Acumatica, The Cloud ERP 

Cloud ERP creates incredible opportunities for integration – with internal apps but more importantly with outside vendors and customers – Through EDI and digital connection, Nice Link was able to open sales channels with Wayfair, Costco, Overstock.com, Macy’s and many others – Find out how interconnected sales channels can work for you.

Net at Work is not only an Acumatica reseller,  but with experience in multi-channel distribution, warehousing, and the accounting behind it all, it’s more than simply implementing software – it’s implementing best practices, lean staffing functionality and cost effective operational integration, with the end result, Nice Link Business Performance – Unleashed!

About today’s ERPodcast
As Covid hit the US in February, Nice Link, a furniture distributor saw order cancellations flood into the business office. Jay Carlson, President of Nice Link had projects underway to upgrade the backend software of his US based business. Quickbooks couldn’t handle the inventory, warehouses or manage the volume of digital sales orders Nice Link was anticipating. Yet, despite the uncertainty they pressed on. Acumatica, the Cloud ERP was well underway being implemented and would go live in June. Simultaneously, as the American workforce shifted from office based to home based, online furniture sales exploded. Today, we see the success that was Nice Link’s forward-thinking strategy and Acumatica’s tactical application – creating connections with retail furniture outlets, smoothing the bumps in eCommerce and handling a workload that would have necessitated an expensive staffing upsurge to manage in a manual business software setting. It’s a story of enduring Entrepreneurship. It’s a story of cloud ERP functionality. It’s a story of Net at Work’s distribution experience. It’s an American Success Story of Profit From ERP – this week on the ERPodcast

E25 – Nice Link Part Two

Jay Carlson

 

Believe it or not, it’s Episode 25 of the ERPodcast

 

MFX up and under

 

Today’s episode is Part Two of our conversation with Jay Carlson, President of Nice Link Home Furnishings – if you caught Episode 24 you’ll remember Nice Link implemented and launched Acumatica, the Cloud ERP in June, right in the middle of a certain pandemic you may have heard something about – and as is with all ERP, especially critical during times of market disruption, Nice Link automated, so they didn’t need so much labor and so many spreadsheets. The connected digitally with their customers, so they’re taking sales orders that someone else is paying to input instead of hiring more folks internally. They got control over 7 national warehouses with a pretty complex sales model. They expanded eCommerce, with items appearing on other eTailers websites opening new channels and new market shares.

Did all this just happen by ERP magic, No – it’s hard work and you need help from implementation partners such as Nice Link’s go-to, a firm called Net At Work – who if you know ERP you’ve heard of Net At Work over the years as a leading ERP implementation partner – of course ERP is something most companies pay attention to once or maybe twice every decade – but take my word for it, Net At Work is a major player – Jay will speak about them on today’s Episode.

Nice Link Home Furnishings was at the right place at the right time when home furnishings kind of took off.  Home offices needed refurbs when home suddenly became a full-time locale during the initial lockdown.  Kids needed a space to connect to remote learning.  Increased time at home, no one could spend money on travel or in some cases restaurants – so for many, disposable income went up, time at home went up – and the furniture stores were locked down too – so online they went. Wayfair had record months. We all know about Amazon. But Nice Link found themselves in Overstock.com, Macy’s, Costco and others.

 

 

Is this just a story of right-place right-time in the Home Furnishings space? Answer, Yes and No. But it’s more than just home furnishings

  • It’s a story of ERP technology cutting overhead internal costs
  • It’s a story of distribution efficiencies
  • It’s a story of being able to instantly understand inventory across 7 US warehouses
  • It’s a story of becoming easier to work with for your customers
  • It’s a story of digital transformation
  • It’s a story of decreased cost and increased revenues
  • It’s a story for the new covidian economy.

It’s a great story – so let’s join Jay Carlson, President of Nice Link Home Furnishings for Part Two of the interview – Coming up right after the break, here on the ERPodcast

 

Insert Net At Work sponsorship 2.0

 

Intro to Interview in process. Ad Lib –

Insert Part Two, Jay Carlson Interview

Interview Notes

10:00 – When to make the move to ERP

 

11:30 –

 

11:50 – Capacity to Promise – Still learning that –  growing capacity –

 

15:26 – one of the last things to come up – growth –

 

16:20 Lean Staffing not having to  have  10 people in the department

 

16:41 – live inventory information always – needed in eCom

 

17:31 Two future accountant hires avoided

 

17:39 Net at Work – CPA level help

 

20:19 You can only get so far with what you had

 

21:36 – Selling to new retailers in new channels – value is created oppportunities not available previously

 

22:40 – Macy’s  – line extension

 

24:06 – limitations of traditional software – even when future of business is up in the air

 

25:16 – Net at Work – flexibility and relationship good partners – ready for Costco

 

Excellent story – and specifically how ERP, in this case Acumatica ERP really helped a company thrive in challenging times. Here’s the thing, it’s not a one-off. If you undertake ERP correctly – build the business case, choose the right software, work with the right implementation partner – if you follow the methodology we’ve developed at Profit From ERP, developed from observation of best case methodology and seeing the pitfalls companies sometimes step in – when you do it right, you too can achieve the goals you set out to attain.

 

 

We’ve tracked stories of dozens of companies and how they’ve used technology to survive the past few months. What do we see in the next few months?  Listening to the news, it looks like we’re headed for more lockdowns in one form or another.

SFX: Covid Close Montage

But there’s beginning to be a lot of resistance to further lockdowns – and some actual science showing lockdowns aren’t the answer – but regardless the days of the downtown office are very likely over.  A combination of the incredible waste of time for people spending an hour commuting both ways.  Combined with,  whether we really like Zoom or not, the fact is, digital connection means I can be face to face with a co-worker in a web meeting quicker than when I worked down the hall.  And on top of it all, companies are realizing the cost efficiencies of not leasing class A office space.

So where does this leave you, the mid-sized business?

Well for one, cloud ERP connects your workers better, regardless of where they’re located.

Two, cloud ERP, being built for the internet era, offers better interconnectivity with staff, vendors and customers.

Three, cloud ERP gives you flexibility and resilience – because while we’re seeing a stabilization in the pre-vaccine covidian economy – the world is rapidly changing and there’s probably a couple of generations of market change to anticipate over the next 3-5 years.

In any case, we need to sit down and discuss the specifics of your situation. Info@ProfitFromERP.com  – drop us a line and we’ll set up time with the right consultant – these days there’s a lot of companies moving to cloud ERP –  I’m doing a lot of Zoom meetings myself – but regardless of what industry or situation, we can help you find the right consulting team to help you put together that business case, shortlist the right vendors with key software to approach your business. ERP, which by the way, is an umbrella term containing BI, AI, WMS, Supply Chain, HR, FP&A – all were at one time, modules of ERP – so whatever enterprise software – we’ll connect you with the right people, products and process to Profit, From ERP.

For the ERPodcast and ProfitFromERP, I’m your host, Gene Hammons, reminding you, at ProfitFromERP, our clients make ERP Pay.

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Gene Hammons, MBA

Gene Hammons, MBA

Director

ERP projects are both a software project and a business consulting project. Profit From ERP brings the experience of over 400 ERP implementations into a methodology of best practices – the practices that high adapting companies employed to really drive success with technology projects. We marry that with a network of Affiliated Partners in every ERP technology and a breadth of different industry expertise to create the ultimate ERP selection, implementation and optimization team.The end result is lower risk, lower cost, no surprises ERP projects with defined payback, attainable corporate goals and avoiding cost overruns.  It’s why we say, Profit From ERP, our clients make ERP PAY!

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