Technical Toolboxes Blog - Business Process Management (BPM)

The Next Step to More Success - AMSI

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 16:34:00 -0600

The Next Step to More Success - AMSI
You are a person who has worked hard, made good business decisions, you are making good money, you don’t have much debt, you have good customer demand, but you want more from your business. Living in the Calgary area where there are many oil and gas service companies, high tech companies, and other successful businesses, I see many companies that are making “good” money, but want to move up to the “great” money. I also hear, particularly lately with all our financial meltdowns, “I’ll never qualify for a loan”. That is a myth and if you have the roadmap in place you get the capital to take your company to new heights. [More]

The Responsibility Matrix (Circle Dot Chart)

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 14:18:00 -0600

The Responsibility Matrix (Circle Dot Chart)
Years ago I sat in a presentation by the best Project Manager I have ever met. I had worked with several people that ran multi-million dollar projects in the US Air Force and had delivered on-time, on-budget projects, but they all seemed to do so with great difficulty and I was resigned to this being “just the way it goes”, then I met Mr. Ron LeFleur. Ron made Project Management look easy, even though he had several horrendously difficult projects in his life. We had the distinct pleasure of sitting with Ron for three days and learning his secrets. At the end of his presentation he told us we had all his secrets and every one of us can now do the job just as well as he ever did. I still think he was special and gifted, but his little session helped me more than all the training and experience I had up to that point. I had even sat through extensive PM training in the Air Force which was the equivalent to PMP training that is available today. [More]

New AlwaysOn Network, ERP CRM SFA BPM

Mon, 07 May 2007 16:46:00 -0600

New AlwaysOn Network, ERP CRM SFA BPM
I just wanted to announce that we started a new network for AlwaysOn Network Members to Blog about Business Process Management (BPM), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Force Automation (SFA) and all things pertaining to automating our business processes. A few topics that come to mind are: [More]

The Importance of Professional Customer Support

Wed, 02 May 2007 19:18:00 -0600

The Importance of Professional Customer Support
Several of our consulting clients are software companies and companies that provide service and support for their products, we always help our clients and colleagues to maximize support profits by automating the process. But to get to a profitable venture there are many things that have to happen, systems put in place, and hiring the right people to do the job.

The right people are NOT entry level people, they are the most focused, knowledgeable, and disciplined people you can find. Once you decide to go down this path of using the cream of the crop to ensure your clients are supported, you will see the profits start to come in. Now when your clients call they are ensured that their call will be answered by someone who can help them, someone who takes their business seriously and feels they are being taken most seriously. [More]

ERP Should Make You Free

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:00:00 -0600

ERP Should Make You Free
The very essence of a well designed ERP system is to free you from the dependencies of making all the mundane decisions over and over again and have the confidence that your system is helping you to run your business in the most efficient and profit producing manner known to man. I just finished reading an excellent article by Briony Smith of www.itbusiness.ca and it was a revelation, particularly for me as a person in the ERP business and providing ERP systems, consulting, and implementation services. The article is compelling right from the start with the following quote;

“A recently released survey of Technology Evaluation Centre newsletter subscribers sponsored by Sliedrecht, Netherlands-based ERP company Agresso found that, out of the 900 respondents, 70 per cent feel their ERP systems put them at a disadvantage.” [More]

Blogs I Read Every Day and Why

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 18:45:00 -0600

Blogs I Read Every Day and Why
Blogs are becoming one of my major news sources. With my interest in ERP, SFA, CRM, Business Process automation , enterprise computing, marketing, business intelligence, business analysis, finance, engine technology, Calgary, Silicon Valley, startups, Web 2.0, data warehousing, business intelligence, military, and etc. I have a few Blogs that I go for the straight goods. Here are the ones that have my attention these days (in no particular order): [More]

ERP and CRM Provides Better Communications with Colleagues and Clients

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 14:40:00 -0600

ERP and CRM Provides Better Communications with Colleagues and Clients
I think it is time to talk about Sealweld. Not so much Sealweld as such, as they are extremely successful multi-national small business. Sealweld is just a great example of a company that has figured out how to do business anywhere in the world whether it be the Far East or Dubai, they have seen it all. I would like to think that we have at least helped in the success of this company. We installed our Toolbox at Sealweld and this enabled them to tie their CRM together with the ERP and Project Management features of the system. They now share documents and project details with each other as if they were in the same building working side by side when in fact they are usually in Calgary while the rest of their operations are taking place elsewhere. CRM helps us to sell more and it also makes it easier to communicate with everybody in your work sphere. [More]

I Want My Data When I Want It, Chapter One

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:43:00 -0600

I Want My Data When I Want It, Chapter One
It was great to see some of my old colleagues from the Energy Pipeline Industry last night. Ever since my work with DATAP Systems, Valmet Automation, PRCI, PIG, TechCorr, El Paso, Scientific Surveys Ltd, and many other pipeline operators, service companies, organizations, and consultants, I have heard the same thing over and over again, “I just want my data, when I want it, and I want to be able to find it quickly……”, there are more “ands” to add here, but this is chapter one of this line of thought.

The pipeline business is data intensive with data flowing from SCADA, shipping and transport, custody transfer, integrity management and pigging, security (videos, satellite photos, etc.), and knowledge based information. [More]

Portable ERP is a Beautiful Thing!

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 21:41:00 -0600

Portable ERP is a Beautiful Thing!
“I just want to cut down on the morning smoking, coffee drinking, and generally wasting precious time every day”, that quote was one of the main factors in the ERP decision of a successful construction service businessman. He just wanted to be the best in our city and beyond and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he needed to change the way they were doing business. So he built a custom ERP system that worked for his industry, and then built a portable version of the ERP system and never looked back. [More]

Engineering Your Company?s Social Network

Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:03:00 -0600

Engineering Your Company’s Social Network
You don’t want it “too social” so it will take away from the purpose, you don’t want it too restricting, intimidating, or unfriendly to take away from the usefulness. I was inspired to write these thoughts because of the business I currently pursue and my recent readings of Mack Hanan and Paul Greenberg. My thinking as a provider of ERP, SFA, CRM, and Business Process automation is shifting towards the social aspects of these systems. The fact is, if you have a system that people will use, you will be a successful system provider, pretty much as long as people have faith in the system.

The ultimate goal is to provide a network that is lively, rewarding, interesting, inviting, captivating, and a hundred other positive words to describe the experience. Here are some thoughts on creating an ideal social network for your company. First of all, unless there is a better way we need to bring all the acronyms (ERP, SFA, CRM, and BPM) together in a way that doesn’t turn everybody off. You want to create a network that people embrace, and use, and constantly tell you what new features they want. According to a recent Blog by Kevin Roberts, “we are moving from what you need to what you want”. Here are a few thoughts on making that system:

[More]

15 Traits of a Good Client Relationship

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 19:55:00 -0600

15 Traits of a Good Client Relationship
First of all, I want to say that customers are excellent in my books and I am grateful for every single one of them through the years. When we are selling price to people we are vending. The win-win relationship for both parties is to have a client relationship as opposed to a customer relationship. Customers are price driven and look at your services and products as commodities that can be bought for the lowest bid. Having a client is far more beneficial, but it takes time and trust to be able to call a person one of your clients. The ultimate goal is to become a Partner.

I was reading some notes the other day based on Mack Hanan’s book, Consultative Selling, 7th edition: The Hanan Formula for High-Margin Sales at High Levels. Consultative selling is a way of thinking that Mack Hanan started writing about and articulated in several books and within many companies in the Silicon Valley. [More]

Socializing CRM

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:37:00 -0600

Socializing CRM
One of the catchy words in computing is “Socializing”. I first heard the word from my colleague and collaboration marketing expert, Frank Teklitz. We were working on making some upgrades to our current version of the MyCompany Toolbox CRM system. The light really turns on for CRM when you think about bringing the people in the CRM together to achieve goals and objectives. I was reminded of “Socializing” when I recently read a quote the following article, http://www.itbusinessedge.com/item/?ci=24043 here is the quote:

“Though SAP and Salesforce.com use Blogs, Podcasts, and communities to communicate with their customers and their employees, they have yet to integrate these social networking tools into their technology platforms. This is an oversight, opines this author, who makes the case for the value of social networks in CRM . Procter & Gamble has formed a social network called Vocalpoint, composed of 600,000 moms — each of whom has minimum of 25 other moms associated with her. The "lead" moms distribute products samples and gather feedback for P&G. Thus P&G gains invaluable data and marketing buzz simply by enlisting customers, who in turn enjoy the feeling of empowerment the network provides.”
- Paul Greenberg - February 7, 2007
[More]

Southern Alberta Intellectual Property Network Conference, March 1, 2007

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 16:02:00 -0600

Southern Alberta Intellectual Property Network Conference, March 1, 2007
I attended the Southern Alberta Intellectual Property Network Conference, in the University of Calgary Dinning Centre. I attended the conference representing our company so I could learn more about the way people are collaborating with each other to achieve extraordinary research and development. I enjoyed most of the conference and learned a few things as well. After several years of building up our business and going through the harsh realities of business cycles both up and down, I found much more kindred spirits at Don Tapscott’s presentation in the Palliser Hotel, but that is fodder for another Blog. Following is a blow by blow of the conference from my point of view. [More]

How Much Does it Cost to Do Business with our Customers?

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:08:00 -0600

How Much Does it Cost to Do Business with our Customers?
The answer to that question varies and depends on how well we have our act together and how well we relate to our customers. I once worked with a fellow who was Director of Service and Support for the largest SCADA company in the World. He often said if we are not getting rid of 10% of our customers per year we are doing something wrong. I used to think that you keep all customers no matter what. To keep all your customers no matter what often ends in the sacrifice of your company. I finally came around somewhat on my colleague’s stance, I also believe that all customers are worthy of your best efforts at all times. They trust you, pay you, and confide in you so we better respect all our customers. I think there are ways to get even the toughest customer on your side if you have your business firmly managed and your products managed effectively.

I always maintained in all of my business and consulting there are at least five important points to effective and profitable customer service programs, and yes I did say “profitable customer service programs” It is important to capture all costs associated with each customer so you can learn how to make as much profit as possible from each customer. [More]

Simple Formula: ERP = Instant Growth

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 19:39:00 -0600

Simple Formula: ERP = Instant Growth
This simple formula is a given for me as I build ERP systems for a living….but as I said this to a potential client the other day it kicked off a very interesting conversation and intense scrutiny of that claim and I will outline some of those discussions in this Blog. The reason why ERP is a “secret advantage” for big business is because they can afford it. Now with new software development tools, the internet, and a growing rank and file of users, the secret is out of the bag and it is ERP. I will now step off my soap box (no software pun intended) and get to the area of my concern. How can I best explain the advantages of ERP to the SMB owner who wants to grow to the next step and has exhausted all other avenues? [More]