of the surefire ways in which one can make the process of implementing software tools such as SAP Business One and Sage 300successful. If you are able to execute the program for training end users properly then there can be several levels – ascending ones at that – of contribution to the ERP implementation process. There are certain things that you need to ensure from the first day itself:

• Everyone should be able to log on to the new system
• They should get access to the dealings that are required to do their job
• They should know how to perform the transactions by themselves

These are the most-basic ingredients of success. If this much competency cannot be achieved then there is no denying that the efforts will fail. One thing is also sure. Only when the end users have been provided the necessary instructions then the basic level of competency can be achieved. It is also imperative that they are asked to practice what they have learned as part of the basic instructions. There is another tier of training the end users.

You can train some end users in such a way that they are able to take part in volume training when the process goes live. Thus, their contribution is much beyond the amount of participation in the said task since they are able to provide a different and realistic perspective to things. These may be problems, which the team responsible for implementation may not have been aware of. They can actually understand the areas of training that will become problematic later on. They are also able to take just about one look at data output and get the errors that happen because of the lack of common sense. It needs to be remembered that a team that is not acquainted with the ways data works on a daily basis might jolly well overlook these.

The biggest benefit of training users is that the team, which is supposed to solve problems, will have more people to work with. They are helpful in any effort since they come with a lot of positive energy to the whole process. The ones that we see commonly are only good at identifying problems. They will just find the issues and let the implementation team take the brunt of the same.

The best way in which you can create more problem solvers in your company is to find out people who are able to understand the training material in a short span of time as well as ones who are more curious than usual. It is important that these people are mentored properly and given more training. It also needs to be understood that at all these levels the process of education needs to be logical and consistent. It is important that every individual who is related to ERP has a proper job function and an identity.

All the transactions needed for the process should be identified and there should be a proper security role in order to assemble them. The training material should also be created in such a way that there are enough practice problems. This will make sure that everyone is able to take part properly in the practice sessions. There are various kinds of deals where the amount of master data and preparation is different from others. With sufficient amount of valid customers and materials it is possible to create a wealth of sales orders. However, production cannot be reported till there is enough inventory and a work order of all the constituent parts.

It is also important that the instructors come with a certain amount of enthusiasm as well as patience and knowledge. The training should be timed in such a way that it is not too far before training. If the time gap is too long, then obviously people will retain less. If you are able to train the most-possible number of people trained properly before your ERP goes live then it would be good enough for the success of your company. It is important to have focused people and training is a key component of the same.

Do contact us for more ERP related questions.