the buzz July 2007
Welcome!
We've got big news for you! Read all about our new web site, the launch of Microsoft Dynamics GP 10, and sign up for the opportunity to win A SPECIAL PRIZE!
In This Issue
The NEW eIS Web Site Is Open For Business
5 "Must-Have" Features Of A CRM System
Top 10 Reasons You Need ERP - Part I
Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Available Now!
Bob's Blurb!
When All Is Said and Done, Will You Still Love Me?
Support Notes
The NEW eIS Web Site Is Open For Business
We here at eIS Business Solutions are proud to present our brand new web site. It's loaded with helpful information and customer resources! Visit us at www.eisbs.com. Let us know what you think!
5 "Must-Have" Features Of A CRM System
Companies that put their customers first by listening to them and responding to their needs are more likely to retain loyal customers and see improved financial results than companies that treat their customers like exploitable commodities. The following must-have CRM features can help improve the quality of customer interactions, retain customers, and boost profitability:
1. Data Tracking and Integration - Contact management is at the foundation of CRM. CRM software should be able to integrate important data from various parts of a business so that information about customers, sales leads, vendors, inventory, etc. are accessible companywide.
2. Customer Support and Services - CRM software should systemize the customer service processes to ensure consistently high service levels, quick response times, full accountability, and prompt problem resolution.
3. Sales Management - A CRM package should help salespeople on the road communicate and process orders in real time, set thresholds that enable sales leads to be distributed equally or in ratios and allow managers more time for analyzing campaign effectiveness and improving performance.
4. Marketing Automation - CRM software should allow a business to break down all customer interactions, generate responses automatically, and collect data for building marketing campaigns to maximize the return on investment.
5. Analytics - Analytics, or organizing and analyzing customer data, helps companies make better decisions about the type of customer experience they offer. A company using analytics can find new opportunities for growing revenue and cutting costs, determine where its best customers come from, how to keep them, and how to find more of them.
The quality of customer interactions is important to long-term success. Research has shown that 95% of dissatisfied customers will continue to do business with a company if their complaint is satisfactorily resolved right away. The right CRM package can do that and more!
Top 10 Reasons You Need ERP - Part I
1. Your office or cubicle looks like a post-it truck collided with your wall.
2. The amount of paperwork on your desk exceeds the desk manufacturer's suggested load tolerance levels.
3. You'd love more training on your business software, but your IT manager can't seem to locate the developer or VAR who originally sold your organization the software.
4. Your IT manager has been taking foreign language classes so he can contact your software supplier's technical support staff.
5. Your company's business software is older than your president or any other employee in the company.
6. It takes longer to enter in a sales order or purchase order than it did to engineer and develop your product line.
7. You dream about working as a K-Mart cashier when you turn your PC on each work day.
8. As you reach for the start button on your computer, you mentally prepare by placing yourself in full defense mode for all out combat.
9. You begin to have delusions of grandeur by thinking you could possibly code your own software package for your company to use.
10. Your organization has its own definitions for the following:
o Business Intelligence = Bob who retired last week
o Decision Support = Excel and a calculator
o Ad Hoc Reporting = Betty's run down of last night's Survivor episode at the water cooler
Okay, those were the funny ones that many are all too familiar with on a day to day basis. In next month's issue, we'll take a look at The REAL Top Ten Reasons You Need ERP!
Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0 Available Now!
Enhance business management functionality to empower everyone in your organization.
Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0, a business management solution, offers a cost-effective way for managing and integrating finances, e-commerce, supply chain, manufacturing, project accounting, field service, customer relationships, and human resources. Microsoft Dynamics GP incorporates the familiar look and feel of Microsoft Office Outlook, and it extends access to business information through Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Office Excel, and Microsoft Office Word.
The solution greatly reduces the time and effort it takes to perform key tasks; provides easy access to and analysis of integrated, current information; and seamlessly connects operations across all lines of business in your entire organization.
Bob's Blurb!
INSIGHT NUMBER 2 - DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT!
Documentation is critical when implementing a new system. It is imperative for companies to document their current processes as they are presently. The documentation should also reflect any future processes that are going to change because of process re-engineering efforts. This approach will maximize the input from company resources and bring the need to revamp outdated or inefficient practices to the forefront. The resulting documentation will also serve as a reference for existing users and new users alike.
TIPS N' TRICKS FROM ALL OVER
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When All Is Said and Done, Will You Still Love Me?
By Rebecca Gill, VP Technology Group Intl.
ERP software is a long-term relationship. It is a technology partnership that typically spans a decade; one that requires ongoing commitment and continued interaction.
In the actual software selection process, reviewing the supplier's organization and their overall business processes is as important as the overall functionality itself. When you select an ERP package, you are selecting the organization that supplies it to you as well as the package itself.
When you select an ERP package, you are selecting the organization that supplies it to you as well as the package itself. When you select an ERP supplier, far more so than other supplier relationships, you must have a true partnership with the developer.
A good match is not easily found. Technology may fit, but culture may not. Like it or not, you will be inevitably linked to the supplier throughout the entire life cycle of the ERP system within your organization. If you lack a solid cultural fit, the relationship is headed for disaster from day one.
We ERP suppliers many times receive a fairly negative reputation in the news, in forums, and at the water cooler. Focus is placed on failed implementations, broken promises, and the like. But is it the supplier's fault? In some cases yes, and in some cases no. There is no universal answer. Like any relationship, it takes commitment from both sides to make it work. It takes dedication, trust, and a true desire for the relationship itself to succeed.
I've always viewed personal relationships as a rollercoaster of ups and downs. My relationships with my ERP customers are the same. The relationship is never a flat road without bumps or jumps to add excitement. And in all honestly, it shouldn't be. If I quietly go on my way without ever pointing out issues or saying no, I am not doing you justice as my customer.
Throughout the implementation of my ERP solution and even into ongoing maintenance, the relationship is full of ups and downs. There will be times when you love me and times when you hate me. If you always love me, I am not doing your implementation justice. If I truly care about your implementation and company, I will speak up and tell you if I think your data is incomplete, your test plan inadequate, or your employees untrained. I will tell you if I believe some of your business processes need radical adjustments. I will follow my convictions; focus on a solid partnership and our relationship as a whole.
When all is said and done, will you still love me? Some will and will not. Without question, my best customers are those that value an honest opinion. My best customers are those that understand there are times when a firm no or not yet, is indeed necessary. It is these customers that appreciate my sometimes hard stance and say thank you once implemented.
As an ERP supplier, the best advice I can give you is this - a good implementation follows the same set of rules your mother taught you as a child. Take the time to listen to others, finish your assignments on time, and ask for help when you need it.
Software Support Notes
Microsoft Business Solutions will end support for Microsoft Great Plains 8.0 and Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains 8.0 Standard on Oct. 9, 2007.
Customers who are currently using payroll need to upgrade to a newer version of Microsoft Dynamics GP to receive tax support and regulatory updates as the updates for Microsoft Great Plains 8.0 will end October 9, 2007. When a product reaches the end of its supported lifecycle, Microsoft Business Solutions is committed to making a smooth transition to a supported version of Microsoft Dynamics GP. As requested by our customers, we are announcing this policy in advance to notify you of the change.
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