LYNQ MES extends Cedar Bay’s portfolio of solutions to provide comprehensive manufacturing functionality to digitalise and drive factory performance. LYNQ’s MES (Manufacturing Execution System) integrates with Acumatica to provide visual planning and scheduling as well as comprehensive manual and automatic data collection and analysis from employees and machines to enable manufacturing companies to maximize efficiency, productivity, and profitability.

Cedar Bay works with Acumatica to bring efficiency, visibility, and automation to our customers worldwide. Acumatica’s great depth of functionality and Cedar Bay’s data capture solution enables us to do this. The team at Cedar Bay are excited to partner with LYNQ bringing the opportunity to our existing and future customers, extending this functionality even further and take advantage of a best of breed Manufacturing Execution System (MES). LYNQ has a native integration to Acumatica and is proven in the market to deliver further opportunities for return on investment in manufacturing environments.

“The long-term partnership we form with our customers is focus on maximising their return on investment (ROI). We are delighted to be able to provide a further route through partnering with LYNQ, allowing our existing and future customers to take advantage of the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) functionality in the LYNQ platform, natively integrated back to both Acumatica and IFS.” Matt Brown, Acumatica Operations Director

Cedar Bay has years of experience implementing large scale ERP solutions and establishing long-term partnerships with customers to deliver a bespoke solution. Cedar Bay has partnered with IFS ERP solution providers for many years, enabling the team to bring their vast amount of software and business practice knowledge to the forefront when delivering Acumatica projects. Our team help with effective strategic planning and creating roadmaps that focus on the delivery of the solution to meet customer requirements. Cedar Bay’s focus is to help our customers grow through their use of technology.

About LYNQ

LYNQ is reinventing manufacturing execution system (MES) software. Configurable, intelligent and quick to deploy, LYNQ helps manufacturers around the world thrive in today’s competitive market. LYNQ technology drives continuous improvement with plug and play manufacturing operations management software, that is easy to work with and enjoyable to use. Designed, developed and deployed to a high standard for a fraction of the typical cost, LYNQ MES accelerates digital transformation and automation initiatives to achieve delivery, quality and financial goals.

Find out more:

Cedar Bay: cedar-bay.com

Email: info@cedar-bay.com

Phone: +44 (0)1242 304244

LYNQ MES https://lynqmes.com/

Email: marketing@lynqmes.com

Phone: +441329800000

Cedar Bay partner with Home Curtains to optimise and extend their operations through Acumatica Cloud ERP.

We’re pleased to announce that manufacturer and distributor, Home Curtains will be implementing Acumatica’s Cloud ERP solution to help them control inventory, reduce errors, and provide real-time data.

Home Curtains are a leading designer and manufacturer of ready-made curtains, nets, voiles, and home accessories. Based in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Home Curtains is a second-generation business, remaining family owned since 1986.

With growth aspirations, Home Curtains recognised a need for change. In recent years having gone through sustainable restructuring of the business, the management team were looking to ensure longevity and scalability of the business and lacked a suitable ERP or Warehouse Management System to support them. They recognised the need to effectively increase sales, without compromising their service to trade partners.

Acknowledging the reliance on manual processes, with little visibility of real-time data and difficulties in spotting inaccuracies, Home Curtains have selected Cedar Bay to assist them through their growth plans. The Acumatica solution will provide real-time stock control and through a native integration with BigCommerce present live-stock availability as well as links to e-commerce marketplaces.

The Cedar Bay team are excited to be working with Home Curtains to improve their processes and create a reliable, automated system that can support them in achieving their goals. Commenting on our partnership Home Curtains Finance Director, Stacy Clifford, said “We’re excited to be partnering with Cedar Bay and are looking forward to seeing some strong business outcomes in the coming months. We’re confident that Acumatica is the ideal foundation to help meet our goals and help support us into the future.”

Steve Fletcher, Acumatica Practice Director at Cedar Bay, adds “Increasingly we are seeing small and mid-sized B2B businesses branching out in order to achieve growth.  Acumatica, with its cloud-based credentials and proven integrations to benchmark providers, has lowered the barriers.  We are delighted to welcome Home Curtains into our family of clients.”

We’re looking forward to Home Curtains thriving with their new Acumatica Cloud solution.

 

Why did our team here at Cedar Bay choose to become an Acumatica Partner? And why has Acumatica risen through the ranks to become a leader in their field?

Whilst it can be useful to learn from videos and feature lists, sometimes you want to hear from real people about real experiences, how will your systems actually perform on a day-to-day basis? That’s where groups like Gartner become important.

Gartner, a leading information technology research and advisory company, says Acumatica is well-aligned with Gartner’s vision of Postmodern ERP.

Their reports have highlighted how Acumatica users have seen improvements from the solution. From improving business efficiency, through to benefiting from the flexible pricing structure, Acumatica customers have seen real value from selecting the platform.

Gartner analysts have further applauded Acumatica for their strong partner strategy, alongside their digital technology roadmap and their product capabilities, proving that Acumatica truly is solution designed with customers in mind.

Explore the report here.

Why we’ve become an Acumatica Partner

With such a strong reputation and the perfect level of functionality for small to medium sized businesses, Cedar Bay and Acumatica have come together to combine expertise with a highly functional solution to give customers exactly what they need.

With Acumatica software in place, you have a high level of control, with access to the online portal so you can review assets and collateral for greater peace of mind. Plus, as a highly flexible and secure cloud-based technology, you don’t have to worry about security risks.

Roger Teagle, CEO & Founder of Cedar Bay, is joined by Sanket Akerkar, Chief Revenue Officer at Acumatica, to discuss our partnership and why we think we’re the right fit. Check out the video below to see what they have to say.

The challenge is on for selecting a new ERP… but where do I begin? If you find yourself asking this question, we can help get you on your way. Selecting an ERP solution that fits your business is a very important task to undertake. Follow our simple tips to start the selection process with confidence.

Steve Fletcher, Head of Acumatica Practice at Cedar Bay and Dave Whitfield, Industry Expert explore ERP selection in the video below. Take a look to find out more about discovering the best functional fit for your business!

If ‘best-of-breed’ sounds old-fashioned, what you need is an ‘integrated stack.’

It’s been said that the technology industry tends to go in circles. A more generous assessment might be that it iterates, with each cycle improving on the last.

Twenty years ago, the strategy was to cobble together applications that provided the requisite depth of functionality to fulfil a particular business need: best-of-breed. The overall success of the approach was often determined by the ability of vendors and clients to integrate those applications into a cohesive solution.

It resulted in future pain relating to the highly varied life cycles of the components involved in almost all cases. No sooner had you got your overall solution live than one or more vendors were announcing their sunsetting schedule, which meant revisiting the integration, and so on.

The industry response to this was the “Suite,” the complete range of functionality you require from a single vendor. Many vendors pursued “Suite” status by acquiring point solutions and weaving them into their core offering. The result looked good on paper; the integration and product life cycle challenge had been transferred to the vendor.

In reality, the “Suite” often diluted the depth of functionality available. Usability suffered as vendors struggled to apply a veneer of commonality across a product comprised of very different technologies. Although benefiting from a single roadmap, upgrades became hugely complex, with significant releases often leveraged by vendors to streamline the underlying technology.

Do I Need a Stack or a Suite?

I recently read a quote from Dan Matthews, CTO at IFS: “The truth is….Enterprises need to use both suites and stacks in symbiosis”.

This makes perfect sense. Since no one vendor can accommodate 100% of requirements, wouldn’t it be better to establish a foundation of core capabilities, delivered on a platform designed to enable easy integration to third-party applications?

Choose Your Foundation Wisely

A note of caution: it’s not easy for vendors to completely refresh their products to fit this new model. Many are lashed to technology decisions made long ago, before the rise of cloud computing, that will take years to unravel.

Acumatica, a relative newcomer at just fourteen years old, has the advantage of youth. Designed in and for the cloud, the underlying technology platform perfectly reflects the open architecture of modern applications. Robust core modules are seamlessly integrated to enable uninterrupted workflow across the procure-to-pay and quote-to-cash processes.

Developers are given programmatic access to the Acumatica Cloud through publicly available interfaces (Open APIs). Fully documented and built to universal industry standards, these APIs support a flourishing community of Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).

To illustrate, Acumatica has a perfectly functional B2B Portal to support customer bulk ordering, case management, account details etc. However, for the full B2C experience they support a native connector to market leaders such as BigCommerce.

Indeed, as more B2B customers raise their expectations of online purchasing based on their own personal B2C experience, it’s logical to exploit more of the expertise provided by best-of-breed.

On the procurement side, Acumatica features at least 3 approaches to inventory replenishment that provide satisfying options for many clients. For the minority with more complex requirements, these can be addressed through a fully supported integration to a third party, such as EazyStock – leaders in the inventory optimisation space.

What Does It All Mean?

If you’re looking to refresh the tools that help run your business, it’s no longer a choice between a suite or a stack. It’s about making smart use of both approaches, and the choice of foundation platform is critical.

Put plenty of emphasis on open architectures with good, demonstrable support for the ISV community. Dig deeper than the long list of partners on a marketplace. Some vendors will have made difficult choices and do unnatural things to integrate their applications into established ecosystems, to get access to that audience. These compromises will introduce technical debt, impact future costs and constrain your ability to adapt.

Start your Acumatica implementation with Cedar Bay

Business transformation on this scale can be a daunting prospect. Most businesses will only contemplate it every 5-8 years, so bring in an expert, a partner with expertise in your sector, to help make the transformation as seamless as possible.

As an Acumatica Gold Channel Partner, Cedar Bay are best placed to help you define exactly what you need for the unique, integrated stack to help your business grow through the next cycle of improvement.

We have years of experience implementing large-scale solutions, strategically planning our approach to align with your business objectives and vision for the future.

Get in touch with our team today to discuss your Acumatica implementation today, or click here to discover more about the many benefits of Acumatica.

Learn how to adapt and thrive with the world’s best-rated business management platform for mid-sized companies.

Built for the modern, connected world, Acumatica Cloud ERP is rapidly growing in popularity with small to medium-sized enterprises. Sophisticated, integrated business functionality is now both affordable and relevant. At Cedar Bay, we’re proud to be a part of bringing this affordable business management solution to the UK.

Hear from Steve Fletcher and our experienced practitioner Matt Brown as they highlight drivers that make Digital Transformation for manufacturing and distribution businesses more important than ever. Let us guide you through an introduction to the best-rated business management platform for small and medium-sized enterprises.

If you missed our webinar introducing Acumatica and Cedar Bay, as well as us showing you the solution in action, make sure to watch the video below!

The Captain of a Triple E-class container ship is responsible for the safe passage of up to 18,000 containers. Stacked 20 high, across its 59-metre beam, the cargo dominates the view from the bridge. With a heavy reliance on integrated systems, the Captain and his staff can make intelligent decisions about all aspects of the voyage, from planned events such as departure and arrival, to the unplanned- including port congestion, unexpected storms and even piracy attempts. Key to successfully navigating these challenges is the real-time data that streams into the glassed-in command centre, from systems within the ship and the extended support network.

Modern manufacturing and distribution businesses are a little more agile than your average super-tanker, but the same principle applies, especially for unplanned events. Smart decisions require immediate access to real-time data, aggregated and actionable in meaningful ways. Many UK companies have responded immediately to the challenges of 2020. Support for remote working staff, COVID secure working environments, a shift to B2C and so on.

Those companies best positioned to adapt had already bitten the bullet on Digital Transformation and embraced Cloud ERP. Let’s examine three reasons why this is the case.

1. Visibility Enables Better Decision Making

– A fully integrated, business management platform provides a single, real-time version of the truth. Your average container ship takes over 3km to come to a complete stop. Delays in decision making can have unpleasant consequences.

– By losing the time-sink of manual consolidation across disparate systems, leaders can respond more effectively to changes that impact the business.

2. Agility is Essential

– In a report by IDC, they measured the value of improved agility, achieved through Cloud ERP adoption, to be 49% of the overall value. The ability to swiftly react to changes circumstances can be the difference between success and failure.

– For example, with Cloud ERP, pivoting to B2C is a case of extension, not re-invention. By leveraging standard integrations to established eCommerce providers, a business can quickly address a new audience.

3. Anytime, Anywhere Access

– At 399 metres long, it would take a sailor several minutes to hand-deliver messages to the wheelhouse of a Triple E-class ship.

– With Cloud ERP supporting remote workers is as easy as deploying a mobile phone App. If the business systems are tethered to physical locations, the flow of processes can break down.

All aboard?

Having these three things stowed onboard gives business leaders the confidence and means to weather any unplanned events on the horizon. If you’re missing one or more, Cedar Bay can help you evaluate the benefits and plot a safe course to success.

Cedar Bay is pleased to announce that we’re now a certified Value Added Reseller (VAR) of Acumatica Cloud ERP!

Acumatica is the world’s fastest-growing cloud ERP company. Through leading-edge technology, best in class functionality, and customer-friendly business practices, Acumatica delivers unparalleled value to small and midmarket organisations. Integrated workflows span the full suite of business management applications, from Financials, Project Accounting, and Inventory Management to CRM.

“We’ve always felt that the midmarket was hugely underserved by the established ERP providers. So, we were delighted to find in Acumatica Cloud ERP a fully capable, cost-effective solution with industry-leading usability,” said Roger Teagle, CEO and Founder of Cedar Bay. “Partnering with Acumatica gives us the ability to bring our industry experience to a wider audience. Our new practice is already helping more businesses, of different sizes, realise the value of an ERP solution.”

Steve Fletcher, Acumatica Practice Director at Cedar Bay, adds “I’m impressed with Acumatica’s focus on the customer; everything they do is underpinned by a Customer Bill of Rights that’s genuinely compelling. The combination of Cedar Bay industry expertise and Acumatica’s award-winning Cloud ERP will add considerable value to those companies looking to adapt and grow in today’s challenging environment.”

To find out more about more, please contact the team on info@cedar-bay.com or head over to our our Acumatica page on our website.

Elegantly applied ERP, available everywhere, for less than you think.

The forgotten consequences of cyber security breaches.

Most of us have considered that a data breach could cause some serious immediate impact, maybe a financial loss or business downtime. However, not many people think about the long-term consequences of breaches. Businesses face challenges caused by cyber security breaches for years after the initial attack. Brand reputation suffers, people question their customer loyalty, and breaches sometimes continue. Sophisticated cyber criminals target any business of any size. There’s no better way than to protect you, your employees and your business than to have the best cyber security platform in place. Simply considering the quantifiable costs of a breach isn’t enough, there is so much more at risk that’s hard to measure and hard to rectify.

1: Reputation

It’s important to not overlook the reputational damage of a data breach. Measuring brand reputation isn’t an easy task. It can be hard to pinpoint for how long the effects of a data breach can impact your reputation in the eyes of the public. Bad news spreads fast. The magnitude of any data breach is far-reaching, and the negative reputation can damage a brand more than they realise. With 85% of people telling others about their experience and 33% taking to social media to complain about the company, the reputational damage can be long-lasting and hinder your brand for years to come.

2: Customer Loyalty

If you were a customer of a company that comprised your data, would you take your custom elsewhere? Well, two-thirds of consumers are unlikely to engage with a brand that experiences a breach where their financial or sensitive information is stolen. Consumers find it hard to forgive brands that put their data at risk. With years of customer relationship building at stake, and the value that loyal customers provide to your business, keeping hold of your customer base is crucial.

3: Continued Attacks

Many companies that suffer a data breach find that they are victims of continued attempts by cyber criminals. With credential stuffing attacks more common, it’s increasingly likely that hackers will use the information they have gained previously in future attacks. The criminals use stolen data that they have gathered previously to help them gain access to accounts and IT infrastructure, often without detection.

It’s important to take a proactive approach to cyber security. So that you can protect your business not just in the short term, but further into the future, thinking about what protection you have in place today is crucial. Our team of experts can work with you to create a bespoke cyber security plan. Whatever level of support and guidance you require, we can work together to make sure your information stays safe. Get in touch with our team today and protect your customer data and your business.

At Cedar Bay, we believe that your ERP implementation doesn’t have to be a nightmare. With our experience and proven methodology, we can guide you through from kick-off to go live and beyond.

If you make sure to stick to some simple guidelines, you can ensure that your IFS Application implementation goes as smoothly as possible.

Make sure management is on board.

Support from the entire organisation is critical. With complete support and commitment of the full management team, they can help communicate the project to individual teams. As a result of gaining full support you can be confident that everyone understands the implementation process.

Have realistic time and resources expectations.

Full understanding of the resources that an ERP implementation consumes is important to organising the entire project. Understanding the overall cost of the implementation. as well as the time that is required to both implement and adjust to the new system, is vital in the overall success.

Communication

Ensuring that you have a clear communication strategy throughout your business is a vital step in the process. This should include all stakeholders, if important for full engagement of the implementation. Regular updates allow for people to understand what is happening. Above all, by ensuring you have this in place you can help to elevate any concerns and encouraging engagement in the process.

Keep up with milestones.

Set achievable goals and milestones and keep to them. One reason that companies fall behind schedule in the implementation phase is the failure to keep to deadlines. Each milestone marks a critical point in the implementation process. Keeping track of each milestone is important because any delays in the schedule can be difficult to make up.

Set Business Goals / Benefits for the project

Make sure that the goals you set are well-defined and measurable. For example, simple metrics, like a win rate, utilisation rate, and the project profit margin will allow you to track your success over time. Making sure you assemble an ERP implementation committee who can help ensure the goals are kept as the objective of the project.

Training, training, training

Often when implementing ERP systems, the solution is far greater than just software.This often goes hand in hand with Business Process Change (BPC). Even if your ERP system is implemented perfectly, the real benefits will not be realised until your employees know how to use it properly. In addition to training employees according to their specific role, it’s important to train multiple employees on every aspect of the system. This way you can be confident that you have the knowledge there.

Our expert team are always on hand to discuss the implementation process. Whether you want to find out more about how to deal with an implementation, or your currently looking to implement IFS Applications, or Acumatica Cloud ERP, we can help you. Get in touch via info@cedar-bay.com.