When your business decides it may be time to implement an ERP system within the company, the final choice deserves a great deal of discovery. Although being sent a quote and watching a short demo may seem appealing, the decision making process should be far more extensive. An ERP system is a significant investment that will significantly impact the efficiency and performance of your company. Substantial time, research, and preparation is required.  Your potential ERP partner that is seeking your business should also be willing and enthusiastic to invest the same amount of time and energy in you to understand the unique bearings of your business.

A crucial step in a vendor's pursuit of your business is discovery. This process entails a detailed tour of your facility, in-depth discussions with the key department stakeholders, and finally a second visit or call to confirm what capabilities they have uncovered. It may seem easier for you to make a list of all the things your company needs, and then compare them to the functionalities of different systems, however, the discovery process of the vendor should be completed before they even begin to demonstrate the details of their software and how it pertains to you and your business. When a vendor realizes your unique requirements, this will allow them to present you with highly individualized, specific functionalities that will greatly enhance your business. If a vendor simply jumps to the bottom line and seems unconcerned with your specific needs, they are either incapable of meeting your requirements or are not experts in the market where your business competes. In either scenario, the vendor may not be the best fit, and the solution will not provide the return you seek to justify your significant investment. A vendor who focuses on what they do best, will yield the most efficient and optimal results for you and offer an understandable approach to a complicated system.

It is important to understand that purchasing software from the first company you find can be a tragic mistake. You will be in a long-term relationship with the vendor you choose, so take the time to realize all of your options and discover what an ERP software company can do for you. 

Installing new software does not signify that you have established a lifelong solution to your business’s problems. In order to achieve the greatest amount of success from your software, it’s often advised to keep current on maintenance and software updates as the software vendor has invested time and money into gathering customer feedback and research and development to put forth the best improvements possible.

There are many rationalizations as to why a company doesn’t want to upgrade: it’s too expensive, they can’t afford the downtime, or the users are just accustomed to the way things were. However, there can be several more reasons why upgrading is invaluable

·       Upgrades will keep your system running reliably and efficiently.

·       Ignoring upgrades altogether may save you money and disruption in the short-term; however, this could eventually leave you with an obsolete system potentially forcing you to start all over with a new vendor therefore costing you more money in the long run.

·       Upgrading not only provides you with new software features and enhancements, but also permanent repairs of any bugs from the previous version.

An ERP solution is a substantial investment in your company. Just like the initial purchase of the ERP software, you should identify the risks and rewards to upgrading. Remember, your ERP system contains your business’s most sensitive data and is the backbone to your business’ operations; it’s worth your investment to maintain vs. the risk losing access to it, temporarily or worse, permanently. If you would like more information on what upgrading your ERP system could do for you, please contact info@processproerp.com.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 6 Americans get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die each year from food borne diseases. The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was signed into law by President Obama in January 2011 in hopes to “better protect public health by strengthening the food safety system.” By doing so, the FDA will be able to focus more on food safety problem prevention vs. reaction. The law also provides the FDA with new enforcement authorities for higher rates of compliance and better response and containment of problems when they do occur. The FSMA rules are still under review. One of the new rules, Preventative Controls for Human Food, basically requires all producers and manufacturers of food sold within the United States to have formalized, documented programs to prevent their products from causing food borne illnesses and other contaminations. Manufacturers will also need corrective action plans for issues that occur.

Food manufacturers should be implementing real-time food safety and quality software that provides them automation of supplier compliance, certificate of analysis and specification management, auto scheduling of standard operation procedure (SOP) reviews, capability to respond to on-demand audits, and more. This type of software also affords manufactures with the ability to:

·         Keep cost of goods made within key performance indicators (KPI’s) and automatically notify them of process variation.

·         Eliminate the bulk of manual processes and errors, saving time and money.

·         Keep non-conforming ingredients from going into production and non-compliant finished products from reaching customers.

If you would like more information on how ProcessPro® Premier can offer you a head start with your SOP validation process, meet 21 CFR Part 11 requirements, and provides security, audit trail, electronic signature options, and more, please contact us at info@processproerp.com.

FDA: The public is encouraged to review and submit comments to the proposed rules. The proposed rule is published in the Federal Register and filed in FDA’s official docket on http://www.regulations.gov. FDA will review comments on the proposed rule and consider revising the rule, before issuing a final rule. Comments are due within 120 days of the rules’ publication in the Federal Register.

Chances are you don’t take pleasure in drowning amidst a sea of your own sales and financial information. Sorting through and managing all of this data can be become nothing short of tedious. And wondering whose information is correct or most current during your department meeting is frustrating. Finding the right reporting capabilities is vital, and having them integrated into your enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is crucial – enter a business intelligence suite.

A business intelligence tool empowers you to make better informed, timelier, and smarter business decisions. If you’re currently managing your business and manufacturing operations with separate systems or using an external report writer, the first step would be to integrate all of them into one ERP solution. That solution should provide an easy-to-use business intelligence suite that grants you the ability to:

·         Create reports quickly with real-time data

·         Design custom dashboards with graphs, charts, and reports using simple point and click capabilities

·         Drill-down to the transaction level

·         Export data to Microsoft® Excel

·         Post reports to Microsoft® SharePoint

Make sure your valuable information is accessible and useful – custom to fit your business needs. If you would like additional information on how a business intelligence suite can benefit you and your company, please contact ProcessPro® Software at info@processproerp.com.

Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) allows manufacturers and distributors’ computer systems to “talk” to their customers’ systems and electronically exchange business documents and information.  This form of data transfer is routinely used for exchanging business information such as purchase orders, invoices, and shipping information, while also being able to seamlessly integrate with leading ERP and accounting software solutions.  More and more major retailers and establishments are mandating EDI to ensure the accuracy and timeliness in to exchange these critical documents. 

Organizations use EDI to exchange data in an electronic format to increase efficiency and decrease costs. It enables companies to greatly reduce the administrative burden associated with the manual processing of business documents. Delivery times can also be dramatically reduced from days to hours, helping improve the cash conversion cycle in many cases. Being EDI-compliant will provide a strategic advantage with retailers and organizations that rely on time sensitive delivery and electronic automation. The following are just a few additional benefits EDI provides:

·        Reduces or eliminates manual data processing errors and time by removing the manual keying of vital business documents such as orders, invoices, acknowledgments, etc.

·        Reduces lead times and inventory levels electronically – exchanged documents are delivered faster than paper-based files, reducing order to delivery turnaround.

·        Improves supplier relationships as electronic documents are easier to read than those faxed – correct documents help ensure accurate shipments and reduce chargebacks, which will help improve relationships with suppliers.

If you are considering an EDI solution, make sure that it integrates seamlessly with your current ERP system, such as ProcessPro® Software, and that your EDI partner provides an end-to-end solution which helps to make your experience not only simple and affordable, but painless as well.

Our preferred EDI partner is HighJump TrueCommerce EDI. If you are interested in learning more about EDI or how TrueCommerce EDI can help to streamline your business processes, contact us at sales@processproerp.com.

Food Recalls & How to Manage Them

The increase in food recalls in the past few years is enough to send consumers running and turn manufacturers pale. Recently, Sunland, Inc. extended its ongoing voluntary recall of raw, roasted shelled, and in-shell peanuts due to potential product contamination with salmonella. As of October 5, 2012, here are some quick facts associated with their recall:

• 35 total number of confirmed illnesses
• 31 months of recalled product dating back to March 1, 2010
• 240 products being recalled by Sunland, Inc.
• 2 million pounds of peanut in the shell were recalled by Hines Nut Company, Inc. because they were processed at the Sunland, Inc. plant

A product recall can occur any time a manufactured product has been adulterated; examples include: microbial test failures, HACCP critical limits exceeded, unsafe or unsuitable product ingredients, and inaccurate labeling. To stay compliant with FDA regulations, manufacturers face numerous difficulties managing lot tracking, paperwork, and reporting challenges in a cost effective and timely manner. In addition to the hard facts listed above, here are some of the top reasons why your company needs to be prepared for a recall:

• Product recalls are very costly
  • Direct recall costs
  • Indirect recall consequences such as loss of brand loyalty
• Businesses that are unprepared for a product recall could go out of business
• A practiced recall plan saves money in the event of a controlled recall

ProcessPro Software provides an ERP solution that assists manufacturers with FDA compliance. Through lot tracking capabilities, you’ll be able to provide all of the necessary information required by the FDA to locate a product in less than the 24-hour minimum limit. ProcessPro® Premier ERP has the ability to track incoming raw materials, formula creation, inventory balances, lot tracking, bill of lading, outgoing finished goods, and more.

Each individual is liable to some degree for his or her own food safety. Consumers, however, rely heavily upon the manufacturer to shoulder most of that responsibility. Consumer confidence is built through brand loyalty with companies that are proactive in protecting the food supply. Choosing the right ERP can be an effective tool to help manufacturers comply with FDA regulations.

For more information on how ProcessPro Software can provide a fully integrated ERP solution that can better prepare your company for a potential recall or to schedule a mock recall webinar presentation, please contact us. Additional details regarding Sunland, Inc.’s recall, please click here.

Mark Your Calendars!

This year’s Client Connect was a great success with the largest number of attendees in history! We covered a number of topics from the Business Intelligence Suite to Automated Warehouse System to DataDriller and everything in between. If you would like additional information on any of the topics covered, or would like to schedule an individual demo, please contact us.

Save the date for next year! Client Connect will be held on September 10-12, 2013. More details will follow this spring, but it’s never too soon to start planning ahead!

Upcoming Tradeshows

ProcessPro will be attending the SupplySide West 2012 and PLMA’s Private Label tradeshows. SupplySide West brings together suppliers and buyers within the dietary supplement, food, beverage, personal care, and cosmetic marketplace. PLMA’s Private Label tradeshow is devoted entirely to store brands; a place to meet buyers from today’s supermarkets, supercenters, drug chains, wholesalers, importers and exporters, discounters, and more.

If you plan on attending SupplySide West or PLMA, we’d love to meet with you! Please contact Tim Sands to schedule an appointment.

Section 179 Tax Deduction

We would like you to be aware of the Section 179 tax deduction. Please note there is no guarantee this tax deduction will be available after December 31, 2012 due to the upcoming presidential election.

Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. This has been an incredible benefit, as businesses are able to write off the entire equipment purchase price the year they buy it.

Here are the new 2012 Section 179 deduction changes:

• A deduction limit of $139,000 applies to both new and used equipment.
• Limit on equipment purchases is $560,000; this is the maximum amount that can be spent on equipment before the Section 179 deduction available to your company begins to be reduced.
• Bonus depreciation is 50% which is taken after the $560k limit in capital equipment purchases is reached.

For additional details on Section 179 including limit, qualifying equipment, and Section 179 financing, please visit www.section179.org. Please consult your tax professional regarding Section 179. If you’d like more information on an existing module upgrade, please contact your ProcessPro Software sales representative or account manager. Take advantage of the Section 179 deduction today!

by Jeff Hauser, Director of Professional Services

Implementing ERP?  Be sure you’re using your time and resources wisely. 

ERP implementation consulting can be a significant portion of your overall project cost and should be managed carefully throughout the implementation.  One of our consultants just got off the phone with a client that had been struggling with their pre go-live data conversion for two days.  After a 15 minute review of their data and procedures, they were able to get the client back on track with loading their data.  So, assessing the situation, which is the better investment choice?  Two days of internal resource time to try to solve the problem or a quick call with a skilled consultant to get the task back on track?    In this situation, I think the better choice would have been to call the consultant sooner.  Here’s why.  Data conversion is typically a ‘throwaway’ activity required to get test and live databases ready for use and not a day to day activity that needs to have well developed in-house skills and procedures.  Every project and implementation is different so make sure you are making the best decision on consulting resources for your project.

by Gus Towers, Rgional Sales Manager, NE

Practice Makes Perfect - How Perfect is Your ERP Vendor?

Ever notice the more you do something the easier it gets?  That’s right! The concept that practice does, in fact, make perfect applies to just about anything.  The Mona Lisa was not the first painting da Vinci attempted, Betty Crocker did not publish version one of her chocolate cake recipe, and as hard as it may be to believe, this is not my first attempt at blogging about ERP software.  Experience allows us to learn from mistakes so we don’t waste time repeating them and to better understand what it takes to accomplish our goal. 

What kind of experience does your ERP vendor have in FDA and other highly regulated environments?  Has the vendor implemented the software in a validated environment, or are they hoping you won’t notice their inexperience and you can be their guinea pig?  When it comes to mission critical software that runs your entire business and can assist in complying with 21CFR Part 11, as well as FDA audits and validation, experience is key! 

Ask to talk to vendor references that have successfully completed audits, don’t just take your potential vendors word on it.