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

Send us Fan MailData is the new oil. But collecting data could also mean distracting your operators from focusing on jobs. Moreover, just because you collected millions of data points, drawing insights or meaning could be challenging if your systems are siloed and don't communicate with each other. Finally, the data quality issues may result in poor sales and operations planning, impacting your bottom line and growth.In today's episode, we have our guest Martin Cloake, who discusses different barriers associated with Artificial Intelligence and Industry 4.0 adoption. While technology has come a long way, he shares his insight into how behavioral challenges impact manufacturers to operate with a continuous improvement mindset. Finally, he discusses why siloed systems result in companies operating on two sets of KPIs and ledgers and the impact on the growth of this siloed mindset.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 MailDigital Twin has been around for a long time. But is that just marketing hype? Is it just a fancy term for data gathering? What are the core challenges digital twin solves? Is that supposed to help overworked maintenance departments and extracting stories from each machine? Could it help in reducing waste and improving product quality? These are the questions you will have if you are in the process of exploring a digital twin for your organization.In today's episode, we have our guest Chris Harris, who discusses the importance of data gathering for manufacturers. He also provides insights into how every machine has a story and how much you can learn from these stories by collecting and analyzing data. Finally, we discussed the nuances of digital twin and how that could help manufacturing maintenance departments become proactive and efficient.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 MailAre we already out of the woods from COVID? Should you be bullish on the economy? How should you plan your investments for this year? Can you comfortably plan for long-term investments? How would the new normal look? What disruptions can you expect in your supply chain? What new consumer trends can you expect? What workforce changes can you expect? If you are a manufacturer, these are the questions you might have as you plan for 2021.In today's episode, we have our guest Chad Moutray, who discusses the current economic conditions and outlook for manufacturers. He also translates economic insight for small-to-medium-sized manufacturers who may not understand how these issues might affect them. Finally, we discussed several other topics, including supply chain, consumer behavior in the new normal, pandemic-driven business trends, changes due to new administration, and much more.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 MailAs your company grows, you might feel the need for software as you encounter each problem. The software landscape is hard to navigate, and if you don't understand the role each system, such as ERP, E-commerce, and CRM systems play. You could create an extremely patchy architecture, which typically results in significant admin overhead and conflicts among teams, causing your growth to slow down.In today's episode, we have our guest Gill Walker, who discusses why CRM is important and how that fits among other systems such as ERP and E-commerce. He also shares several best practices for executives embarking on a CRM implementation journey. Finally, she shares several stories about the poor implementation she has seen and the lesson learned from them.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 MailNo one appreciates uncertainty. It is even more frustrating when the uncertainty may not be in your control. And if you are an executive of a company, navigating through difficult times has a toll on everything. The uncertainty could be related to macroeconomic trends such as recession, trade tensions, or merely changing consumer behavior. These macroeconomic factors directly impact not only the top line but also the bottom line. What would you do if your job was to help a company navigate through difficult times?In today's episode, we have our guest Mark Jaffe from Strategic Growth Consulting, who discusses how macroeconomic trends impact consumer behaviors. He also shares his insights on what business owners might do to combat uncertainty associated with macroeconomic factors by understanding customer behavior better and shifting the mindset from cost-saving to opportunistic organization. He also shares several stories of companies that faced macroeconomic uncertainty but ended up growing instead.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 MailBuilding a high-performing sales team requires more than just winners and the winning product. It requires the right compensation structure, refined customer groups, and a deep understanding of their needs. But is that enough for sustained growth? What do small to medium-sized businesses miss that struggle to grow? Whose responsibility is to generate leads? Is the sales team accountable for everything, or should marketing share some accountability of missing growth targets?In today's episode, we have our guest Enrico Parodi, who describes the sales organization's key components. He also discusses different sales organization structures and how their roles vary, including direct, hybrid, and channel-driven. Finally, he had a chance to touch on sales and marketing alignment and why that is important for an organization's sustained growth.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 MailRunning manufacturing operations is not easy. But if you are running a machine shop that produces complex parts in short runs, the switch over time between jobs or additional time spent in bringing material to machines could have significant profitability and growth challenges. Also, if your data collection and entry is primarily manual, you might run into significant operations bottlenecks and might not be able to compete. What process changes could you make to your operations to improve your quality and reduce costs?In today's episode, we have our guest Matt Guse from M.R.S. Machining, who discusses the challenges associated with manufacturing complex parts in short runs. He also shares his insights into the process changes he made to his company that resulted in significant quality improvement and growth opportunities. Finally, he shares several stories of where he was able to save significant costs and grow his customers by simply replacing a material or improving the design of a part slightly.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 MailIt's very rare to relate reshoring initiatives with costs saving and sales growth. It's typically the opposite. However, if you account for all the costs and risks involved with offshoring or near-shoring, including geopolitical risks, reshoring initiatives can help grow a company. In today's episode, we have our guest Harry Mosner from Reshoring Initiative, who discusses how to compute the total cost of ownership of reshoring initiatives. He also shares several stories of manufacturers where they could reduce the costs and increase sales through reshoring initiatives. Finally, he sheds light on manufacturing verticals and components that benefit most from the reshoring initiatives.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 MailWhen you think of print marketing, what comes to your mind? Perhaps flyers or coupons? But print marketing is much more than that. There have been some exciting trends lately with print marketing, where the print packaging includes QR codes that can take you to a web page to improve customer experience. The print industry is way cooler than you would think.In today's episode, we have our guests Sarah Scudder from Real Sourcing Network and Roger Buck from Corporate Development Associates. They discuss some exciting trends in the print industry to create a compelling customer experience. They also discuss how print could help manufacturers increase their sales. Finally, we discussed some interesting use cases of print and how they have helped manufacturers increase profits.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 MailWho doesn't enjoy drinking wine? But did you know that wine distribution is very complicated, similar to Cannabis or Tobacco businesses? And if you are selling in Canada, especially in Ontario, there is a different complexity level as everything is so monopolized and govt controlled. In today's episode, we have our guest Nelson Aberu from 3050 Imports, who discusses the wine distribution business's nuances and supply chain challenges. We also had a chance to touch on the different contracting and system interaction requirements of the wine industry. Finally, we touched on the nuances associated with Wine distribution businesses in Ontario and Canada.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.