What do concrete and greenhouse growers have in common?

For those who follow our social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, this blog, or what have you), you may have raised an eyebrow this week. The last few weeks, we’ve been all about Grower Vertical, as our Sage ERP team exhibited at MANTS. We then followed some of our friends (through social media) to CENTS and the Green & Growin Show.

This week, our Sage Construction and Real Estate team is out in Las Vegas for the 40th anniversary of the World of Concrete show. This is a great show, and we’re glad to help out the Sage team in their booth, C3739.

The Sage Construction and Real Estate team is showing off some of their latest innovations, including mobile technology.

Some people may find it funny that we’ve got two different teams focusing on two different industries. Some may think that it doesn’t make us an expert on any one industry, whether its construction, manufacturing, or something specific like horticulture. To that I say: au contraire.

What does a commercial construction company have in common with a mattress tag manufacturer? What does a young plant grower have in common with a armored personnel carrier supplier? What does a famous golf resort have in common with your local roofing contractor?

It’s simple: Besides all being our customers, they all want to run their business efficiently, and this is our expertise. Practical Software Solutions understands how businesses operate, what pains they deal with, and how to help make their operations run smoothly. The difference is that we can help many types of businesses with this same problem, because we understand that some things are universal.

The best example right now is human resources. The Affordable Healthcare Act and immigration are weighing heavy on businesses right now, especially in the horticulture and construction industries. We’re proud of the fact that we can provide all types of businesses with Sage HRMS, one of the leading HR management systems available. Not only is Sage HRMS completely integrated with both Sage ERP and Sage CRE, but also it’s a stand-alone product, so anyone can use it.

But there are so many other parts of business operations that different industries have in common, such as managing financials and keeping track of inventory. And we know if we can provide an integrated solution to a company, it will help improve their efficiency, and in turn, that company’s bottom line. You don’t need to be an expert in petunias or roofing to figure that out.

On top of that, these vastly different companies can come together to learn from each other as well. We see this every year in person at our customer meeting at Sage Summit. This past year, companies who use Sage 500 ERP, some who use Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate, some who use Sage Fixed Assets, some who use Sage HRMS, and some who use a combination of those products attended our meeting. We know the construction company who uses Sage HRMS can ask the greenhouse grower about how they use Employee Self Service. We’ve seen the wire shelving company talk at length with a young plant grower about the merits of their Sage ERP systems.

As I’m sitting here getting ready for the first day of World of Concrete to begin, I’m keeping an eye on our Twitter feed, and seeing all of the other companies gearing up for the start. A little while ago, two of BASF’s divisions (construction and concrete) sent out tweets for the show as well. BASF is also a major player in the horticulture industry, and their booth is just down the aisle from ours at the AmericanHort Short Course.

It reminded me of their old slogan, “We don’t make a lot of the products you buy; we make a lot of the products you buy better.” They don’t focus on any one industry, but they’re still very well respected in the industries in which they do participate.

It’s the same thing with us, really. Just because we don’t focus one one industry doesn’t mean we can’t make the companies we help better.