Unlock Your Growth

About this issue

Building the Foundations for Growth

ERP News Magazine Issue 3, dated October 2019, examines how connected systems can support business growth. Nicky Tozer's cover interview sets the direction, while customer stories show how ERP relates to traceability, distribution and operational visibility. The issue also considers the difficulties created by fragmented data and offers practical guidance on selection, implementation and industry fit. Its vendor announcements and technology outlooks describe the market as it stood in 2019.

Executive Perspectives and Data Discipline

Nicky Tozer, Oracle NetSuite Vice President of EMEA, discusses helping businesses connect their activities through a common cloud system. Her interview links growth with useful operational information, customer needs and continued product development. Analytics and the changing expectations of ERP users form part of that outlook. Her comments describe NetSuite's approach and direction, rather than independently establishing that every implementation produces the same result.

Paul Barber, founder and CEO of Prophix, examines how artificial intelligence could make more advanced capabilities accessible to a wider range of businesses. Natural-language interaction and automation feature in his discussion of the finance function. Nick Goode of Sage uses a food analogy to explain why the quality of underlying data matters. Both articles connect useful decisions with the information and interactions that support them, rather than treating the purchase of software as sufficient on its own.

Customer Experiences across the Value Chain

De Bortoli Wines describes a complex, integrated supply chain extending from growers to finished bottles and international markets. Its collaboration with QAD supports just-in-time grape scheduling, compliance and traceability. The customer account explains how timed deliveries reduce waiting and help preserve grape quality, while connected records support specifications and certificates of analysis. Reported operational benefits belong to this particular customer story. Future environmental goals and enthusiasm for QAD's roadmap remain distinct from the capabilities already described in use.

Jergens Industrial Supply, or JIS, provides a separate interview about Epicor Prophet 21. The distributor connects inventory vending machines with ERP through work involving MindHARBOR, seeking to put supplies closer to the point of use and simplify replenishment and purchasing. JIS reports improved productivity and discusses APIs, customization and a connected database. These are attributed customer claims, not independently controlled measurements. The account shows how ERP integration can extend into a distributor's customer service model.

Elstead Lighting's Epicor coverage describes the need for control and visibility as the manufacturer develops its international business. The announcement combines the ERP choice with customer comments about continuing use. It should not be read as a universal performance benchmark for lighting manufacturers or as evidence that every anticipated expansion benefit has already been realized.

Sanimax selects Infor to address complex processes in its agri-food environmental-services business. SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team announces a multi-year IFS relationship and planned use of cloud ERP. These are distinct selection and partnership stories, each with intended business benefits rather than a completed quantified evaluation.

Eksim Holding's caniasERP project is another announced program. The source explains the group's varied operations and a planned 2020 go-live. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates separately describes Microsoft Dynamics 365 within a customer-experience strategy. Its consumer-centered approach differs from De Bortoli's production and supply-chain case, and the two wine-industry stories should not be combined into a single deployment narrative.

Selection, Implementation and Connected Information

Alexander Glueckler of Silverware addresses the software choices facing cannabis businesses. He contrasts short-term workarounds with systems and partners able to support a maturing organization. Katie Slimov surveys ERP selection and implementation challenges, while Eran Rozenfeld of Priority Software uses a shopping analogy to encourage a more informed search. Randy Davidson of DXC Technology offers eight implementation tips, and Steve McCann of Absoft considers how to choose an appropriate ERP and provider. Together these pieces emphasize requirements, preparation, user adoption and disciplined customization decisions.

Predrag Jakovljevic of Technology Evaluation Centers examines the gaps between ERP, product lifecycle management and technical information. The article considers the operational cost of fragmented records and introduces Oak Barrel in the discussion of connecting technical data. It is an analysis and supplier-context piece, rather than a new named customer success story. Elise McFarlane of ECI discusses connecting office printers and automating associated tasks through ERP. Yagmur Sahin adds seven selection tips, including the importance of keeping pace with technological change.

The news section also covers NetSuite's nonprofit support, itelligence's agreement to acquire a majority stake in Brazil's FH and the caniasERP Live 2019 event. These organizational and ecosystem developments round out an issue whose practical concern is consistent: growth becomes easier to manage when businesses understand their processes, maintain useful information and choose systems that connect the work people actually need to do.