For distributors, cross-docking is an essential component of their business. With rising fuel costs and shipping costs, and a need to streamline distribution network processes, software has been developed to meet the challenge of cross docking.
Another challenge that distributors are facing is that of increasing imports from developing nations. This leads to port congestion, which only increases the need for improved cross docking.
I’ll describe what cross docking is, how it is conducted, and the different software applications that are out there to aid distributors facing distribution challenges. Read the rest of this entry »
Outsourcing’s in the news these days, what with the US presidential election and all, but it’s usually covered from an “is it good for us” angle—where “us” is the American people or the national economy.
But how about you? Is it good for your organization? Read the rest of this entry »
No, I’m not about to launch into a Paula Abdul cover (I won’t even dignify that with a link).
Lead generation is a process that uses information to create interest in an enterprise’s products or services. It’s end objective is to generate sales.
Several steps are involved in this marketing process. Before a company begins, it needs to define the market that its product or service caters too, segment that market, and then identify its most profitable areas. Once this is done, the leads generation process begins. The leads generation process involves prospecting, preapproach, approach, and close. As a prospect moves through the leads cycle, information is being created and filtered. Sensibly, a business should use this information to follow up with its customers to see if they were satisfied with the service or product, and then generate leads metrics which will be used to further refine the leads generation and sales process.
The leads generation process gathers a lot of information and involves a lot of tracking, and it should generate dialogue not only between the company and customers, but within the company between sales and marketing in particular. A leads management solution uses different methodologies and practices to govern this information and distribute it to the appropriate people within an organization. Read the rest of this entry »
In IP Telephony 101, I looked at the pros and cons of IP telephony, and a few of the considerations you should explore before making the switch to VoIP.
We’ll turn now to the nitty-gritty of VoIP systems: the architecture, the equipment, the network structure, the software, and what you can expect to pay. Read the rest of this entry »
We all know what security means when we think of our home. Did we lock the door when we left for the day? Is the stove turned off? Computer security for the small to medium business (SMB) must address similar concerns. Can a hacker gain access to its servers? How can a business protect its data?
Read the rest of this entry »
Puzzled by process? Dazed by discrete?
First, let’s understand who should use a discrete ERP application.
ERP – distribution software has been designed to meet the needs of firms with global distribution and logistics needs. Visibility in the supply chain is a crucial element of moving product between multiple locations and countries, and ERP – distribution software can give you the flexibility to track all inventory from wherever you are in the supply chain.
Telephony. Sounds harmless enough.
First, a definition from Merriam-Webster: “the use or operation of an apparatus (as a telephone) for transmission of sounds as electrical signals between widely removed points.”
Gotcha. I’m with you. Me hear pretty, oll korrect.
E-mail, Internet access, and collaborative tools (whether a phone system’s conferencing capabilities, or document-sharing applications) are “must-haves” for most businesses today.
But by now many managers know that you shouldn’t stop at just implementing these tools and then going ahead, footloose and fancy-free, with using them. As with any other asset, you need to protect not just the technology that enables these tools and applications, but also the information that these tools allow users to share.
To ensure the confidentiality of private information—and help ensure compliance with regulations and internal policies—information security software is now also a “must have.”
Not so long ago (or, back in the early ’90s, when I was a first-year college student) there were two ways to get a post-secondary education: by attending classes at a university or college with hundreds of other coffee-stoked students, or by signing up for what used to be called “distance” learning (or even before that, “by correspondence,” as though courses consisted of a series of letters exchanged between the student and the professor, and delivered by the Pony Express). Distance courses still exist, of course, but increasingly, even these programs are undergoing drastic change because of their use of technology.
Over the past decade or more, a new style of education has been emerging for traditional in-class college and university programs as well, changing the ways instructors and professors teach and students learn. Humanism—the philosophy originally espoused by universities—has always held that technology could and should be used, along with rationality, ethical philosophy, and universal morality, towards improving the human condition. However, it seems that the balance is being tipped increasingly towards a privileging of technology over other means to that end.
Welcome to another installment in our back-to-basics series. So far, we’ve covered ERP 101 and SCM 101.
What Is CRM?
CRM is more than a software application. It is a set of strategies, processes, and associated software systems designed to improve the interactions and engagement of customers. Read the rest of this entry »
I covered the basics of ERP previously, and thought I’d move on to supply chain management (SCM), which we’re also featuring in tomorrow’s TEC Newsletter (go to Newsletter archives), with lots of white paper goodness, to boot.
So,
What is SCM? Read the rest of this entry »
We get asked this question a lot, so I thought I’d provide a brief overview.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software unifies traditional management functions within a coherent, integrated system. These management functions may vary from product to product, but comprehensive ERP software applications encompass the following areas:
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