

WBSRocks: Scaling Growth with AI, Enterprise Software, and Digital Transformation
Sam Gupta
WBSRocks podcast features in-depth conversations on AI-enabled business models, customer experience, digital transformation, supply chain, eCommerce, industry 4.0, and enterprise software categories such as CRM, ERP, or analytics suites. The purpose of the show is to help CFOs, COOs, CEOs, and business owners with their daily commercial, operational, or financial challenges by taking a deep dive into business cases and processes, technology strategy and architecture, transformation initiatives, and business models. The show also offers an independent analysis of technology trends, various enterprise software vendors and solutions, and their mergers and acquisitions. Subscribe today to stay on top of digital transformation trends!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Aug 24, 2021 • 42min
WBSP133: Grow Your Business by Streamlining Warehousing Operations With WMS Systems w/ Roy Strauss
Send us Fan MailEvery user in a company has different needs when it comes to completing their jobs. The warehouse users, in particular, are worried about how fast they can move the goods and organize accordingly. Therefore, to be effective with warehousing operations and organization, you need tons of data that can help you analyze the most efficient way of running them. In today's episode, we have our guest, Roy Strauss, who describes WMS systems and how they can help meet your operational operating goals. He also discusses how to build an operating plan and how WMS systems can help monitor and measure the KPIs. Finally, he describes WMS concepts through the use of several stories from his client engagements.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.

Aug 23, 2021 • 41min
WBSP132: Grow Your Business by Making Automation initiatives Successful w/ Jake Hall
Send us Fan MailAutomation technologies are advancing at a rapid pace. There are tons of options available whether you are looking to automate some of the operations of your production process. Or you may be automating process steps such as trailer unloading that are essential but may not be billable. And the more repeatable tasks you can automate in your facility, the better quality products you can produce, and the more cost-effective your products will be. But to take full advantage of these technologies, you need your information systems to be fully connected and integrated.In today's episode, we have our guest, Jake Hall, who discusses the current state of automation and challenges with its adoption in manufacturing industries. He also discusses the reasons for the success and failures of automation initiatives and describes several automation technologies available for industrial manufacturers and distributors. Finally, he shares several stories of where automation technologies make sense and where they might be overkill.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.

Aug 20, 2021 • 1h
WBSP131: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances Associated With Software Licensing and Pricing, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Send us Fan MailTo understand the total cost of ownership of software, one of the critical pieces that you need to understand would be the software license and pricing. There are several nuances of the licensing model with several variables that could impact your total costs. The licensing and pricing nuances could be as simple as whether you are buying a single-user or multi-user license, or it could be as complex as whether you would still be paying for your license if the user leaves the company.In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise in selling and procuring software packages to discuss software licensing/pricing. We also discussed several variables that executives need to review to understand their implications and how that would impact the total price. Finally, we discussed the difference between named vs. concurrent licenses and the nuances of consumption-based pricing.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.

Aug 19, 2021 • 56min
WBSP130: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Implications of E-Commerce Customer Service Strategies, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Send us Fan MailThe game has completely changed when it comes to serving customers in the new world of e-commerce. The personal touch that existed in the traditional world may not exist in the e-commerce world. The customers also operate in self-serve mode, so they need a lot of information to research and make decisions. You might think that the role of salespeople may not be relevant in the new world of e-commerce, but their role is even more relevant as they need to become coaches and provide the same hand-holding as they would get in the traditional world.In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise implementing e-commerce websites to discuss customer service strategies. We also discussed the challenges with e-commerce customer service and how it differs from traditional customer service. Finally, we discussed the effective ways of measuring customer service and the newer trends and technologies available to improve customer service.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.

Aug 18, 2021 • 44min
WBSP129: Grow Your Business by Creating the Strategic Financial Framework w/ Jeannie Doherty
Send us Fan MailHow vital could bookkeeping be? Isn't it all about capturing all the transactions and creating a bunch of statements to file taxes? Well, strategic financial planning is where your real opportunities reside. If you are not strategic about it, you may be chasing wrong opportunities that may not have as much financial value as you would if you were strategic with your bookkeeping.In today's episode, we have our guest, Jeannie Doherty, who discusses how strategic bookkeeping differs from tactical bookkeeping. She also describes the five pillars of strategic bookkeeping and how most owners think of bookkeeping as numbers 101. Finally, she discusses how to find comparable industry data to lead the negotiation and keep your costs in check and how to do budgeting and spend analysis to create the strategic financial framework that will help you scale.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.

Aug 17, 2021 • 46min
WBSP128: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of Click and Collect Process w/ Jason Greenwood
Send us Fan MailToday's consumer requires most stores to provide the same experience that they will get from larger brands. These experiences could include click-and-collect, also known as buy-online-pick-up-at-store, integrated loyalty across channels, and omnichannel experience across all the channels. These experiences require you to have your inventory centralized and reconciled across channels. Or there will be friction to the process with significant customer experience issues such as not buying the product on the site that consumers may be looking for. These issues could also include delays with shipment at the store or challenges with traceability of the order. In today's episode, we have our guest, Jason Greenwood, who discusses the nuances of the click and collect process and why you need to centralized inventory and distribution strategy to enable this experience. He also provides some easy hacks on how brands can enable this experience without having a true technology and operational infrastructure to enable this experience. Finally, he discusses several scenarios and implications if the businesses might not have a true click and collect experience system.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.

Aug 16, 2021 • 51min
WBSP127: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Nuances of NPD or Product Improvement Processes of Aerospace w/ Lori Nevin
Send us Fan MailManaging aerospace projects is just like solving puzzles. You have many moving pieces, including managing your customers' expectations, coordinating with your supply chain, and meeting the specification requirements. But when it comes to the NPD process, a project manager's job is even harder due to increased risk and the lack of available data to estimate accurately. Estimating and delivering a project within time and budget requires tons of data and experience to forecast all the possibilities where the project is likely to fail.In today's episode, we have our guest, Lori Nevin, who discusses the differences between the aerospace industry's new product development and product improvement projects. She also provides practical insights into how to mitigate risks and estimate the projects to win but at the same time not lose money taking those jobs. Finally, she discusses the quality, compliance, certification, and audit processes for the aerospace industry.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.

Aug 13, 2021 • 58min
WBSP126: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Risks Associated Between On-Prem vs. Cloud, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Send us Fan MailIf you plan for your next digital transformation initiative, you need to decide whether you will opt for an on-prem system or cloud. You might ask why anyone would even worry about on-prem in 2021. Well, there are several reasons. If you already have an IT infrastructure and are locked into on-prem licenses, the cloud option may be more expensive. You might also want to opt for on-prem if any regulatory constraints require you to be present on the on-prem system. Finally, some people may be just more comfortable with their data on their premises.In today's episode, we invited an expert panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise with digital transformation infrastructure to discuss how to choose between on-prem and cloud. We also discussed how to build the criteria based on your business needs and how to identify fake clouds. Finally, we discussed why on-prem would still be a viable option in some cases, even if the rest of the world may be taking a cloud-first approach.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.

Aug 12, 2021 • 59min
WBSP125: Grow Your Business by Understanding the Implications of E-Commerce Shopping Cart Issues on Consumer Behavior, a Live Interview w/ a Panel of Experts
Send us Fan MailThe average rate at which the average consumer abandons their shopping cart before making a purchase is 81%. There are countless reasons why consumers leave their shopping carts. These reasons could be legitimate such as unexpected shipping costs. They could also be website functionality issues such as the requirement for a new user account, their tendency to research to buy later, and security concerns. These issues affect conversion, sales, and customer experience. In today's episode, we invited an expert panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise with e-commerce shopping cart issues. We discussed these issues and the implications on consumer behavior as well as conversion. Finally, we discussed several advanced shopping cart features such as cart-to-quote, approval processes in the B2B carts, out-of-the-box functionality available in e-commerce systems, and several stories related to shopping cart issues.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.

6 snips
Aug 11, 2021 • 41min
WBSP124: Grow Your Business by Avoiding Increased Admin Efforts With Inefficient Engineering Design Revision Processes w/ Adam Keating
Send us Fan MailIf you are exploring the ISO journey, your current collaboration tools might outgrow your needs driven by ISO compliance. Your current legacy PLM tools may not support collaboration features. If your current processes are manual or done on a spreadsheet, you may be overwhelmed with the tracking and information required to submit to regulatory bodies. Like any other cross-functional process in your organization, your design review processes require multiple teams, including quality, engineering, and production.In today's episode, we have our guest, Adam Keating, who discusses the needs of design revision processes in the engineering departments of manufacturing companies. He also describes the deficiencies of legacy PLM systems and the number of custom development companies need to do on top of PLM systems to make it work. Finally, he discusses the user experience issues and adoption issues in the quality department that derail quality efforts.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.


