WBSRocks: Scaling Growth with AI, Enterprise Software, and Digital Transformation

Send us Fan MailThe bill of materials becomes complex when you might have multiple layers of costing and sub-assemblies. But you need to be at a different level when you might have co-products and by-products involved as part of your manufacturing process. The co-products can help you optimize your production process and allocate costs appropriately. The by-products can help you measure the yield percentages accurately. But unless your SKUs and BOMs replicate the physical production processes, your costs and yield percentages may be all over the place. So what are the best practices for capturing by- and co-products appropriately as part of the production process?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Co-products/By-products best practices. We discussed their definition and how the definition and their treatment might vary in different industries. Finally, we discussed these concepts from many different perspectives such as costing, scheduling, and in-process testing.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MailMost people might not even pay attention to the location in the digital world. We can hire workers from any country remotely. We can trade with most countries easily. But when it comes to eCommerce and ERP systems, location is still a huge factor. The solution from North America may not work well in Europe. The solution from Latin America might not work well in North America. There are challenges such as payment providers or taxation being different. But even if a platform may support these integrations, the solution may still feel alienated due to the localization issues, whether we talk about product or documentation. One such platform is VTEX, which is highly advanced in its headless capabilities. But it still carries its Latin American roots, which might be a barrier for North American countries, even if the platform may be technically advanced. So which companies would most benefit from the VTEX platform?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss VTEX Detailed Independent Review. We discussed their strength and weaknesses and where they might fit in the eCommerce architecture. Finally, we discussed their geographic limitations for global customers, react-based development standards, and their unique strengths with the franchise-based business models.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MailMost businesses take a reactive approach to their banking needs. They are likely to default to the bank that has the lowest fee. Also, they might have several exposure points for attackers to get access to your accounts. But does the lowest fee always mean the best strategy for your business? What if someone gets unauthorized access to your account and drains all the funds? Well, you will be able to get your money back. But it might take several months. And during these months, you might have to deal with the cash flow challenges. So a solid bank integration strategy is essential for businesses.In today's episode, our guest, Matt Bernot, shares his insights into the nuances of bank integrations and considerations for ERP buyers. He discusses the differences in several options that might be available from banks and through the ERP integration and how that might impact business. Finally, he discusses bank integration concepts such as positive pay, NACHA files, and exposure points.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MailJust like ERP, the Bill of Materials is perhaps the overused and oversold term. A BOM could be the assembly of two materials like wrapping a gift for your birthday. Or it could be the manufacturing process of the whole spaceship. But what if the process of manufacturing a spaceship resulted in waste material that could turn into a nice lamp. Would this whole process be captured as part of the bill of materials? How would the cost be accounted for each of them? Does the BOM differ for different teams? How much engineering data does the BOM need to carry? How much financial data does it need to carry? Can it also help procurement teams with their scheduling? Can it produce Gantt charts? Can it compute your contribution margins? These are the questions you are going to have if you are structuring BOMs for your manufacturing shop. If you don’t configure the BOMs right, your costing, scheduling, inventory, supply chain, eCommerce experience, and profit margins will be all over the place. So what are the best practices for structuring the BOMs?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the bill of materials best practices. We discussed several types of BOMs and their misunderstanding could result in operational implications for companies. Finally, we discussed several train wrecks and horror stories due to the poor structuring and governance of the bill of materials.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MaileCommerce is easy when you are managing a couple of stores and selling in 6-figures. But it becomes increasingly difficult when you have to manage millions and billions of transactions. While also managing the transactional depth of a complex business with thousands of channel partners. When you grow at that level, you will need different search engines for different areas of your eCommerce business. You will also need to manage a centralized CI and CD pipeline to manage the promotion of your changes in a controlled manner. You might also plan to launch your own marketplace where you might allow your distributors to sell through your platform. This would require you to complete control of the data, pricing, and product to avoid channel conflict issues. So what would be your options if you have such complexity in your business?  Well, Spryker is one such option. They are leading the headless and marketplace movement for the enterprise space.In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss Spryker’s capabilities. We discussed their strength with the enterprise and B2B features. Finally, we discussed their punchout integration capabilities, product catalog features, and how they are different from other headless platforms.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MailInfor M3 is a unique product that can meet specific requirements of certain industries. But do these specific requirements really matter? Can't you just customize a vanilla ERP system such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or SAP S/4 HANA? Well, it gets really tricky for certain industries such as Fashion and Apparel, Food and Beverage, and equipment rental. It's because you need to have a richer data model tailored for these industries. The rich data model could include native support for matrix inventory, in-process test workflows, technicians' availability, and integration of rental agreements at the work order level. So does Infor M3 have native support for these needs?In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Infor M3's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in fashion, food and beverage, rental, and chemical industries. Finally, we discussed their full-suite capabilities such as PLM collaboration and matrix inventory support along with traceability that will be critical for regulated industries.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MailMost companies feel that the insurance companies would be able to cover most financial risks for them. But without understanding your risk profile, it’s hard to predict if they will be covered. Understanding and identification of risks require a thorough analysis of your processes and supply chain and evaluating them on an ongoing basis. You might also need to monitor macroeconomic factors and how they might affect your risk profile to have complete control over your financial risks.In today's episode, our guest, Hart Brown, shares his insights into enterprise risk management and governance processes. He also discusses the drivers that result in financial and legal risks for the companies such as disgruntled employees, macroeconomics factors, and supply chain issues. Finally, he discusses what companies and operations managers might be able to do to navigate current risks because of supply chain disruptions, war, and inflation.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MailConsolidated invoicing and billing are typically the outliers and don't get as much attention until they become painful issues in the organization. So what are the different variables that drive the consolidated processes? How many different types of consolidated invoicing processes exist? Does it vary by industry? Does it vary by product type? Are consolidated invoicing relevant for subscription-based products? If so, what are the data points that are relevant to capture to ensure that the consolidated invoicing is going to work? And what are the best practices you need to keep in mind while selecting your ERP system? Finally, what are the best practices that drive operational efficiency due to the consolidated invoicing processes? These are the questions you will have if your customers have asked you to incorporate consolidated invoicing with your processes?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss how consolidated invoicing processes differ in several industries. We also discussed how larger customers and vendors typically drive the invoicing process and how they could be make-or-break for the system implementation. Finally, we discussed how revenue recognition, subscription billing, and continuous manufacturing can drive the consolidated invoicing scenarios that might be limiting even in the largest systems.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan Mailcommercetools is the hottest darling of the eCommerce space. This is especially true for the people who are big on microservices architecture and are part of the MACH alliance. But headless architecture is a lot of work for brands and requires tons of capital. The only reason why companies such as Shopify and BigCommerce are so successful is that they made it turnkey for entrepreneurs to start eCommerce businesses easily without worrying about hiring expensive developers. But the world of headless seems to be taking exactly the opposite perspective. While we all know that the fluidity and experience of eCommerce are important, the cost of building it may be a dealbreaker for SMBs. Would there be ROI for companies who are investing in composable commerce? These are the questions you are going to have if you are planning to beef up your eCommerce capabilities and drive revenue from digital channels.In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss commercetools’ capabilities. We discussed their strength in creating customizable commerce experiences for companies in industries where it’s a critical factor such as automotive, mattress, and apparel. Finally, we discussed their weaknesses with the amount of investment and expertise required and these initiatives are likely to fire back with the lack of expertise.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Send us Fan MailPronto is not a household name among the ERP options available in the market unless you are from Australia or New Zeeland. Also, Australia is a different beast when it comes to meeting the statutory requirements of that country. Australia's economy is heavily influenced by specific industries such as mining. Naturally, the software from Australia will have deep capabilities for those industries. But how capable is Pronto for other industries? How do they approach the market? Where are they going to be the best fit? And where would they struggle? These are the questions you will have if you are evaluating Pronto as the potential option for your next ERP project.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Pronto ERP's capabilities. We covered many grounds, including their strength in mining and retail industries along with their exclusive focus on the Australian market. Finally, we discussed their mining-specific capabilities such as having vehicles on the BOM, chemical analysis for metallurgy, and super bills.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.