Celebrating our 40th year as an ERP software company, QAD held its annual Explore customer conference this month in New Orleans, bringing together our global community of leading manufacturers. There we discussed key trends in manufacturing, strategic developments across the industries we serve and information on new solution developments. We also shared valuable insights for reducing business uncertainty and improving the lead time necessary to respond to industry change. If you weren’t able to catch up with us at this year’s conference, here is a quick recap of what you missed.
Surviving the Speed of Business
The theme for this year’s Explore was the speed of business, and if you were one of over 700 attendees who made the journey to the “Big Easy,” it was clear that industry disruption is happening across all industries. In order to ensure business longevity, we learned that manufacturers must possess the agility needed to adapt to the speed in which their industries are evolving. For some companies, this has created an existential crisis. The business mindset of today is no longer about whether your company is winning or losing, but about staying in the game.
To survive in today’s business ecosystem, manufacturers need to be able to Sense the Disruptions facing their industry, Build out a Plan of Action and Act on that Plan, and your ERP system should never weigh you down in the process. QAD’s focus on the design and usability of its solutions has always been on cost-efficiency and quality. However, with increases in disruption and uncertainty, new challenges continue to arise. We pride ourselves on our commitment to working side-by-side with our customers to help them become agile, effective enterprises. Manufacturers need a solution that enables them to adapt and respond to technology-fueled and consumer demand-driven change.
The Adaptive Era of ERP
In an effort to more accurately distinguish the value QAD brings to its customers, we officially renamed our solution portfolio to QAD Adaptive Applications and flagship ERP solution to QAD Adaptive ERP. Furthermore, with the Channel Islands project coming to a close, QAD’s user experience (UX) has been renamed to QAD Adaptive UX. The solution naming change exemplifies how QAD is helping our customers to adapt their business approach while avoiding major risks and overhead costs.
In addition to hearing from our executives about key manufacturing trends and strategic developments, Bob Moesta, president of The ReWired Group and adjunct fellow at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, shared strategies around making demand-side innovation more predictable and successful. Mr. Moesta also discussed his Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) theory, the premise being that people no longer buy products, they hire them to do a job. The JTBD framework enables businesses to understand causality as well as what drives consumers to buy in the first place, which is becoming increasingly relevant for manufacturing companies.
Catch up on the Presentations
Last year, we talked about the onset of an industry-wide digital transformation. This year was all about how to better prepare your strategy and operations for future disruptors. It is a critical time for manufacturers to not only be able to adapt to unexpected changes, but also use them to create competitive advantages. So, how can your ERP provider support your efforts? In her presentation at Explore, QAD President and Founder Pam Lopker aptly described how QAD always strives to do the right thing, challenges the status quo, connects with people to achieve greatness, and constantly improves as a company, for the benefit of our customers.
To download the presentations or view the video recordings from Explore 2019, visit our Presentations page.
Experience the Customer Showcase Videos
QAD Explore is all about celebrating the successes of our customers, and this year was no different. In addition to the 2019 customer awards, QAD debuted the latest collection of customer showcase videos, including those for MTF Biologics, DeBortoli Wines, Pulead Technology Industry Co., Asteelflash Group and i2O. A very special thank you to all of our participating customers for sharing their success stories!
For a complete listing of the videos featured at Explore 2019, visit our Videos page.
Check out the Photo Album
QAD Explore would not be possible without the participation and support of our valued customers, partners, sponsors and subject matter experts. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to flip through our Explore 2019 Photo Album and join us in sharing the great memories we captured throughout the week. Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and share your own Explore photos using the hashtag #QADExplore.
We appreciate everyone who came out to Explore this year and can’t wait to see you again next year in Las Vegas!
