Happy St. Patrick's Day! It's one of the most popular celebrations worldwide, and here at xTuple, we're getting in the spirit too. In this issue, we're profiling a terrific (Canadian) customer who just happens to be called St. Patrick's Cabinet Making, a fantastic community member named Patty Davis, and updates on xTuple professional services from the fellow who runs it (who just happens to...
xTuple's Collective Brainpower Blog
Perusing the 2016 prognostications, especially for the manufacturing industry , I stumbled across Brad Kuvin's recent editorial entitled, "One Word Likely to Define 2016: Volatility." Brad is the editor of MetalForming Magazine , a publication of the Precision Metalforming Association (PMA*).
From Brad: "I'm hearing it repeatedly: Production volumes and order frequencies are wildly...
Businesses are in greater need of managing multiple disparate functions under one integrated system, now more than ever. Multiple departments pose insurmountable data processing and manpower requirements, which is why the implementation of an ERP system is of major importance. The ERP solution enables management to ensure departmental coordination and business operations function smoothly....
Earlier this month The NPD Group, a well known market research firm announced that business-to-business (B2B) commercial channel revenue grew for the fourth year in a row .
This is good news for companies of all sizes, and it really shows the economic health of the sector that supplies Small- and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs). More and more in today’s marketplace, small and growing...
Janine Dueck of Instrument Meter Specialties (IMS) contacted the xTuple Help Desk recently with a report of an intermittent printing problem. The company, which is based in Lancaster, CA, sells a broad range of test instruments, panel meters, and components. At first, Janine said, the problem cropped up when they were printing packing slips. Gradually they found other reports with printing...
If you are new to ERP — whether you're exploring options for new business management software or working as a project lead, or you're a fairly new xTuple user — I can't recommend enough the upcoming Project Management and Implementation Methodology (PMIM) class. This is the easiest, most convenient way to learn the essential strategies and methods for successfully managing the implementation...
Mint Jutras, an independent research-based consulting firm, is conducting a survey on the current state of Enterprise Solution implementations. The research objective is to investigate goals and challenges, preferences and status of the business management solution(s) you use to run your business.
President Cindy Jutras, a keynote at xTupleCon14 , and her Mint Jutras research team will...
So it turns out, Apple is in the Business business. Who knew? These days, Business is not the first word that comes to mind when you think of Apple. It's more likely to be iPhone, or iPad, or even Mac. Maybe iTunes or Apple Music. But business? Not so much.
A funny thing happened while Apple technology worked its way into all of our lives, starting with the iPod back in October of 2001...
You're a distributor, and you have sophisticated inventory control needs. There are many ways to improve your operational controls — and your bottom-line profitability. Using Special Pricing Agreements (SPA) is one of them.
xTuple's Distribution Edition was designed by experienced distributors, like me, specifically for the electrical, HVAC, plumbing and industrial wholesale...
Let's be honest. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is hard.
There are lots of business problems to solve, and the whole point of an ERP system is unification and integration. It’s easy to dismiss ERP as a legacy holdover of the 80s and 90s, but that would be a mistake. There are many ERP vendors in the world, including xTuple, and we are all trying to solve some of...
A shoebox stuffed with receipts. Missing documents. Tax deadline panic.
Are you a tax preparer's worst nightmare?
Here is an important list of things to remember (including tips and tricks) as you wrap up this year's business and close the books on 2015. Whether your year closes mid-year instead of following a calendar year, these are still good tips to...
Let's talk about your goals for 2016
What would be some fantastic goals to set for the new year?
Are you considering new software? Do you work under a “corporate” umbrella which means that your month-end close just got reduced to five (5) days total? Are you a privately-owned company, but want to put procedures and policies in place to ensure the assets...
It seems like a different era, but I vividly remember the excitement my wife and I felt when thinking about names for our two girls. We decided to keep it a mystery, so we had lists of both boy and girl names. Lots of discussion ensued — as anyone who's been in that happy situation can certainly confirm.
We're going through something similar here at xTuple. We already know quite a bit...
Historically, manufacturers have avoided the adoption of Web technology, especially business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce, into their business plan. Manufacturing is known for its complexities and unique intricacies in planning, workflow, distribution and communications. Until recently, cost effective technology was not available to help manufacturers grow online.
However, times are...
As its name implies, the xTuple QuickStart database is designed for speed. Its whole purpose is to get you up and running quickly , entering orders and collecting cash.
Just how fast can you get started? Well, two new videos from xTuple Product Evangelist Mike Atherton demonstrate how you can be processing real, actual orders for your business in 25 minutes or less !
The...
Last month I attended the association for operations management ( APICS ) conference in Las Vegas. It’s been a while since I exhibited at that show — partly because trade shows in general have been slipping downward on a slow decline since the early 2000s. Trades shows have always been a great way for companies like us to meet customers and prospects face-to-face and hear from the "horse's...
You're trying to grow your business a nd gain a true competitive advantage — whether you're a traditional "brick-and-mortar"-only retailer who needs order entry; a manufacturer who needs a public-facing online business system for billing and product information; or a wholesale distributor or supplier who uses inside and/or outside sales reps.
To achieve that growth, you know you need...
A new xTuple University video series presented by xTuple Product Evangelist Mike Atherton steps viewers through the xTuple order-to-cash (O2C) flow process. For anyone who isn't familiar already with this process flow in xTuple, I highly recommend you watch this series of videos. Mike has managed to present this material in easily digestible, bite-sized chunks. Most of the videos clock in...
BusinessVision is a business management solution that became a part of Sage’s product portfolio after an acquisition. Initially, when BusinessVision had no associations whatsoever with the company, it was considered a well-respected business management solution in the business community, and was undergoing rapid development and innovation. However, Sage failed to keep up with the pace and made...
I am very excited to be heading back to the APICS show in Las Vegas next month. This year, xTuple is a proud sponsor of APICS2015, the premier conference for supply chain and operations management professionals. It's been a few years since we have attended, and I am sure APICS, like lots of other conferences over the last decade, has seen some changes.
This year seems to be getting...