A 9 year veteran in JustFood project management and implementation, Jennifer Spanos has unique insight into what problems food and beverage companies are looking to solve with ERP Software. Jennifer has led in the development of and fine tuning of specific implementation strategies and best practices to ensure the smoothest implementation process position for JF clients.
In the interview below, Jennifer touches on what clients are looking for from ERP software, what the implementation process is like and the experience of the JustFood team in the food and beverage sector.
What do you do?
I do a few different things. I manage the team that delivers JustFood Foundation, I drive the implementation methodology and collateral to make sure we’re always applying the best practices, and I step in as a Solutions Architect, which means I work with Sales, Business Analysts, Customers and Prospects to find the best way to address a particular client’s challenges.
When do clients typically see you?
Not too much, typically. I act as the Project Sponsor and sit in on Milestone meetings during implementation, I participate in intro calls to help the Sales team and prospects determine when JustFood Foundation is a good fit, and I’m there to solve any problems that come up during implementation. Otherwise I work mostly in the background.
When you speak to people for the first time who are considering JustFood, what are you used to hearing?
By the time I’m brought in, the customer has already been speaking with Sales, so they know about the product and have come to the point where they need to make some decisions. For example, they may be deciding whether they should implement everything at once or in phases.
Sometimes prospects who are considering JustFood Foundation worry that by buying our entry-level product they’ll also get entry-level implementation expertise and support, so I’m there to make sure they know that’s not the case. I tell them about the experience of the people who’ll be on their project.
There are usually questions about how the implementation will work, what optional add-ons should be considered or how the software will deal with some of their unique business processes.
It’s really a two-way interview, where we make sure there’s a good mutual understanding of what the challenges are and what the software will do, and make sure the software is a good fit for that client before moving forward.
What are the most common fears and anxieties you see on the client side?
Sometimes it’s the amount of time. Sometimes they worry that they won’t get the guidance they need to make the project successful. And some clients are still coming to terms with what ERP really is and maybe having difficulty wrapping their heads around, say, tracking inventory properly for the first time.
At first it can seem like more work than they’re used to, because they’re used to taking so many shortcuts. But when they realize that, overall, time will be saved and that, for the first time, they’ll have reliable, actionable intel on their business, the anxiety usually subsides.
There’s also often anxiety around the perceived urgency of getting the project done. Many of the companies that come to us realize that their old software is holding them back, so they’re in a hurry to upgrade and want a partner who takes that urgency seriously, but who won’t compromise the success of the project just to get it done quickly. They really don’t know what to expect when it comes to implementation, so they’re anxious.
What do you tell them?
I tell them about all our experience in the food and beverage industry. Personally, I’ve worked in manufacturing plants across North America, managing change and bringing new products to market. I tell them about Danielle’s 17 years of experience in process management in the food and beverage industry. I show them that we have people who’ve been on the other side and really understand what the customer is going through. When I can reassure them that we’ve done this before — a lot — they feel more comfortable.
Ready for a specialized food ERP? Learn more about Aptean Food & Beverage ERP JustFood Edition — a solution purpose-built to solve your challenges and propel your food business and digital transformation to the next level.
