ABC Compounding, Inc., a specialty chemical manufacturer of industrial cleaning supplies, was facing challenges with its existing ERP software, ProcessPro. The software had become undersized and lacked key functionality needed to meet the company’s growing demands. The company needed planning, scheduling, and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) features, which were lacking in their previous ERP software. They needed a scalable, fully integrated, enterprise solution that was easily adaptable to their requirements.

Schleuniger, a global business selling to high-tech industries, was in need of a new accounting system that could be accessed by its four branch offices, including locations in Canada and Mexico. The company wanted to ensure high-quality customer service across all its locations. However, the small size of the branch offices made it challenging to invest in a costly wide-area network. The company needed a solution that would allow branch offices to access pertinent business information, make entries remotely, and receive performance just like on the LAN at headquarters.

Hubert Glass Oil Company, a fuel and oil distributor in eastern Texas, was facing challenges in managing its inventory. The company needed to ensure it carried the right mix of products in the right quantities to satisfy customers’ demands without overstocking. The company was using various tools and reports for making purchasing decisions, which was not efficient and did not provide accurate usage figures and forecasting ability.

Kasco, a distributor of BG Products, wanted to automate its sales force, which was 20 strong. When salesmen visit customers, nine times out of ten they have the required products in their van. It makes sense, therefore, to deliver an invoice at the point of sale—to avoid duplicate data entry at the head office and speed up the revenue stream. For ten years the company had been happy using Sage 50—U.S. Edition as its business software. But it needed an application that would integrate with the Route Management System (RMS) on its salesmen’s hand-held computers. Other BG distributors used an interface between Sage 100 ERP* and the RMS designed by Quality Data Products, a Sage licensed developer.

Overlake Oil, a family-owned business in its third generation, was seeking to adopt the latest technology to streamline its operations. The company had computerized its business operations in 1982 with a UNIX-based system. However, by 1988, it had outgrown this system and needed to upgrade. The challenge was to find an accounting package that could seamlessly integrate with custom petroleum industry software. The company wanted more people to have access to the system and to be able to interface with Word, Excel, and the Internet. The company also wanted a system that could support its growth without requiring more staff.

Avon Rubber was utilizing eight separate reporting applications to gather, analyze, and distribute its business data. Staff struggled to learn and to use the applications, thereby placing a substantial burden on the company’s resources. Employees were deprived of quick access to the data they needed to perform their tasks, and management to the data to make better, more informed business decisions.

Satellite Industries, Inc., the world’s largest supplier of portable sanitation equipment, was facing significant growth and global expansion which strained their system of disconnected business management applications. Financial reporting was a time-consuming and laborious process, with month-end closing often taking more than 15 days. The company was in need of a powerful, integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution to enable it to better meet the needs of its growing operation. The company also wanted quick access to real-time information, not information that was weeks old. The company’s Sage business partner introduced Babcock to Sage Enterprise Intelligence, a powerful business intelligence tool integrated with Sage ERP X3.

Yard House Restaurants, an upscale eatery chain, was facing challenges due to its rapid expansion. The company had outgrown its original QuickBooks package by the time it expanded to a second restaurant. The operations became more dispersed, making it difficult for the IT staff to set up and maintain business systems in remote locations in several states. The company needed a solution that could handle its growing needs and provide centralized control over its operations.

The Wisconsin Early Autism Project (WEAP) was facing a challenge in tracking staff hours to prepare accurate paychecks due to the rotation of therapists and many of them working part-time. The organization was using three separate information systems - Sage 100 ERP, a custom SQL database, and The Medical Manager. However, none of these systems were integrated, leading to a time-consuming and error-prone process of data entry for billing, payroll balancing, and payroll system. The challenge was to integrate these separate information systems and automate business processes through one dependable platform.

Two years ago, Kerry Thornhill joined Colgin as CEO and vice president of marketing with a clear and ambitious vision. He wanted to transform the company’s perceived image in the retail trade from a small mom-and-pop operation to a large, dynamic, manufacturing firm. He dreamed of setting Colgin apart from the competition through technological sophistication and possibly even expanding to international markets. This would require embracing the latest software available at all levels so that Colgin could deliver added value to its customers. At the same time Thornhill hoped to improve communications with retail channels and offer all the services of a larger firm, including 24-hour customer support and service, seven days a week. With fewer than 20 employees, this was next to impossible using traditional methods.

As a new company, iS5 Communications had complex needs and sought a powerful ERP solution that offered all the required functionality in an integrated, scalable offering. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and services network routing equipment for use in harsh environments, such as those encountered in the utility, transportation, industrial, military, and surveillance industries. The management team, although experienced, was looking for a solution that could take the company from start-up to success. They wanted to avoid integration challenges when selecting ERP software for their enterprise.

Swing-N-Slide, a leading manufacturer of wooden outdoor playground equipment, recognized the need for a robust financial system to handle its growth and improve sales to 'big box' stores and consumers. The company had been using Sage 100 ERP software as its backbone for nearly a decade. However, the company faced challenges in automating its business systems to handle growth and offer Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and online commerce to improve sales. Major trading partners insisted on their vendors communicating through an EDI. For five years, Swing-N-Slide used an integrated third-party module, written specifically for Sage 100 ERP, that facilitated transactions with its 20 largest customers.

Yamada America, a U.S. subsidiary of a Japanese heavy industrial pump manufacturer, was experiencing rapid growth, with an annual increase of 25-30 percent for three consecutive years. To manage this growth, the company decided to switch from Sage 100 ERP for DOS to a Windows-based system in 1998. However, the new software promised by a salesman turned out to be a disaster. The installation process took over four months and disrupted all aspects of the company's operations, including accounts payable, advanced consolidation, general ledger, and inventory. Even after the installation, the system problems persisted, with hardware breaking down and computer screens freezing multiple times a day. The situation was so bad that two employees quit due to the excessive overtime caused by the computer problems.

CFM Equipment Distributors, Inc., a HVAC wholesaler based in Sacramento, California, was looking to expand its business without adding staff in customer service. The company wanted to leverage e-commerce to achieve this goal. They needed a solution that would allow their customers to check real-time inventory across their warehouses and place orders online. The company was also looking for a solution that was easy to implement and use.

Creation Entertainment, a memorabilia retailer and event promoter, was facing a challenge with its online sales and fulfillment process. The company's e-commerce system was poorly designed, leading to sluggish online sales and lengthy fulfillment times. The system was a mishmash of HTML screens that brought in email orders, which were then manually entered into a low-level bookkeeping package. This process was time-consuming and inefficient, taking up to three weeks just to input orders and as long as 16 weeks to fulfill orders when new products were introduced.

Krier & Blain, a HVAC and plumbing contractor based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was facing challenges with their old, inadequate system. The company was in need of a smarter, faster, low maintenance business solution that could help maximize efficiency and profitability. The existing system was not meeting the company's needs in terms of speed, ease of use, and functionality. The company was looking for a solution that could streamline data access and entry, provide precise job costing capabilities, and improve operational efficiency.

Union Payroll Agency (UPA) was facing growth challenges due to its DOS-based accounting software and paper-based binders. The company's growth was hindered and prevented expansion to other states. The company had to manage 23,000 employees, 128 different union codes, 1,200 labor codes, and 432 deduction codes. The company was also facing challenges in bringing new employees up to speed due to the complexity of the system. The company was also facing challenges in managing the large amount of paperwork and maintaining the integrity of their service.

Marathon Brake Systems, a distributor of heavy-duty brake lining products, was in need of a modern and robust business management solution to replace its previous version of Sage PFW ERP. The company wanted better inventory control tools and an integrated customer relationship management (CRM) system. The company's sales professionals are stationed across North America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, making it crucial for the company to process orders quickly and efficiently to maintain its service levels.

Vineland Estates Winery, located in the heart of the Niagara wine country, produces 47,000 cases of wine each year. The wine is shipped across Canada and to more than a dozen other countries. The winery is regulated by a number of agencies, each requiring detailed reports concerning production and distribution. The winery also needed accurate field-to-glass cost information. The wine industry is complex and highly regulated, and Vineland Estates Winery faced unique business challenges. The company operates a Wine Club, where members pay a flat monthly fee to have bottles of Vineland Estates wine delivered to their homes. The program quickly caught on, and now boasts more than 1,000 members. Most members pay their monthly fee by credit card.

RTI Hotel Supply, Inc. has been providing specialized procurement services to the hospitality industry since 1989. The company focuses primarily on the Caribbean and Latin American marketplace and has built a solid reputation as a single-source provider of high-quality products. A second division builds customized hotel furnishings including vanities, casework, and seating. The company had relied on Sage 300 as its accounting and distribution software, but had neglected to update the software for several years. Rapid growth, including the opening of several international offices, ultimately prompted the company to invest in its technology infrastructure and to update its system to the most current level.

CHIN Radio, a pioneer in multicultural radio broadcasting, was looking to update its accounting system. The company wanted a modern, flexible solution that could interface with its advertising revenue application. The company was concerned about the migration of data from its legacy system to the new one, and wanted to ensure that it would have access to both historical and current financial data from the start. The company also wanted to eliminate costly data entry time and the errors associated with manual entry.

The Grand Beach Hotel, a luxury hotel in Miami Beach, was in need of a financial and reporting solution. The hotel initially considered proprietary software designed specifically for hotel accounting, but found it to be nearly twice the cost of Sage 300 and didn't offer any additional benefits. Microsoft Dynamics GP was also considered but was deemed overly complex for the hotel's needs. The hotel wanted a system that was easy to learn, easy to use, and could deliver core accounting functionality, remote access capabilities, flexible reporting, and scalability at a competitive price point.

Fairmont Raffles Hotels International (FRHI) is a leading global hotel company with more than 70 hotels under the Fairmont, Raffles, and Swissôtel brands. The company’s business model centers around the design, development, and management of hotels for the properties’ owners. FRHI sought a reliable, flexible, and cost-effective solution that could be deployed globally and serve as the financial backbone of each individual hotel and the centralized database for its corporate offices. The company needed a system that could adapt to different sizes of hotels, from a 1,000-room resort to a 150-room hotel. The system also needed to be reliable and affordable, with no single point of failure, and flexible enough to integrate with other applications.

Posera, Inc., a leading provider of point-of-sale software and hardware to the hospitality and restaurant industries, was struggling to manage several different software packages across various office locations and departments as it grew rapidly. The company needed an integrated business technology solution that would serve the entire organization, providing a 360-degree view of its customers for sales, service, support, and accounting-related interactions. The front office was the primary concern, yet a powerful back-office business management system was also needed. Posera considered three integrated Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions before deciding on Sage 300 and Sage CRM.

Workspace Commercial Furniture, a respected name in quality Australian furniture, was struggling with its business systems. The company was using an antiquated UNIX-based accounting system that was slow, error-prone, and required programmers’ time to create reports. Moreover, its sales operations were run manually, which was inefficient and required triplicate data entry. The company was looking for a new solution that was ultraflexible, especially in reporting options. It also wanted an end-to-end system with sophisticated financial analysis and customer relationship management capabilities.

Navtrak, a manufacturer of global positioning system (GPS) equipment, was facing challenges with its QuickBooks financial software. The software was not providing an adequate audit trail, the ability to perform analysis, or deep inventory tracking. It also allowed people to delete transactions when they shouldn't, leaving the company with little management control. Navtrak needed a solution that could provide better financial management, inventory tracking, and overall control of the business operations.

Nylene Canada, a nylon manufacturer, was spun off from Honeywell Nylon Canada and had to find a system to support its own financial management quickly. The company needed an economical ERP system that could be installed in just three months to manage all aspects of business and manufacturing operations. The system had to be capable of handling cash management, a function previously handled by the treasury department at Honeywell. The transition had to be seamless to customers and not disrupt the ongoing workflow of users.

Wiseco Piston, Inc., a world leader in high-performance aftermarket pistons, was using a proprietary business software that predated PC technology. The software was not integrated, could not provide up-to-date reports, and prevented offering online services. The company was in need of a system that was designed for midsized companies, addressed manufacturing and distribution operations, and was backed by a respected name. The company also needed a system that could help it comply with Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.

The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) was struggling with separate nonintegrated systems for various parts of its business. It was difficult to extract information from these systems and impossible to integrate data from the museum’s diverse operations. With a budget topping $30 million, every penny must be accounted for. The museum needed an advanced financial solution that could manage the diverse information integration needs, reporting, and distribution requirements of a $30 million operation.

Andex Industries, a manufacturer of consumer product packaging, was looking to replace its old AS/400 platform with a flexible, integrated ERP solution that could adapt to its manufacturing model. The company had been using a mix of custom programs, legacy applications, and industry-specific software, which was not efficient. The company hired an independent consultant to help them find a new solution. They evaluated five packages and arranged demonstrations of Sage 500 ERP and Made2Manage. They needed a solution that incorporated all the functionality they needed, including planning and scheduling, credit card processing, business monitoring and alerts, core accounting, plus payroll and human resource management.