2020 is over, but the challenges that go alongside it remain. After the wild ride that was the last year, many are wondering whether the coming year is going to be better, worse, or more of the same.
After exploring our top predictions for the coming year, we would today like to discuss some potential resolutions for leaders in retail, distribution, manufacturing, commercial integration, and more.
Retailers: Offer Curbside Pickup of Suffer the Consequences
If there is one thing that isn’t going to go away, it’s curbside pickup. You’ve probably seen everyone from big box chains to your favorite restaurant and local grocer put this in action. In fact, it’s safe to assume that you’ve benefited from having an employee pack your trunk full of things you’ve ordered online. That’s… not going away.
Now, it’s on the cusp of moving from safety measure to customer demand, and shoppers will expect a fast, flexible, and communicative buying experience from now on. With holidays in the rearview, take a second to plan a transition during the slow season with the following resources:
The Omnichannel Mandate: Why Retailers Need to Meet Customers Where They Stand
How Acumatica Can Facilitate Your Decision to Implement Curbside Pickup
Distributors: Prove Yourself after a Year of Supply Chain Disruptions
Did you spend 2020 dealing with supply chain disruptions? That means that your customers spent 2020 dealing with supply chain disruptions. Now, how does one address supply chain issues? Diversify suppliers. Your customers likely sought out a supplier who had an item you didn’t. Luckily, you probably gained a few contacts this way as well.
Pair the new connections made by your customers with the lower cost of supplier switching, and you’re going to need to offer some kind of competitive advantage. Customers are going to expect quick answers, better value, and accuracy. Delivering this will not only help you to keep customers, but grow your business. Here are just a few articles we’ve written to help you make this happen.
Four Focuses for Distributors Once Things Get Back to Normal
How to Reap the Rewards of a Truly Connected Warehouse Management Solution
The Need for Connection: Why RESTful APIs Make Life Easy for Transforming Distributors
Manufacturers: Seek Out Ways to Compete in a Shorter Supply Chain
As mentioned in our section on distribution, buyers have sought out supply chain answers from whomever could deliver them. Maybe that was a different distributor, maybe they went up the supply chain. But the threat to distribution is an opportunity to manufacturing firms who can grab the ring.
Pundits see 2021 as a year in which manufacturers may benefit from a shorter and more localized supply chain.
Technology investments are coming into fruition and pushing new transformative opportunities. Industrial manufacturers who look to take a page out of the farm-to-table playbook could see a faster time to market, lower working capital, and better resiliency. Buyers want to mitigate costs.
Your ability to shorten the supply chain (physically and logistically) could present you with the competitive advantage and margins you need. But to make this happen, you need to think like a buyer-facing business. And how do buyers like to shop? In whatever way is easiest to them. Here are just a few tips on how you can step up in 2021.
Ten Do’s and Don’ts for Manufacturers Considering Ecommerce
The Importance of Automation in Manufacturing ERP
Three Areas Where Ecommerce Integration Drives Business Forward
Commercial Integrators: Practice What You Preach
Whether you’ve found yourself struggling to stay afloat or struggling to keep up with customer requests, A/V integrators have seen varied paths in 2020. But in an industry that’s ready and able to deliver good old fashioned hard work to a constantly evolving product base, you need to be able to embrace the cool factor of A/V technology.
2021 will present continued pressure as more of the aging industry retires. Getting new talent and new customers will require you to not only evolve, but to practice what you preach. Practicing what you preach requires a commitment to modernizing your own side of the business.
Recurring revenue, hybridization, and more will push you in new directions, and you’ll need to ensure that your business is flexible enough to make this happen. Let your path to new growth and evolution start with the resources below:
Eating Your Own Dog Food: Why Cloud ERP is Your Path to AV Firm Transformation
AV, IT, and Recurring Revenue: How to Make Connection Easy
Security from the Inside: Why Cloud ERP Delivers Cybersecurity for AV
Find the Right Partner to Make Your Business Work
If you’re resolving to improve your business in 2021, resolve to work with a partner who is going to make your life easy. An ERP implementation partner should have an outstanding reputation within the industry. Various industries have different requirements; the more the partner knows about the company’s vertical, the more they’ll be able to adapt the software to meet particular needs.
At Cloud 9 ERP Solutions, we’ve partnered with firms throughout the northeast and United States to make life easier through ERP. At Cloud 9 ERP Solutions, an Acumatica Gold Certified Partner, we have the experience in delivering fully integrated business management software to firms like yours.
We know that business management software affects nearly every facet of your operations and therefore has many different moving parts—all of which need to be tailored to your needs and tested to ensure they will make your business better. Get to know more about how we deliver for companies like yours by clicking your industry below.
- Manufacturing
- Wholesale/Distribution
- Professional Services
- Ecommerce
- Field Service
- Audio Visual & Security
To learn more about Acumatica, visit our Acumatica Resource Center or browse our Acumatica demos.
