Notes from Jeff Mack
Bottom Line - End of Year Reflections
As we turn the corner into a new year, it’s a great opportunity to reflect on key achievements or disappointments of 2010, and on those things that you would like to do or change in 2011. Learn more.
Bottom Line - Race to the Cloud
The race to the cloud is clearly on. The promise is great, the challenge immense, and the excitement undeniable. Where might it be leading us? Learn more.
Significant Tax Reductions Go Right to the Bottom Line
The new Small Business Jobs Act includes a number of significant tax reductions available to all of us. Take advantage of the extended Section 179 tax write off and bonus appreciation before they disappear. Learn more.
The ROI on RF Data Collection
Automated data collection (ADC) - known in earlier days as bar coding - should help with handling your inventory. But how do you actually measure what you are gaining where? Learn more.
What Double Dip?
Brian Beaulieu, the most interesting, informative and enthusiastic speaker presenting on the economy today, believes that the recession is over, and the fog of post-recession uncertainty is clearing to show three years of growth ahead. Learn more.
The Bottom Line: Is There a Cloud in Your Future?
MThe worldwide cloud services market is predicted to surpass $68 billion in 2010 and reach nearly $149 billion in 2014. What’s it going to take to attract the small and medium business sector? Learn more.
The Bottom Line: Do You Aspire to a Business Model or a Model Business?
Mark Johnson’s new book, Seizing the White Space: Business Model Innovation for Growth and Renewal, defines a business model and its underlying and interlocked components that can make the difference between success and also-ran for any business. Learn more.
The Bottom Line: Beware the Hand That Feeds You
As of July 1, all merchants must use only PA-DSS compliant credit card payment applications. What is all the fuss about and how can you reduce your own risk? Learn more.
Clean Windshield Leads to Significant Horsepower Boost
Your business windshield enables you to see where you are headed, judge when you might get there, and make any course corrections that might be necessary. What condition is yours in and how can you improve it? Learn more.
Moving Forward in 2010
What do top CEOs in the Puget Sound region see as their top 5 imperatives for Moving Forward in 2010? Learn more.
"No Decision" – May You Forever R.I.P. (Part 4)
In the last issue, we discussed the means by which the project's financial impacts would be assessed and projected. In this issue, we will summarize those projections with some commonly accepted evaluation formulas accompanied by the closing arguments for the project. Learn more.
"No Decision" – May You Forever R.I.P. (Part 3)
In our last issue we discussed the rationale and importance of developing a comprehensive business case for your ERP or IT project and the methods for determining why change, and in fact the project, is needed. In this issue, we will discuss how to determine the dollars and cents of the analysis. Learn more.
"No Decision" – May You Forever R.I.P. (Part 2)
In the last issue, we discussed an extremely costly syndrome that plagues many businesses, namely that of projects that get launched with great intentions and then quietly run out of steam without producing tangible results or meeting stated objectives. Fortunately, there is plenty that can be done to avoid this wasted effort. Learn more.
"No Decision" – May You Forever R.I.P. (Part 1)
Have you ever worked on a project that started off with boundless exuberance and fanfare, yet failed to deliver the anticipated results? When the project just stalls out due to lack of clear organizational imperatives and mounting gray areas, we call it "Losing to No Decision." How does it happen and why? Learn more.
The Bottom Line: What Is This Thing Called ERP Anyway?
Since an entire industry has been developed around ERP systems, and since just about every legitimate business has one these days, let's take a look and see if we can unravel what ERP really is. Read more.
The Bottom Line: Do ERP Best Practices = Award-Winning Company Performance?
Do ERP system best practices and best-in-class company performance really correlate? How can we tell – and what might the results mean for your company? Read more.
The Bottom Line: Where Has the Clutter Gone?
One way to trim the fat from your business systems is to think about eliminating the clutter, in particular clutter in the "I'll get around-to-it" category. Read more.
The Bottom Line: Social Networking Gone Wild
It is pretty easy to quickly become jaded with all the hype surrounding social networking – but it is also possible social networking/media actually can change the world. And if something is that powerful, we all need to be paying attention. Read more.
The Bottom Line: BI – The Next Viral Craze?
Couple the almost instant feedback that social network tools give with strong BI analysis and what-if scenarios – and imagine how the power of combining these two technologies might tranform your bottom line. Read more.
The Bottom Line: Is Your Mobile BI MIA?
The reality is that customers expect us to be always on anytime / anywhere and ready to provide immediate answers. And the benefits of mobile BI extend to higher efficiencies, cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, and improved workforce stability. Learn more.
The Bottom Line: Converting Inventory to Orders to Cash...Is WMS in Your Future?
Best-in-Class outperform the Laggards by 10% or more – what would a 5% improvement in warehouse performance mean to you and how could you get there? A warehouse management system might be the answer. Learn more.
The Bottom Line...Drip, Drip, Drip...Is That Your Profit Seeping Out of Your Warehouse?
We've all had a leaky faucet with an annoying drip. We can have leaky faucets in our businesses, too, costing money while we sleep. Take a stroll out to your warehouse and observe what goes on. Can you spot any drips? Here are a few places to pay particular attention to. Learn more.
The Bottom Line: Distancing Your Company from the Pack
Are you wishing you had a better way of staying top-of-mind with your customers and prospects? A well implemented CRM system can help reduce your cost of sales while it simultaneously can help increase sales. Find out more.
The Bottom Line: Improving Your Cash Performance
Cash is the fuel and power that enables us to ride out unprecedented economic conditions. How can you optimize working capital when managing your inventory? Find out now.
Outperforming the Competition in a Challenged Economy
How are the Best-In-Class beating the pack by 33%? Find out now.
The Bottom Line: Where's the Beef?
What are you looking for as you invest your hard-earned cash in infrastructure to run your business? How will a falling economic tide affect the demand for your products and services and what might you do to tweak the dials in your favor? Learn more.
The Bottom Line: The X's and Y's of Business and Technology
X's, Y's, Boomers, technology, and business: How do you put it all together to make it work for you? Learn more.
The Bottom Line: Technology Point/Counterpoint
HIgh tech solutions vs low tech solutions vs the bottom line. Learn more.
The Bottom Line: Cutting Down Your Driving Costs – But Not Your Productivity
Expand the battle against skyrocketing transportation costs by making sure your remote/mobile employees are as effective and productive as possible and identifying ways to still get the job done while leaving the car parked – all while positively impacting the bottom line. Learn more.
Deliver More Green to Your Bottom Line – Part III: Cutting Power Consumption and Disposing of That Old Computer
Power consumption monitoring across your entire business or home, computer disposal and recycling – more ways to look after the environment and your bottom line at the same time. Learn more.
Deliver More Green to Your Bottom Line – Part II
This month we're moving past electrical usage to look at some additional steps you can take to ensure that your networks are as environmentally friendly as possible – while helping your own bottom line. Learn more.
Deliver More Green to Your Bottom Line
These no-brainer strategies will cut your electricity bill and improve the performance of your computer systems. Best of all, you can do it yourself today! Learn more.
The Next Big Utility?
You no doubt have a good idea of what IT services are and the critical role they play in your business .Have you ever stopped to think what it would be like if you could acquire your IT services just as easily as you do other utility services? Learn more.
