Business Continuity with Herbst Software

20.05.2022

A good Business Continuity plan recognises potential threats to an organisation, will help you deal with difficult situations and analyses what impact they may have on day-to-day operations.

Are you ready to lose a keystone employee? Have you adapted your post covid sales strategy? Are you feeling the pinch?

It has been a crazy couple of years, covid, canals, conflict, climate and constant change. It does not seem all that long ago that “change” was a slogan to usher in a new era of prosperity and co-operation. Of course change is a double sided sword and if I am honest the world seems more chaotic and chasmed than ever, many of us realising for the first time that we are not post history and uncertainty is certain.

I first heard reports of covid outbreaks in China and the mass isolation of populations in towns and cities, it seemed like far off hysteria, not really the most pressing thing on my agenda. Slowly the papillon effect took hold, waves of change bounced off each other and multiplied, we still do not know how it will end. The great resignation, inflation,tariffs, restrictions, sanctions, disaffected youth, supply chain chaos and huge energy price increases make Brexit look like another dimple in a golf ball.

Any CFO, CEO or MD could tell me the world is in a very different place than it was just a few short years ago, they don’t want a rose tinted trip down a memory lane of what could have been, they want to make their company as competitive and resilient as possible. They realise more must be done with less and again embrace that double edged sword of change. 

I am no digital evangelist however I do believe with the right people, continuity strategy and leadership, technology holds many of the answers we are looking for. The comparative affordability and availability of technology means Irish SMEs have the ability and government backing to invest in these technologies to future proof their business.

How can Herbst Software help with your Business Continuity?

At Herbst Software we provide business management software that can help you with your business continuity. So how will this help solve the issues above?

Our core software takes care of accounting, banking, credit control, ledgers, budgets, reports, pricing and discounting, all of which cumulates to give business intelligence across the organisation.

Our USP is the Option of Modular Software additions to the core system. This means you pick, use and pay for what you need only. This is a dynamic system designed to respond to your company needs and business continuity needs. It is as scalable as your ambition.

Can business management software help reduce uncertainty in Business today?

Let’s start with the “Great Resignation” as it has been dubbed. What are we talking about and why is this causing stress and uncertainty? Well the transient jobs market we are currently experiencing with many positions in companies not being filled and new hires are not waiting around the way they used to. Staff who were lynch-pins in organisations maybe in search of greener fields and all their knowledge is going with them. Lets not forget the additional absenteeism caused by covid and the detrimental effect that had on operations. How do we solve this? 

The digitalisation and business continuity of an organisation requires the implementation of procedures that instil accountability across the organisation and the empowerment of employees to be more self reliant. For example with our Goods in Kiosk, floor workers can receive inventory, create a GRN, handle any discrepancies/ returns, apply barcodes and assign batch numbers all while simultaneously entering stock into the inventory ledger and updating accounts with financials. This in turn updates production teams for scheduling & sales teams as to the status of goods. These touch screen kiosks are designed to be used by non native speakers and one simply follows the procedure on the screen to achieve all of the above. That is a lot of work done by someone with limited experience and without a piece of paper in sight.

The digitalisation of an organisation reduces the dependence on individuals to carry out tasks and their roles are more transferable in a time of need. Digitalisation also allows full traceability, integration and visibility which in return, allows you to have clear cut business continuity and ability to manage your business effectively.

Inflation, Energy and Commodity prices are different faces of the same coin and anybody in business can see that belt buckles have to be tightened. With tougher Climate legislation coming into force, the reality is we are entering “leaner” times and efficiency above all is necessitated. The circular economy and ‘do more with less’ are here to stay. The excesses and wastes of old are not sustainable in business – if not from an environmental standpoint, from an economic one.

Here is one example of how Herbst software can hit all 3 of the above metrics in one swoop (this is one of many I might add). I started out my career on the road going from business to business. 200km + in a day would be nothing. Did I always get an order/sale? No, did I always get to talk to the right person? No. Was there conflict and miscommunication? Absolutely. What would the cost over a year be equivalent to in today’s prices? Car, fuel, insurance, wages, opportunity cost etc? I am going to spare myself the maths and maybe let you think about it from your organisation’s perspective.

Herbst webportal is a fantastic tool for business management and business continuity. Everybody at this stage has purchased something online, everyone has some device or other. Do you have an online presence for dealing with your customers? Here is why you should. Cut the number of store visits drastically, orders are placed in buyers own time, as the customer places the order there is no discrepancy in expected vs delivered. 24 hr availability, upselling opportunities. Not only that, our web portal acts as an account management tool with customers able to check credit terms, statements, invoices, orders, deliveries, pay online and more. You will not believe the difference our web portal can make to your business, and of course as soon as the product is checked in with our touch screen Goods-Kiosk above, it is made available on the portal. That is the power of Herbst’s fully integrated software management system.

As for tariffs, restrictions, sanctions and Brexit, luckily here at Herbst, as an Irish company we respond to the needs and unique outlook of our Irish customer base. We create the solutions you need before you ask for them. To this extent in response to Brexit we have introduced Vat triangulation to our system to make dealing with NI and UK as seamless as possible. We will continue to work and adapt to whatever is over the horizon for our customers, removing as many of your pain points as possible aiding that continuity business plan.

Admittedly there is not much we can do for disaffected youth, except improve their work environments and the value of their jobs. Reports that millennials are now outnumbering baby boomers and gen Xers in the labour market will quickly be reflected in the uptake and ubiquitous nature of technology in all work environments. It is not a question of if but when?