Field Services

We are independent consultants providing expertise in Distribution ERP Software Selection, best practice and business process improvement for the field services industry.

Distribution ERP Software Selection - Interviews

Field Services Requirements

Unique field services industry requirements include:

  • Available to Promise
  • Automated back order fulfillment
  • Integrated bar coded data collection
  • Freight management
  • Optimized picking methodologies
  • Directed picking and putaway
  • Consolidate requisitions on a purchase order
  • RMA Tracking
  • Scheduling
  • Cross docking

Systems

  • Tier 1
  • Tier 2
  • Tier 3
  IFS NetSuite
Product Information    
System IFS NetSuite
Vendor IFS NetSuite
Description IFS develops and delivers cloud enterprise software for companies around the world who manufacture and distribute goods, build and maintain assets, and manage service-focused operations. Within a single platform, industry specific products are innately connected to a single data model and use embedded digital innovation so that customers can be their best when it really matters to their customers - at the Moment of Service.
  • Full-featured financials, CRM, inventory, project management and ecommerce software--all in a single system
  • Real-time visibility across your entire business operation
  • On-demand software infrastructure dramatically lowers maintenance and license fees
  • Real-time dashboards for all your key employees
  • Anywhere, anytime access to the information you need.
Website https://www.ifs.com/ https://www.netsuite.com/
Primary Tier 2 2
Industries    
Apparel No Yes
Construction Yes No
Field Services Yes Yes
Financial Services No Yes
Food & Beverage No Yes
Hospitality No Yes
Manufacturing Yes Yes
Nonprofit No No
Professional Services No Yes
Retail & ECommerce No Certified
Transportation & Logistics No Yes
Wholesale Distribution Yes Certified
Applications    
Accounting (General Ledger, Financial Reporting, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Budgeting and Cash Management) Yes Yes
Asset Management Yes Yes
CPQ (Configure Price Quote) Yes No
CRM Yes Yes
Distribution (Order Processing, Purchasing and Inventory) Yes Yes
E-commerce Yes No
Field Services - Dispatching & Scheduling Yes No
Field Services - Mobile Field Management Yes Yes
Human Resource Management No Yes
Manufacturing - Quality Control No No
Manufacturing - Scheduling Yes Yes
Manufacturing - Shop Floor Control No Yes
MRP Yes No
Payroll Yes No
Point of Sale No No
Product Lifecycle Management Yes No
Professional Services - Scheduling No No
Professional Services - Timesheets No No
Professional Services – WIP Management No No
Project Management No No
Transportation Management No No
Warehouse Management No No
Developer Information    
Number of customers - all products
Number of customers - this product
Technology    
% of application that is web based (just need a browser on workstation)
On premise, cloud or hybrid On Premise On Premise
Private or Public Cloud Private Private
Multi-tenant architecture Yes Yes
Generic Requirements    
Customization/Configuration    
Without changing source code In Current Release In Current Release
User-defined fields
  • Can define values/dropdowns for fields
  • Used in report selection and ordering
  • Used in workflow
In Current Release In Current Release
User defined screens
  • Change fields to required, optional or invisible for standard and user-defined field
In Current Release In Current Release
Multiple Companies    
Share inventory across companies In Current Release In Current Release
Share customers and suppliers across companies In Current Release In Current Release
Automate balancing of transactions across legal entities In Current Release In Current Release
PO of 1 company automatically generates the sales order in another company In Current Release In Current Release
Multiple Currencies    
Maintain source and home currency amount for each transaction In Current Release In Current Release
Date effective currency exchange rates In Current Release In Current Release
Work Flow    
Can apply an approval process to any transaction such as a journal entry or any master file such as a supplier or inventory item In Current Release In Current Release
Can generate alerts/escalation if something expected is late or reminders In Current Release In Current Release
Configurable approvals or alerts without needing programming In Current Release In Current Release
Mobility    
Optimized for Android and iPhone In Current Release In Current Release
Offline mode and synch when internet connected In Current Release In Current Release
Sales tax compliance    
Canadian sales tax compliance In Current Release In Current Release
US sales tax compliance In Current Release In Current Release
Reporting/Business Intelligence    
Reporting    
Industry standard reporting tool and can change existing reports or add new ones In Current Release In Current Release
Ad-hoc reporting (don’t need a programmer) with filtering, sorting and summarizing options In Current Release In Current Release
Dashboards    
Based on real time updates from all transactions In Current Release In Current Release
Role specific In Current Release In Current Release
Configurable dashboards - don't need to be a programmer to create or change dashboard In Current Release In Current Release
Analytics    
Drag and drop dimensions In Current Release In Current Release
Visualization/graphic representation of data In Current Release In Current Release

Implementers

We are in the process of evaluating which implementers are good choices for the apparel industry. Stay tuned.

Testimonials

Michael was good, very thorough. He assessed problems with a botched implementation of a system, and put together a benchmark for rating requirements for a new system. He advised us on our legal rights related to the problems with the original implementation, and assisted us with gathering information and ranking the various vendors. He was able to filter the ‘smoke and mirrors' that the vendors presented.
Bruce Morrison, C.A., Executive Vice President & Chief Financial OfficerStronco
180 Systems is very professional, very competent, and we have nothing but great things to say. In fact if anything, I remember Michael suggesting using Pat for implementation support during the system selection phase. We eventually did follow his recommendation, and perhaps should have listened to Michael a little more from the early days. We were doing our own implementation, then we encountered methodology problems, and we felt we were losing it a little. Michael reminded me that Pat was available, so Pat came on board to do a health check, interview team members, provide documentation, and give executives a list of gaps and recommendations. At that point we convinced Pat to stay with us and continue to be engaged, "owning" the project on a part time basis. With her assistance and leadership we've been able to get back on track, largely thanks to Pat.
Celso Mello, Chief Information OfficerReliance Home Comfort