About The Inside-Out Company

The Inside-Out Company is a Chicago-based company specializing in multifamily, commercial, and industrial projects—roofing, painting, masonry, construction, wood replacement, and maintenance. Having been in business for over 30 years, Inside-Out has built success around its consistency, knowledge, and excellent customer support.

ShapeConnect Project: ERP Selection and Implementation

The Inside-Out Company approached ShapeConnect about its need for a new accounting program. Together, we went through a thorough analysis of their business to assess the company’s needs. After reviewing the requirements, ShapeConnect suggested an ERP to streamline business operations and accounting processes.

The challenges:

• Existing software wasn’t performing as needed.
• Required accounting capacity to support books for multiple sub-companies.
• Organizing and consolidating current data.
• Difficulties tracking and structuring data.

Overall, the primary challenge for Inside-Out was managing the books for multiple companies. As a construction business, keeping track of material costs and expenses was already a significant challenge, but doing it across numerous sub-companies presented an even bigger obstacle.

The ShapeConnect Process

We applied the ShapeConnect methodology to the project. It started by providing the client our business benchmarking surveys in the areas of accounting, CRM, project management and more. From there, we interviewed leaders and processed mapped the company to define the key inefficiencies. After thoroughly assessing the needs of The Inside-Out Company, we vetted six potential vendors. Next, we reviewed the ERPs and narrowed the list to the three best options for Inside-Out’s particular needs. We then presented our findings to the decision-makers at Inside-Out and discussed the best fit for their business.

At ShapeConnect, we understand that software isn't only about features; it's about a fit and alignment with company culture. Anyone can suggest software, but it takes a true understanding of a company to really find a seamless fit.

For The Inside-Out Company, we narrowed the choices to Sage and Acumatica. While Sage is an older software company, they truly understand the unique needs of the construction industry and have been working with it for a long time. Acumatica is a newer player in the construction ERP world, having only been in the construction space for the last 4-5 years. However, they have many cutting-edge and innovative features, which make them appealing.

We presented Inside-Out with the choices. Did they want to go with a newer, up-and-coming company, or did they prefer to stick with a legacy software option? There were pros and cons to each choice. For example, a newer company may have bugs and glitches that need addressing and haven't "seen it all” like an older, more established company. On the other hand, Acumatica was on the edge of tech trends, and through careful vetting, we made certain that they were well-established and reliable.

After the discussion, The Inside-Out Company decided to select Acumatica as their new ERP.

The Implementation

One of the client’s main concerns was about training. While they had an experienced team, many of whom had been with the company for a long time, resistance to change and training is natural. They needed a user-friendly ERP and many training sessions to ensure the team was comfortable with the shift to new software.

During implementation and the training sessions, we helped the team produce documentation on all the processes and redefine them where needed.

They put the ERP in place but were also able to redefine and clarify many of the employees' roles in the company. Before the implementation, there was some redundancy and inefficiency. After the implementation and subsequent clarification, they reduced the redundancy and streamlined functions.

ShapeConnect assigned someone to their team to manage employee sediment. We always want to ensure that "boots on the ground" employees smoothly transition throughout role changes and software implementation.

The Results & Benefits

As a result of the implementation, Inside-Out saw some significant benefits, including:

• Increased employee efficiency and buy-in.
• A reduction in broken data, allowing for an improved sales pipeline.
• A streamlined CRM and estimating integration.
• At-a-glance reporting and a clear dashboard overview of performance.
• Consolidation of software tools by moving to Acumatica's ERP, saving six-figures in software licensing on an unnecessary external CRM and other duplicate applications
• Five-figure savings towards the bottomline with expense management tracking

Improvements for the Team

There was still plenty of work for the team, but the new ERP helped them streamline certain tasks and improve their productivity. One of the most surprising benefits to emerge from the ERP implementation was the shift of employee roles in the company. Often when companies put an ERP in place, they overlook its impact on their organizational structure and employee tasks. It's a process of eliminating some tasks, which allows employees the freedom to pursue higher-level activities. With the right approach, employees often come out of the process with more confidence, a renewed sense of buy-in, and a lower sense of burnout.

No More Broken Data

Another major obstacle addressed with the new ERP was fixing broken data. This was a significant issue for Inside-Out, and now that they've addressed the concern, they can focus on more advanced aspects of their company, like their sales pipeline and analytics. They're no longer fighting the disorganization of their books.

The Right CRM

The company previously used a separate CRM that was too robust for their organization. Instead, Acumatica has a built-in CRM, which they've used to improve their sales pipeline.

Metrics and Reporting At-A-Glance

The analytics feature of Acumatica allows for at-a-glance reporting and a quick overview of the company. Because everything is in one place, it’s much simpler to get a clear picture of what’s happening. Acumatica features an in-production view that shows active reports, recent jobs started, scheduled activities, project budgets, and more. The centralization was critical to the success of this implementation.

Significant Cost Savings

One of the biggest benefits was a massive reduction in software costs. Inside-Out was paying over three times as much for their previous software, which was misaligned to their needs, complicated, and overly robust in areas that didn't support the company. Acumatica was significantly less costly while better meeting the unique requirements of The Inside-Out Company.

The Follow-Up

After our software implementation, we revisit our clients with employee sediment surveys to track where they are and how they feel about the change. This helps management get a pulse on the situation and head off any concerns before they become dire.

Because Inside-Out wasn't tracking their progress well before, they didn't have many production metrics to compare the performance of the new software. But now, they can provide analytics for employees to highlight KPIs and measure success. In addition, managers can touch all projects weekly, ensuring they don't fall off the radar. Better still, it's easy to navigate and user-friendly.

Following the implementation, Inside-Out has a centralized system that works across multiple companies. They can now better track what materials are purchased for which jobs. Employees are set up for success with greater efficiency, and they're about to take the third sediment survey to see how they are progressing with the new ERP.

If your company is considering a software change, let ShapeConnect be your guide. We will help you find the best experts, services, or technologies to meet your company’s unique needs. We’re here as your partner through successful software selection, implementation, and growth. Get started by taking our Software & Technology Benchmarking Assessment and we will schedule a consultative review about solutions for your business.