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Hammond Group, a global chemical company with plants in the US and abroad, was facing a challenge. The company wanted to grow and maintain its reputation for customer care. However, it needed to cut costs from its operations while still focusing on its customers. The company was in need of systems that would help them achieve these goals.

Kramp Group, a distributor of spare parts for agriculture businesses across Europe, was facing challenges in improving customer service. The company was looking for a solution that could free up their staff's time to provide technical support and advice to customers. The existing system was not efficient enough to handle the distribution of 600,000 parts across Europe, which was affecting the company's customer service quality.

Lakeside Foods, a privately held private label food processor, was facing challenges in maintaining its industry-leading status due to escalating raw material costs and increased competitive pressures. The company identified high mechanical downtime levels and manual quality assurance processes as barriers to improved performance. Furthermore, Lakeside lacked actionable intelligence, which prevented plant personnel from identifying line problems in real time and taking appropriate action. This situation was detrimental to the company's efficiency and productivity, and it was clear that a solution was needed to overcome these challenges.

Litehouse Foods, the second largest manufacturer of refrigerated salad dressings, marinades, and dips in North America, was facing a significant challenge. The company was experiencing growth but was struggling to accommodate this expansion without incurring the prohibitive costs of infrastructure investments. They needed a solution that would allow them to scale their operations efficiently and cost-effectively.

Nanso, one of Finland's leading fashion companies, was facing challenges in meeting new delivery requirements from leading fashion retailers. The company was dealing with many manual routines that resulted in low productivity and quality issues. Additionally, Nanso was operating several different ERP systems, which further complicated their operations. The need for a more efficient and streamlined system was evident to improve their supply chain operations.

Tuko Logistics was facing increased competition in the Finnish market and needed a solution for voice-directed picking. Their old system had reached the end of its life, necessitating the implementation of a new, modern system.

Windsor Foods, a leading provider of frozen pasta products, was under great pressure from escalating commodity costs, particularly corn and wheat. In response, the company embarked on a number of cost-cutting efforts, including giveaway reduction programs, best-practice initiatives, and capital cost-saving efforts. However, these measures were not enough to offset the rising costs, and the company needed a more effective solution.

Prior to choosing Aptean Respond, MyJar used several Excel spreadsheets to track and manage complaints. This process, although arduous, was bearable. Fast-forward to the present day and MyJar, having experienced rapid growth, have made the customer focused decision to enact a purpose built solution that supports their flourishing business. Storing data in numerous locations proved to be an inefficient logging system. Case handlers lost time searching for critical pieces of information and managers struggled to pull MI. There was no easy way of overseeing the team’s performance; recording information on many different platforms meant that human error and inconsistency were difficult to identify. MyJar needed a system that would match the quality of service they provided and began to look for solutions that would not only increase their efficiency, but also target training and prevent the reoccurrence of mistakes.

Liquidation Plomberie Mascouche, a company with over 20 years of experience in the plumbing sector, faced a significant challenge. Their old computer system was unable to provide the necessary information to make optimal decisions during their continuous growth. After two expansions, the company needed to integrate a solution that meets the new business challenges. The company's old system was not flexible, intuitive, or integrated enough to support their growth and improve customer service. They also needed to optimize their Material Requirements Planning (MRP).

Blue Clover Devices, an international company with offices in China and the United States, faced challenges related to conducting business in multiple languages and currencies. The company's purchase orders and inventory management were being handled by two separate systems that couldn’t even talk to one another. This lack of integration was causing inefficiencies and hindering the company's growth. The company was in need of a solution that could handle their global operations and improve their efficiency.

SPR Therapeutics, a medical device company specializing in neurostimulation technology, was facing challenges with their internal systems, including CRM, inventory management and quality management. These systems were disconnected, inefficient, and made poor use of critical data. The company was using an assortment of separate unintegrated applications, which led to disconnected silos of information and frustrating inefficiencies. One of the key components of the company’s quality management system was a simple document control application. Another significant problem for the young company was inefficient complaint processing. Handling complaints is an essential part of customer feedback, quality and compliance for any medical device company. Even though sales volume was growing, the company was falling behind on processing and resolving complaints. Complaints were tracked manually, which made it challenging to keep up with every detail.

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.

Hubert Glass Oil Company, a fuel and oil distributor in eastern Texas, was facing challenges in managing its inventory. The company needed to ensure it carried the right mix of products in the right quantities to satisfy customers’ demands without overstocking. The company was using various tools and reports for making purchasing decisions, which was not efficient and did not provide accurate usage figures and forecasting ability.

Kasco, a distributor of BG Products, wanted to automate its sales force, which was 20 strong. When salesmen visit customers, nine times out of ten they have the required products in their van. It makes sense, therefore, to deliver an invoice at the point of sale—to avoid duplicate data entry at the head office and speed up the revenue stream. For ten years the company had been happy using Sage 50—U.S. Edition as its business software. But it needed an application that would integrate with the Route Management System (RMS) on its salesmen’s hand-held computers. Other BG distributors used an interface between Sage 100 ERP* and the RMS designed by Quality Data Products, a Sage licensed developer.

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.

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.

Yard House Restaurants, an upscale eatery chain, was facing challenges due to its rapid expansion. The company had outgrown its original QuickBooks package by the time it expanded to a second restaurant. The operations became more dispersed, making it difficult for the IT staff to set up and maintain business systems in remote locations in several states. The company needed a solution that could handle its growing needs and provide centralized control over its operations.

The Wisconsin Early Autism Project (WEAP) was facing a challenge in tracking staff hours to prepare accurate paychecks due to the rotation of therapists and many of them working part-time. The organization was using three separate information systems - Sage 100 ERP, a custom SQL database, and The Medical Manager. However, none of these systems were integrated, leading to a time-consuming and error-prone process of data entry for billing, payroll balancing, and payroll system. The challenge was to integrate these separate information systems and automate business processes through one dependable platform.

Two years ago, Kerry Thornhill joined Colgin as CEO and vice president of marketing with a clear and ambitious vision. He wanted to transform the company’s perceived image in the retail trade from a small mom-and-pop operation to a large, dynamic, manufacturing firm. He dreamed of setting Colgin apart from the competition through technological sophistication and possibly even expanding to international markets. This would require embracing the latest software available at all levels so that Colgin could deliver added value to its customers. At the same time Thornhill hoped to improve communications with retail channels and offer all the services of a larger firm, including 24-hour customer support and service, seven days a week. With fewer than 20 employees, this was next to impossible using traditional methods.

As a new company, iS5 Communications had complex needs and sought a powerful ERP solution that offered all the required functionality in an integrated, scalable offering. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and services network routing equipment for use in harsh environments, such as those encountered in the utility, transportation, industrial, military, and surveillance industries. The management team, although experienced, was looking for a solution that could take the company from start-up to success. They wanted to avoid integration challenges when selecting ERP software for their enterprise.

Swing-N-Slide, a leading manufacturer of wooden outdoor playground equipment, recognized the need for a robust financial system to handle its growth and improve sales to 'big box' stores and consumers. The company had been using Sage 100 ERP software as its backbone for nearly a decade. However, the company faced challenges in automating its business systems to handle growth and offer Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and online commerce to improve sales. Major trading partners insisted on their vendors communicating through an EDI. For five years, Swing-N-Slide used an integrated third-party module, written specifically for Sage 100 ERP, that facilitated transactions with its 20 largest customers.

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.

CFM Equipment Distributors, Inc., a HVAC wholesaler based in Sacramento, California, was looking to expand its business without adding staff in customer service. The company wanted to leverage e-commerce to achieve this goal. They needed a solution that would allow their customers to check real-time inventory across their warehouses and place orders online. The company was also looking for a solution that was easy to implement and use.

Creation Entertainment, a memorabilia retailer and event promoter, was facing a challenge with its online sales and fulfillment process. The company's e-commerce system was poorly designed, leading to sluggish online sales and lengthy fulfillment times. The system was a mishmash of HTML screens that brought in email orders, which were then manually entered into a low-level bookkeeping package. This process was time-consuming and inefficient, taking up to three weeks just to input orders and as long as 16 weeks to fulfill orders when new products were introduced.

Krier & Blain, a HVAC and plumbing contractor based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was facing challenges with their old, inadequate system. The company was in need of a smarter, faster, low maintenance business solution that could help maximize efficiency and profitability. The existing system was not meeting the company's needs in terms of speed, ease of use, and functionality. The company was looking for a solution that could streamline data access and entry, provide precise job costing capabilities, and improve operational efficiency.

Union Payroll Agency (UPA) was facing growth challenges due to its DOS-based accounting software and paper-based binders. The company's growth was hindered and prevented expansion to other states. The company had to manage 23,000 employees, 128 different union codes, 1,200 labor codes, and 432 deduction codes. The company was also facing challenges in bringing new employees up to speed due to the complexity of the system. The company was also facing challenges in managing the large amount of paperwork and maintaining the integrity of their service.

Marathon Brake Systems, a distributor of heavy-duty brake lining products, was in need of a modern and robust business management solution to replace its previous version of Sage PFW ERP. The company wanted better inventory control tools and an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system. The company's sales professionals are stationed across North America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, making it crucial for the company to process orders quickly and efficiently to maintain its service levels.

Vineland Estates Winery, located in the heart of the Niagara wine country, produces 47,000 cases of wine each year. The wine is shipped across Canada and to more than a dozen other countries. The winery is regulated by a number of agencies, each requiring detailed reports concerning production and distribution. The winery also needed accurate field-to-glass cost information. The wine industry is complex and highly regulated, and Vineland Estates Winery faced unique business challenges. The company operates a Wine Club, where members pay a flat monthly fee to have bottles of Vineland Estates wine delivered to their homes. The program quickly caught on, and now boasts more than 1,000 members. Most members pay their monthly fee by credit card.

RTI Hotel Supply, Inc. has been providing specialized procurement services to the hospitality industry since 1989. The company focuses primarily on the Caribbean and Latin American marketplace and has built a solid reputation as a single-source provider of high-quality products. A second division builds customized hotel furnishings including vanities, casework, and seating. The company had relied on Sage 300 as its accounting and distribution software, but had neglected to update the software for several years. Rapid growth, including the opening of several international offices, ultimately prompted the company to invest in its technology infrastructure and to update its system to the most current level.