ERP Buddies Inc.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the VP and pretty much the owner of Hire Peer. We recruit professionals for companies looking for ERP consultants, admins, or developers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ERP Buddies Inc.?

As recruiters, there’s a large database that we need to keep track of. When we approach candidates, we need to keep track of who the last recruiter that talked to them was, what the conversation was, and what the candidate was looking for. It was hard to do that through email threads and spreadsheets, so we decided to implement a combination CRM system.

We decided to go with NetSuite, which is a combination ERP/CRM. We wanted to have everything organized in a proper manner, in order to get everything in front of us with a quick search. Going with the NetSuite implementation team directly would’ve been very expensive, and we saw good reviews for the ERP Buddies team so we hired them to take on the challenge.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

ERP Buddies took care of our implementation. They’re a solution provider, so we bought the NetSuite license from them.

What is the team composition?

We worked with six people from their team, depending on the need (functionality, technical, etc.).

How did you come to work with ERP Buddies Inc.?

We had a good conversation with their team. They were friendly and to-the-point, and they were cost-friendly as well, for a startup like us. We were in conversation with a lot of other providers, but ERP Buddies had the best pricing and services.

How much have you invested with them?

We paid them around CAN$35,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We signed the contract in December 2019, we started in January 2020, and the implementation was finished in March 2020. We’re still working with ERP Buddies for support. We have a package from them, with a set number of hours.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

ERP Buddies met my expectations. Their project manager brought new ideas on process automation, to make our lives easier. It was a lot of work to make our work easier. The process is fully automated now, and we’re really happy with the results.

How did ERP Buddies Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We had daily updates, and I never had to ask them for one. ERP Buddies’ consultants were always available, beyond 9–5. It’s been a really good experience, and I can contact them at any time, even today. If I send them an email at 10 p.m., I’ll get a response right away.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The name “ERP Buddies” describes exactly what they’re like. We never feel like we’re talking to someone who’s way more experienced than us. It’s a new system for us, so there’s a lot that we don’t know, but they’ve held our hand and walked us through it.

Are there any areas they could improve?

This is a tough question. They’re always available and helpful, and we’ve never had a payment issue. Not many people were hiring, so our business was a bit down, but ERP Buddies never asked or followed up on any invoices.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the partner of Solutionist, an IT consultancy and staffing. I have a team of 25 people in India. We do staff augmentation to various enterprises in and around North America.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with ERP Buddies Inc.?

We wanted a CRM ERP that could handle finance and accounting as well as capture leads. Our team also wanted it to be cloud-based. We had already shortlisted NetSuite as our solution.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They helped us with our NetSuite ERP. Their team showed us the product and gave us a demo. According to our business processes and requirements, they customized the NetSuite ERP for us. Then, they implemented it.

What is the team composition?

There were four people including a project manager.

How did you come to work with ERP Buddies Inc.?

They’re NetSuite partners who are local to us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We worked together from January-April 2019. Now, they support us on and off.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Before NetSuite, we used QuickBooks and a very local CRM that was not very good. We wanted a robust system for everything. The finance and accounting team have been working seamlessly on this.

For the sales team, the CRM has been a blessing in disguise because they have the maximum use of the system most of the time, capturing leads and requirements when they make cold calls. It’s become an integral part of our process, and we intend to use it for the next five years.

How did ERP Buddies Inc. perform from a project management standpoint?

We had a project manager we’d meet with over Zoom and Google Meet. There was also a project management tool. We received daily updates on what they were doing. They were transparent.

What did you find most impressive about them?

When it comes to ERP implementation, I’ve done it before and know meeting the deadline is the most crucial part. My requirements were simple. We went live on the date they promised. We were able to successfully start a new year on the ERP, which was our plan.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, nothing comes to mind. I’ve referred lots of clients to them.