Author: David Kwo

1. Build better physical and mental habits. “Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.” - FRANK OUTLAW To create long-term sustainable success as a leader, you need to create habits which can sustain the test of time. A poor attitude can degrade the best team. Poor...

With 2017 just around the corner, leaders need to be involved in both strategic planning and team goal setting, but there’s a built-in problem here. Too often, teams often tend to focus on immediate tasks, on “putting out fires,” and on familiar routines rather than the strategically vital organizational targets we set for the coming year. Left to their own devices, many teams will simply return to the work with...

At the QAD Midwest User Group, QAD shared an update on its Channel Islands initiative.  Channel Islands is QAD’s new User Interface initiative, one that has been met with great anticipation. The improvements in user experience appear to be coming to fruition, what excited the attendees we spoke to most was the ability for end users to control the User Interface.  Specifically, Channel Islands provides users with a true API....

With few exceptions, most of our clients are looking to better leverage its sales and marketing data. There are some world class tools available, Microsoft CRM and Salesforce.com come to mind.  Both have wonderful user experiences and possess advanced functions such as exception reporting and analytical snapshots.  But does your organization, and in particular your salesforce, possess the habits to take advantage of these kinds of capabilities?   Similar to an...

It is currently budgeting season at most companies.  Budgeting is usually an annual event done in the 3rd quarter of the year, where you attempt to project and anticipate what will happen next year and possibly longer.  Most companies begin by measuring how it’s current year actual results compare to the budget it created the year before. This process does not only take into consideration the cost of items, but...

During 2016, we have noticed an increased focus from our client base in proving its costing functions. Costs are a reflection of the value we place on an item, depending on whether the item is purchased or is built. We need to know how much it will cost to buy the item or if manufactured, we need to know the material and/or steps required to build the item. Standard Cost...

So you’ve just upgraded to QAD’s Enterprise Edition! You’ve done away with 60% of your customizations and gotten your people trained on how to properly use the system. Now the trick is how to prevent the natural backsliding that occurs as people tend to revert back to old habits under stress.  As we look back at supporting our QAD clients during this upgrade journey’s we’ve seen a few patterns in...

Over the past several years, Logan Consulting has helped several companies migrate from either old, 20 year-old legacy, homegrown system or from a slew of Excel Spreadsheets on to QAD.  The benefits of an integrated system from a transaction perspective are well established.  But similar to human beings increasing their own self-awareness, a well-implemented ERP system can also help an organization increase its own self-awareness. To illustrate, this we will...

As Logan Consulting participates in more and more Enterprise Edition (“EE”) Upgrades, one of the most common questions we are asked is if process improvements should be included as part of the upgrade scope or should it be considered a Phase 2 Project?   There is not a right or wrong answer to this. One significant variable is the culture of your organization. Is it one that there is consistent focus...

At QAD’s 2015 Explore, announced its next generation user interface. Called Channel Islands after a group of islands visible from QAD’s Santa Barbara headquarters.  It will be unveiled at QAD’s Explore 2016 here in Chicago this May. This announcement alone is a compelling reason to attend the conference, as it firmly addresses the one area where QAD lagged the ERP industry leaders, the user experience. Since its inception, QAD has...