Skip to main content

Partnerships vs. Purchases

By the time most of us have reached adulthood, we have made thousands of purchases.  For the most part, these are quick uneventful transactions that require minimal thought.  We need something finite, we go out and find it, pay for it, and bring it home.  However, there are some purchases that go beyond a simple trading of goods for money.  For these transactions to go smoothly, they require something more – partnership.

An example of one such “partnership transaction” that Dion has successfully engaged in for many years is with our Visual Manufacturing System software firm Synergy Resources LLC.  A number of years ago we purchased the Visual Manufacturing ERP system to better handle everything from entering orders, engineering new custom products, to handling accounting and bill processing.  However, from the start we knew that we could not just buy a system off the shelf and have it work flawlessly.  We are a company with no product line (all products are custom made), multiple customers requiring unique order and billing reports, with new engineering processes being developed all the time, etc.  We needed someone to personalize the system to meet our unique needs. 

Creating a system to work at Dion required Synergy to truly understand our business.  Synergy asked questions, talked with employees from all parts of the company, watched manufacturing processes in action and customized our ERP program to not only handle our unique product but added functionalities that we had not even imagined at the start of the process.  As business processes evolved and software upgrades became available, they have continued to provide both technical support and consultative ideas.

As a business owner, you are much more valuable as a partner than you would ever be as a purchase.  Purchases require no value-added, and thus create no loyalty.  You are simply the cheapest or easiest route to someone getting what they need at the moment.  However, if you offer true partnership, you develop a relationship for years to come.

Being a partner certainly requires much more work – but the benefits are well worth it.  By taking the time to truly understand the customer and their needs, you can offer solutions that the customer didn’t even think to ask for.  You develop a relationship that stands the test of time, not just until the next cheapest product is available. 

By Ann Condon, Communications Manager, E.A. Dion, Inc.

 

About Synergy Resources LLC

Synergy Resources LLC is a leading provider of ERP and related software and business consulting services for small to mid-sized manufacturing throughout North America.  Synergy’s mission is to help manufacturers improve their business performance through the application of world-class business software and outstanding professional services. Synergy represents a number of world-class software solutions from complete end-to-end ERP to point solutions for manufacturing planning, shop floor scheduling, product configuration, and enterprise business intelligence reporting.
Synergy offers Strategic Business Consulting independent of software solutions to drive continuous improvement efforts in manufacturing; as well as Project Planning, Project Management, Implementation and Training for ERP and other related software solutions. With over 30 years of expertise in the Manufacturing Software implementation and training arena, our staff of over 50 consultants are eager to help your company find the opportunities for improvement in Planning, Scheduling, Inventory Management, Order Processing, Product Configuration, Costing, and much more. Our staff consists of experienced industry professionals that work closely with your in-house management and information system personnel.