Len Reo

The Attivo Group provides Business Management Software for accounting, inventory, manufacturing, eCommerce sales and customer service.  We serve the needs of the Automotive Specialty Market for fabulous companies such as Danchuk Manufacturing.  Plus here at The Attivo Group we LOVE cars.  In fact, our GM Len Reo has a 1956 Chevrolet hardtop that is a real head turner.

We are so excited to share our experience at the SEMA 2011 show in Las Vegas where the worlds car enthusiasts came together.  

Please view  what one of our favorite customers, Danchuk Manufacturing had to say at the show:

 

 

Complimentary Webcast:   WHAT:  Streamlining Critical Business Processes With Sage MAS 90 and 200 Version 4.5   WHEN:  August 17, 2011 10:00 AM PT         When data flows seamlessly within your business, productivity soars.  Remove the barriers that stifle communication and data exchange between finance, sales, customer support, and distribution personnel with an integrated end-to-end business management solution.   Sage MAS 90 and 200 Version 4.5 helps to: Streamline the quoting cycle with access to real-time pricing, inventory availability, order status, and more. Drive efficiency by connecting your sales force to the data in your accounting system. Empower customer support staff with customer sales history, credit status, and order status. Eliminate duplicate data entry and reduce errors. Push service levels to new heights, improve loyalty, retention, and boost sales. Whether you're an existing Sage MAS 90/MAS 200 user, or considering a new business management solution, MAS 90 and MAS 200 Version 4.5 is worth your consideration.  Attend our complimentary webcast to learn more.

 

Beat Your Competition to the Punch

The Attivo Group Approach to a Successful ERP Software Implementation

Download our free Roadmap by completing our contact us form, Attivo ERP Software Implementation Roadmap.

We look at ERP software implementation like training a boxing champion for the title. You are the champ, but you need to get ready.  Implementing the right ERP Software will help you beat your competition to the punch.  Please see below for a list of guidelines we recommend to help get you in true champion shape ready to beat your competition and win new customers:

• Managing the organizational change effectively.
• Managing your current business with minimal disruption.
• Expanding your business opportunities with new technology.
• Maximizing knowledge transfer to users in the shortest period of time.
• Completing the implementation on time and on budget.
• Maximizing ROI and expected increase in efficiency.

Like a professional boxer, business owners know it takes hard work and determination to beat their competition to the punch.  Savvy business owners also recognize when it is critical to leverage technology to keep up with the pace of their competitors.  Much like a professional boxer relies on their coaching team, business owners need to leverage the advice of implementation experts to help reach these goals.  Hard work is important, but nothing replaces talented leadership, coaching and experience in getting an implementation done.  You’ll need to follow this roadmap:

• Hold an Implementation Planning Kickoff Meeting

1. Introduce the project and its tasks to the team
2. Identify roles and responsibilities

• Understand the project timeline and resource allocation

1. Conduct a Business Process Assessment and System Design
2. A thorough review of each functional area to determine which processes are working and assess those that need improvement
3. Identification of ALL opportunities for process improvement and automation, to help define the scope of the implementation project.
4. Identification of future opportunities for process improvement and automation (future phases)
5. Identification of the Return on Investment objectives for the project

• Don’t skimp on the Project Planning 

1. The Who, What, When of the detailed project plan tasks required for implementing your new system
2. Focus on Training 

• Customized system training plan for your employees

1. Documentation of work instructions supporting your unique processes
2. Management education on use of new tools (beyond just pushing the buttons)

• Conduct a Pilot Test

1. Thorough system test using your data with pre-defined expected results
2. Avoid “running parallel” – believe me, you don’t have time to run parallel.  That went out the window in the ‘80’s.

• Prepare the System Forms, Documents and Reports

1. Create a complete inventory of each required document or report
2. Get them all ready and thoroughly tested on the printers that will print them during the Pilot Test

• Prepare for Going Live

1. Data Conversion considerations
2. System validation protocols
3. Have the support available for your employees to avoid a go-live melt down

Today’s competitive market requires companies to run highly automated, efficient processes in order to compete.  You need help to get the systems implemented to support these requirements. 

Download our free Roadmap by completing our contact us form, Attivo ERP Software Implementation Roadmap

I feel really productive today.  I reduced my emails received for the day to just 5 items that I really need to follow up on.  They are in good company…there with the 16 from the day before, and the 12 from the day before that.  Three days ago was not very productive; some 80 emails remain.  Of course, I probably won’t get to any of them, since tomorrow will come and I’ll be busy again deleting emails or responding to the “emergencies” that appear in my inbox.  In my 30+ years in business, apparently I was never very important until my email started to overflow with things I just HAD to deal with now, or face phone calls (remember them?) with angry people asking why I haven’t responded to their email. Mixed in that morass are 42 seminar invites from associates, jokes from my retired friends and relatives, you know the rest of the stuff that shows up.  At least our Barracuda Spamwall is filtering out the Viagra offers (compliments of Alinco Computers great email hosting). So, here’s some recommendation to solve this all too familiar dilemma: Any other comments and recommendations are welcome!

Stop with the buzzwords and jargon already! We've done enough Business Process Assessments and Value Stream Mapping using Lean techniques with Kaizen Events and Kanban methods to optimize and re-engineer business processes and Throughput Time Efficiency (TTE) to know that NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE HECK I'M TALKING ABOUT!  I get a better response to all of that when I sing to my dog...at least he tilts his head and looks at me. Think about the things that people do in your company day in and day out.  Those are called business processes.  Some people make a product, or perhaps provide a service to customers.  Other support the main activity of the business with necessary back room things like sending out invoices, receiving cash, paying bills, etc.  All of these activities incur costs for the business, which in turn is passed on to the customer in the price that they pay for the goods or services that you sell. Let's pretend that you invite your biggest customer to spend two weeks at your company to really get to know how you do things.  At the end of the two weeks, you give him the opportunity to assess your operation, and tell you what he thinks of the value that you really deliver.  He might say "Your engineers are outstanding, and your quality people really have it dialed in.  But your customer service department...they're doing everything manually, can't find anything, redo things multiple times...take them off my bill, please!" Think your operation could stand that kind of scrutiny?  No?  Then why are YOU putting up with it?  After all, your customer writes small checks compared to the big ones that you stroke every day to fund all that waste. Like a leaky faucet, there are inefficiencies throughout your operation that are being ignored, and are costing you thousands of dollars that you could otherwise keep.  Some leaks are bigger than others, but together, it adds up in a hurry.  That's what a Business Process Assessment uncovers - where the waste is, and where the opportunity for gains in efficiency exist.  It's about doing more with less.  Like getting the job done with one person instead of two.  Welcome to the new economy.  You don't need to use all of the big words that I was throwing around at the beginning to get this right.  It's a lot more common sense than you think, and a lot less painful than an annual physical exam.  Contact us to find out how we lead you through a process assessment...there's a huge benefit waiting for you.  It takes outside leadership to pull this off...or you would have already done it.