Navtrak, a manufacturer of global positioning system (GPS) equipment, was facing challenges with its QuickBooks financial software. The software was not providing an adequate audit trail, the ability to perform analysis, or deep inventory tracking. It also allowed people to delete transactions when they shouldn't, leaving the company with little management control. Navtrak needed a solution that could provide better financial management, inventory tracking, and overall control of the business operations.

Teva Sport Sandals, a company that created its own niche in open footwear for the active-lifestyle market, was facing exponential growth in direct marketing distribution channels. This forced the company to rethink its business management strategies. Since 1993, catalog sales had been tracked effectively by Sage 100 ERP. But with the potential of e-commerce on the horizon, Teva’s needs changed. A super-powered database with customizable applications became an absolute necessity. Teva decided to grow with a winner and upgraded to Sage 500 ERP. But not without making certain that this was the wisest move. John Kalinich, COO, led a thorough investigation of competitive options. Sage 500 ERP was his choice based on both price and performance.

Schleuniger, a global business selling to high-tech industries, was in need of a new accounting system that could be accessed by its four branch offices, including locations in Canada and Mexico. The company wanted to ensure high-quality customer service across all its locations. However, the small size of the branch offices made it challenging to invest in a costly wide-area network. The company needed a solution that would allow branch offices to access pertinent business information, make entries remotely, and receive performance just like on the LAN at headquarters.

The Resource Center, a not-for-profit healthcare agency, was struggling with an inefficient and time-consuming manual budgeting process that did not allow for sophisticated analysis and planning. The annual budget process involved the creation of a Lotus spreadsheet for each of more than 200 cost centers, each containing a few years of historical data, as well as last year’s budget and actuals. The budget data was then reentered into a legacy system, with the budget cycle concluding in late December. The process for allocating expenses across the agency was also complex and time-consuming, involving many days each month of manual data entry and rekeying.

Sullivan Construction, a company that handles projects such as the Hewlett-Packard campus in Corvallis, Oregon, and roads, large building pads, and subdivisions around Albany and Oregon’s mid-Willamette Valley, was facing several challenges. The company was initially using Sage DacEasy for its accounts, but as the company grew, it needed a more robust solution. The company was struggling with tracking job cost information on spreadsheets, which was time-consuming. The reporting requirements were hampering federal agency work, and the complex wage structure was difficult to manage. Profits were virtually incalculable due to these challenges. The company also had a sister company, A.J. Crushing, Inc., where Sullivan’s owner is a partner, and a rental subsidiary, both of which needed a robust solution for their operations.

OptoSigma had been using an older version of Sage PFW ERP which was no longer meeting its needs. The company was looking for a powerful, modern ERP solution that could meet all of its requirements. The company needed a solution that was intuitive to use, had strong inventory control capabilities, and bill of materials functionality. The company also wanted a solution that could be easily customized to match its workflow.

AM Appliance Group, Inc. is a North American wholesaler of high-end washers, dryers, and dishwashers from European manufacturers ASKO and Eurotech. The company supports 25 major distributors selling to appliance dealerships across the United States and Canada. However, the company was struggling with its entry-level software which was not able to keep up with the company's growth. The software would often shut down during periods of peak usage and had to be restarted. The company was also struggling with its spare parts division which was outsourced to a parts distributor. This was both cumbersome and costly. The company was also struggling with tracking its orders in transit from European manufacturers. The company also had to manually process warranty claims which was time-consuming and inefficient.

Betachem, a pharmaceutical ingredients importer, was using an outdated proprietary system for its accounting functions until 1998. The company was in need of a comprehensive package that could automate both the accounting and operational sides of its business. This included maintaining batch and lot data, monitoring returned products, and providing a better-informed sales force. Additionally, the company faced challenges with returned merchandise, a common issue in the pharmaceutical industry. Minor shipping damages could render an entire drum of product unusable, and many of Betachem’s customers, large, publicly traded companies, required Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) numbers on all returned goods. Previously, numbers were assigned by hand using a log, and fulfillment instructions were maintained elsewhere. The entire return process took five separate steps.

Overlake Oil, a family-owned business in its third generation, was seeking to adopt the latest technology to streamline its operations. The company had computerized its business operations in 1982 with a UNIX-based system. However, by 1988, it had outgrown this system and needed to upgrade. The challenge was to find an accounting package that could seamlessly integrate with custom petroleum industry software. The company wanted more people to have access to the system and to be able to interface with Word, Excel, and the Internet. The company also wanted a system that could support its growth without requiring more staff.

Silk Botanica, a San Francisco-based company that sells premium-quality permanent flowers, foliage, and decorative accessories, experienced significant growth since its inception in 1995. The company expanded its workforce to 20 employees, established a network of independent sales representatives across the nation, and saw revenues soar to more than $10 million. With the addition of a full warehouse and complex shipping requirements, Silk Botanica needed to upgrade its business system capabilities. The company was using Sage 50—U.S. Edition, which was well-suited for the start-up phase but could not handle the company's expanded operations and complex requirements.

Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA, a family-owned and operated company for over 25 years, was facing challenges with its outdated UNIX-based system. The system was not Y2K compliant and lacked forecasting data or insights on individual customer buying patterns. It was unable to sustain the company's growth and serve its needs for mobile order fulfillment or e-commerce. Each of Zee Medical’s 32 vans is a mobile warehouse. The better its inventory matches customers’ needs, the better its daily sales and the fewer back orders processed. The company needed a powerful, fully automated inventory management system that could handle the expanding demands of 32 “mobile warehouses” and a high volume of users.

Avon Rubber was utilizing eight separate reporting applications to gather, analyze, and distribute its business data. Staff struggled to learn and to use the applications, thereby placing a substantial burden on the company’s resources. Employees were deprived of quick access to the data they needed to perform their tasks, and management to the data to make better, more informed business decisions.

Satellite Industries, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of portable sanitation equipment, was facing significant growth and global expansion which strained their system of disconnected business management applications. Financial reporting was a time-consuming and laborious process, with month-end closing often taking more than 15 days. The company was in need of a powerful, integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to enable it to better meet the needs of its growing operation. The company also wanted quick access to real-time information, not information that was weeks old. The company’s Sage business partner introduced Babcock to Sage Enterprise Intelligence, a powerful business intelligence tool integrated with Sage ERP X3.

Golden Artist Colors, Inc., a global brand that produces acrylic paint, was operating with several stand-alone packages. The company decided to invest in a true ERP solution to streamline the flow of information, improve inventory management, and enhance customer service levels. A committee of six key personnel was established to manage the selection process. They referenced the APICS buyer’s guide to select possible ERP vendors that appeared to be a good fit based on the industries served, functionality offered, and customer size. The committee came up with 12 candidates and narrowed the list to three–Sage, CSB-System and SSA (now Infor)–that would be more fully examined through formal product demonstrations and customer site visits.

Heresite Protective Coatings, LLC, a company that formulates coating solutions for metal industrial equipment, was operating with an outdated version of Sage Pro ERP that hadn't been updated in years. The company's diverse business model, which includes a manufacturing operation and a job shop, made it difficult to find a suitable modern ERP software. They also lacked an inventory application in their previous software, making it challenging to manage items and bills of materials effectively.

Pumpaction, a leader in the pumping and liquids handling fields, was struggling to find business software that could support its complex business model, which includes distribution, service and repair, and rental divisions. The company was using older, proprietary accounting software that was not internationally capable, robust, or flexible. The company's operations were not integrated, leading to multiple systems, multiple touch points, and duplicate data entry. The company needed a solution that could integrate all its business operations and support its unique processes.

Carson Home Accents, a leader in the wholesale manufacturing and distribution of gift, garden, and home décor products, was seeking a new ERP solution that offered the functionality, flexibility it required and could deliver a rapid return on investment. The company works with 20 overseas suppliers and the long lead times involved can complicate the company’s goal of optimizing its inventory levels while also ensuring it maintains an adequate supply to meet customer orders. The company was also noticing a significant upward trend in the number of customers using credit cards to pay their invoices, which required a streamlined and facilitated processing tasks.

GoLite, an outdoor clothing and equipment manufacturer, was struggling with its existing business system, QuickBooks and Mail Order Manager. The system was unable to provide integrated time-phased availability information or size/color matrix for order management, and it did not adequately support dealer ordering. The company spent two years searching for a replacement system that could meet its specific needs.

Allied Metals Corporation, a company that provides high purity, low carbon steel and stainless steel melt stock, was in need of a robust solution to replace its old accounting software. The company sought a solution that incorporated accounting, distribution, and manufacturing components and had the capability to support rapid growth and international operations. The company launched a very structured selection process, considering other packages such as Microsoft® Dynamics GP and SysPro. However, these solutions did not meet all the requirements of Allied Metals.

Reinhart Foods had been relying on a legacy accounting system and spreadsheets for its operations. The lack of an integrated solution made access to actionable data difficult, and inefficiencies were hampering the company’s growth trajectory. The company was only using the old software for general ledger transactions, with everything else being accomplished with spreadsheets. This situation was not sustainable for a company looking to grow and improve its operations. The company needed a modern business management application that could integrate its entire operation and support its growth trajectory.

Pacific Coast Door and Millwork, a company that manufactures indoor and outdoor doors, as well as window trim, sills, crown molding, closets, and shelving, was facing challenges with its existing accounting system. The company was using a vertical application designed for contractors, which was inadequate for the needs of a manufacturer. Purchasing, inventory, and sales order management all had to be tracked manually, leading to a significant amount of paperwork. The company was also experiencing issues with large orders, often resulting in duplicate orders due to confusing records. Additionally, the company was unable to compare purchase order prices against actual invoices, leading to discrepancies in billing.

Belmont Meats Ltd., a manufacturer, processor, and distributor of quality meat products, was running its operations on an aging AS/400 system. The system was no longer sufficient for the company's needs as it lacked robustness and was not designed for the food industry. The company needed an ERP system that was easy to use, fast to implement, cost-effective, and had local support. The company also required a system that could support its unique manufacturing activities, which included process manufacturing and yield-based manufacturing. The company also needed a system that could provide complete forward and backward lot traceability for each ingredient and finished item, as well as shelf-life management with expiration date control.

Sweater.com, a rapidly growing apparel company, was facing inefficiencies due to the lack of integration between QuickBooks and vertical software for apparel industry management. The company was using QuickBooks for its financial management and a separate software for apparel management. This lack of integration was causing inefficiencies across the company. The company needed a solution that could integrate financial management with apparel industry management to improve efficiency and accuracy in financial statements. Additionally, the company required a robust allocation module for both inventory and product costing, which were considered essential for its operations.

Ganong Bros. Limited (Ganong) has been producing some of the finest chocolate and confectioneries in Canada for the past 140 years. The company operates from three locations across the country and ships its chocolates to various mass merchandisers, drug stores, and grocery chains. Despite its long history and tradition, Ganong's operations are decidedly twenty-first century, with the company continually investing in tools and technology that enable it to run in a lean and efficient manner. However, Ganong was facing a challenge with its complex financial statements, which include more than nine million entries. The company was using Sage ERP X3 as its financial, manufacturing, and distribution solution, but it lacked a more efficient way to produce its complex financial statements.

UreSil, LLC, a leading manufacturer of products for interventional radiology and vascular surgery, was operating on an MRP system that was becoming increasingly unsupportable due to the number of third-party customizations it had undergone. The limitations in planning and flexibility were hindering the company’s ability to run an efficient business. Moreover, complying with FDA regulations and maintaining the required documentation was proving to be a significant challenge. The company needed a solution that could handle their growing needs and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

Yamada America, a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese heavy industrial pump manufacturer, was experiencing rapid growth, with an annual increase of 25-30 percent for three consecutive years. To manage this growth, the company decided to switch from Sage 100 ERP for DOS to a Windows-based system in 1998. However, the new software promised by a salesman turned out to be a disaster. The installation process took over four months and disrupted all aspects of the company's operations, including accounts payable, advanced consolidation, general ledger, and inventory. Even after the installation, the system problems persisted, with hardware breaking down and computer screens freezing multiple times a day. The situation was so bad that two employees quit due to the excessive overtime caused by the computer problems.

KUKA Robotics Corp. was in need of a state-of-the-art ERP system to serve as the backbone of their MIS. They were struggling with cumbersome paper-based processes in logistics, product assembly, and accounting. Additionally, they needed to comply with international reporting requirements. The challenge was to introduce an ERP system that could streamline these processes, improve interdepartmental coordination and responsiveness, and enhance profitability and corporate maneuverability.

QesTec, a provider of computer options such as upgrades for servers, workstations, personal computers, laptops, notebooks, and printers, was experiencing booming demand for its high-tech products. This led to a situation where the business was doubling every year, and the company’s computer system simply couldn’t keep up with it. Inventory was turning at least 25 times a year. The time had come to replace standalone PCs with a robust network, including software that would provide manufacturing and inventory management systems plus wider access to customer information. In other words, it was time to migrate up from Sage 50—U.S. Edition, the accounting package that had worked so well during QesTec’s earlier days.

Digital Signal Corporation, a worldwide leader in the research and development of three-dimensional facial recognition systems, was using QuickBooks as their accounting software. However, as the company grew, the entry-level software did not have the depth and breadth Digital Signal Corporation required. The company passed the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) audit by the skin of their teeth, only because they were able to produce paper records to supplement what they couldn’t get from QuickBooks. The company needed a more robust accounting system that could meet governmental requirements and provide comprehensive job costing data to better estimate future jobs.

Albert Lee Appliance, a family-owned appliance dealer with four locations around Seattle, faced a significant challenge when Washington state adopted the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax initiative in 2008. The new laws shifted nexus from place of shipment (one of Albert Lee’s stores) to place of destination (Albert Lee’s customer locations). What used to entail a small handful of manual tax calculations suddenly turned into potentially hundreds. The company realized its sales tax work was going to get a lot more complicated. The company's average transaction is about $2,000, which means the state audits them regularly. In fact, they see them so often that they’re on a first-name basis with a couple of the auditors.