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Marketing could be a time sucker if you don't track your numbers. But if you track too much, you might come across as too salesy that your prospects might not trust you. Marketing is all about the right balance. So how do you find that balance? And what KPIs CMOs use to track the balance?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the top KPIs for CMOs. We discussed the best KPIs that CMOs should be measuring. Finally, we discussed how the KPIs might differ for a CMO depending upon the industry and the stage of their company. For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

There is typically a difference between open-source and commercial eCommerce platforms. While you might save a little bit on the licensing with open source, it might end up costing the same with payment processor integrations, etc. Also, there are several categories of eCommerce platforms in the market. A lot of them are owned by payment companies. But there are other platforms that are owned by agencies. Both of their pros and cons, but you need to decide what will be in your best interest. So where does X-Cart fit in the value chain?In today's episode, we are going to independently review X-Cart’s capabilities. We covered many grounds including how X-cart’s unique capabilities for automotive and their integrations with several payment providers. Finally, we covered their migration to a recent version and unique customizability that might be available through other platforms.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe to your favorite podcasting platform.

The open-source systems could be as expensive as their commercial peers once you account for all the costs associated with deploying software. Also, not all open-source software is created equal. Some have great governance processes in their communities, while others struggle to enforce controls, causing issues during upgrades. The open source systems are also more suitable for companies that have internal development expertise or have access to developers for free, like non-profits or universities. But just because developers might be available, you might still need business consultants who can help you re-engineer your processes. So where does ERPNext fit in the ERP value chain? In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of ERPNext’s capabilities. We covered many grounds, including the differences between Odoo and ERPNext. Finally, we discussed the specific nuances of ERPNext, such as their approach to open source, the size of their community, and their unique capabilities for the service-centric verticals.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. 

When businesses think of upgrading their capabilities, they might feel that they need to hire an agency that can help them get off the ground. Or they might feel that internally they might be able to manage the majority of work. But the reality is that to be successful with eCommerce platform implementations, you need several resources with different skill sets. They spend years sharpening their craft, and it’s very hard to match this expertise with internal resources. So how to approach the right mix for the teams in planning the digital transformation journey?In today's episode, our guest, Isaiah Bollinger, discusses how to approach eCommerce initiatives for brands. He also discusses how the needs of different sizes of the company may be different at each stage of their life cycle. Finally, he discusses how to build a hybrid team with the right balance of internal and external talent.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

CROs are responsible for meeting their numbers. Making sure their teams are hitting their quotas. Or they will struggle with their own. Also, they need to have control of the entire funnel, starting from the lead acquisition to signing the contract. But sometimes, the journey may start well before that. Also, the customer journey could be different per industry type. So which are the KPIs they need to master in order to meet their numbers?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for a live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the top KPIs for CROs. We discussed the best KPIs that CROs should be measuring. Finally, we discussed how the KPIs might differ for a CRO depending upon the industry and the stage of their company. For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

When it comes to the available options to design your storefront, there are a ton of them, whether you are looking for open-source or paid ones. Most open-source platforms have a trend. Making money by selling hosting, tightly coupling with payment providers, or selling premium themes or add-ons. Open-source platforms are also more suitable for communities and universities where development resources are free or not as expensive. So how does OpenCart compare with the other platforms?In today's episode, we are going to review OpenCart’s capabilities independently. We covered many grounds, including how OpenCart has a slightly superior model in making money through books than restricting their customers with a payment provider or limiting the integration options available. Finally, we covered the overall business risks with the open source platforms, such as having duplicate pages for the SEO, the uptime of the servers, and untested plugins being promoted to the platform without quality and compliance.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe to your favorite podcasting platform.

The process manufacturing space is complex, with several different PLM options. As well as manufacturing processes that require completely different capabilities. Food manufacturing requires things such as Yield measurement, while the process space might be super heavy with the versions and revisions of its formulas. There might also be other complications, such as fleet management and eCommerce.An average process manufacturer needs a lot in an ERP. So how does ProcessPro differ from other manufacturing solutions?In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Aptean ProcessPro’s capabilities. We covered many grounds, including the differences between Ross and ProcessPro, even though both are Aptean’s products and they both are positioned for process manufacturing industries. Finally, we discussed several other nuances of process manufacturing industries, such as versions and revisions, process-based costing, and DSD accounting.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform. 

Finding the right system for the right job is more difficult than you would think. Most companies end up mixing the boundaries of the systems. While the journey of data science could be powerful, it’s hard to get meaningful insights that will be actionable and drive business outcomes with data siloes. So what do companies need to do to get results from their data science initiatives?In today's episode, our guest, Tony Aug, discusses the first steps enterprises need to take for their data science journey. He also discusses the architectural differences between decision science systems and operational systems. Finally, he discusses the budget planning for the data science projects and how to be successful with them.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Operations are all about KPIs. You need a ton of KPIs to measure efficiencies. To lead your team. To motivate them. To make sure they are moving at the optimum speed. Manufacturing or non-manufacturing ops can't operate with KPIs. Don't have good data? Most likely misleading KPIs. Don't have data at all? How would you have KPIs at all? Have a ton of data but no insights? How would your KPIs be reliable? So which are the KPIs COOs need at their fingertips to ensure their success?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the top KPIs for COOs. We discussed the best KPIs that COOs should be measuring. Finally, we discussed how the KPIs might differ for a COO depending on the reporting and org structure. For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

The smaller eCommerce platforms might claim to be cheaper than other mainstream platforms such as Shopify or BigCommerce. They might also have claims such as not charging the transaction fee. But let's face it! Most eCommerce platforms are owned or have an alliance with payment companies. That's how they make money. Running an eCommerce platform is expensive, and the fee that you pay barely covers the cost of running the platform. So is EKM Powershop really a deal, as they claim? In today's episode, we are going to independently review EKM Powershop’s capabilities. We covered many grounds, including the affiliation of eCommerce merchants with payment providers. Finally, we covered the risks with the smaller eCommerce providers and why these risks may not be worth the discount you might be getting on your transactions through smaller vendors.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe to your favorite podcasting platform.

The systems designed for process manufacturing differ completely from discrete manufacturing. The process manufacturing verticals are also deep into logistics and transportation management, as the regulatory bodies might need to report as part of the traceability compliance. They also have very strong QC requirements with the shop floor equipment integrated.  Finally, recipe management and yield calculation are completely different from discrete verticals. So which system in the Aptean portfolio is designed for process manufacturing? If you have guessed Aptean Ross, then you are right.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Aptean Ross’ capabilities. We covered many grounds, including its unique features for the F&B industries. Finally, we discussed the nuances of process manufacturing industries and drew parallels with some of the discrete industries.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Running a business is hard. But changing business at each inflection point could be harder. You need changes in people, processes, and technology to enable growth at each inflection point. But the hardest change management project that any organization can ever undertake is the ERP implementation, as the ERP implementation touches every discipline possible in the entire company. And regardless of how many times you have done it, you will still get surprises. But the more implementations you have under your belt, the easier the process becomes.In today's episode, our guest, Buddy Blattner, who discusses how CFOs can be successful with an ERP implementation. He also discusses how to plan for operational capacity during a growth inflection point, including an ERP implementation. Finally, he discusses several stories related to ERP rescues and the lessons learned from each of the stories.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Most smaller companies struggle to understand the importance of a CIO. In smaller companies, it's not uncommon to have developers, a CFO, a VP of Supply Chain, or a VP of marketing playing or claiming the role of a CIO. They might also not understand the importance of enterprise architecture, IT portfolio planning, and master data governance. But a CIO is a very specialized skillset that requires experience in managing complex enterprise applications and infrastructure. It takes many years of implementation to get used to enterprise architecture patterns and learn the best practices for managing large IT departments and programs. So which are the KPIs that CIOs need at their fingertips to ensure their success?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the top KPIs for CIOs. We discussed the best KPIs that CIOs should be measuring. Finally, we discussed how the KPIs might differ for a CIO depending on the reporting and org structure. For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

The ecommerce shop owners are likely to be lured by the idea of open source. But once you start managing your store on an eCommerce platform, you might spend more time with technical issues than selling. osCommerce is one such platform that is often among the popular open-source cart options and has been installed on thousands of sites. Also, there was a time when osCommmerce was an OK option because the other options were equally outdated. But not anymore. And definitely not in 2023.In today's episode, we are going to review osCommerce’s capabilities independently. We covered many grounds, including why estimating the cost for open source may be harder than commercial options. We also discussed how evaluating software purely based on functional capabilities is likely to fire back. Finally, we discussed why speed, security, and SEO are perhaps the most important factors for a commerce solution.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe to your favorite podcasting platform.

There are nuances right within the ERP system, such as most processes being driven using size, style, season, brand, and color. But then the integrations are super involved too. You have integration as thick as PLM, WMS, and a designer toolbox such as Adobe Illustrator. Then the supply chain processes are fairly unique as well, with the need for vendor collaboration, sampling, and order placement during R&D. So, which are the systems designed for the Apparel industry? If you have guessed Excenta, then you are right.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of Aptean Excenta’s capabilities. We covered many grounds, including its unique capabilities for the apparel industry and why this industry has different needs for ERP and integrations. Finally, we covered why there are only a few solutions available in this industry unless you plan to use several add-ons on top of the horizontal ERP systems.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Most SMBs don’t understand the importance of the packing process. They might have a very serialized pick, pack, and ship process and might pack one order at a time. As companies mature, they gain efficiencies by decoupling the process steps and optimizing them individually. Packing is one step that is often ignored. Most SMB companies might simply send the order from their eComm or ERP to print the shipping label using the order or pick list, skipping the packing step. So not only having a good packing step is necessary, but there are several technologies available that can help you optimize the packing step by doing the math for you for the ideal packaging configuration, saving freight costs and losses due to misconfigured packaging.In today's episode, our guest, James Malley, shares his insights on the importance of the packing step of the pick, pack, ship process. He also talks about the importance of having good product dimensions and packaging data that can help to streamline the packing process. Finally, he discusses several other nuances of the packaging process and how other companies are taking advantage of advancements in packaging technologies.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

CFOs need a ton of KPIs to ensure profitability. To ensure all revenue and expenses get accounted for. To maintain the debt-to-equity ratio. To get favorable terms from the bank. To maintain the price of the stock. But doing all of this might require thousands of KPIs. Also, as companies grow, CFOs might not have the bandwidth to keep track of every transaction of the business. So they require KPIs that are not only reliable but traceable in a manageable manner. So which KPIs are the most critical for CFOs?In today's episode, we invited a panel of cross-functional experts for live interview on LinkedIn who brings significant expertise to discuss the top KPIs for CFOs. We discussed the best KPIs that CFOs should be measured in several industries, such as manufacturing and healthcare. Finally, we discussed the KPIs that are typically meaningless to measure and might be counterproductive. For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Headless, composable, and microservices architecture could be confusing even for developers. But it gets more confusing when you look under the hood. With too many moving parts. And not a clear understanding of which component is supposed to do what. What is most confusing is this whole notion of the front end for the front end. Sound cryptic? It is! Why would you need that? There are many reasons. Caching, performance, ease of development, composability, and scalability. But mainly offline experience! But is offline experience important for retailers? Hell yeah, when you are going to be installing commerce front on every corner. Internet may not always be available. While this is great for developers as they have a lot more control over the process the way they like, are practitioners going to have the same control? So how does Vue Storefront help? And where does it fit in the architecture?In today's episode, we are going to review Vue Storefront’s capabilities independently. We covered many grounds, including the importance of the front end of the front-end in composable architecture. We also discussed where Vue Storefront fits in the architecture and the importance of the API orchestration layer in connecting with various eCommerce, search, CMS, and best-of-breed eCommerce solutions. Finally, we discussed the importance of offline and lightweight JS packages that can improve the performance of eCommerce sites massively, increasing their SEO strength and, as a result having better conversion rates.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe to your favorite podcasting platform.

One channel that might not be immediately apparent to be different would be the office dealer space. It has similar flavors, such as building material and auto parts distributors, for the requirements of local fleets and PODs. It also has unique integration requirements with furniture manufacturers and distributors that might be more expensive with horizontal offerings. Also, they have unified commerce requirements at a much smaller scale where they need inventory to be synched between stores and eCommerce portal, along with mobile. So which ERP system is suitable for this industry? If you have guessed DDMSPLUS, then you are right.In today's episode, we invited a panel of industry experts for a live discussion on LinkedIn to conduct an independent review of ECi DDMSPLUS’s capabilities. We covered many grounds, including the nuances of the office supply space and how the needs of this space are very similar to building materials and HVAC space. Finally, we covered ECi's corporate strategy and how this product compares to other products in ECi's portfolio as well as of their competitors.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Large programs require a lot more planning and strategy than smaller ones. Due to the number of functions involved and the need for collaboration among those functions. The default answer for most companies while leading large programs would be to go to a large SI and start it. The challenge with the approach is that each SI has practiced and might not have a centralized entity that could help you identify the right products and define the architecture. And might result in conflict by pulling the architecture in their direction.In today's episode, our guest, Vignesh Khade, who shares his insights on how to work with large system integrators while leading digital transformation programs. He also talks about where the role of architects fits in the overall process and why it is critical to design the business processes and define the architecture prior to engaging with SIs. Finally, he described the nuances of the corporate structure of SIs and how to engage with them to be successful with digital transformation programs.For more information on growth strategies for SMBs using ERP and digital transformation, visit our community at wbs.rocks or elevatiq.com. To ensure that you never miss an episode of the WBS podcast, subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.