Manufacturers are quite familiar with feeling the squeeze of constrained talent pools. This can be said for just about every department of a business. When it comes to ERP staff, qualified individuals can be tough to come by even in healthy job markets. This becomes even more apparent when seeking ERP staff with backgrounds that align with the unique needs of manufacturing businesses. Remote Staff Augmentation, also known as Virtual Staff Augmentation, for manufacturers is one answer to the problem of finding qualified staff to keep your manufacturing business running at peak performance.
Whether you’re working on the road, at home, or onsite, Encompass can supplement ERP staff remotely with remote workforce augmentation.
What is Remote Workforce Augmentation?
Remote Workforce Augmentation is the ability to supplement your internal staffing needs with employees, contracted or otherwise, that operate remotely and generally interact with a business by virtual means.
Why use Remote Workforce Augmentation?
There are many reasons why a company would choose to leverage Remote Workforce Augmentation for their ERP needs. This includes everything from simple system checks and reviews to advanced projects and ongoing support.
Some of the most common pain points for manufacturers that lead to leveraging remote workforce augmentation include:
Being overburdened with incoming orders or outgoing purchase orders
Achieving business goals
Running regular reports
Adding ERP coverage without bringing on new employees
Bridging gaps between office staff and departments
If you are experiencing any of these pain points or have a few that you think may qualify for remote workforce augmentation and IT support, Encompass has the right person for you.
How Encompass Provides Remote Workforce Augmentation
Companies that cannot afford or do not need full-time ERP staff will want to consider Remote Workforce Augmentation. This arrangement is one where the company will contract their ERP work and support requirements out to a third party, in this case, Encompass Solutions, Inc. (ESI).
ESI will provide several levels of support for a business to evaluate when considering remote workforce augmentation, which includes:
Supplementing your ERP staff
Bridging gaps during personnel turnover
Supporting teams with those on Maternity/Paternity leave
Quote/Order Entry
Job Creation/Closing
Purchase Order Entry
AR Invoicing
Shipping Notifications
Manual EDI processing
Transitioning back to your team if needed
Depending on your level of requirements, you may choose a basic or more comprehensive offering. Use your procedures – we’ll do the work!
Get started with Encompass Remote Workforce Augmentation
If you are ready to supplement internal operations with ESI staff or would like a review of your internal processes to find the best solution to your needs, we can help you get started.
It all starts with an informal review of your current process, which includes:
Order Entry
Purchase Order Entry
Customer Statements
and more
As part of the process, your business will provide Encompass with your procedures and our team will execute this according to your business processes and requirements.
Following that, ESI will document our progress throughout the day, providing regular reports and communications to your team or “next in line” person to make sure you are always kept up to date.
If you are ready to have the conversation about your IT support and remote workforce augmentation needs, contact Encompass today.
Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, or renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.
Encompass Solutions delivers an array of useful services to support your business beyond ERP implementation. Whether you need IT support for your on-prem or cloud-deployed ERP system, EDI management, or system patch management services, we are fully equipped to deliver on your needs. Make use of these managed services promotions to ensure your business has the support necessary to enjoy continued success.
Keep in mind, These offers apply to any of the Managed Services coverage levels outlined HERE.
Managed Services Promotions
Whether assisting with infrastructure support, reporting customization, Epicor patch management, or EDI-managed services, we are proud to add value to our customers.
New Managed Services customers committing contracts can take advantage of considerable savings on waived fees and free services.
6-Month Commitment: onboarding fee waived (up to a $2,000 value)
12-Month Commitment: onboarding fee waived and an additional 1-month service included (up to a $4000 value)
Offer Terms and Conditions
To remain eligible for discounts, commitments must be signed by October 30th, 2020
Terms are based on your organization’s Managed Services Proposal
If a 12-month agreement is broken, the user owes the remainder of the contract and waived onboarding fee
If a 6-month agreement is broken, the user owes the remainder of the contract and waived onboarding fee
Contract termination based on service subject to review and approval
As an introductory offer, contract promotions are available to new Managed Services customers only.
For any questions or to request customer referrals on our Managed Services offerings, please contact us to set up a meeting.
Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.
An Encompass customer in the Industrial Heating industry recently fell victim to an opportunistic ransomware attack that had encrypted all internal system files, as well as their Epicor application files. As a result, work was unable to continue, bringing operations to a standstill. Encompass’ Managed Services (MS) were enlisted to help get things back up and running. The company requested this case study on their ransomware recovery project be posted anonymously.
Ransomware Recovery Project Background
The company’s network fell victim to a severe ransomware attack. Unfortunately, it affected all internal systems, including backups. The attack took down the company’s systems completely in a matter of hours, forcing the company to rebuild from scratch. Fortunately, the company was able to save its Epicor Database.
The Plan
Initially, there was no internal plan in place at this company to address the initial attack or the fallout from such an event. The results from the attack were a focused effort to get systems up and running as fast as possible as well as restore a state of operational functionality.
Objectives for the engagement with Encompass Solutions’ Managed Services team were to recover system use, rebuild what was lost, and establish backups.
A plan to instate standard operating procedures that would minimize the potential for reoccurrence and maximize the efficiency of response and ransomware recovery followed.
The Execution
The company’s staff were able to provide Encompass with the necessary documentation, in the form of a blueprint of the existing Epicor environment, to rebuild the system in a more structurally sound way than the original.
Encompass’s Managed Services team worked with corporate IT staff to ensure backups and other security precautions were in place moving forward.
Overall, Encompass has just been a great asset to our organization. We have been through both a major Epicor upgrade and recovery process with them, and I am extremely impressed with everything they have done. They definitely make my job easier.
– C.R., IT Manager
The Results
Encompass’ ‘s managed services team was able to work with the parent company to reestablish a stable network and functional Epicor system in less than one week.
Next Steps
Documented SOPs were put in place to routinely establish backups and test recoverability regularly.
This company was pleased with Encompass’ level of service and expedient reaction to the situation. The two organizations will continue to work together on future Epicor projects and system maintenance.
Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.
Encompass Solutions’ Managed Services offers a simple, structured patch management cycle to keep your on-premise Epicor installation aligned with Epicor’s update cadence policy.
The Encompass patch update program keeps your Epicor ERP system running at peak performance. This update cadence keeps your business in sync with the latest iteration of your Epicor software. The benefit Encompass provides is a dependable and iterative service that leaves you more time and energy to focus on revenue-generating activities for your business.
Stop spending time on tedious back-end tasks that can distract your teams from making real headway in the form of productive work.
What Is Patch Management?
Patch management is a component of overall system management that generally includes acquiring, testing, and installing multiple patches. Common patch management tasks include, but are not limited to:
Maintaining knowledge of available patches
Determining which patches are appropriate for specific systems
Proper patch installation
System testing prior to and following installation
Documentation of configurations and procedures
Patch Management Service Schedule
The whole patch process takes roughly two weeks to complete before the cycle is ready to start anew. Here’s how the Encompass Solutions Patch Management Service works:
Day 1 – A new patch is released from Epicor Software Corp. and notification follows
Day 2 – Epicor ERP system patch updates are disseminated and installed
Days 3 through 12 – Testing of processes and Unique Business Cases (UBCs) takes place in the test environment to ensure no process is impeded with new patch rollout.
Day 13 – After testing is completed, the new patch is pushed to the live Epicor ERP environment.
Day 14 – A new patch is released from Epicor Software Corp. and notification follows
Encompass Solutions, Inc. is an ERP consulting firm, NetSuite Solution Provider and Epicor Gold Partner that offers professional services in business consulting, project management, and software implementation. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems or addressing the emerging challenges in corporate and operational growth, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. As experts in identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of Industry.
Briskheat utilizes Epicor ERP to run its organization’s production activities and admin tasks. A critical component of day-to-day operation, Epicor is used to track projects, manage time, more accurately schedule and plan production activities, and collect essential data on processes throughout their production and admin facilities. Before bringing on Encompass, Briskheat utilized a support service that fell short of their needs and caused issues that led to the interruption of daily operations. The staff was also not up to speed on utilizing their Epicor system, which meant there was room for improvement in just about every department from an operational standpoint.
The Project
When the situation came to a head at Briskheat with its former support provider, the company decided to look elsewhere for additional support in continuing its ERP efforts. Encompass was asked to step in with a plan to standardize processes and help the organization utilize the Epicor system. While fears of repeating a wrong choice in partner weighed heavily on the minds of Briskheat staff, Encompass quelled those fears out of the starting gate. Almost immediately after severing the relationship with their previous partner, Briskheat suffered a significant accounting issue. Before the contract for services had even been signed, Encompass stepped in to correct the issues with Briskheat’s accounting team, and educated the staff on how to avoid such issues in the future.
“Encompass literally came to our rescue. We had a critical accounting issue occur right after we canceled our services with the previous provider. We hadn’t even signed the contract yet. Our Account Manager, Jason Claggett, helped us get the paperwork in order and get resources in contact with our accounting dept and resolved our issue in a very timely manner.” – Applications Administrator, Briskheat Corporation
Encompass’ longstanding partnership with Epicor and intimate knowledge of the system instilled confidence in the Briskheat team and enabled us to achieve their desired results.
Next Steps
Briskheat’s teams now have their system under control and continue to learn how to utilize the Epicor ERP to its full potential. Employees are much more productive and work more efficiently through their daily tasks. The company is in phase 1 of planning its next system-wide upgrade from 9.05 to Epicor ERP version 10.2.400 with Encompass Solutions by its side.
Additional Details
Founded – 1949
Location – Columbus, OH
Industry – Flexible Surface Heaters and Temperature Controllers
System Version – Epicor ERP 9.05
Users/Seats – 50+
Deployment – On-Premise
Additional Tools/Modules – Multi-company, MES, BarTender
In 1949, BriskHeat Corporation was founded by retired Two Star Major General Earnest Briscoe. Since then, BriskHeat Corporation has become the world leader and manufacturer of the widest variety of Flexible Surface Heaters and Temperature Controllers, Designed for Freeze Protection, Viscosity Control, Condensation Prevention, Process Temperature Control, Composite Curing Applications, and much more. BriskHeat Corporation currently services industries including petrochemical, semiconductor, food processing, biotech, aviation, automotive racing, steel, laboratory, power generation, and many others.
Encompass Solutions, Inc. is an ERP consulting firm, Epicor Gold Partner that offers professional services in business consulting, project management, and software implementation. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems or addressing emerging challenges in corporate and operational growth, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. As experts in identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.
We recently sat down with Masterbuilt’s Director of Information Systems, Cristina Robinson, to discuss the company’s utilization of Encompass Solutions’ Managed Services, manufacturing of top-of-the-line cooking equipment, and the future of Masterbuilt. Here’s what Cristina had to say about the company and where she hopes to see growth enabled by the essential services Encompass Solutions and Epicor ERP provide.
Q: Can you describe what Masterbuilt does?
Masterbuilt manufactures grills, smokers, and fryers. We believe that given the right tools, anything can be mastered. That’s why we build products to perfect recipes that will become family traditions.
Q: What makes Masterbuilt unique?
I believe our core values make us unique. Chiefest among them are faith, family, and then the rest. The McLemore family set the stage from the beginning here at Masterbuilt with priorities of faith first, family second, then the rest. We live out those priorities each day, as the work comes in line with the most important thing in our lives.
Q: What prompted you to seek out a Managed Services Provider?
We upgraded to Epicor 10.1, and our customization requests continued causing a backlog. We also did not like having to wait for Epicor support responses.
Q: Was there an evaluation or selection process? If so, what did it involve?
Yes. We wanted to be sure the provider we chose would adhere to an internal method of development and documentation and be extremely knowledgeable about Epicor. Additionally, we want to learn from the provider
Q: What key component(s) of our Managed Services were you interested in?
We were most interested in three aspects of Encompass Solutions’ Managed Services:
Quarterly system and DB performance tuning
Epicor Hotfix and Patch installs
Annual business process review
Q: What were some of your apprehensions regarding bringing us on to assist Masterbuilt?
We had none.
Q: What has Masterbuilt accomplished with Encompass’ Managed Services that you couldn’t previously?
The biggest thing I have noticed is the support aspect Encompass provides for Financials. We would normally place a ticket with Epicor Support and it would be days if not weeks before we would get a resolution and even then had no understanding of what the underlying cause was. With Encompass, all of our Financial support issues are resolved within a few days or less and we are educated on the cause.
Q: What are you doing to keep up with the global competition?
By making sure our products are of leading-edge quality and innovating better products each year, we can ensure our cooking equipment meets the highest standards of our users, including functionality, durability, and dependability.
Q: What are some everyday challenges Masterbuilt faces in business? Anything specific to cooking and kitchen equipment that other manufacturers might not face?
When it comes to the contentious world of BBQ, pleasing our end users can present a challenge – sometimes we hit the nail on the head, and sometimes we are so off course. Finding the perfect fit for every one of our customers’ needs can be a difficult set of standards to live up to. Nevertheless, we are not satisfied with our work until our customers are happy.
As it pertains to cooking – that’s a tough one. The thing that may be a challenge is that the company is Christian-based. Our owner, John McLemore, does not drink alcohol and therefore does not use beer or anything of the sort in any of his recipes. This is sort of a challenge for us because most people associate beer/alcohol with BBQ!
Q: What does “Work” mean at Masterbuilt?
When it comes to our work philosophy we always say, “Do the work, make it fun”. Team Masterbuilt does what it takes to get the work done. We’re not just a team, we’re family. And we’re not just a family, we’re a FUN family! How do we “do the work” at Masterbuilt? With integrity, determination, grit, and a whole lot of teamwork. We cultivate relationships with our employees that go far beyond the doors of 1 Masterbuilt Court. There’s a lot of work to do before the bell rings each day, but our team finds a way to laugh and have a great time while getting the job done. With a loyal, trustworthy team and tons of dadgum good food all around us, we think Masterbuilt is the best place in the world to work!
Q: How does Masterbuilt address innovation in manufacturing?
It begins with leading-edge quality and innovation. Masterbuilt leads the way in our industry with the quality and innovation of products. We work tirelessly to make our products better and bring new products to market. Product innovation is a cornerstone at Masterbuilt. From the invention of the world’s first indoor electric turkey fryer and the Hitch-Haul cargo carrier, to our unmatched reputation with electric smokers, we are relentless in our pursuit to be the best. It’s not uncommon to find our President/CEO with a welder in the workshop, mentoring our engineering team. We work together to bring you products that make life dadgum good!
Q: How does Masterbuilt approach customer satisfaction?
Our customer service team has one simple goal: world-class customer service. When someone buys our product, they aren’t just a customer to us – they become a member of our Masterbuilt community. We love to share recipes, product tips, and even photos or videos of dadgum good food with our community. We wish there was never an issue with a product, but we know it happens from time to time. When it does, our team works hard to resolve it with our community members. We strive to create an environment of respect within Team Masterbuilt and also within our Masterbuilt community. We’re here to do the right thing, every single time.
When it comes to sharing, we want to create a special combination of good times, good food, and good people. At Masterbuilt, we design products that make sharing good times and good food with good people easy. What’s “good” to us?
G – Gather around the people that mean the most to you.
O – Open up your heart and kitchen to share good food and good times.
O – Original recipes you’ve passed down in your family are best. Don’t have any original recipes? We’re always happy to share ours!
D – Don’t be intimidated by lack of experience. You don’t have to be a chef to be a dadgum good cook.
Sharing goodness also means giving back. Whether tithing at our local church, serving at our local Valley Rescue Mission, or loading a bus with our team members to go serve in another state, Team Masterbuilt generously gives of their time and resources to make the world a better place.
Q: Do you have any other thoughts or comments you’d like to share with others considering Encompass Solutions’ Managed Services?
Jason has been awesome and he sold us on Encompass’ capabilities as a managed services provider. He is a pleasure to work with. Viviana is the best thing since sliced bread! She has been amazing with our Financial support tickets.
The Masterbuilt story begins with a leap of faith by Dawson McLemore. Don’t most good stories begin that way? Dawson was working hard to support his family with a steady job at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company when he took a chance and turned his backyard welding hobby into a full-time family business. While he was driving down the road one day, praying for guidance and asking God to build and protect his business, the name Masterbuilt came to mind. As he tells it, our company was “built by the Master”. Masterbuilt has grown leaps and bounds since the day Dawson said that prayer, but we hold on to the same set of priorities. Putting our faith and families at the top of the list keeps everything else in perspective. Our team is good at the work, and they know we value them even more than the work.
Masterbuilt will lead our industry in providing innovative, high-quality products and services, fully recognizing that all things are possible with GOD. This will be done with a commitment to long-term relationships with employees, customers, suppliers, and our community while upholding the highest standards of business ethics.
Encompass Solutions, Inc. is an ERP consulting firm and Epicor Gold Partner that offers professional services in business consulting, project management, and software implementation. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems or addressing emerging challenges in corporate and operational growth, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. As experts in identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of the Industry.
The essence of reaching out for help is never an easy task. We live in a “can do” society, where independence and self-sufficiency often define who we are or at least how we are perceived by others. The acclimation of stating that you just clearly do not know the answer to an unspoken question can be daunting for some and often forbidden. Therefore, we “spin our wheels” for hours on end, attempting to solve our own issues or enlighten ourselves with the answers to our own questions. Here’s where managed services providers can step in and lighten the load or deliver clear direction that leads to clear results.
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
-Albert Einstein
How Managed Services Providers Can Help
How many hours can you state that you have worked on something that you had a burning question on and you either never discovered the answer, or you just chose to ignore the unanswered question- with the constellation of thought that the issue would magically disappear one day. We are all guilty of this one thing. It occurs daily- at work, at home, at school, we all experience the clouded thought/ question mark experience.
In our ever-changing technological world, we will always have questions, but how we choose to handle these unknowns is what determines our success individually, as a business and as a technology community. With this in mind, we have developed an ERP Community Support system- our Epicor Help Desk Support organization, known as Managed Services- is here to answer any and all of your Epicor questions.
As Managed Services providers, Encompass delivers a program that includes the ongoing maintenance of Epicor environments (typically a Test, Pilot, Live and Training environment), application of one off bug fixes (SCR’s), restarting application servers and setup and maintenance of user accounts.
As part of implementing this service, Encompass Solutions, Inc. will provide standardized procedures for environment management, which must be adhered to by all resources – for example, installing an SCR on a test system prior to deployment in live. Environment refreshes can be requested and scheduled through managed service tickets. To ensure stable operations, the SQL maintenance plan will be reviewed to ensure that preventive maintenance is taking place, consistency checks are being performed, that load balancing has been performed, and that hardware is correctly specified for optimal operations.
Beyond our Help Desk Support organization, we also provide assistance with Epicor customizations through our Incident Base Support program. In this instance, a help desk ticket would be logged by you- the end-user, and if flagged for Incident-Based Support, we would write up the requirement(s) for approval, and provide an estimate for the services which must be approved. These requests may still be logged through the helpdesk, but will typically be quoted separately outside of Managed Services.
Encompass Solutions has a team of over 65 resources spanning 4 countries globally, with combined experience in ERP reaching over 250 years.This makes it clear that we are an ERP support organization dedicated to being much more than managed services providers. As an Epicor certified Platinum Services partner, Encompass resources attend training and complete certifications alongside Epicor’s internal consultants, developers, and other departmental staff. Additionally, as a partner of the highest tier and a more condensed organization, we provide not only a more personal approach to your implementation support, but an additional level of agility and resource escalation to facilitate your success.
We have been providing infrastructure support for Epicor ERP for over 15 years, on numerous platforms. With our coverage, and deep Epicor infrastructure experience, Encompass is uniquely positioned to offer effective and responsive services. Allow us to work with you to resolve those burning ERP questions.
Encompass Solutions is a business and software consulting firm that specializes in ERP systems, EDI, and Managed Services support for Manufacturers and Distributors. Serving small and medium-sized businesses since 2001, Encompass modernizes operations and automates processes for hundreds of customers across the globe. Whether undertaking full-scale implementation, integration, and renovation of existing systems, Encompass provides a specialized approach to every client’s needs. By identifying customer requirements and addressing them with the right solutions, we ensure our clients are equipped to match the pace of Industry.
