Business Automation and Software Blog

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a transformative force in multiple industries, including manufacturing. AI in manufacturing has introduced a significant change in the industry with its potential to impact production, improve efficiency, and drive innovation.

For today’s manufacturing and distribution companies, inventory management automation is the answer to issues they are having with forecasting, tracking inventory, and fulfilling orders promptly. Access to more real-time data and a higher level of transparency streamlines business processes.

Traditionally, a company’s Chief Financial Officer is responsible for overseeing its business budget, including planning and forecasting. The 2022 edition of Sage Global Planning, Budgeting, Forecasting, and Reporting survey addressed this trend and included details about how leading company CFOs approach these business practices.

Accounting software in the cloud is quickly becoming a common choice for many businesses. According to Gartner Research, the majority of companies plan to implement a cloud-first strategy by 2025.

Changing a company’s financial management and business systems to the cloud may seem like a daunting task. Numerous organizations have concerns about whether they have the right combination of personnel, skills, and technology available to put this type of digital transformation in place.

If you own or manage a distribution business, you’re already aware that it is a thin-margin venture. It’s not unusual to lose money on many of the items you have in inventory. The entire wholesale-distributor industry achieves an average net profit of 4% annually (The National Association of Wholesalers and Distributors). Distribution companies that achieve these profit levels (or higher) rely on monitoring distribution KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to control expenses and maximize profits.

The manufacturing CFO’s role within a company has changed in recent years. Modern CFOs have moved from the back office where their role was seen mainly that of being a number-cruncher or a financial risk manager. Today, the CFO works with massive amounts of data within the company. SYSPRO is the right choice to assist manufacturing CFOs when facing the multiple challenges (and opportunities) of the modern business world.

We started talking about “supply chains” in the mid-1990s. At that time, global political conditions were encouraging companies to expand into international markets. The internet world was gaining in popularity and telecommunications was booming. The business world changed: instead of the outdated model where a single manufacturer was responsible for performing most of the activities involved in bringing a product to market, international supply chains used specialized suppliers. Production costs and services dropped. Consumers were able to take advantage of better quality and preferred pricing for finished goods.

In the post-COVID world, your order fulfillment process is a critical part of your business. The reason is very simple: getting orders into customers’ hands, container yards, or warehouses quickly and efficiently often results in customer loyalty. By improving their order fulfillment process, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers can increase the number of repeat customers their business attracts.

Order Fulfillment Measurement

The Sage 300 2023.0 update was released to customers in September 2022. This update included features to enhance security, enhancements to the Web Screen for Sage 300cloud and improvements to CRM integration.

Password Security Upgrades

In Sage 300 2023, user passwords are even more secure. You now have the option to require complex passwords that must include a lower-case letter, an upper-case letter, a number, and a special character. Plus, additional technical upgrades and enhancements improve overall security.

Demand forecasting is a crucial component of a distributor's supply chain strategy. Without it, there is no system to determine how to purchase inventory to fill orders in the changing economic conditions present in 2023. Demand forecasting in supply chain management must consider several factors, including the WHO recently announcing the end of the global pandemic. 

Distribution companies will no doubt rely more on technology for the rest of 2023 and beyond. Interacting with suppliers and vendors digitally will become routine for most interactions.