MODEX 2024—a four-day material handling, logistics, and supply chain show and conference owned and produced by the Material Handling Industry (MHI) association—took place March 11–14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. I, along with a number of Acumatica representatives, were on hand to share the latest and greatest features and enhancements found in our most recent releases, Acumatica 2023 R2 and, the soon to be released Acumatica 2024 R1. Today, I’ll ..read more

  Often, the concepts of “sustainability” and “profitability” are considered mutually exclusive. But technological solutions are turning that idea on its head. After meeting our partners at 3G Pacejet, I learned this is particularly true for today’s construction firms, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. These businesses face many challenges, including supply chain volatility, the seemingly never-ending rise in fuel costs, and the pressures of achieving and maintaining environmental sustainability while staying ..read more

Shipping products can be difficult and daunting—largely due to challenges fueled by the pandemic. As brick-and-mortar stores closed, ecommerce demand escalated rapidly, with four to six years’ worth of growth almost overnight. Inventory-centric businesses across industries struggled to fulfill skyrocketing orders amid strained supply chains, unpredictable shipping schedules, labor shortages, increasing costs, and mounting risk. The ripples of these pandemic shockwaves are still being felt, but businesses can take some ..read more

According to its First Quarter 2023 Outlook Survey, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) found that 74.7% of small, medium, and large manufacturing respondents “felt either somewhat or very positive” in their company outlook. Even so, challenges within the industry persist, with 55.8% of the respondents citing concerns about ongoing supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, inflation, the Ukraine-Russia conflict, and more. These ongoing supply chain challenges are imposing ..read more

Enhance the Customer Experience and Drive Revenue with an Order Management System Fierce competition exists between businesses that sell the same or similar products and services in today’s marketplace. To stand out, many of these businesses have upped their customer service game, which is a very wise move. Statistics show that a company’s customer service—or lack thereof—influences 90% of American customers who are trying to decide whether to work with ..read more

Every company that carries inventory knows how challenging it can be to properly manage that inventory. Of course, you have to make sure there’s enough product on hand to meet shifting consumer demand, but overstocking can lead to unwanted waste; and, according to a report from materials supplier Avery Dennison, there’s plenty of that happening. On average, 8% of stock perishes or is thrown away every year, which adds up ..read more

Wholesale distributors generally rely on some form of business management system—or systems—to run their companies. This may include a standalone accounting solution stacked on top of a customer relationship management (CRM) system, warehouse management software, an inventory management application, and more. Unfortunately, when disparate solutions are cobbled together this way, they may or may not play nicely with each other. In other words, each individual piece of software may do ..read more

Disruption and Opportunity in Wholesale Distribution During these first years of the 2020s, the world has become a new place and has thrown unexpected changes and challenges at the wholesale distribution industry—from the pandemic to dysfunctional supply chains and beyond. Working to remain competitive in this environment, many distributors have made the difficult decision to significantly revise their business processes. But the good news is that every change, though disruptive ..read more

As we head into the final quarter of 2022, there are signs that the “great supply chain disruption" may be losing steam. “[S]upply chains, while still afflicting many consumers and businesses, are becoming more mundane than menacing like they were six months ago, especially in the US,” a Bloomberg article notes. But, as the article’s author correctly indicates, the supply chain disruption is still an affliction, and it’s affecting businesses ..read more

Why is Supply Chain Resilience Important? As an owner or manager of a business that relies on supply chains, you’re well aware of the ongoing supply chain disruptions and the many reasons behind them—the pandemic, natural disasters, cyberattacks, the global chip shortage, trade tensions with China, the obstruction of the Suez Canal by the Ever Given, etc. Now, soaring inflation, the “Great Resignation,” and the invasion of Ukraine have put ..read more