Practice makes perfect. This is one of the first sayings most can remember hearing as a youngster. Whether it is playing sports or playing an instrument the more you do something (with oversight, coaching, and mentoring) the more likely you are to improve and get better. Two underlining characteristics of “practice makes perfect” is consistency and continuity. Most of the greatest athletes and sports teams focus on these two characteristics.
- The Bulls had Jordan, Pippen, and Phil Jackson.
- The Lakers had Magic, Kareem, and Pat Riley.
- The Raiders had Stabler, Biletnikoff, and Madden (yes, the author is a Raiders fan).
- The Patriots have Brady and Bellicheck.
- Even, dare I say his name, Tiger Woods had the same caddy for most of his legendary run.
- Most legendary baseball pitchers always use the same catcher. Greg Maddux was a great example of this with the Cubs and the Braves.
What the heck does this have to do with manufacturing and ERP software? The answer is everything. According to the ERP graveyard the vast, vast majority of ERP software systems have been bought and sold at least once, if not several times. That’s right – the majority of manufacturers are using a software system that is not built from the ground up and fully integrated, but instead pieced and stitched together. When a company buys a product to mesh it with their own, the impact goes beyond the software – it also hits the employees.
I spend a lot of time reading the WSJ, Business Insider, Forbes, etc. about the rush of private equity money into the tech sector, specifically on the software side where the popular business model is subscription based. Many ERP software long-term strategies are being driven by excessive debt (often leading to a sale), private equity, dividends, IPO, or other exit strategies, instead of what is best for the customer and employees. These strategies can be profitable, but where does it leave the customer base (and employees) when the exit occurs? It can lead to a forced upgrade for the customer, higher prices, loss of features or functionality (e.g., they obsolete your product) and can generally lead to layoffs for employees. So that great service technician or programmer that you always counted on to fix your issue may be on a very long vacation. Additionally, are those fees you are paying (that are so attractive to private equity) going to the product that you are using or somewhere else? Maybe they are going to another product that you don’t use or maybe they are going to pay down debt or maybe they are going to dividends or maybe they are going to the employees, but are all of the employees working on your product?
Back to how practice makes perfect with the keys being consistency and continuity. Global Shop Solutions has been the trusted partner and advisor to manufacturers for 40 years. The company is the largest fully family-owned ERP software company in the world with zero debt, yes, zero debt, and one of the few with a direct business model. This means any person you interact with about the company or our product is an employee of Global Shop Solutions – design, development, service, consulting, sales – all wear green badges. All of the company’s resources including its 225+ employees unified towards one goal – we simplify your manufacturing™ – with a single ERP software product. This simplicity means one thing for our customers – success. And our customers love this strategy which is why we have been in business with the same stable family ownership for 40 years and have more publicly accessible case studies ( 150+!) and more testimonials than any other ERP software provider in our market today.
The real magic and difference behind Global Shop Solutions is the people. We hire carefully focusing on smart people who care and want to make a difference and you can’t fake a smile. And we have the stats to prove it. In the software and technology sector turnover happens fast, companies like Google and Amazon median tenure is just over 1 year and generally speaking, the average high tech R&D department faces the challenge of a 40% turnover rate. At Global Shop Solutions the average tenure is over 8 years and that is with the company nearly doubling its staff in the last 3 years. This means consistency and continuity in the product and the service technicians you rely on to help simplify your manufacturing™. When you call, we answer the phone, and you will likely get support from an employee that has intimate knowledge of your business and how you use the system. As they say, practice makes perfect; and you can’t fake great service.
The company culture is family focused, and we treat all employees (and customers) like they are family. It is one thing to say and another thing to do. which is why we invite customers and prospects to our global headquarters in The Woodlands, Texas. Spend twenty minutes on campus and you will see and feel the difference. Like the old saying goes, you can’t fake great service. Take the Global Shop Solutions challenge – pick up the phone and talk to one of our experts or schedule a visit and let us introduce you to your new family.