It had now been several years since James began using ManuMaker software to run his custom manufacturing business. Early on, if there was a problem, he’d catch Jeff, the software rep, on his cell phone. Jeff would then talk to the developer, and a couple weeks later, ManuMaker would roll out an update.
But as time went on, Jeff got harder to reach. Communication nearly dried up.
Then, an email landed in his inbox. “Exciting News for ManuMaker Users!” read the subject line. James clicked it open.
“We’re excited to announce our acquisition by ERP Express, the leading ERP across the nation. We trust this will allow our customers to experience the power of a full ERP solution.” James didn’t even know what an ERP was, but it sounded complicated. He kept reading.
“To that end, we will retire ManuMaker in three months. We will be moving all ManuMaker users over to the ERP Express platform. Please reach out if you have any questions.”
Looking back, James kicked himself for not having seen it coming. He grabbed his phone and dialed Jeff. Surprisingly, he answered.
“Hey Jeff, what’s up with this acquisition?” asked James.
Not what he ordered
“Hey James, I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you it was coming. I didn’t completely know what was going on until I got cut last week. I’m not even supposed to be telling you this. I hurt for you guys. I wish I could help.”
James sat, dumbfounded. He fumbled for words and said, “Well, Jeff, sometimes the only way forward is through. Thank you for all you’ve done for us over the years.”
“Thanks James,” Jeff said. “I can’t talk more about the acquisition, but don’t be a stranger.”
The next few weeks, James and Laura doubled down on learning ERP Express. James booked a call with Olivia, their new saleswoman. She looked to be fresh out of college, someone who had never worked around a blue-collar business. James thought she’d only read about manufacturing companies in her textbooks.
As they walked through the demo, James got a knot in his stomach. The quote process took twice as long. He had to duplicate the quote twice to get three price levels. He had to go through extra screens to set up new contacts. They had to switch their accounting over to the ERP Express Accounting package.
Laura asked the obvious question. “What will it take to get our ManuMaker information into ERP Express?”
Olivia said, “We’ve got a converter tool. You’ll open it up. It will copy everything across.”
“Will we get grandfathered pricing?” James asked.
“Yes,” Olivia told him. “Our standard implementation is $45,000, and we’re discounting it to $32,000 for ManuMaker users. It includes 12 weekly calls and our converter tool.”
“What about renewal fees?” James asked.
“Good question,” Olivia told him. “Our annual fees for your size of business is $18,000 per year. We’ll work you up to that fee over three years, giving you time to grow into the software.”
As James and Laura wrapped up the call, James felt like someone had sucked all the air from the room. They’d come to rely on the software, and they didn’t have time to look at other solutions before ManuMaker was retired.
As days went by, they emailed back and forth with Olivia. Each time, she responded in minutes. Sometimes, it was only to let them know she was hunting down the answer. But she was with them every step of the way.
Her responsiveness gave James a hint of hope. The only way forward is through, he reminded himself.
Dazed, confused, and frustrated
With that assurance, he finally signed the contract. He downloaded the software and dug in. But once again, he and Laura found themselves working overtime.
They spun up the converter tool. They pointed it to ManuMaker and to ERP Express. It started whirring and spinning. Twenty minutes in, it threw up an error unlike anything James had ever seen. It showed code on the screen that James didn’t understand.
He took a screenshot and sent it to Olivia. Once again. She replied in a few minutes. “Sorry to hear. You’ll need to reach out to the ERP Express implementation support.” She included their email.
The ERP Express support staff needed to contact developers. The developers worked in Europe, and most times they didn’t give quick answers. After a week, the developers had what they needed to fix the converter.
Then they had to schedule the fix. A full three weeks after the first email, James got the updated converter. This time, the converter ran from start to finish.
James and Laura started entering new orders into both ManuMaker and ERP Express, but then they noticed glitches.
None of James’s customer notes made it into ERP Express. Some of the payments were missing, showing large outstanding balances.
James and Laura kept working their way around it. James finally figured out a way to export ManuMaker notes into Excel. Laura went through all the accounts, one by one, fixing all the payments.
ERP Express started to wear them down with their slow response times. James’s customers began complaining about confusing quotes. The operators in the shop started making mistakes on delivery. Worst of all, ERP Express didn’t always calculate capacity correctly. Neither James nor Laura could figure out what was going on. With the tight deadline, they didn’t want to waste time on support.
For the first time since business started, James felt like he was treading water. He started thinking about ways to get himself out of his situation.
He didn’t know it now, but he wouldn’t feel hope again until Christmas, when a chance conversation with his tech-savvy nephew would spark an idea…
The Takeaway
Have you had challenges with your business software? Do James’s ups and downs hit close to home? Are you taking steps toward a complete software solution? We’d like to hear your story—and your questions!
We know software, and we understand the needs of small and mid-size businesses. Call us today, and we’ll help you determine if our Silverloom business software is right for you.
Ellis Miller, CEO