Tag Archives: manufacturing

Guest Post: Labor, Activity Data Key to Productivity Measurement

This guest blog post about data comes to us via the ADP blog Spark and written by Jim McGeady. Collecting and analyzing the right data can be crucial to manufacturing firms when production and profitability have been impacted by changes and uncertainty. Today’s work environment is as unpredictable as ever,… Read more »

Manufacturing cybercrime skyrockets in first half of 2020

It’s hard to believe it was almost six months ago I wrote a blog post mentioning how many communities were starting to lock down due to COVID-19. I also mentioned the effect a massive amount of people working from home could have on cybercrime. Sure enough, a report published earlier… Read more »

Manufacturing and related industries need to attract Gen Z and others

Sometimes I feel like a broken record when it comes to talking about the skills gap in manufacturing. Even when a ray of light comes through, it seems to shine a light on the darkness that was the last 40 years in manufacturing. A great example of that is an… Read more »

Technology, training can help fill vacant manufacturing jobs

A few years ago, I was at Industries of the Blind Greensboro, a non-profit manufacturer, when the conversation turned to their workforce skilled labor shortage. By law (the AbilityOne Program), 75 percent of their overall workforce must be visually impaired people. Part of the non-profit’s mission is to train visually… Read more »

4 ways time is relative when installing a new ERP system

One of the most common questions we get from both prospects and customers is how long does a new ERP implementation take. The answer is simple: It depends. That’s not an answer most people want to hear. But it’s true. Installing a new ERP system produces many variables that may… Read more »

3 Ways to Know You’re Ready for a New ERP System

Implementing a new ERP system is not a decision manufacturers take lightly. Manufacturers do not simply walk into a store and purchase an ERP system. An ERP implementation can take several months to more than a year, and more likely than not includes working with a partner to help with… Read more »

Join us for an evening of basketball and business education

Basketball Event 1

Our customers know that when Practical Software Solutions hosts an event, we like to have a good time. Seriously … go ask them. They’ll tell you. They’ll also tell you that we take our business — and our customers’ businesses — seriously. But when we can combine the two, like our… Read more »

Industries of the Blind walks the path of lean manufacturing

Industries of the Blind Made in IOB

It’s said you can never truly understand a person until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Last Thursday, I walked about 500 feet in the shoes of a blind person, and I got a pretty good notion of what it was like to be visually impaired. Luckily for me,… Read more »

Customers can learn from each other at Sage Summit

At Practical Software Solutions, our customers are a bunch of apples and oranges. And I mean that in the most polite way possible that you can call your customers fruit. Of course, I’m talking about the different types of customers we have. Because we have manufacturers and distributors, construction and… Read more »

DemandLink provides seasonal retail forecasting

Last summer, I wrote about how Practical Software Solutions formed a partnership with DemandLink to integrate its retail forecasting and replenishment tool with Grower Vertical for Sage ERP. Even though DemandLink was born out of the horticulture industry, DemandLink’s depth of real-time data works great for any manufacturing or distribution… Read more »