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Business Resources
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A look inside the establishment of a great company
Business Automation Specialists of Minnesota, Inc. (BASM) began as a networking company in 1985, supporting the infrastructure for their clients’ accounting and manufacturing software. They quickly realized that there was a significant need in the area of accounting software and in the decade that followed, BASM began to refocus on the software side of the industry. They have since added a number of products enabling them to provide true end-to-end automation.
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Posted in News on July 7th, 2010 | No Comments »
Learn about Sage Accpac’sExtended Enterprise Suite (EES). Accpac EES offers the freedom of choice, ease of integration, high performance, and reliability that forward-thinking companies rely on to increase profitability and seize the competitive advantage. At the core of the Accpac EES are strong financial, operational, and customer relationship management features and capabilities to streamline internal operations.
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Wednesday, July 14th at 11:00-12:00 CDT
Wednesday, July 21st at 11:00-12:00 CDT
For more information and to register contact: Sharon Ketterling at (763) 571-8580 or sharonk@bautomation.com
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
The BASM team has been reading and discussing the book The Toyota Way for the last several months. We are going to share the lessons we’ve learned with you in this multi-part series. If you didn’t read part one or two, it is available on our website. Interestingly, the reason Toyota is having problems currently is that they didn’t follow their own processes. It’s a tough, but valuable lesson to learn.
Consider these results as you evaluate your continuous business improvement: “One technique that is part of … continuous improvement is to ask why a problem exists five times, going to a deeper level with each ‘Why?’ to get to the root cause of the problem.” The Toyota Way, page 47. Toyota engineer Ichiro Suzuki was entrusted with the task of creating Toyota’s first luxury vehicle which eventually became the Lexus. Suzuki wanted all of the characteristics of a high-end, luxury vehicle without the compromises automotive engineering said were necessary to achieve those characteristics. For example, assumptions of the day indicated that a high speed engine required a higher mass car in order to dampen the engine noise. Suzuki wanted to improve fuel efficiency which required a lower mass car. Using “Five-Why” analysis, Suzuki successfully overcame the engineering challenges of the day to produce a vehicle that sold 2.7 times more than Mercedes-Benz 300E, 420SE, and 560SEL combined in the first year.
Now, let’s get back to our original topic (to read the entire original article on our blog, click here.)
The Five Why’s – Part Three: Solving the Right Problem
In part one, you identified the root problem. In part two, you identified the underlying cause(s) of the problem. In part three, determine if all the causes should be addressed simultaneously or one at a time.
Typically, there are many threads to a problem. Unless these threads are hopelessly interwoven, it might make sense to develop a phased approach. The threads of a problem might require changing manual processes, equipment investments, employee training, process automation, etc. Attempting to tackle all the threads simultaneously can lead to over-committing resources and over-whelming staff which can lead to failure.
How do you get started? Evaluate the “investment” and “payback” on each part of the solution. Take the solution with the best ratio and implement it. Keep track of what you have left undone and set a time to deal with those issues.
Make sure to publish your findings and your solution to the whole company. You invested a lot of valuable resources. You have two important paybacks here. Not only did you solve a problem, your team has a victory. They can and should savor a good pat on the back. A more subtle payback is the new corporate knowledge; a better understanding of your business and further developed problem solving skills and team work.
Finally, just because you solved one problem, it doesn’t mean you can sit back. Improvement is a continuous event. Keep looking and keep solving. Conditions change. Customer requirements change. Vendors change. Set your goals and keep going after them. Your best days are still ahead.
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
We had a huge response to our webinar on Minimizing Audit Risk with Bullet Proof Sales Tax Compliance Practices in March. If you missed it, don’t worry, we will be offering another webinar in July. In the meantime, to learn more about Sales Tax Compliance read the article posted on our website, or contact us to learn how your sales tax compliance processes can be automated, simplified and streamlined.
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
Swiftpage is a revolutionary service that is fully integrated to Sage CRM, Microsoft Outlook, and other CRM systems. Now sales, marketing and channel partners work even better as a team. More than simply an email marketing service, SwiftPage provides companies the unique ability to take the tools of email marketing to your sales force. Marketing or sales develops core messaging and locks down key sales content, yet still allows each team member to personalize and ensure one-to-one marketing. Whether your sales force is 1 or 100, Swiftpage gives you unprecedented marketing power while helping your company achieve greater success.
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Reach Your Contacts: Swiftpage Email Marketing gives you the tools to create beautiful email templates, send directly from your database to your contacts and track who opened and clicked on your messages.
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Grow Your Database: Surveys and Web Forms from Swiftpage allow you to gather valuable new contacts or become more informed on your contacts with Swiftpage Surveys. And with numerous response type options and response reporting and statistics you’re sure to find the answers you’re looking for.
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Qualify Your Leads: Swiftpage creates a ranked Call List of the most interested contacts based on your email recipients’ interactions with your message. When you send your email blast with Swiftpage you can track who opened, clicked, bounced and view graphical and detailed reports about your send.
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Automate Your Business: Create an Autoresponder email to automatically and instantly contact your survey respondents when they complete your surveys.
We have been using SwiftPage for six months and are very happy with the results. Check out this SPECIAL OFFER …. Get a 60 day free trial of SwiftPage! Contact us today to get started.
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
If your company accepts credit cards for payments, PCI compliance applies to you.
Regardless of size or industry, all companies that accept credit cards must adhere to the safeguards mandated by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard—referred to as the PCI DSS. While most companies are aware of PCI, many are unsure what it means for their business. Companies that use a third party for clearing and remittance often incorrectly assume that PCI compliance does not apply to them.
So, what are the risks of noncompliance? Beyond exposing your customers to fraud or identity theft, your business can be held responsible for the credit card company’s losses. In the event of a security breach or lack of PCI compliance, credit card institutions can assess your company higher credit card processing fees and levy fines of up to $500,000—or even bar your company from processing any credit card transactions at all. Keep in mind that this applies to all companies that accept payment by plastic—even if they don’t store any related data.
The PCI DSS is a multifaceted security standard that includes requirements for security management, policies, procedures, network architecture, software design and other critical protective measures. This comprehensive standard is intended to help organizations proactively protect customer account data. It is a group of principles and accompanying requirements, around which the specific elements of the DSS are organized:
Build and Maintain a Secure Network
• Requirement 1: Install and maintain a firewall configuration to protect cardholder data
• Requirement 2: Do not use vendor-supplied defaults for system passwords and other security parameters
Protect Cardholder Data
• Requirement 3: Protect stored cardholder data
• Requirement 4: Encrypt transmission of cardholder data across open, public networks
Maintain a Vulnerability Management Program
• Requirement 5: Use and regularly update anti-virus software
• Requirement 6: Develop and maintain secure systems and applications
Implement Strong Access Control Measures
• Requirement 7: Restrict access to cardholder data by business need-to-know
• Requirement 8: Assign a unique ID to each person with computer access
• Requirement 9: Restrict physical access to cardholder data
Regularly Monitor and Test Networks
• Requirement 10: Track and monitor all access to network resources and cardholder data
• Requirement 11: Regularly test security systems and processes
Maintain an Information Security Policy
• Requirement 12: Maintain a policy that addresses information security
Acquirer audits, which can be carried out at any time, cover the 12 areas of mandatory compliance. The failure rate for PCI certification audits is high; according to recent research by VeriSign in “Lessons Learned: Top Reasons for PCI Audit Failures and How to Avoid Them,” fewer than 30 percent of companies pass these examinations on the first try.
If you are concerned about your software PCI compliance, please feel free to call or contact us, or to complete a self-assessment questionnaire to evaluate your risk, visit: www.pcisecuritystandards.org.
Other helpful PCI resources include:
• www.pcicomplianceguide.org. A great source for FAQs and PCI Myths, Articles on various PCI topics, explanation of SAQ forms and a section to instant message questions to a PCI expert.
• www.sagepayments.com/pci
• PCI Webinar: https://trustwave.webex.com/trustwave/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=EC&rID=50082902&rKey=57a7c878c0733489
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
Take a minute to imagine the perfect warehouse. The shelves are immaculate and inventory is organized so that the items you sell the most are closest to the shipping area. When a customer calls to ask if an item is in stock, you simply have to check in your system to find out if it’s available. Every shipment is perfect, physical counts only take a few hours and your receipt of goods entries take only minutes a day. This warehouse could be yours.
As bar-coding technology becomes more affordable and easier to use, more and more small to medium-sized companies are using it to get their warehouses organized. By implementing barcode technology they can automate warehouse transfers, physical counts, shipping and receiving. What exactly does that mean for you? It means that data entry (and the delays and errors that come along with it) is eliminated because every transaction is scanned with a hand-held scanner and sent to accounting immediately. Statistically, physical counts happen 75% faster than they do with a manual system and the inventory quantities in accounting are trustworthy. All of this will result in lower overhead.
So how do you get started on the road to the perfect warehouse? Simply follow these three easy steps:
1. Evaluate your warehouse process with us. Talk about how inventory is moving through your warehouse and identify any bottlenecks or problem areas. Include warehouse staff, data entry personnel and management to get a complete picture of your operations.
2. Determine your implementation goals and strategy. Most bar-coding implementations work best when done in a phased approach. If physical counts are the biggest issue, use the handhelds for that process and then expand to other transactions after that one is mastered. Rank each process in order of importance and set deadlines for when you would like each one fully implemented.
3. Review hardware and software recommendations. We will provide software recommendations based on your project goals and suggest a handheld that will work well in your warehouse environment. Once you have approved the solution set, all that’s left to do is implement!
To learn more about how bar-coding could get you closer to having the perfect warehouse, call us today. To find out how your warehouse affects your ROI, take our free Warehouse ROI Assessment so you can get started on the right track to getting your products to your customers effectively, efficiently and at a profit.
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
In our last newsletter we introduced the topic of Cloud Computing. This can seem like an obscure concept; however we found a great 5 minute video on YouTube that explains “The Cloud” in layman’s terms. You can watch it by clicking here. If you missed the original article, and would like to read it, click here.
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
Do You Know How Healthy Your Business System is Right Now? You need to know what is going on with your business and where you currently stand in order to ensure ongoing success. Questions to ask yourself about your business – right now: How do I know if I need help automating my systems and processes? How do I know what part of my system needs to be reviewed? Let BASM help you evaluate the health of your business system and confirm if your current automation system is on par with current technology. Take our Free Online Business Systems Health Test© to get valuable answers to these and other questions today. We designed this test to help you quantify and dispel the painful feeling that something is wrong with your business system. While this is not a functional assessment, your results will grade your current automation in eight areas to help you fine tune your business system.
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Posted in Uncategorized on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
We have been reading and discussing The Toyota Way for the last several months. We have been particularly intrigued by the “Five Whys” technique as a method of continuous improvement. “One technique that is part of … continuous improvement, is to ask why a problem exists, five times; going to a deeper level with each ‘Why?’ to get to the root cause of the problem.[1]”
This story illustrates the results of using this technique. Toyota entrusted engineer Ichiro Suzuki with the task of creating Toyota’s first luxury vehicle, which eventually became the Lexus. Suzuki wanted all of the characteristics of a high-end, luxury vehicle without the compromises automotive engineering said were necessary to achieve those characteristics. For example, assumptions of the day were that a high-performance engine required a higher mass car in order to dampen the engine noise. Suzuki wanted to improve fuel efficiency, which required a lower mass car. He did not want to compromise on speed, noise or fuel efficiency. These goals were seemingly at odds with one another. Using the “Five-Why” analysis, Suzuki realized that the engine noise problem could be resolved by building the engine with tighter engineering tolerances. Of course, that lead to another set of “Five-Whys”, as conventional wisdom said that mass production techniques could not produce an engine with the tighter tolerances required to eliminate noise.
Using the “Five-Why” analysis, Suzuki successfully overcame the engineering challenges of the day to produce a vehicle that sold 2.7 times more than Mercedes-Benz 300E, 420SE, and 560SEL combined in the first year.
Have you found yourself solving the wrong problem? (Like adding mass to the car to reduce the noise you hear, instead of reducing engine vibration to actually eliminate noise?) We have been asked to do that many times. In fact, sometimes, we find ourselves doing it on our own issues. The challenge is that solving the wrong problem may only disguise the original issue and create another problem (lower gas mileage, in this example.)
Going back to Suzuki and the Lexus—while this retelling does not give proper weight to the time and energy expended to develop the Lexus, it points out that using this technique can have big payoffs. What you are really looking for is the cause and effect relationships underlying the particular problem. You are looking for the root cause or causes of a defect or problem. We all have plenty to do, so let’s talk about some reasons we don’t get to the root cause(s). This list is not exhaustive, but you get the idea.
- It is easy to stop at the first obvious symptom rather than digging deeper (too busy).
- Perhaps we don’t know enough to dig any deeper (need more training).
- No one else is interested in helping solve the problem (lack of team involvement).
- You cannot consistently repeat the problem (different people using different methods – no standardization of procedures; different quality standards for components).
- Perhaps you stop at one issue, when in fact, there are two or more causes for the problem (taking the first answer is not always the right or only answer).
Let’s look at an example of solving a late delivery to a customer. You have a very important customer who has just called to say that your delivery of their very important order was late by several days. Your customer is irate because it cost them a lot of money to deal with the delay; your warehouse is defensive; the salesperson is going ballistic and the boss – well, you decide. So, how do you get to the root cause?
- Start by calling your team together. This need not be an official, long-lasting committee – but it must include the people who are involved in the problem. They all need to be in the room. Who are they? Well, start with warehouse, sales, customer service, purchasing, credit department and anyone else who touched the order.
- Don’t wait; hold the meeting right away while the problem is fresh in everyone’s thinking. Many times, the problem hides in the tiny details that get lost as time passes.
- Decide who will run the meeting. The leader need not be a manager but everyone must understand that this person is responsible to facilitate the meeting/s (this helps you grow your team members).
- Write down the specific problem you are trying to solve. Describe it completely. (Not our delivery was late, but, we missed the deadline by ten days.) This makes sure that everyone is working on the same problem and helps to focus everyone’s attention. Get agreement that this is the problem. This may take some time. Invest it to get the best solution(s).
- Ask the first Why? Write down the answer to the problem under the problem description (We submitted our purchase order too late to arrive on time). Most likely you are not at the real cause yet.
- Ask Why? again (The Sales Order was entered late, twelve days after it was received).
- Ask the next, Why? Write down the next answer (The credit department didn’t approve the order for ten days).
- Ask the next, Why? (When we received the customer’s purchase order, the salesperson was out of town on vacation. No one else knew the specifics of the order. No one called the salesperson until he was back in town five days later.)
- Ask the 5th Why? (The salesperson is responsible for all orders from their customers).
- Keep at it until you have gotten to the root cause (you cannot get to any more Whys?).
Maybe you are stuck. Here are a couple of tips to move closer to the root cause. Determine if there is more than one cause at each level; or you may resolve one cause and still have the problem. Is there anything concrete that validates that this is a cause? Can you measure it? Do you have any proof that this really is causing the problem or are you just assuming it causes the problem? Invite in someone not involved in the problem. Sometimes it helps to have an outsider listen in because he or she is not mired in the details of the problems or invested in current procedures or methods.
Once you have gotten several levels deep, you are getting closer. Now is the time to look at the causes to make sure you are on the right track. Are all the causes technical or are there some human-caused problems? Are there causes pointing to communication issues or training needs? Problems are rarely limited to technical issues. People problems are typically involved at several levels of the process.
Here are a couple of important rules for your problem-solving meeting (and consider these, not only during this exercise, but also as a daily practice):
- Set the ground rules up front. Have everyone bring a yellow pad – use this to jot ideas, especially while others are talking, so you do not forget.
- Don’t play “Pin the Blame on Someone.” This is not about blame, it is about solving problems.
- Don’t protect your territory. It is critical that all players focus on solving the problem, rather than playing defense.
- Don’t criticize. Obviously, if people are afraid to tell the truth for fear they will be criticized, disciplined or belittled, they will not participate.
- Remember, the people who do the work every day typically have a good idea of how to solve the problem. When they are involved in the solution, they own the solution. You don’t have to sell it. Self-management is the best management.
- Encourage brainstorming.
- Show common courtesy. Don’t interrupt others. You may want to consider having a “talking horse,” especially if your team members keep interrupting. Only the person with the “talking horse” can talk. When they pass the “horse,” someone else begins talking. Everyone else has to listen.
- While you are listening, don’t be thinking about your response. Listen with both ears and both halves of your brain.
You have identified the problem. Start looking for solutions. Most likely, many have surfaced during this conversation (check your yellow pad now). There are many possible examples as we look back at our example, including:
- Better communication. The salesperson tells Customer Service about the important order before leaving town
- Entering a preliminary order, without the salesperson, to allow credit to start working on credit approval.
- Better access to specifics of the sales quote by internal staff, i.e. a systematic method for storing quotes.
- The most important lesson is that everyone from sales to order entry to credit to the warehouse must value the customer order. That is a change in culture and will not be accomplished overnight.
- Our list could continue. You have probably identified a number of other solutions not listed here.
Decide if you can fix the problem(s) all at once or if you will solve part of the problem. Are there many threads to the problem? Sometimes, a phased approach is preferable to taking on several major changes at the same time. Remember this is a process of “Continuous Improvement.” Take the first step. How do you know which step to take? Evaluate the “investment” and “payback” on each part of the solution. Take the step with the best ratio and implement it. Keep track of what you have left undone and set a time to deal with those issues.
Publish your findings and your solution for the whole company. You have invested your company’s valuable resources. Part of the payback is the new corporate knowledge. You have two important “paybacks” here. Not only did you solve a problem, your team has a victory and they should savor a good pat on the back. They have learned new skills and solved a problem.
Most importantly, just because you solve one problem doesn’t mean that you can sit back. Improvement is a continuous event. Keep looking and keep solving. Conditions change, customer requirements change, vendors change, employees change – set your goals and keep going after them. Your best days are still ahead.
[1] Jeffery K. Liker, The Toyota Way, 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer (McGraw- Hill, 2004) p. 47
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Posted in Articles on June 17th, 2010 | No Comments »
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Jul 7, 2010