Integrated Software Solutions: Preparing For And Managing Change

While most food business leaders understand that implementing new integrated business software is a significant technical challenge, many overlook the less tangible things that can stand in the way of success, like emotional resistance or cultural barriers to change.

This guide covers:

• The telltale signs that a food business is ready for a big organizational change.
• Typical human and organizational characteristics that make organizational change difficult.
• A proven, systematic approach that we use to manage the change inherent in an ERP implementation, mitigating the traditional risks associated with organizational change.

Introduction
Through our years of implementing integrated business software for the food industry, we’ve noticed that many of the pain points management experiences when their organizations outgrow Quickbooks or Freshbooks are nearly universal. See if any of them feel familiar to you:

• It’s hard getting one version of the truth; answers to questions seem to depend on whom you ask or where you look.
• Yields are lower than they should be and waste is a problem because inventory and production aren’t managed effectively or aggressively enough.
• Customer satisfaction is down because orders take too long to deliver and mistakes are frequent.
• Working capital is tight because you need to hold enough inventory to make up for your inability to forecast sales with much precision.
• Salespeople can’t retrieve or submit the information they need in real-time when they’re on the road.
• You’re anxious because you don’t have confidence in your ability to prevent and properly respond to food safety emergencies.