Our Archive

For an inexperienced IT department, taking on ERP vendor screening and ERP software implementation can often be expensive, time-consuming and highlights complex issues.

For any modern business, getting your ERP implementation right first time is an absolute necessity. If all goes well then you have a solution that will improve productivity, increase staff efficiency, reduce costs, increase sales and provide your customers with up-to-the-minute information and services. If all goes wrong…well, let’s take a look at some in famous cases of ERP errors… Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: accounting software, ERP implementation mistakes, ERP software, ERP software guide, ERP software implementation, ERP solution

Have you seen the price of British-reared pork? It’s at an all-time historical high! Pork is the new gold – and soon we’ll be hearing from men in long black coats down dark alleyways whispering, “Psst, do you want to buy some bacon?” And who knows, you may get a great deal on your belly rashers! But joking aside, would you really buy meat from a man in an alley?

Knowing where your food comes from is now more crucial than ever to consumers, for food suppliers, the best route to  tracing a particular supply chain is through food distribution software (or ERP software). We read about the horsemeat DNA scandal in retailer food supply chains every day, and now, so not to feel left out, processed meat has jumped up in the saddle and is coming along for the ride too. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Enterprise resource planning, ERP software, food & beverage erp, food customer, food erp

Last month we began introducing our team by bringing you a brief Q&A with Mark Layton-Rees, Doctor Who super fan and Senior Technical Support Consultant at Lakeview. This month we thought we’d find out what life at Lakeview is like for one of our newer members of staff: Scott Rosen, a Junior Engineer on the ERP hardware side.

We caught up with Scott as he sat downstairs building six new machines for one of our customers.

So Scott, how long have you been working at Lakeview?

I’ve actually only been here for around six months, so despite being 41, I am very much still a junior member of staff. I actually had quite a dramatic career change from pure retail to IT. I am happy to have been given the opportunity to start a new career, mid-recession, doing something I love.

What is it you do for Lakeview on a day-to-day basis?

I help our customers out with their problems Read the rest of this entry »

It is important to get your choice of ERP software provider right first time, particularly when you consider thatalmost a third of surveyed respondentsfound that their ERP solution provided no return on their investment (ROI), while another third said that their ERP software took 3 years to provide a measurable ROI. But what fool proof method is there for screening your potential ERP software providers?

Step One: List your requirements

The first and most important step on the road to successfully finding your perfect ERP software provider is to compile a complete list of your requirements for the software. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: ERP software, ERP software checklist, ERP software provider, ERP solution

While it may be true that knowledge is power, it takes the right person interpreting the right data to releaseand utilise that power. The two most important intervals during the lifetime of a piece of data are the point it is created and the point it is used. Quality data when interpreted and used by the right people can help structure your business strategy based on empirical results and will guide your business into more competitive waters.

Who are the ‘right’ people in your business to manage data?

The responsibility for managing and interpreting the data should lie as close as possible to the person eventually benefiting from that information. In pretty much all cases these people are not necessarily your IT support department. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Beverage software, business intelligence, Enterprise resource planning, ERP software, ERP system, food industry software, tailored ERP system

The entire point of enterprise resource planning, or ERP software solutions is to provide real value to your business. However, it is not uncommon to find the 80/20 rule at play within ERP deployment – 80% of effort delivers just 20% business value. If we want a positive ERP ROI then we need to devise a methodology for flipping this 80/20 rule on its head.

A focus on planning

As we discovered in our previous blog ERP software project overruns, which cost time and money, are often caused by insufficient planning time and communication at the early stages. More time planning and preparing the ERP project allows a more focused build and will result in clear positive ERP implementation ROI results. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: cost of ERP, Enterprise resource planning, erp, erp implementation, return on investment, ROI, SME

The economic downturn has forced many companies to cut costs where possible in order to maximise their bottom line. But businesses cannot simply ‘limp along’ waiting for a return to growth – your competitors won’t be ‘waiting it out’. Instead SMEs need to concentrate on their top line revenues, boosting sales and increasing turnover. But does an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution address your financial top line concerns?

Quicker time-to-order

One way in which SMEs can grow their top line is Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Enterprise resource planning software, ERP solution, ERP solution business benefits, increase business top line, on demand ERP, process manufacturing software

When it comes to process manufacturing it is all too common for the process and the data to be segmented into operational silos. The manufacturing team manages the recipe or formula and the process while the accounts team deals with the retailer clients. But is this segmentation of duties and data limiting your operational efficiency?

Data Silos

Currently, many process manufacturing companies support their retailer orders via an electronic data interchange (EDI) solution. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: beverage ERP, Beverage software, business strategy, Enterprise resource planning software, ERP software, ERP solution, ERP system, food industry software, tailored ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software can be absolutely essential to process manufacturing businesses – it improves process efficiency while helping to increase organisational productivity in the long-term. But could build and installation project overruns eat into your ROI?

According to a 6-year study by a Denver-based ERP provider, 61% of ERP projects overrun while only 11% finish ahead of schedule. Additionally, almost a third of respondents found that their ERP solution provided no return on their investment (ROI), while another third said that their ERP software took 3 years to provide a measurable ROI. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: Enterprise resource planning, ERP solutions, food and beverage, process manufacturing, project overruns

2012 seems to have flown by – in just one year Lakeview has overseen an office move and the introduction of our highly anticipated HTML5 dashboard product.

Lakeview has also answered the age old question: ‘How do I cut the ERP provider wheat from the chaff?’. There’s been a peek inside our own senior tech support team in: ’60 seconds with Mark Layton-Rees’, and a peek at 2013 ERP news & trends in the food & beverage industry. Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: 2013 IT trends, ERP ROI, ERP solution, food & beverage erp, HTML5 ERP dashboard, UK ERP