Burps come from indigestion. Indigestion comes from placing an order with a supplier and having to worry about it from the minute you place it until the minute it is (hopefully correct) in the client’s hands. Well, team…burp on. Suppliers (me included) can eliminate a lot of agita if we installed an integrated ERP or as the techies call it, an Enterprise Resource Planning system. The cost is not cheap, the process is not short. There are, however, vendors I and other suppliers can turn to who have already served our industry. They have put in ERP systems for some of the bigger guys and they have learned our business well. I have one I am working with now and I think they are “simply the best”. That song is in Soundline’s library should you need it for an appreciation gift (overt plug).
What an integrated ERP system does is connect the many aspects of the order process from order entry and artwork to production to service, shipping, etc. So, if you burped at three o’clock in the morning, wandered out of bed, went straight to your computer, logged onto your supplier, you can then see the status of your order and just about every piece of information you need. No matter what time of day or day of the week, you are able to track and troubleshoot your order. From the minute it is placed and entered, your inventory is allocated, production can be scheduled, and you can sleep better at night.
For the supplier, it not only improves the relationship with you but can also minimize the CSR time needed to answer relentless phone calls. You may not be part of a larger distributor company, but the follow-up some of these companies do for order status information is…over the top not for them, but for the supplier to have to respond to when a phone call is received, or an email is received asking for updates. Suppliers are not clueless. Over the years we have purchased and employed many utilities to improve the efficiency of our businesses. We all started with a website, we added customer contact, we added production software and accounting software. They were not in one bundle, they did not talk to each other, and they did not and do not provide one single dashboard for everyone involved in a given order to see, update and communicate. There are turnkey ERP systems out there, but our industry is very, very unique. 99% of what we do is bespoke. That means the process is not the same as a company shipping a toaster off the shelf. Hence, tailored packages are more costly and more involved in terms of development. Turning to industry experienced developers makes a whole lot of sense. In the long run, much like an electronic automobile, it will much more than pay for itself and will be a factor in customer satisfaction, building a better and more customer-friendly brand for the supplier. As the industry sees more external factors harming the supply chain, transportation, and components, ERP can be a great asset. As we see incredibly rising costs and need to adjust our published pricing every night, this adds more urgency. I am reminded of a sign I had on my desk years ago - “One of these days, I need to get organized”.
So, from the distributor side to burp less, ask your suppliers if they have or plan to have an integrated ERP system to make your life less “burpy”. This is particularly important with those from whom you order often.
Before I sign off on this writing, I am obliged to say that I have had to adjust to today’s world. However, in some ways, it was much more in my favor when I got an order in the mail and maybe had a long-distance phone call from the distributor asking about the progress. No ERP, no tracking numbers… no nothing. Ahhh the old days. How simple it was. If and when I finally put in my ERP system, I am prepared to name it HAL. Many of you, besides Dave, will know why.
Joel D. Schaffer, MAS is CEO and Founder of Soundline, LLC, the pioneering supplier to the promotional products industry of audio products. Joel has 48 years of promotional product industry experience and proudly heralds “I was a distributor.” He has been on the advisory panel of the business and marketing department of St. John’s University in New York and is a frequent speaker at Rutgers Graduate School of Business. He is an industry Advocate and has appeared before the American Bankers Association, American Marketing Association, National Premium Sales Executives, American Booksellers Association and several other major groups. He has been a management consultant to organizations such as The College Board and helped many suppliers enter this industry. He is a frequent contributor to PPB and Counselor magazines. He has facilitated over 200 classes sharing his industry knowledge nationwide. He is known for his cutting humor and enthusiasm in presenting provocative and motivating programs. He is the only person to have received both the Marvin Spike Industry Lifetime Achievement Award (2002) and PPAI’s Distinguished Service Award (2011). He is a past director of PPAI and has chaired several PPAI committees and task forces. He is a past Chair of the SAAGNY Foundation, Past President of SAAGNY and a SAAGNY Hall of Fame member. He was cited by ASI as one of the 50 most influential people in the industry.