Marcus Webb:
Janet, thanks for making time today. I know Tuesdays are busy for you guys.
Janet Orosco:
No problem. We've been meaning to have this conversation for a while actually.
Marcus Webb:
Good to hear. So last time we talked you mentioned you were hitting some pain points with your current ERP system, especially around inventory visibility across your three plants. Is that still the main driver here?
Janet Orosco:
Yeah, definitely. The visibility thing is a big deal. We're running SAP but the implementations across the plants were done at different times by different consultants so nothing really talks to each other the way it should.
Marcus Webb:
Right, the classic fragmented rollout. So you've got three instances essentially?
Janet Orosco:
Two instances and then Juarez is on a completely separate system. Legacy thing.
Marcus Webb:
Got it. And what's the headcount across all three facilities?
Janet Orosco:
About eleven hundred total. Corporate is another sixty.
Marcus Webb:
Okay. And in terms of timeline, when are you looking to have something in place?
Janet Orosco:
We'd like to be in implementation by Q3 if possible.
Marcus Webb:
That's aggressive but doable depending on scope. Is there budget allocated already or is this part of getting budget approved?
Janet Orosco:
There's budget. We went through the planning cycle in October. It's approved.
Marcus Webb:
Great. That makes everything easier. Can you give me a ballpark on what was approved?
Janet Orosco:
I'd rather not get into specific numbers right now. We're still talking to a few people.
Marcus Webb:
Totally understand. So in terms of what you need, is it primarily the inventory unification or are there other modules you're looking at?
Janet Orosco:
Inventory is the priority. But we'd also want to look at procurement and warehouse management. Our warehouse team is still doing a lot of stuff manually that shouldn't be manual.
Marcus Webb:
Makes sense. Those three together are actually our sweet spot. We did something very similar for a manufacturer in Ohio, similar size, and they saw about a thirty percent reduction in carrying costs within the first year.
Janet Orosco:
That's interesting. What was their implementation timeline?
Marcus Webb:
About fourteen weeks from kickoff to go-live for the first plant, then we rolled the other locations in over the following two months.
Janet Orosco:
Okay. That's not bad.
Marcus Webb:
Now with the Juarez facility being on a completely different system, there's going to be some additional integration work there. Is the plan to bring Juarez onto the same platform or keep it separate with a connector?
Janet Orosco:
We want everything on one platform eventually.
Marcus Webb:
Eventually. Is Juarez in scope for this project or is that phase two?
Janet Orosco:
It's... we're including it in the evaluation. Whether it's phase one or phase two depends on some other factors.
Marcus Webb:
Sure. What kind of factors?
Janet Orosco:
Just internal stuff. Timing mostly.
Marcus Webb:
Okay. Well from our side we can scope it either way. We've done plenty of cross-border implementations. The data residency requirements for Mexico are a little different but nothing we haven't handled before.
Janet Orosco:
Good to know.
Marcus Webb:
So who else is involved in the decision on your side? Is this your call or is there a committee?
Janet Orosco:
There's a steering committee. Me, our CTO David Park, and our CFO. And then the plant managers will have input.
Marcus Webb:
Got it. Would it make sense to get David on the next call? I'd love to understand the technical environment better.
Janet Orosco:
Let me check with him. He's been pretty slammed lately.
Marcus Webb:
No rush. So just to make sure I'm scoping this right — three facilities, eleven hundred users, inventory management, procurement, warehouse management, unified platform, Q3 implementation target. Does that sound right?
Janet Orosco:
That's the picture, yeah.
Marcus Webb:
Perfect. I'll put together a preliminary proposal and we can walk through it next week. Does Thursday work?
Janet Orosco:
Thursday's fine. After two if possible.
Marcus Webb:
Done. Thursday after two. I'll send a calendar invite. Janet, this sounds like a great fit and I'm looking forward to digging in.
Janet Orosco:
Same here. Thanks Marcus.
Marcus Webb:
Thanks Janet. Talk Thursday.