Catering for the Safe Food for Canadians Act

food_safety

The Safe Food for Canadians Act comes in to effect on January 1, 2015 and it is going to have an effect on every business involved in Canada’s food chain.

The Act puts all food inspection responsibilities under the umbrella of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency bringing together a number of disparate laws, like the Fish Inspection Act, The Canada Agricultural Products Act and the Meat Inspection Act, and their inspection authorities. It also sets out standards for all businesses involved in the food chain.

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Is Your Accounting Software Bankrupting Your Business?

In my previous blog on Technical Debt, I explained the concept of technical debt using software architecture as an example, and described the saw-tooth pattern of well-run businesses that consciously accrue technical debt for a period before investing time in paying off the worst of it.

The technical debt metaphor also describes the challenges of businesses maturing from the inception stage to one can make a good business case for ERP and beyond.

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Improving the Training Experience

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In the dim distant past of ERP, 10 years ago and more, the way you learnt about the software was by referring to the training manuals relating to various modules – Accounts Payable, Bill of Materials, etc. It was a very product-oriented and narrow view of learning. Times have changed, fortunately, and learning materials are turning towards how people work – their roles – and the business processes involved.

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Managing Technical Debt – Part 1

Technical debt is a term coined by Ward Cunningham in 1992 to describe the software engineering phenomena of how expedient, short-term decisions can have negative, long term consequences that make it difficult to maintain and update the software. The concept does not just apply to technology companies, any company that uses technology also has technical debt and understanding the concept will help you manage it and run your business.

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Six Benefits of a Competency-Based Training and Assessment Approach

competency-based-training

In my previous blog post, How to Assess for ERP Competency, I defined competencies and discussed the process of assessing for competency, as opposed to assessing for knowledge. You may also recall some of the shortfalls of assessing for knowledge, which I pointed out in the ‘Cons’ section of my blog on The Pros and Cons of ERP Certification. I think this is a good time to explore the benefits of a competency-based approach to training and assessment. Here are six benefits – both for the employer and the employee.

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Learning from repetition

learning-from-repetition

Ever noticed how quickly things come around again? No sooner than you’ve accomplished something, there it is again warranting your attention.

Twelve months ago this month I completed my first charity Etape du Tour after months of preparation and planning. And now, I find myself having done my second, successfully summiting the infamous cycling climbs of the Col du Tourmalet and Hautacam on 20th July -however, this time around it was a very different story indeed! 

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SYSPRO in the procurement chain

collaborative-supply-chain

I recently took part in a management workshop, which saw two competing teams manufacturing a particular structure.  This was a simulation exercise using Lego blocks in which we had to make as many structures in a minute as possible and deliver them successfully to the “customer.”  The customer would then quality check the output and advise each team on how much revenue had been generated (you could lose revenue through rejections).

The first round came and in the excitement to deliver to the customer, we forgot about the supplier, we ramped up our stocks, we didn’t worry about the costs.  We paid for it in profitability at the end of the round, the deductions for working capital really stung our bottom line.

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Twenty questions for CFOs embarking on an ERP project

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As the CFO of an organization, your responsibility is to ensure efficient and effective financial operations and records, and influence overall strategy. An ERP is the foundation of the operations of a business. For a CFO, it enables you to track and report on all business transactions, analyse information, ensure governance and compliance, and increasingly do this via mobile devices. Therefore, you need to be very sure your ERP project will deliver what the business requires, and also what was promised.

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