Send us Fan Mail Most people think of customer experience as providing the best customer service. But, in reality, it's much bigger than that. It's about removing the friction and choppiness from each channel. It's making the experience personalized while not compromising on scalability. The customer experience innovation requires a rounded approach, starting from your team alignment, offerings, processes, and the product bundle. In today's episode, we have our guest Kirk Thompson from Chief Out...
Mar 31, 2021•38 min•Ep. 56
Send us Fan Mail As your business grows, it's hard to find that Goldilocks zone of inventory so that neither you lose on opportunities nor lock your cash down. Sales and operations planning is easier said than done. The problem becomes more complex when you might have a high mix of your products, especially if you might be tracking your KPIs manually or on a spreadsheet. In today's episode, we have our guest Mike Ryan, who discusses how to do sales and operations planning appropriately for a gro...
Mar 30, 2021•36 min•Ep. 55
Send us Fan Mail They say that numbers add up. It couldn't be more true about tail spend, which is the non-strategic spend that most companies don't care for. The problem becomes far serious if they may not have true visibility into tail spend or if they misclassify the tail spend. This issue typically leads to companies losing millions of dollars in potential cost savings and growth opportunities. In today's episode, we have our guest Sarah Scudder from Real Sourcing Network and Madison Mobley ...
Mar 29, 2021•37 min•Ep. 54
Send us Fan Mail Most organizations focus on growing revenue. Sure, getting revenue is always the hardest part. But did you know that the increased time between earning revenue and collecting cash could result in giant write-offs impacting your growth? Also, how would you define the right customers to focus on? Would it be based on revenue or their ability to pay? Having a cash flow mindset is critical for growth, especially for capital-intensive organizations such as manufacturing. In today's e...
Mar 24, 2021•33 min•Ep. 53
Send us Fan Mail Data is the new oil. But collecting data could also mean distracting your operators from focusing on jobs. Moreover, just because you collected millions of data points, drawing insights or meaning could be challenging if your systems are siloed and don't communicate with each other. Finally, the data quality issues may result in poor sales and operations planning, impacting your bottom line and growth. In today's episode, we have our guest Martin Cloake, who discusses different ...
Mar 23, 2021•39 min•Ep. 52
Send us Fan Mail Digital Twin has been around for a long time. But is that just marketing hype? Is it just a fancy term for data gathering? What are the core challenges digital twin solves? Is that supposed to help overworked maintenance departments and extracting stories from each machine? Could it help in reducing waste and improving product quality? These are the questions you will have if you are in the process of exploring a digital twin for your organization. In today's episode, we have ou...
Mar 22, 2021•33 min•Ep. 51
Send us Fan Mail Are we already out of the woods from COVID? Should you be bullish on the economy? How should you plan your investments for this year? Can you comfortably plan for long-term investments? How would the new normal look? What disruptions can you expect in your supply chain? What new consumer trends can you expect? What workforce changes can you expect? If you are a manufacturer, these are the questions you might have as you plan for 2021. In today's episode, we have our guest Chad M...
Mar 17, 2021•35 min•Ep. 50
Send us Fan Mail As your company grows, you might feel the need for software as you encounter each problem. The software landscape is hard to navigate, and if you don't understand the role each system, such as ERP, E-commerce, and CRM systems play. You could create an extremely patchy architecture, which typically results in significant admin overhead and conflicts among teams, causing your growth to slow down. In today's episode, we have our guest Gill Walker, who discusses why CRM is important...
Mar 16, 2021•37 min•Ep. 49
Send us Fan Mail No one appreciates uncertainty. It is even more frustrating when the uncertainty may not be in your control. And if you are an executive of a company, navigating through difficult times has a toll on everything. The uncertainty could be related to macroeconomic trends such as recession, trade tensions, or merely changing consumer behavior. These macroeconomic factors directly impact not only the top line but also the bottom line. What would you do if your job was to help a compa...
Mar 15, 2021•30 min•Ep. 48
Send us Fan Mail Building a high-performing sales team requires more than just winners and the winning product. It requires the right compensation structure, refined customer groups, and a deep understanding of their needs. But is that enough for sustained growth? What do small to medium-sized businesses miss that struggle to grow? Whose responsibility is to generate leads? Is the sales team accountable for everything, or should marketing share some accountability of missing growth targets? In t...
Mar 10, 2021•33 min•Ep. 47
Send us Fan Mail Running manufacturing operations is not easy. But if you are running a machine shop that produces complex parts in short runs, the switch over time between jobs or additional time spent in bringing material to machines could have significant profitability and growth challenges. Also, if your data collection and entry is primarily manual, you might run into significant operations bottlenecks and might not be able to compete. What process changes could you make to your operations ...
Mar 09, 2021•36 min•Ep. 46
Send us Fan Mail It's very rare to relate reshoring initiatives with costs saving and sales growth. It's typically the opposite. However, if you account for all the costs and risks involved with offshoring or near-shoring, including geopolitical risks, reshoring initiatives can help grow a company. In today's episode, we have our guest Harry Mosner from Reshoring Initiative, who discusses how to compute the total cost of ownership of reshoring initiatives. He also shares several stories of manuf...
Mar 08, 2021•33 min•Ep. 45
Send us Fan Mail When you think of print marketing, what comes to your mind? Perhaps flyers or coupons? But print marketing is much more than that. There have been some exciting trends lately with print marketing, where the print packaging includes QR codes that can take you to a web page to improve customer experience. The print industry is way cooler than you would think. In today's episode, we have our guests Sarah Scudder from Real Sourcing Network and Roger Buck from Corporate Development A...
Mar 03, 2021•43 min•Ep. 44
Send us Fan Mail Who doesn't enjoy drinking wine? But did you know that wine distribution is very complicated, similar to Cannabis or Tobacco businesses? And if you are selling in Canada, especially in Ontario, there is a different complexity level as everything is so monopolized and govt controlled. In today's episode, we have our guest Nelson Aberu from 3050 Imports, who discusses the wine distribution business's nuances and supply chain challenges. We also had a chance to touch on the differe...
Mar 02, 2021•34 min•Ep. 43
Send us Fan Mail Product packaging is as important as the product itself. Poor packaging could cause issues with delivery, failures, and increased returns. These issues typically lead to a bad customer experience. In today's episode, we have our guest Mark Oser from Anteris Consulting Group, who discusses How to launch new products by simply changing the packaging. He also shares his insights into how to take new product packaging ideas from concept to design. Finally, he sheds light on design c...
Mar 01, 2021•39 min•Ep. 42
Send us Fan Mail Do you care for your vendor relationships? Well, your vendor relationships are as important as your customer relationships. If you are dealing with international vendors such as China, Mexico, or India, your relationship with vendors and understanding of their culture could impact your bottom line and growth. In today's episode, we have our guest Francois Jaffres from Noviland, who discusses what manufacturers need to know about working with international suppliers. He also shar...
Feb 24, 2021•34 min•Ep. 41
Send us Fan Mail How busy is your shop floor? How occupied is your team? Are your machines always running? Are you happy with your growth and operational efficiency? While you might be content with what you have right now, the question is, why would you not make more money if you could without increased efforts or resources. In today's episode, we have our guest Paul Critchley from New England Lean Consulting, who discusses practical examples of how to apply the 5Ss of LEAN to your organization....
Feb 23, 2021•34 min•Ep. 40
Send us Fan Mail COVID has been harsh on everyone. But if you have a COVID incident in your facility, not only will there be significant disruption with your operations, but there may also be additional overhead of reporting for your already overworked HR department. What can facilities do to manage their facilities better while taking care of their employees' health? In today's episode, we have our guest Amanda Schleede, who discusses how manufacturers and retailers can better manage disruption...
Feb 22, 2021•36 min•Ep. 39
Send us Fan Mail We all understand the power of social media and its influence. But how to build authority and your tribe on social media? What works when it comes to building a large audience around your expertise and interests? Is it the subject-matter expertise, industry awareness, or something else? These are the questions you will have if you wish to have a strong personal brand and thought leadership in your industry. In today's episode, we have our guest Lorena Acosta, who takes us throug...
Feb 17, 2021•36 min•Ep. 38
Send us Fan Mail Selling complex products involving several buyers is challenging. Each buyer persona is different. Each channel they prefer to hang out with is different. And each piece of content needs to have appropriate messaging that resonates with the customer persona you are targeting. But the most crucial element of mapping your customer journeys would be the ideal customer profile, which most companies struggle to identify. In today's episode, we have our guest Jeff White, who discusses...
Feb 16, 2021•37 min•Ep. 37
Send us Fan Mail Remember going to a well-organized library or a store where you didn't need the endless merry-go-round to find the product or book you wanted? That's the power of clean data and organized systems. For manufacturing and distribution companies with the never-ending need for balancing control and agility, the task is easier said than done. You might have further challenges if you don't have systems that minimize the data entry or experience significant churn with your team. In toda...
Feb 15, 2021•33 min•Ep. 36
Send us Fan Mail Why should SMB companies be investing in technology during the downturns such as COVID? What could be some of the low-hanging fruits for executives to consider during the downturn? Why investing in technology is a wise idea during the downturn? These are some of the questions you will have if you are managing a business during COVID. In Today's episode, we have our guest Laurie McCabe, who discusses how technology can help struggling businesses be more efficient during downturns...
Feb 10, 2021•35 min•Ep. 35
Send us Fan Mail While Software-as-a-service has made buying and implementing enterprise software such as ERP easier, evaluating SAAS options is never easy. With so much at stake with growth, understanding the implications of a cloud infrastructure provider is essential. You will still have tons of questions such as security, the location of your data, and vendor lockup issues. Finding the answers to such questions is hard unless you understand the cloud providers at the macro level. In today's ...
Feb 09, 2021•37 min•Ep. 34
Send us Fan Mail The metal fabrication industry has several nuances that don't exist in generalized manufacturing. The metal fabrication industry also has unique challenges such as sustainability that increase operational overhead. Finally, the unique manufacturing process and interactions with different stakeholders increase the process complexity. In today's episode, we have our guest Robert Johnson, who discusses how the metal fabrication industry's manufacturing processes differ from general...
Feb 08, 2021•41 min•Ep. 33
Send us Fan Mail The last three years have changed the way businesses operate, with podcasts and video becoming the most consumed media for information consumption. With 80% of the B2B sales decisions are being influenced by industry influencers and consultants, today's businesses need to be thought leaders in their spaces. But who drives thought leadership in a company? In today's episode, we have our guest Chris Grainger, who discusses how his company EECO, a large electrical distributor, need...
Feb 03, 2021•35 min•Ep. 32
Send us Fan Mail ERP systems are perceived to be complex. But why are they so hard to implement and learn? How do usable systems differ from the other complex systems? Does technology play a role in user experience? Why are ERP consultants so expensive, and why are they so critical for an effective ERP implementation? These are some of the questions you will have if you are reviewing a new ERP system today. In Today's episode, we have our guest Ted Needleman, who discusses the role of ERP consul...
Feb 02, 2021•36 min•Ep. 31
Send us Fan Mail If you are an SMB lifestyle business and have had growth challenges, your end goal could be selling to an investor or a PE firm. Even if you are a second or third-generation business, your business's chances of survival would be slim if you don't follow the modern procedures for running your business. Operating a business has become even harder as the game has completely changed in the last three years, especially with COVID. In today's episode, we have our guest Damon Pistulka ...
Feb 01, 2021•40 min•Ep. 30
Send us Fan Mail Managing the quality of your product is not only required to provide a consistent customer experience. It may also be a requirement by customers and regulatory bodies in specific industries. The necessary amount of effort in getting certified and audited cannot be underestimated, with significant financial risks for non-compliance. In today's episode, we have our guest Clay Coleman, who discusses the importance of a QMS system and why it matters for manufacturing and distributio...
Jan 27, 2021•40 min•Ep. 29
Send us Fan Mail Business buyers have a unique way of evaluating businesses. If your end goal is to sell your business, you may want to know what buyers value in a business as an asset to align your growth plans with their needs. Do buyers put more value on the team or the roster of clients? Do they emphasize more on technology or products? Would you get a higher return on home-grown software or an off-the-shelf ERP? In today's episode, we have our guest Nick Jackson from The Mendota Group, who ...
Jan 26, 2021•30 min•Ep. 28
Send us Fan Mail Growing a business is challenging. You might require newer facilities. Your employees might be overworked and might ask for additional resources. The process of growth could feel overwhelming, especially with operational challenges. You might feel that you are spinning your wheels. And your efforts are not paying off. In today's episode, we have our guest Ian Pratt, who discusses how to distinguish between the need for additional resources and operational bottlenecks that need t...
Jan 25, 2021•32 min•Ep. 27
