• There are no suggestions because the search field is empty.

Tim O'Brien

Tim has over 20 years of successful experience helping companies improve their processes and operations using enterprise software solutions. Those enterprise solutions include Enterprise Resource Planning for manufacturers, Service Management for service oriented companies, and Enterprise Asset Management in the process manufacturing industry.

Recent Posts

ERP Requirements for Crane Manufacturers

By Tim O'Brien on 11/2/23 2:45 PM

Crane manufacturers have specific business system needs

What crane manufacturers have in common with other types of manufacturers is that they must plan for material requirements, schedule jobs, and execute the production of those jobs. However, crane manufacturers have many requirements and needs that are unique to their industry. In this article, we’ll review how those unique requirements can be addressed with crane industry software or crane manufacturing software.

Continue Reading

ERP for Metal Fabricators – Biggest Trend We See with Our Clients

By Tim O'Brien on 10/30/23 11:30 AM

An increased focus on visibility

More and more of our customers want to have visibility of variables affecting manufacturing. They need clear information about capacity and on-time delivery, potential capacity or supply chain issues, and job costs. Our customers are getting this visibility by leveraging the Infor ERP application’s manufacturing industry purpose-built functional abilities.

Continue Reading

Types of ERP on the Market Today

By Tim O'Brien on 10/27/23 1:15 AM

Choosing between the types of ERP systems available

It can be an involved and complicated process for first-time evaluators to understand the types of ERP on the market and decide which meet the business requirements and objectives. There’s a significant research component when kicking off an ERP evaluation.

Continue Reading

How to Choose an ERP Vendor – Before the Demonstrations

By Tim O'Brien on 9/13/23 10:00 AM

You need a plan that outlines how to choose an ERP vendor and system

It may seem relatively easy to choose an ERP vendor—just pick the one that offers the best technology and customer support, right? But it’s often not that straightforward because many companies do not have a plan when evaluating vendors. I’ve been involved in enterprise application sales for over 25 years and there is little consistency on how organizations evaluate vendors like Visual South. What I can tell you is that organizations are happiest with their choice of ERP vendor when the evaluation team has a logical process in place to assess the ERP system’s functionality and the vendor’s services.

Continue Reading

How Infor ERP Helps Manufacturers Meet CMMC Compliance

By Tim O'Brien on 7/6/23 10:00 AM

CMMC compliance for DoD manufacturers

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is a Department of Defense (DoD) program that outlines the cybersecurity standards and best practices required for government contractors. CMMC compliance for manufacturers in the DoD supply chain involves meeting specific cybersecurity standards and best practices

Continue Reading

Standard Costing Options for Manufacturers

By Tim O'Brien on 3/8/23 10:00 AM

When is standard costing the best option?

The Visual South team works with hundreds of manufacturers with varying manufacturing modes. Many of our customers fall in the “to order” category. That means they are mostly make-to-order; and within that category they are either engineer-to-order, configure-to-order, assemble-to-order, project based, and mixed mode (they build some sub-assemblies to stock that can be used as a component part, finished good, or replacement part). The predominant costing method for “to order” companies is actual costing.

Continue Reading

How to Draw Up Your ERP Data Migration Plan in 6 Steps

By Tim O'Brien on 2/9/23 10:00 AM

Data migration is an important part of an ERP implementation

The Visual South Professional Services team has been guiding and assisting Infor ERP implementation since 1994. One critical part in the implementation process is managing and converting data from your current system(s) to your new ERP application. Those activities happen throughout the ERP implementation project, not just at the beginning. This article explains how you can properly execute this activity in six clear steps.

Continue Reading

Cloud ERP For Manufacturing: A Complete Overview

By Tim O'Brien on 1/25/23 10:00 AM

Manufacturers have made the move to cloud-based ERP systems

It seems like just yesterday that the concept of cloud-based ERP for the manufacturing industry was far-fetched. But today’s reality is manufacturers are choosing cloud deployment over on-premise deployment virtually every time. That is a paradigm shift for those of us who have been working with enterprise applications in the manufacturing sector.

Continue Reading

The Future of Cloud ERP for Manufacturing Companies

By Tim O'Brien on 12/7/22 10:00 AM

The future is bright for the continued growth of cloud ERP

More and more manufacturing companies are moving away from on-premise applications. Cloud-based ERP applications are the future for the industry due to the myriad of benefits: alleviated need for hardware, database, and operating system software; fewer internal or outsourced teams for maintenance; and never having to worry about being on the latest version of your ERP.

Topics: ERP research
Continue Reading

Top 3 Reasons Why ERP Projects Fail

By Tim O'Brien on 11/17/22 10:00 AM

The most common reasons for ERP project failure may surprise you

That vast majority of ERP projects are successful. There are obstacles and challenges associated with any large project, but good teams always succeed. That means you understood the specific steps in the ERP project, built a strong ERP implementation team, and made sure business objectives drove the primary deliverables of the expected new and improved functionality.

Continue Reading