Every new CEO expects a curveball. But when he recalls his first article with John Case, who became Acumatica’s newly appointed CEO in March 2022, economic uncertainty comes to mind. The market has changed since we spoke. So do technology buyers. But has Acumatica changed too?
This is a strong list of catch-ups on the brink of Acumatica’s R2 2022 release. Acumatica held an in-person R2 release event every fall. Now, they’re looking directly at his annual summit conference in January (you can watch a virtual version of the R2 release event for free on Thursday, September 22nd).
Has economic uncertainty changed the case for modern ERP?
I asked Case: What did he learn from his conversations with customers in the field? Case told me:
Most of our customers come from one of two locations. They come from one of these legacy ERP systems they’ve had for 10 years and they’re struggling with it. Not modern. They can’t get what they want out of it. Or you’re coming from a low-end accounting or bookkeeping solution that has grown out. Most of the time they come from the position of saying, “This is a very business-critical application.” I really need to modernize.
Has the story of inflation and recession changed the impetus for modernization? If:
One of the interesting learnings for me is that we, as an ecosystem, and Acumatica as a whole, need to learn better about what makes people decide that now is the time to act. Now is the time for me to modernize. In fact, I think the economy this summer has affected some of that. Inflation plays a part in that.
People used to say, ‘Given the challenges of the market, I have to keep my house in order’ – something like that. It obviously depends a lot on what type of customer you are. If you are a construction company, if you are a retail company, those are very different issues. [Author’s note: see Case’s post, Protecting Your Bottom Line Amid Rising Inflation].
How should ERP customers prepare for economic disruption?
How should customers face this adversity? Case says Acumatica customers are starting to respond with greater visibility and data access.
Every economic cycle has headwinds and tailwinds. In the United States alone, inflation has been at record levels for more than two decades. We definitely have a string of customers saying, “Now is the time.” Organize your cost structure, supply He’s lagging behind in organizing your chain and better understanding your inventory. We need better data. ”
Customers come to us in this environment and say, ‘We should have done this before… The sooner we roll this out, the more clear and predictable the business impact will be. I can give,” he said. that. Part of that has been driven by the democratization of platforms, allowing all users to connect to their data in different ways.
But part of it comes from getting better data and better tracking inventory. what’s going on with the shipping. “We need to understand all these things that are costing us more and more money. Are we building our manufacturing margins? Are we building our jobs as efficiently as possible? It helps me to
Of course, not all projects move forward:”Certainly there are other customers who are interested in cloud ERP and want to see what the economy will bring.I’m not lying: I’m not comfortable using software simply as a cost-saving tool. Most businesses need creative responses more than efficient diet plans. ERP, Akerkar reconstructed the possibilities as follows:
Not all aspects of business are equally valuable. Each contributes in their own way, no doubt, but some areas of the business can be categorized as absolutely essential. The visibility that ERP provides makes it easy to identify the most profitable and least profitable sectors of an organization and possibly classify them for development or pruning.
Inventory is a key issue in this context. But I worry that companies are moving away from just-in-time and back to “just-in-case” too much for fear of a shortage of affordable supply. A precautionary inventory can paralyze an overstock of the wrong equipment. Investors also don’t like this approach. What does Case hear?
This question is asked often. The customer said, “I didn’t get any of the inventory I needed 6 months ago, but now I have all this inventory, but it’s what I needed 6 months ago, and it’s not what I need now. There were many anecdotes. .’ Then there’s the delivery challenge. We hear about all these retail chains having clearance sales for winter clothing last year.
R2 2022 Release of Acumatica – Inventory Enhancements and More
Case believes Acumatica needs to help customers here. To that we need to add more detailed inventory monitoring and control. This brings us back to the R2 2022 release.
In fact, we’ve built a few new things in the tool dedicated to distributing inventory to retail stores. There are some new sales KPIs. There is a new inventory turnover management tool exclusive to this version. This is a brand new feature set.I don’t know if it will solve [all these problems]But it provides a better way for people to keep track of lots along the way. Know what’s selling and know what’s about to disappear. It’s part of being
The R2 release of Acumatica brings a ton of new features, from workflow automation to usability enhancements, localization to microvertical features. I can’t cover everything, but I would like to mention geographic localization. Does that mean Acumatica is climbing past its midmarket ERP sweet spot? If:
All our customers struggle with how they operate across multiple states, counties, and even countries. We don’t want to be an ERP for a global multinational company just yet. That’s not our strategy. I certainly think more can be done to help people with local bank feeds and understanding the differences between Canada and the US. Here you will find many things requested by our customers.
My take – Not all cloud ERPs are created equal
It would be foolish to believe that software will magically help us overcome the recession. But given the billions of dollars companies have spent since ERP came along, we’ve ignored the painful truth. Not all ERP systems will help here.
You want to see qualities like real-time inventory visibility, low-code workflow automation, and broad user adoption across multiple lines of business. Not all ERPs can do that. Not all cloud ERPs can do that. I use the term “modern ERP” primarily as a subset of cloud ERP. Otherwise, there is too much “cloud ERP washing” these days.
Acumatica isn’t the only vendor I put in the modern ERP category. That (relatively) short list comes down to factors like location, company size, and industry. I believe that a modern ERP system, properly chosen/implemented, can make a difference in times like these for companies with the fortitude and ingenuity to change not just the system, but the business.
An interesting question arises here. So where does Acumatica truly stand out from his ERP peers?The market launches by all of Acumatica’s partners are certainly different. We can debate whether it is good or not. Acumatica is not the only cloud ERP vendor with significant vertical investment, but it remains the only cloud ERP with an ISV partner building an entire vertical (manufacturing). This is interesting evidence.
I think the biggest differentiator for Acumatica is pricing. It’s not a purely consumption-based model, but it’s there. This is perfect for getting users up and running quickly in an age where moving slowly costs a lot. Now is the time to reconfigure your business instead of dealing with tedious ERP seat license (re)negotiations.
When it comes to workflow automation, Acumatica is on the higher tier, but it’s more than that. Acumatica’s mobile-friendly ease of use also sets it apart. I’m not in the business of ranking these. After a wide net has been cast, the buyer should evaluate it carefully and critically.
However, when these attributes are combined, a “modern ERP” view emerges. This is a more interrelated way of thinking about ERP.that is that’s all Learn how to think about ERP when you’re wrestling with supplier pricing, inventory dilemmas, and price-dissatisfied consumers.
Since the ERP has changed, Buyers should evaluate ERP differentlyl:
- Feature comparison is not so important Rather than an aggressive roadmap with frequent cloud releases
- It’s all about adoption and usability. even if the system Problems arise when deeper functionality is buried in legacy interfaces. ERP is no longer the realm of green screen super users. His latest ERP system quickly spread beyond them.
- ERP should be vertical. If you buy an ERP solution that needs to be integrated with proprietary industry software, you are on the wrong track. (Customers who have purchased a so-called “cloud ERP” now know they need to integrate with vertical systems. With workflow automation, role-based alerts, and intelligent AI actions using that industry software spaghetti Please do your best).
A final word for Case.
All of our major vertical solutions target specific features and functions. This is either a micro-vertical or contained within one of the large verticals. You can see this in every release. We continue to deepen and expand what we do inside construction, distribution, manufacturing and retail. Because I think it’s important.
Indeed – to the virtual R2 event.
