However, as manufacturers reach certain growth milestones, they start requiring more specialized software to manage key aspects of their operations, including: 

• Inventory management.
• Sales.
• Customer support.
• Human resources — and more.

At the same time, leveraging QuickBooks data to drive other business functions — while feeding information back — helps keep your finances aligned with growth. This reduces the risk of: 

• Information gaps.
• Manual data entry errors.
• Inefficient bottlenecks.

That’s why it’s beneficial to explore how you can extend QuickBooks for other parts of your manufacturing business through add-ons and apps. Read on for more details.

Can you use QuickBooks for manufacturing?

While QuickBooks offers some inventory management tools like tracking raw materials, managing customer communications, and pricing inventory, it has limitations for manufacturers. It’s primarily designed to manage the financial side of your business.

However, QuickBooks isn’t an optimal solution on its own when it comes to more product-oriented tasks like: 

• Work-in-process (WIP) inventory tracking.
• Bills of materials.
• Production planning and scheduling.
• Managing complex operations.

QuickBooks Online’s manufacturing capabilities

QuickBooks Online provides a solid foundation for financial management, but its manufacturing-specific features are limited. While it offers basic inventory management capabilities like tracking raw materials and finished goods, growing businesses with complex processes may find QuickBooks Online insufficient.

For example, QuickBooks Online can track individual component items but can’t convert these into finished items automatically. This requires manual reconciliation of component stock reductions and finished product stock increases. Additionally, QuickBooks Online may experience performance issues when handling large volumes of data as operations scale.

QuickBooks Enterprise’s manufacturing capabilities

QuickBooks Enterprise offers more industry-specific features for manufacturers compared to QuickBooks Online. These include:

• Deeper inventory management.
• Bill of materials cost tracking.
• Job costing.
• Multi-location support.
• Custom price levels for different customers.

QuickBooks Enterprise also provides pre-loaded reporting templates for better production line visibility, such as:

• Inventory Valuation Summary Report.
• Inventory Stock Status by Item Report.
• Assembly Shortage by Item Report.

While QuickBooks Enterprise offers more manufacturing-specific capabilities than QuickBooks Online, it still has limitations and a steeper learning curve. Its core strength remains in accounting and financial management rather than optimizing manufacturing processes.

How to get more out of QuickBooks for manufacturers

To maximize the value of QuickBooks for manufacturing businesses, consider integrating compatible third-party apps that support wider business processes. Two key areas to focus on are to:

Use a QuickBooks MRP

A QuickBooks material requirements planning (MRP) suite lets you oversee your entire manufacturing process, from inventory management to production management and warehousing. Unlike QuickBooks alone, an MRP is purpose-built for manufacturing tasks and can account for specific challenges you’ll face as you scale.

Add a QuickBooks CRM

A customer relationship management (CRM) system houses information on current and potential customers, supporting front office teams in driving sales and growth. The right CRM will integrate with your QuickBooks account, connecting financial data to help make informed decisions on pricing, market targeting, and sales process optimization.

Top QuickBooks add-ons for manufacturing

Katana MRP

Image credit: Katana

Katana is a popular manufacturing and inventory management software that integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks. It offers features like:

• Real-time inventory management.
• Production planning and scheduling.
• Purchasing and supplier management.
• Integrations with e-commerce platforms.

Pricing

Katana MRP offers three subscription options: 

• Starter: $179 per month billed annually. 
• Standard: $359 per month billed annually. 
• Professional: $799 per month billed annually. 

Method CRM

Method is a highly customizable CRM that works perfectly with QuickBooks for manufacturing businesses. Key features include:

• A two-way instant QuickBooks sync.
• 100% customizable workflows and automation.
• Out-of-the-box customer portal.
• Advanced reporting and analytics tools.

Pricing

Method CRM offers three subscription plans:

• Contact Management: $25 per user per month.
• CRM Pro: $44 per user per month.
• CRM Enterprise: $74 per user per month.

Each plan offers varying functionalities and capabilities, depending on the stage your business is in and its unique needs. Method also offers a free trial with no credit card required.

Wrap-up: QuickBooks add-ons for manufacturing

For manufacturers requiring advanced functionalities that fall outside the scope of finance — such as production scheduling, detailed bills of materials, and comprehensive reporting — QuickBooks may not be enough.

To bridge these gaps, manufacturers can benefit significantly from integrating specialized add-ons like Katana MRP and Method CRM. Katana MRP enhances inventory tracking and production planning, while Method CRM facilitates customer relationship management and saves time with features like its two-way QuickBooks sync and customizable workflows. 

As you explore your options, it’s essential to evaluate the specific needs of your manufacturing operations and consider how these add-ons can enhance them. When you leverage the right tools, you can build a software system that both saves time and cuts costs.

Extend the limits of QuickBooks. Try Method for free.

The post QuickBooks add-ons for manufacturing: What to know appeared first on Method.

Overall, your goal is to maintain an optimal cycle inventory level. Doing so will help you avoid costly problems, like stockouts, dead stock, and out-of-date inventory.

What is cycle inventory?

Cycle inventory, also known as cycle stock, is the inventory needed to keep production running and customer orders filled. It usually includes raw materials used in manufacturing and finished goods ready for shipment. Basically, it’s the inventory needed to meet your minimum production requirements.

To calculate cycle stock, you need to factor in:

Manufacturing lead time demand

The amount of time it takes to get an item from the supplier or for raw materials to reach the production line.

Production quantity

The number of units manufactured in each production run.

Why is cycle inventory important?

Good cycle inventory practices protect you from stockouts, which is when inventory runs out and you’re unable to fulfill customer orders on time. 

Stockouts can lead to several problems, such as:

Lost sales

If you can’t deliver customers the products they want, they’ll look to your competitors, leading to lost revenue for your business.

Damaged reputation

Stockouts can damage your credibility and show that you can’t meet customer demand. Worse, customers might avoid buying from you even after your stock levels are back up.

Inefficient production

If your raw materials or subassemblies inventory levels are weak, you could suffer from production stoppages.

What influences cycle inventory levels?

Many factors that influence cycle inventory levels. Generally, these factors can be both external (like customer and supplier issues) and internal (production timelines, etc). 

The most likely factors you’ll come across are: 

Demand

The most important factor in forecasting cycle inventory is customer demand. If you’re seeing more demand, you need higher stock levels to meet customer orders without delay.

On the other hand, catching declining customer demand is also important. You don’t want to enter a sales cycle with excess stock, which costs you extra money to hold. 

Order costs

This is the cost of ordering your cycle inventory. Imagine you’re a bakery. If the prices of flour, sugar, and eggs go up, then the cost of your cakes (the ‘inventory’) will rise too. Likewise, the cost of fuel, electricity, and many other factors can feed into your order costs. 

Supplier lead time

This is the time it takes for your vendor to deliver the things you need for your product. Going back to the bakery example, if it takes a longer time for a farm to send you eggs or milk, then you’ll need to order further in advance. Otherwise, you might have a shortage of raw materials, which can lead to a stockout of cakes. 

Production Quantity

If you’re able to manufacture something at a higher rate in each production run, then you might not need to worry about holding a small inventory. Generally, you’d expect to refill your inventory levels quicker with faster production. 

Production Lead Time

If your production process takes more time, then you’d need to order raw materials further out in advance. So, you might want to keep higher levels of cycle stock of raw materials to prevent any production interruptions. 

Seasonal Changes

Seasonal changes in demand can impact cycle inventory levels. For example, a business selling winter coats would need higher stock levels in the months leading up to winter.

Holding Costs

These are the costs of storing raw materials or goods, such as leasing warehousing space, taking out insurance, paying salaries, and handling materials. 

Some businesses prefer keeping their holding costs low by keeping their cycle inventory levels low. Others might have to deal with those costs because their production processes take more time, or their suppliers have trouble delivering on time. 

Product Cost

The cost of your product can impact your cycle inventory in a few ways. For example, if raw material prices go up, you might opt to raise prices on your customers. But doing so can push some customers away and lower demand. So, in those situations, you might look at reducing the cycle inventory of your final product and lean on higher pricing to keep ROI up. 

Discounts

Discounts can impact your cycle inventory in multiple ways. Let’s say a supplier cuts the price of some raw materials, you might take advantage of the lower pricing and buy more materials. This can lead to larger amounts of inventory for those materials. 

On the other side, you might have excess stock of a certain product, so you could discount it as a way of clearing inventory. 

What is inventory cycle time?

The inventory cycle time is the number of days, weeks, or months it takes from receiving raw materials and shipping the final product. This phase is also known as “work in process” (WIP). 

Cycle inventory formula

The most common way to calculate cycle inventory levels is using the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) formula: EOQ = √[2(DK/H)]

Here’s what each value represents:

• D is the annual demand of the product in units.
• K is the fixed cost per order.
• H is the annual carrying cost per unit.

To keep it simple, imagine you’re a store that sells, on average, 1250 cakes a day. It costs you $100 every time someone places an order, and the cake has a carrying cost of $1 a day.

The EOQ here would be the square root of 2(1250 x 100)/1, which equals around 500. So, the optimal number of cakes your store should order each time from the oven (whether it’s your own oven or another supplier) is 500. That means you’d make two and a half cake orders of that size a day (2.5). 

Benefits of strong cycle inventory management

Getting cycle inventory management right is important as it ties into a lot of important growth indicators for your business, such as:

Avoiding stockouts

You want to ensure that you have enough of the right inventory on hand to fill customer orders without any delays or backorders. Stockouts can lead to a drop in cash flow. 

Avoiding overstocking

Good cycle inventory management also protects you from holding too much inventory, which can lead to higher holding costs. 

Raising customer satisfaction

When you have enough of the right products on hand, you’ll prevent delays in filling customer orders. This leads to happier and more loyal customers. 

Improving cash flow

Building on the previous point, having enough products on hand to fulfill orders also keeps your cash flow healthy, leading to more revenue. 

Determining safety stock

Good cycle inventory management also helps you calculate how much stock you need to keep in reserve in case of major interruptions, like a supplier closing. 

Keeping your business growth engine running

When you have your cycle inventory levels under control, you can give your sales, marketing, and other front office teams the confidence they need to push. They’ll know that getting new customers will drive quicker revenue because you can reliably fulfill orders. 

What causes cycle inventory problems? How do you solve them?

The tough thing about cycle inventory levels is that the factors affecting it are both within and beyond the production line. So, focusing on just one part of the equation – like inventory management – without looking at customer relationships and sales will give you an incomplete picture. 

Rapid changes in customer demand

Unexpected spikes and drops in customer demand can make it harder to forecast the right inventory cycle levels. 

One way to reduce this risk is by connecting your inventory tracking with your front office, like sales and customer service teams. You can get early visibility of customer demand trends. 

Lack of accurate forecasting

Building off the last point. When your forecasting is off, you’ll be at higher risk of getting your cycle inventory levels wrong. You might end up with either a stockout or overstock situation. 

This is where connecting your inventory management to sales and customer service in your forecasting software will help.  

Not accounting for supplier lead times

You’ll have an intuitive sense of supplier lead times when you’re working with a few vendors. But as your business grows, you might be tapping into many different suppliers, at which point you’ll need to automate the tracking process.

One way to do that is by using software that tracks the information in your purchase orders to them and their invoices to you. Over time, you can catch trends in lead time, especially during seasonal months (like winter) or in response to certain issues (like rising gas prices). 

Production issues

This can happen from both internal and external factors. Your production site may suffer from faulty equipment or an electricity shortage, for example. Other times, your suppliers might have shipped your raw materials too late. 

In such situations you’ll want to respond rapidly. CRM software helps you drive communications quicker. You can get a call for repairing or replacing equipment sooner, or if a supplier fails, find an alternate vendor faster. 

Summary: Cycle inventory tips

By this point, you likely sensed the importance of software. As your business operations grow, you’ll deal with more suppliers, more customer issues, and more bad surprises. 

When you reach that point, knowing what’s happening on the sales side is important, it directly ties back to your inventory. You need 360-degree visibility, more employees involved in tracking and communicating, and reports to show where costs are rising or falling. 

You can do this with a combination of manufacturing CRM software and inventory management software. But before you make a call on which ones to get, it’d be a good idea to explore all of your options. Check out the guides below for more information:

• Best manufacturing inventory management software: Top picks for 2024 and beyond
• QuickBooks Online inventory management: Everything you need to know
• What are manufacturing CRM systems and how could they help

Cycle inventory FAQs

Cycle stock vs. Safety stock

Cycle stock and safety stock are crucial components of inventory management:

• Cycle Stock: It is the inventory expected to be sold based on demand forecasts.
  
• Safety Stock: It is extra or buffer stock maintained to meet excess demand or guard against delays from suppliers or unforeseen problems.

Cycle inventory vs. Cycle count

Cycle inventory and cycle count are not the same:

• Cycle Inventory: Refers to the inventory needed to meet regular demand.
• Cycle Count: Is the practice of performing regular stocktakes to maintain accurate stock levels. It involves counting a sample of inventory regularly to project the total inventory.

The post Understanding cycle inventory and how to manage it appeared first on Method.

COGS, or the cost of goods sold, is more than just a financial metric — it’s a powerful tool that provides deep insights into your operational efficiency and profitability. 

By accurately tracking and analyzing the direct costs associated with producing goods, manufacturers can make informed decisions on: 

• Pricing.
• Production processes.
• Inventory management. 

In this guide, you’ll delve into manufacturing COGS to get a thorough understanding of why it’s important and how to calculate it for your own operations. 

Let’s get started. 

What is cost of goods sold?

COGS (cost of goods sold) represents the direct total costs incurred when producing goods. This includes the cost of materials used to create the product and the direct labor costs involved in production. 

COGS is a crucial metric for most businesses as it directly impacts profitability and is essential for financial reporting and tax purposes.

Why is the cost of goods sold in manufacturing important?

COGS is vital in manufacturing as it directly impacts your: 

• Profitability.
• Pricing. 
• Tax compliance. 
• Inventory management. 

By subtracting COGS from revenue, you can determine your gross profit, a key indicator of your business’ financial health. As a result, you can set the most competitive prices to ensure optimal profitability.

Also, COGS plays a crucial role in inventory management. By analyzing COGS in relation to your inventory levels, you can improve inventory turnover and efficiency to reduce your carrying costs and boost cash flow. 

Not to mention, accurate COGS calculations are essential for tax reporting and optimizing deductions.

Basic COGS formula

The basic formula for calculating COGS is:

COGS = Beginning inventory + Purchases – Ending inventory

This formula is most effective when inventory constitutes the majority of your COGS. For service-based businesses or those with high labor needs, calculating the cost may require you to include additional factors.

Drivers for cost of goods sold

Materials costing

Materials costing includes the cost of raw materials used in production. This encompasses:

1. Direct materials: Primary components used in the product.
2. Indirect materials: Supplies used in production but not directly part of the final product.

Operations costing

Operations costing involves two main categories:

• Direct labor: Wages of workers directly involved in production.
• Manufacturing overhead: Indirect costs such as factory rent, utilities, and depreciation of equipment.

Inventory valuation

Inventory valuation methods can significantly impact your COGS calculations. Common methods include:

• FIFO (First-In, First-Out): Assumes oldest inventory is sold first.
• LIFO (Last-In, First-Out): Assumes newest inventory is sold first.
• Average cost: Uses your average inventory cost across all items.

Note that your method of choice affects your reported COGS and, consequently, profit margins. 

What is COGM?

Cost of goods manufactured (COGM) represents the total cost of manufacturing products and transferring them into finished goods inventory. It includes: 

• Direct material cost.
• All labor expenses.
• Manufacturing overhead costs.

COGM vs. COGS

While related, COGM and COGS are distinct. COGM is used to calculate your ending work-in-process (WIP) inventory and is an input for determining COGS.

The biggest difference between them is that:

• COGM focuses on production costs for a specific period.
• COGS represents the cost of goods actually sold during that period.

Total manufacturing cost (TMC) and its differences

Like COGM, your total manufacturing cost (TMC) includes all costs associated with production. The key difference between TMC and COGM is that TMC doesn’t account for changes in work-in-process inventory.

How to calculate the cost of goods manufactured

The COGM calculation is typically used for a specific accounting period, such as a month or a year. Its basic formula is:

Beginning WIP (work-in-process) inventory + Total manufacturing costs – Ending WIP inventory

You can break this out a little further with this formula:

Beginning WIP inventory + Direct materials + Direct labor + Manufacturing overhead – Ending WIP Inventory

Your beginning inventory represents your total cost value of work-in-process (WIP) inventory at the start of the accounting period.

If you don’t have an ending inventory, it means all products started during the period were completed, and your ending WIP inventory would be zero. If you’re calculating COGM with an unknown ending inventory, you can estimate your historical percentage and apply that to your starting inventory.

Example calculation of cost of goods manufactured (COGM)

Let’s consider a furniture manufacturer with the following data:

• Beginning WIP inventory: $10,000
• Direct materials: $100,000
• Direct labor: $50,000
• Manufacturing overhead: $60,000
• Ending WIP inventory: $30,000

COGM = $10,000 + $100,000 + $50,000 + $60,000 – $30,000 

So, for this example, the manufacturer’s COGM would be $190,000.

Linking COGM to COGS

Once you’ve calculated your COGM, you can incorporate it into your finished goods inventory metric. Here’s the formula to calculate COGS using COGM:

COGS = Beginning finished goods inventory + COGM – Ending finished goods inventory

Your manufacturing COGS is much easier to calculate once you have your COGM, and it decreases the risk of oversight. Breaking down your COGS calculation into smaller parts is a smart way to ensure that your costs and inventory accounted are accurate.

How to avoid challenges in calculating cost of goods sold

Here are five ways to avoid challenges when calculating manufacturing COGS:

1. Maintain accurate inventory records through automatic and manual checks.
2. Consistently apply inventory valuation methods across all manufacturing processes.
3. Regularly reconcile inventory counts with financial records.
4. Use appropriate accounting software for tracking costs, like QuickBooks.
5. Stay informed about industry-specific accounting standards.

Key takeaways

Overall, a thorough understanding of cost of goods sold (COGS) and its calculation is essential for manufacturers to make informed pricing decisions and drive overall business success.

Remember that:

• The basic COGS formula is: Beginning inventory + Purchases – Ending inventory.
• COGM focuses on production costs, while COGS represents the cost of goods sold.
• Accurate inventory valuation and cost tracking are essential for correct COGS calculations.

Tracking COGS is only the first step. Once you know your costs, it’s time to understand how those costs of producing generate profits over time. 

See how Method gives you key insights into your manufacturing business in real time.

Manufacturing COGS FAQs

Does COGS include the cost of goods manufactured?

Yes, COGS includes the cost of goods manufactured for products that were sold during the chosen period.

How can I track my COGS?

To track COGS, you should implement an effective inventory management system that accurately records purchases, production costs, and inventory levels throughout the accounting period. 

Is COGS considered an expense?

Yes, COGS is considered an expense on your income statement. It’s subtracted from revenue to calculate gross profit.

The post Manufacturing COGS: Everything you need to know appeared first on Method.

With an integrated customer relation management (CRM) system, you can:

• Automate the tedious parts of customer relations.
• Leverage your customer data to get more sales and better prospects.

Whether you’re a small-scale manufacturer or a big name in the game, manufacturing CRM systems can take your business to the next level.

This guide will tell you everything you need to know to choose and implement the best CRM system for manufacturing.

Manufacturing CRM systems: the ultimate guide

Manufacturers tend to rely on repeat business to survive, and maintaining a good relationship with your customers is vital to your bottom line.

Manufacturing CRM systems help manufacturers keep track of data from both prospective and current customers, streamlining the customer service experience.

A CRM’s main purpose is to make it easier for you to foster a positive customer experience, with the end goal of keeping your customers happy.

The happier your customers are, the more likely they’ll return to your business.

What’s a CRM for manufacturing?

A CRM for manufacturing is software that helps manufacturers provide excellent service to their customer base by:

• Centralizing customer information.
• Consolidating sales conversations.
• Providing a hub for team members to access and share information effectively.

CRM software keeps track of customer information like phone numbers, addresses, order information, sales history, issues, demographics, and customer feedback — all in a convenient and easy-to-access location.

Sales teams can use CRM data to understand their customers better, increasing their chances of quickly identifying sales opportunities and closing deals.

Service teams can also use CRM features to solve customer problems efficiently, increasing customer satisfaction and retention.

Why implement manufacturing CRM systems?

You should implement manufacturing CRM systems to increase customer retention.

If you’re wondering how CRM systems stimulate growth in manufacturing, here are a few ways:

• Optimize your supply chain.
• Boost sales and convert more leads.
• Predict customer demand through consolidated sales data.
• Increase communication efficiency throughout your entire team.
• Improve customer interactions and increase customer satisfaction.

Adopting a CRM is your best bet if you want to facilitate your productivity across the board while improving your marketing and service simultaneously. 

What are the benefits of manufacturing CRM systems?

The benefits of manufacturing CRM systems include the following:

• Better sales performance.
• Superior supply chain visibility.
• Increased customer satisfaction.
• Improved product quality.
• Accurate demand forecasting.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these benefits below.

Better sales performance

Manufacturing CRM systems centralize all your sales conversations and customer information.

This empowers your sales team to work as one unit, managing and interacting with all customer accounts, leads, and existing communications inside a single system.

Having all your customer information centralized and well-documented is a massive advantage because it:

• Builds customer relationships based on trust and respect.
• Increases your chances of closing on a new lead.
• Helps retain or upsell your existing customers.

Using a CRM, you can easily access historical customer data and determine when your customers tend to order more of a certain kind of product.

Not only will you know when to sell, but what to sell and who to sell it to. You can also use that data to determine which customers you can provide more value to by upselling or cross-selling.

Superior sales pipeline visibility

CRM systems for manufacturing are an excellent tool for understanding your sales pipeline and guiding potential customers through your sales process.

Manually tracking your leads and deals through a spreadsheet is inefficient and can lead to communication delays and mistakes.

You can set up pipeline automation through a CRM, allowing you to automatically move your deals through the various stages of your pipeline when specific triggers occur.

You can even set the system to notify team members when a lead hits a milestone or moves forward in the pipeline.

Increased customer retention and satisfaction

One of the biggest reasons to use a CRM is to boost customer service quality. To successfully retain your customers, you must ensure they’re consistently happy and satisfied with your service. 

Customer satisfaction is a major factor in customer retention in the manufacturing sector. According to Salesforce, customers are 67% more likely to pay for great service. 

The key to outstanding service is knowing how to quickly and efficiently address specific customers’ concerns promptly and efficiently. And the best way to do that is to use a CRM to look up all your customers’ info in a few seconds.

A good CRM also comes with tools to help manage customer service cases. This includes a ticketing system that lets you track, update, and resolve customer issues in the CRM.

Improved product quality

CRMs can give you valuable insight into your customer base’s opinion of your product. Communicating with your customers and consolidating their feedback allows you to cater to their needs more effectively.

Having an efficient feedback mechanism makes it easy to survey customer pain points.

This is because efficient feedback leads to actionable insights that you can use to quickly improve your product’s quality and consistency across the board.

More accurate demand forecasting

As a manufacturer, you lose money when you have excess inventory or product shortage. Storing extra product costs money, and losing deals because of a shortage impacts your profits.

You’ll want to balance your production and customer demand to protect your bottom line.

Manufacturing CRM systems allow you to better predict what your customers want and when. A CRM can help you accurately predict current demand and future sales by analyzing your sales pipeline.

You can use this data to plan your production schedule ahead of time and allocate your resources accordingly.

Who should be using a manufacturing CRM system?

You should use manufacturing CRM systems if your team is in a customer-facing capacity.

Manufacturing companies have multiple teams of people who could benefit from a manufacturing CRM, namely:

• Sales teams: CRMs can make your salespeople more effective by making your sales cycle easy to navigate. Your sales team can easily track leads and guide them through every step of the pipeline.
• Marketing teams: Marketing departments can use all the data collected in a CRM to determine the most effective marketing strategy. Historical sales data and accurate demand forecasts tell your marketing team who to market to and how to market to them.
• Customer support: CRMs allow your customer service personnel to perform in their best capacity. Creating, viewing, and managing service tickets in one system will result in speedy customer service, making your customers feel they’re being taken care of.
• Production managers: CRMs hold valuable data for production managers. Knowing the exact details of customer orders allows production to schedule runs, stock products, and even improve product quality with outstanding efficiency.

How do I get started with a manufacturing CRM system?

Before choosing a manufacturing CRM system, put together a team of personnel from different departments to discuss which features are most important to them in CRM software.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to getting started with a manufacturing CRM:

1. Choose members from sales, marketing, service, and other departments that will use the CRM.
2. Have all your team members discuss their day-to-day workflow, focusing on bottlenecks and situations you can improve with better access to data.
3. Examine the reports available to you and your team, and discuss if and how these could be improved.
4. Establish how your team assesses the performance metrics from your sales and marketing assets and the respective teams’ performance.
5. Create a list of essential systems and processes your CRM will need to integrate and communicate with.
6. Calculate the current costs of your processes. This will stand as a baseline figure that you can compare against the cost and impact of onboarding a CRM.

With your team’s assessment, you can easily compare CRM systems to see which one has the most features that your team needs.

Key features to look for in a manufacturing CRM system

Most CRM systems for manufacturing come with a wide range of valuable features.

No matter what manufacturing you do, below are some key features you’ll want to have in your CRM. 

Marketing

CRM software can help you create and manage marketing campaigns to capture and retain more customers. You can analyze and integrate sales data to solidify your targeting and achieve higher conversion rates with prospective customers.

CRM systems can help you identify the best-performing text copy and the ideal time to send messages to your customer base.

With CRM software, you can also create and send messages to your customers based on the data from tracking target customers.

Optimizing customer service

Manufacturing CRM software should optimize your business’s customer service. It allows you to optimize and personalize your approach to customer service for every unique customer.

You can identify your customers’ preferred communication channel and establish contact through that channel, streamlining communication.

Good CRM software also allows you to access detailed analyses where you can see opportunities to reduce cost and optimize service.

Sales-related functionalities

Centralizing your customer data in your CRM software allows your sales team to access and share information efficiently.

They can use CRM to better understand how your business or organization performs and then use that information to provide the right solutions to your customers.

CRM software makes it easy to pinpoint high-value customers and focus on them.

Dispatch service

A critical function your CRM software must have is organizing your service specialists and distributing tasks in the software.

Centralized data is crucial in allowing key employees easy access to pertinent information. This will speed up your services and help you earn your customers’ trust.

Automating your service models with manufacturing CRM systems lets you match your specialists’ skills with your customers’ needs.

Moreover, live information dissemination and geolocalization during a service event solidify your business’s internal processes.

Optimal project management

Project management functionalities are essential in any CRM software.

To maximize business efficiency, ensure your CRM can:

• Plan projects and allocate available resources efficiently.
• Distribute tasks and determine time management.
• Track billing and spending for easy accounting.
• Give your team access to a collaborative portal.
• Generate accurate reports.

How to set up a manufacturing CRM system

Once you’ve chosen a CRM to use, setting it up can be daunting. You need to be deliberate in your CRM implementation to achieve maximum efficiency.

Here are a few steps you need to take to set up your manufacturing CRM system properly.

1. Map out your customer journey

Create a map of your customer’s journey through your sales pipeline. This includes expanding on awareness, consideration, purchase commitment, post-purchase service, and loyalty expansion.

You can implement a CRM in every step of the sales process, and it’s up to you to figure out where it would be most beneficial.

To find out what areas a CRM can help in, ask yourself some of these questions:

• How do customers find out about your business?
• How do you determine when a customer is in a buying mindset?
• How do you guide them through the selling process?
• How do you plan on ensuring a customer comes back for more?

The answers to these questions will help you solidify your sales and business processes and standardize your customer acquisition.

2. Determine your sales and business processes

Once you’ve mapped out the customer journey, you can start creating processes for your business in the CRM.

Creating ad campaigns to capture leads, measuring engagement, collecting lead data from web forms, and sending emails to prospective customers are all processes you can simplify with CRM.

3. Create custom pipelines, stages, and fields

Once you’re ready to work with your CRM, you can start setting up your sales pipelines, stages, and custom fields:

• Custom fields store and display data that is unique to each customer. Custom fields can be part of stages.
• Stages are the individual steps of your sales pipeline. Stages are part of pipelines.
• Pipelines are visual representations of a group of stages for a sales process.

Don’t make your sales process too complicated, or your teams will have difficulty adjusting to the new procedures.

4. Synchronize your customer data

Synchronizing your customer information is crucial when setting up your manufacturing CRM systems.

The most common way to import your customer data is by using .csv files, which allow you to import your contacts in batches and organize them as they come in.

5. Integrate other tools into the CRM

Integrating your other digital tools into your CRM will allow you to capture customer data from other sources, such as social media, webinars, website tracking, and online purchases.

There are three ways to integrate tools in your CRM depending on your system’s features:

• Native integrations: Also known as direct integrations, these connect your other tools directly with your CRM.
• Third-party integrations: Also known as middleware integrations, these integrations rely on middleman software to connect two or more tools that initially couldn’t communicate.
• Application Programming Interface integrations: Also known as API integrations, this kind of connection is made specifically for your CRM using your platform’s code.

6. Automate your workflow

Manually doing repetitive tasks slows down your team and hinders efficiency. Thankfully, CRMs make automation easy.

Find the most repetitive manual tasks in your workflow, and check if you can use your CRM’s functionality to automate them through specific triggers.

For example, you can set the CRM to create an ad campaign with a web form submission as the goal.

When a lead fills in their details, the CRM can create a profile for that lead with their contact information, then send an email to them, with follow-up emails ready for the next two weeks.

7. Onboard users and set their permissions

Use your team members’ email addresses to add them to the CRM, so they can access the system and even get their emails and calls processed automatically.

Remember to set permissions for every user to only access the information and features they need.

Discuss clear guidelines for information access with your team and restrict specific teams’ access to certain features to avoid data overcrowding and potential user error.

Key functions of a manufacturing CRM system

CRM systems have a whole library of functions that bring value to your business. You can even customize a CRM system to do what your teams need it to do.

Below are some functions that you’ll need in your chosen CRM.

Managing leads

CRM software captures and stores lead data from many sources, such as emails, phone calls, website forms, and social media.

Additionally, it monitors a lead’s progression through the sales pipeline and aids in selecting marketing strategies for converting them.

Managing contact data

CRMs can store customer details in an easily accessible database.

You will save time when accessing a customer’s name, address, contact number, order history, and other data.

Email functionality

Managing your emails through a CRM makes B2B marketing much easier.

A CRM system should be able to send mass emails, track customer email conversations, and queue automated emails to your customer list.

It’s also a huge plus if a CRM can integrate with popular email apps like Gmail and Outlook.

Report generation and analytics

Reports are the lifeblood of your business strategy. The ability to generate and analyze reports is universal in manufacturing CRM software.

A good CRM should help you assess your business’s performance by tracking different metrics and analyzing data.

Workflow automation

A critical function of CRM software is the ability to automate your workflow.

Automating repetitive manual tasks like sending emails and following up on leads can speed your workflow up and allow your teams to focus on more important things.

Demand forecasting

Demand forecasting allows you to address your current customers’ demand for your product while estimating your future sales based on historical and current data.

This feature lets you keep production and inventory levels optimized.

Sales pipeline management

With a CRM, you can visualize the sales pipeline and identify where your leads are in the sales funnel. 

You can use the visual pipeline to manage different stages and perform mass actions like sending emails to leads in a particular part of the pipeline.

Marketing

CRMs are great for automating marketing functions. You can create and launch marketing campaigns, track optimization per campaign, and decide which platforms to launch your campaigns.

Types of manufacturing CRM systems

There are three primary types of manufacturing CRM systems: operational, analytical, and collaborative. 

Below are the differences between the three systems.

Operational CRM system

Operational CRMs typically automate processes to make your workflow as smooth as possible. These CRMs effectively simplify the tedious parts of customer interaction, allowing your team to focus on the things that need their attention.

This type of CRM specializes in marketing, service, and sales automation, freeing your time for more creative processes.

Operational CRMs are great for small companies that have limited staffing.

Analytical CRM system

Analytical CRMs analyze customer data and help you gain valuable insights into the customer experience.

It’s easy to collect a lot of data, but gathering valuable insights from collected data is much more difficult. With good insights, you can quickly develop a plan of action based on empirical data.

These CRM systems have specialized features for data analysis, allowing you to see trends in customer behaviors and effectively forecast demand.

Analytical CRMs are most helpful when you have tons of data to sift through. 

Collaborative CRM system

Collaborative CRMs help facilitate communication and collaboration between different teams and departments that may feel disconnected from each other.

The primary function of a collaborative CRM is to efficiently share data between departments and personnel to make customer service as smooth as possible.

Data collected by the marketing team passes to the sales team and then to the customer service representatives through a centralized information system.

This saves customers the hassle of waiting while a service rep searches for their file or, even worse, having to repeat themselves to get their concerns addressed.

Collaborative CRMs work best when your organization has many moving parts that need to share the same information to deliver a pleasant experience to the end customer.

Key takeaways

Manufacturing CRM systems are essential in keeping your organization efficient and your customers happy.

Customers highly value a great experience with your company and like feeling heard and valued. A good CRM system can increase customer satisfaction and retention by streamlining customer interactions.

CRMs can also help you automate tedious parts of your workflow, saving your business time and money.

Along with analyzing customer data and generating reports, CRMs can facilitate effective communication and information sharing in your organization. 

Manufacturing CRM systems FAQs

Why do manufacturers need CRM?

Manufacturers need manufacturing CRM systems to deliver a great experience to their customers. CRMs assist manufacturers in organizing customer information, analyzing data, and automating business and sales processes.

What is the most commonly used CRM?

One of the most commonly used CRMs is Method CRM, especially among QuickBooks and Xero users, as it helps businesses strengthen operations and streamline customer experience through automation.

What are the three key types of CRM systems?

The three key types of CRM systems are analytical, collaborative, and operational CRM systems. The first helps parse and analyze extensive amounts of customer data. The second is excellent for efficiently creating and sharing information between team members and departments. The latter automates sales and business processes, saving human resources for more important things.

Sign up for a free trial of Method CRM today!

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While every sector is undergoing significant changes in the way they do business, it’s hard to imagine an area that will be as fundamentally transformed as the logistics industry.

The logistics industry — which includes manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, and transportation companies — is on the cusp of some revolutionary changes in how products make it to market. Here are the three logistic trends that may have the biggest impact.

Logistics trends to watch out for

Drones

In the last decade, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have gained popularity as consumer devices and have been tested for their potential commercial applications, most famously by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos.

Overall, drones remain a niche technology. But that’s all poised to change when the logistics industry gets into the action en masse.

Drones have the potential to reduce labor costs while making inventory management and distribution more efficient than ever. In a fascinating research report by PwC, they predict delivery drones may become commonplace sooner than we think. In the UK, they predict there will be over 76,000 in the skies by 2030. Of that number, nearly 15 percent are expected to be for logistics purposes. The report also predicts that drones will be one of the top logistics trends as they become ubiquitous in warehouses. The uses of drones will range from helping to scan in-house inventory to being dispatched as delivery vehicles.

The impact of drones may go well beyond last mile delivery of small packages. A Spanish company has already developed a UAV that can carry nearly 2000 kilograms of freight and even land on water. This may eventually open new opportunities further up the supply management chain.

3D printing

3D printing has been hailed as potentially the single biggest disruptive phenomenon to impact global industry since the introduction of assembly lines.  

The hype mainly revolves around the technology’s potential to decentralize the means of production on a mass scale. In theory, one day consumers may no longer need to go to a hardware store for drill bits or a clothing store for a new pair of paints. All they would need to do is purchase the digital design and raw materials to print out the product at home. This would massively disrupt the supply chain, as companies would no longer rely on cheap overseas production. Instead, the logistics industry’s focus would shift toward raw materials.

However, in the nearer term we are more likely to see the impact of 3D printing in warehouses. A recent Forbes article gives the example of an automotive parts warehouse, which has to be stocked in great quantities to meet the wide variety of demands across different makes and models. A lot of that inventory sits idle, taking up shelf space for if and when a particular order arises. Alternatively, the warehouse don’t stock a certain part at all and the consumer loses by having to purchase it from a more remote location.

3D printing could effectively eliminate that problem by moving warehouses from traditional static inventory toward digital inventory, where shelves of spare parts are replaced by digital design files that can be printed on demand.

Physical Internet

The next big thing in logistics trends is called the Physical Internet (PI). This is an idea that aims to take the principles that make the Internet so efficient and apply them to the physical world of logistics. The concept is the brainchild of Professor Benoit Montreuil of the Georgia Technology Institute, who first proposed it in 2011.  

Think of it like this: When you send a digital photo, the picture gets broken down into smaller information packets, like a whole puzzle being broken. To avoid traffic jams, the different puzzle pieces flow through different routes and are processed at various hubs to reach the receiver’s screen as quickly as possible, where they are then reassembled into a whole picture.

The goal of PI is to apply that same logic to physical objects. For example, it’s estimated that about 20 percent of transport trucks on the road are empty at any given time as they go to their next location to fill their freight again. Many more are partially empty. PI aims to move freight toward 100 percent capacity at all times by building an open, interconnected network with the aid of standardized “smart” containers and cross-docking hubs shared by numerous companies.

There are already signs of this idea taking hold, most notably in the European Union, which through the Alliance for Logistics Innovation through Collaboration (ALICE) has a strategy to implement a bona fide Physical Internet network by 2050.

Barriers exist for these logistics trends, but the potential is enormous

There are multiple barriers to overcome before these logistics trends can truly take hold. For instance:

• Regulations regarding drones are complicated and still very much a work in progress.
• 3D printing presents serious challenges related to intellectual property protection.
• The Physical Internet will require unprecedented collaboration amongst governments and the logistics sector to agree on standards and protocols.

However, these problems will eventually be solved, which means the routes your products take will start to look a lot different than they do today. With this in mind, now is the time to stay informed. By embracing these new technologies as they emerge, you’ll set your company up to stay competitive and deliver on changing customer expectations.

To boost efficiency and automate your workflows, consider integrating with Method CRM. See how Method helped a shipping container company’s revenue double in just three years below.

See how Method CRM propels logistics businesses forward.

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This is the “smart manufacturing” transformation and it impacts every part of a manufacturer’s business — from the actual manufacturing itself to warehousing, inventory, quality, maintenance, environmental impacts, and health and safety concerns.

Not surprisingly, this transformation is taking place in new “smart factories.” Specifically, the smart factory is:

• Connected: There is electronic connectivity between departments, suppliers, and customers.
• Optimized: Processes are highly automated with minimal human involvement.
• Transparent: There is visible data capture for analyzing customer orders, production schedules, and other metrics.
• Proactive: There is a predictive capacity for ordering inventory and materials.
• Agile: There is a flexible approach to production, testing, and accuracy.

This transformation is a key part of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). A quick recap: The first industrial revolution involved the emergence of mechanization from water and steam power. The second was based on mass production assembly lines driven by electricity. The third was computer- and automation-driven. The 4IR, however, is using artificial intelligence (AI) to automate the production process, provide full visibility into the value chain, and offer greater alignment with customer demand.

The starting point: automation and artificial intelligence

Smart manufacturing starts with automation: turning manual functions into automated tasks.

Automation has been around for a while as manufacturers worked hard to control costs, drive efficiencies and ensure accuracies. Take a tour of any modern manufacturing plant and you’ll undoubtedly see robots doing many of the tasks where assembly line workers once stood.

AI takes automation to the next level by connecting operations and integrating data from across the entire value chain. It uses a constant stream of data from system-wide physical, operational and human assets to learn and adapt to new demands. AI could make it possible for manufacturing machines to understand far more complex processes than those they currently execute.

At the Siemens electronics manufacturing plant in Amberg, Germany, computers autonomously handle as much as 75 percent of the value chain. The parts and machines communicate through a product code which specifies the production requirements.

Meanwhile, retail giant Amazon paid $775 million in 2012 to acquire a leading robotics company. The company is now building computer-driven machine-learning systems to drive efficiencies in its distribution centers.

The growth potential in this area is significant. McKinsey research found that manufacturing is second only to the food services industry for its automation potential. Allied Market Research reports that the global market for industrial robots will reach $41 billion by 2020.

Broader and deeper: strengthening visibility across the value chain

Smart manufacturing significantly improves a company’s visibility into its process, network and value chain. It creates an environment where all available information — from the plant floor through the full supply chain — is captured in real time and made actionable through detailed insights.

In a unique example of the Internet of Things (IoT), manufacturers can give each of their physical assets a digital identity. This enables them to know the exact location and condition of assets in real time throughout the production process.

A 2015 report published in Industry Week said: “Batch-level visibility is being replaced by unit-level visibility.” The IoT takes management vision beyond high-level production metrics. Instead, C-suite executives and plant managers can now drill down to the individual units to assess accuracy, precision, and customization.

Greater analytics: leveraging big data for strategic insights

This broader and deeper visibility, along with specific connections from the entire value chain, provides a comprehensive dataset for analyzing performance.

It’s the next step in the big data revolution that is affecting every industry. It is predicted that by 2020, there will be 50 times more digital content than what exists today.

By combining the value chain data with data from other sources — such as databases, social media, websites, digital communications, accounting software, and CRM software — manufacturing companies can use more sophisticated analytics to drive their competitive strategies.

Greater alignment with customers

The smart manufacturing transformation uses advanced technology to meet objectives that stem from a customer-centered model. Companies must respond to increasing customer demand for speed, precision, and a positive customer experience.

There are plenty of ways in which a manufacturer can leverage technology to benefit their customers. Just consider these possibilities:

• Sales reps at customer sites can use their tablets to check customers’ orders or anticipate re-orders
• Plant managers can view real-time production data from their offices and ensure that production is on track
• Executives can accurately predict future demand, allowing them to order supplies and hire staff accordingly

The digitized manufacturing environment closely aligns with the customer desire for fast, responsive, personalized service.

Embracing the smart manufacturing transformation with CRM software

A great customer relationship management (CRM) solution should be part of every manufacturer’s digital toolkit.

A CRM acts as a centralized resource for customer data, allowing your team to provide excellent service to every customer. Meanwhile, the best manufacturing CRMs will also offer the ability to automate key tasks and integrate with key tools. This creates a streamlined work experience for your entire team, from the C-suite to the plant floor.

To boost efficiency and automate your workflows, consider integrating with Method CRM. See how Method helped a shipping container company’s revenue double in just three years below.

With the right tools on hand, manufacturing businesses will be ready to embrace the smart transformation of the 21st century.

Ready to get started with workflow automation? Try Method free for 14 days.

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If so, then you’d better think again.

The modern manufacturing sector works at the leading edge of innovation in numerous ways, including:

• Product design
• Automation
• Artificial intelligence
• Robotic engineering
• Precise time-to-delivery

It’s impressive, but it’s not easy. In this globalized economy, manufacturers are under constant pressure to develop better products at a lower cost.

Seeking Greater Efficiencies

The manufacturing industry’s need for efficiency doesn’t just affect its engineers. On the contrary, this priority extends right from the plant floor up to the C-suite decision-makers and out to the reps in the field.

Luckily, there are tools that can help manufacturing companies dive into their financial data and spot inefficiencies quickly.

The Power of Integration: When Accounting Software Meets CRM

Do you use accounting software like QuickBooks Pro, Premier or Enterprise? The answer is most likely yes. And if so, you’ve probably used it for years. There’s a significant amount of customer and industry data in those files. Now, you need a tool to help you effectively access and analyze it.

Integrating your accounting software with a dynamic customer relationship management (CRM) platform puts a powerful solution in your hands. And the benefits are significant.

Full-team approach

In today’s manufacturing sector, success means “all hands on deck!” That means keeping all team members connected and working on the same page. QuickBooks is often a tool used by a single administrator, but connecting QuickBooks with your CRM gives everyone access to essential customer data, sales transactions, and real-time account information.

360-degree view of customer accounts

Information on your customers’ activities is likely stored in various places – in your finance department, at your accounts payable and receivable desk, or even in your account reps’ log books. Bringing that data together in a centralized location gives your team a complete view of where challenges and opportunities lie.

Enhanced forecasting

Most account managers only understand their customers’ businesses to the extent of their last meeting. But what about the long-term buying cycles of those businesses? Consider key questions such as:

• When do they order?  
• What do they order?
• When does delivery occur?
• When do they pay?

Having this information at your fingertips will help you better manage your materials, inventory, production schedule, deliveries, and cash flow.

Power of mobility

Often, QuickBooks is largely restricted to your financial officer’s desktop. But that’s not where business is conducted. Successful manufacturing happens when:

• Plant managers review orders in the office.
• Sales teams log orders at client sites.
• Executives discuss hypothetical strategies in the boardroom.

A cloud-based CRM solution gives these players the power to access customer and sales data wherever and whenever they need it.

Addressing the Challenges of Productivity and Innovation

Manufacturers know all about the struggle to be constantly producing and innovating – they live with those pressures each day. Tackling those pressures requires adopting the right technology and turning your accounting software into more than just a standalone database.

To learn how manufacturing companies can leverage Method CRM to create an integrated business management system, sign up for your free trial today.

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There are many different ways for manufacturing companies to generate new leads. Of course, the specific methods you use will depend on who your buyers are. Some manufacturers only sell to licensed resellers, while others sell to individual drop shippers. Still other manufacturing companies act as white label drop shippers themselves, with an individual or company acting as the middleman. In each of these scenarios, there may be some variation in how you approach finding leads.

However your company operates, it never hurts to experiment with some new strategies for bringing in new business. In this article, we’re looking at six lead generation ideas for manufacturing companies.

1. Convert Website Visitors to Leads

Just because you’re a manufacturing company, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to capture leads through your website. Manufacturing websites have a tendency to be quite industrial and not very user-friendly, with an overload of information and specifications on each page. Even if this is the case for your site, aim to make it easy for visitors to contact you. This can take the form of a simple button on each page that redirects to a “Contact Us” form. Don’t make it easy for these valued visitors to leave your website without first giving you their email address!

As an added bonus, consider using a web-to-lead form that integrates with your company’s customer relationship management software. Any visitors that provide their contact information through this form will automatically be entered as new leads in your CRM. You’ll also be notified of these new leads via email so you can follow up with them efficiently.

2. Offer Free Samples to Qualified Leads

Understandably, you can’t just ship free samples to anybody who comes across your site – you’d go broke! But if your company’s products are fairly small, you could offer free samples—including free shipping—to verified potential buyers. Displaying this offer prominently on your website’s homepage will prompt visitors to submit their information.

To determine who qualifies for a free sample, be sure to include fields on your web-to-lead form that capture the lead’s industry and/or company size. Based on your company’s target buyers, your sales team can then identify the most relevant prospects to ship samples to. And of course, be sure to follow up with these leads to ask how they liked the products. The combination of a freebie plus personalized service might just be the key to converting leads into customers.

3. Create an Explanatory Video

For many people, the manufacturing process is a big mystery. This may even be true for your target buyers. A company may be looking for products like the ones you make, but they aren’t sure what’s special about your process or the materials your company uses. And without this valuable information, they’ll likely just go with the cheapest manufacturer.

To combat this lack of understanding, it’s a great idea to make a simple video that explains why your company’s products are special. Depending on your video production skills, this could range from a simple “talking head” shot to an animated walkthrough of the manufacturing process. Then, generate interest among potential buyers by publishing the video on your website, social media accounts, or YouTube.

4. Partner with E-Commerce Merchants

If you’re a manufacturing company that is willing to drop ship white labeled products or sell products wholesale to individual drop shippers, you have another option. E-commerce platforms like Shopify have a huge number of eager drop shippers looking for products to sell. By partnering with these merchants, you can easily put your goods in front of people who want to sell and buy them, with minimal marketing effort on your part.

This is a less conventional “lead generation” tactic that takes advantage of everything modern e-commerce has to offer. The first step is to become an Oberlo supplier, which allows Shopify merchants to add your products to their online stores. While you may need to invest some resources in the initial setup process, the eventual payout for your business could be huge.

5. Attend Trade Shows

This is a classic lead generation strategy for manufacturers, and for good reason. If you aren’t already attending trade shows, you’re missing out on hundreds or even thousands of potential leads.

Trade shows are still going strong despite the rise of B2B transactions online. After all, these events give your company an opportunity to showcase your products in an interactive, hands-on environment. Send your most enthusiastic salespeople to the show, along with one or two technical experts who can answer questions about production and specifications. Then, be sure they collect business cards from every person they speak to — or better yet, pull up your company’s web-to-lead form on your tablet or phone and enter your new lead on the spot.

6. Run a Contest

No one expects a manufacturing company to run a contest, which is exactly why it will attract so much attention. Invite the public to submit ideas for a new product name or color, a new packaging strategy, a new mascot for your company — the possibilities are endless.

At its most basic level, the creativity behind this idea will generate brand awareness for your company. At the same time, asking entrants to provide an email address for prize eligibility will fill your CRM with new leads that can be nurtured after the contest ends. Depending on your business model, you may choose to run the contest within your local community (perhaps at a trade show), or you can take it online to your website and social media accounts.

Conclusion

Whether you produce just one item or a whole slew of SKUs, these six ideas for lead generation are feasible for any size of manufacturing company. But keep in mind that all the leads in the world won’t help your business grow unless you can organize and track them! If you’re ramping up your lead generation strategy, consider using CRM software to help with lead management. No matter how full your sales funnel becomes, you’ll be ready to tackle it head-on.

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