Modern Finance and IT teams are under pressure to deliver more with fewer resources. Keeping systems stable, ensuring accurate reporting, supporting audits, and advancing digital initiatives often stretch mid-market organizations thin. Pain compounds when they rely on disconnected tools, manual workarounds, or aging technology.
These inefficiencies don’t just slow the business down. They increase risk, reduce visibility, and keep talented people focused on low‑value work instead of strategic initiatives. Traditional custom development isn’t always realistic. It requires time, budget, and specialized technical skills many teams simply don’t have.
That’s where low code business process automation can have immediate impact.
Modern ERP platforms such as Acumatica include low‑code/no‑code capabilities through the xRP framework, giving organizations built‑in tools to automate and modernize processes without purchasing additional software. With Aktion’s support, organizations strengthen controls, reduce manual work, and align automations with compliance and long‑term operational goals.
Finance and IT teams today face growing workloads and rising expectations. Manual processes, spreadsheets, and siloed systems pile on friction and introduce avoidable risk.
Low-code business process automation gives teams the ability to improve workflows without heavy coding or full custom development.
Low‑code business process automation lets businesses create, improve, and scale workflows using visual tools rather than building everything through custom code. Teams can digitize and improve processes using templates, conditional logic, and drag‑and‑drop components.
This approach reduces development time, minimizes errors, and accelerates modernization — especially for organizations with lean IT departments.
Most mid‑market organizations operate with lean teams, rising digital expectations, and limited resources. Low‑code automation helps close the gap between what the business needs and what current systems can support without requiring full custom development or large technical teams.
By automating repetitive, rules‑based workflows, teams can:
Low‑code automation doesn’t replace people; it frees them to focus on higher‑value, more satisfying work.
Because automation is embedded within the ERP, Finance teams can configure approvals, reconciliations, or reporting schedules without disrupting the processes they rely on. With Aktion as your partner, every workflow is aligned to financial controls, compliance standards, and long‑term modernization goals.
Low‑code automation is accelerating in mid‑market organizations for a few key reasons: speed, control, and impact.
At Aktion, we focus on principles that ensure automation is deployed effectively and sustainably:
Let’s move from theory to real‑world application.
Low‑code automation is ideal for workflows that are repetitive, high volume, data‑heavy, or dependent on spreadsheets.
Across distribution, manufacturing, construction, project‑driven services, and the mid‑market more broadly, some of the highest‑value use cases include:
Finance teams feel process bottlenecks more than almost any other department. Low‑code tools streamline high‑volume workflows such as:
These automations reduce manual entry, enforce controls, and strengthen reporting accuracy.
Operational teams benefit from real-time speed and consistency:
Low‑code automation helps customer-facing teams maintain consistent follow‑through:
These workflows reduce administrative overhead and elevate the customer experience.
You don’t need a full transformation effort to see value from automation. Many mid‑market organizations start small, gain confidence, and scale from there.
Here’s a practical roadmap:
Start with processes that are:
Strong initial candidates include expense approvals, invoice matching, commission tracking, and quote or purchase request workflows.
Involve:
A small pilot team ensures the workflow matches business needs, control requirements, and user expectations. Early feedback helps identify gaps before broader rollout.
Track:
Low‑code tools make iteration fast, so refinements can be made without disrupting operations.
Once you’ve proven value, expand to higher-impact workflows and connect automations across ERP, CRM, supply chain, or financial systems.
With Acumatica’s xRP platform, teams can build and maintain automations natively within the ERP, ensuring:
With Aktion as your partner, expansion stays aligned with regulatory requirements, internal controls, and long‑term modernization goals.
A phased roadmap allows organizations to:
Low‑code automation becomes a scalable, strategic way to strengthen your operational foundation.
Acumatica enables organizations to automate processes directly inside the ERP, with drag‑and‑drop workflow tools, built‑in logic, and robust integration capabilities.
This helps teams streamline processes without bolting on extra tools or introducing data silos.
With Aktion’s modernization and ERP expertise, organizations gain a structured, low‑risk path to:
Aktion brings:
It means your team can streamline and digitize complex workflows without hiring developers or building custom software. The result is time savings, reduced manual work, and stronger operational consistency.
Low‑code platforms offer drag‑and‑drop tools plus optional scripting for more advanced users. No‑code platforms rely entirely on visual tools. Most modern ERP platforms blend both approaches so organizations can scale safely.
Yes. Modern solutions—like Acumatica’s xRP platform—include robust APIs, connectors, and real-time data capabilities designed specifically for ERP‑to‑process automation use cases.
Absolutely. Enterprise-grade platforms offer granular permissions, audit trails, encryption, and governance features that align with U.S. compliance and reporting standards.
Start with processes that are repetitive, rules‑based, and manual—such as expense approvals, invoice matching, recurring reports, or onboarding workflows.
Ideally both. Business users contribute process knowledge, while IT ensures performance, data integrity, and long‑term scalability.
Most companies see value within weeks when automating high‑frequency tasks in functions like Finance, Operations, and Customer Service.
TM Heating and Cooling, an HVAC contractor based in Narvon, Pennsylvania, operates a multifaceted business that spans commercial construction, residential work, and ongoing service operations. As the company grew more complex, leadership recognized that their legacy system could no longer support all aspects of the business under one roof.
To create a more connected, scalable operation, TM Heating and Cooling partnered with Aktion to implement the Acumatica Construction Edition. The result is a unified ERP platform that connects inventory, payroll, construction projects, and service work, providing the team with real-time visibility and the flexibility to grow without constantly changing systems.
HEADQUARTERS
Narvan, PA
INDUSTRY
HVAC / Mechanical Contracting
SOLUTION
Acumatica Construction Edition
WEBSITE
www.tmheatingandcooling.com
Before Acumatica, TM Heating and Cooling relied on a locally developed accounting system that worked well for smaller, simpler operations, but struggled as the business evolved. Managing construction projects, service work, inventory, and payroll across one platform became increasingly difficult. The system lacked the flexibility needed to support multiple operational workflows, particularly as the company balanced both long-term construction projects and high[1]volume service work. Leadership needed a solution that could bring everything together without forcing the business into separate systems or disconnected processes.
TM Heating and Cooling selected Acumatica Construction Edition to provide a modern, cloud-based ERP that can handle both construction and service operations. Aktion partnered closely with the TM team throughout implementation, helping guide the organization through training, configuration, and go-live. One key aspect of the implementation strategy was keeping the system as close to standard as possible. Rather than relying on heavy customizations, the team focused on learning Acumatica’s core functionality, ensuring long-term stability and smoother upgrades. Aktion consultants played a critical role in enabling the team to understand the system deeply, empowering internal users to solve many challenges independently while still providing expert support when needed.
Connected Construction and Service Operations: TM Heating and Cooling now manages both construction projects and service work within a single ERP environment. Inventory flows seamlessly from the warehouse to job sites and service technicians, while service callbacks can be linked directly back to original construction projects.
Improved Inventory and Job Cost Visibility: The inventory used for construction installs and service calls is tracked centrally, allowing the team to manage purchasing, usage, and availability with greater accuracy.
Payroll Across Teams: Payroll for installation crews and service technicians is handled within Acumatica, simplifying processes and ensuring consistency across the organization.
Faster Payments with Acumatica Payments: TM Heating and Cooling was an early adopter of Acumatica Payments, using QR codes and embedded payment links on invoices to make it easier for customers to pay.
This innovation was even highlighted at Acumatica Summit 2023, showcasing TM Heating and Cooling as a forward-thinking customer.
A major factor in TM Heating and Cooling’s success has been the enablement-focused approach taken by Aktion. Rather than creating dependency, Aktion consultants helped train the team to confidently use Acumatica, leverage Acumatica University, and engage with the broader user community.
By keeping the system streamlined and empowering internal users, TM Heating and Cooling rarely experiences disruption during upgrades and avoids unnecessary complexity. “That early training made a huge difference. It set us up for long-term success.”
Ongoing Partnership
Today, TM Heating and Cooling continues to operate efficiently on Acumatica, with confidence that the platform can grow alongside the business. With a team of approximately 22 employees spanning a wide range of experience levels, Acumatica supports users across generations and roles. “It’s something any age group can learn if they’re willing to. Our team has adapted really well.” Looking ahead, the company sees opportunities to expand its use of Acumatica as new features and enhancements are released, especially on the service side. “The options for growth are there. That’s what excites me about Acumatica.”
By partnering with Aktion and implementing Acumatica Construction Edition, TM Heating and Cooling replaced a limiting legacy system with a unified, scalable ERP platform. The company now operates with greater visibility across construction, service, inventory, payroll, and payments, all supported by a partner that prioritizes long-term success.
If you’re wondering what kind of impact a modern, cloud‑based ERP could have on your organization, Aktion brings the industry expertise, honest guidance, and technical depth to help you get there.
We help you build the operational backbone that supports your next stage of growth.
Gem Cabinets, the largest cabinet supplier in the Edmonton Metro area, has built a strong reputation serving homeowners, designers, and homebuilders across Central and Northern Alberta. As the business expanded, however, its internal systems struggled to keep pace with operational complexity.
The company had been operating two disconnected legacy systems—BP Logics for operations and Microsoft Great Plains for accounting—connected by a fragile custom bridge. As the organization grew, added employees, and acquired another branch, the limitations of this architecture became increasingly apparent.
Industry: Cabinet Supply, Custom Millwork & Installation
Headquarters: Edmonton, AB, Canada
Solutions: Acumatica Construction Edition ↗
Website: gemcabinets.com ↗
To support future growth and eliminate operational silos, Gem Cabinets selected Acumatica Cloud ERP and partnered with Aktion Associates for implementation.
The transition replaced fragmented systems with a unified, cloud-based platform that now connects accounting, sales, inventory, field service, and project operations. Today, Gem Cabinets operates with enterprise-wide visibility, stronger inventory discipline, and real-time profitability insights that support better decision-making across the organization.
By migrating Acumatica with Aktion, Gem Cabinets achieved:
Founded in 1977, Gem Cabinets grew from a small three-person operation into an industry leader in cabinet supply and custom millwork. With more than 160 employees, two showrooms, a 12,000-square-foot custom millwork facility, and dozens of subcontractors working in the field, the organization had become far more complex than its legacy systems could support. These systems were connected by a custom-built bridge designed to transfer data between them. Over time, the bridge became increasingly unreliable and difficult to maintain.
This created several operational challenges.
Employees had to enter information into both systems, increasing administrative work and creating opportunities for errors in the environment
Each department could only see its own forms and data. Sales teams lacked visibility into project costs; service teams could not see budgets, and finance had limited insight into inventory levels.
When Gem acquired another company operating a different version of its legacy software, consolidating operations across systems became even more complicated.
When employees who originally built the system bridge left the organization, new team members quickly questioned why the company relied on such a fragile architecture.
Despite holding significant stock, Gem was tracking less than $500,000 of inventory in its systems.
Gem Cabinets evaluated five to six ERP platforms, with the evaluation team including Eric Moon (Process & Systems Integration Manager), Jonas Derksen (VP Operations), Geoff Furminger (Business Analyst), and Lenka Lauzon (VP Finance).
Acumatica ultimately emerged as the best fit for several key reasons.
After selecting Acumatica, Gem interviewed multiple value-added resellers before choosing Aktion Associates as its implementation partner.
Aktion distinguished itself through a consultative approach that prioritized understanding Gem’s business challenges before recommending solutions.
The Aktion implementation team worked closely with Gem leadership to align the system with best-practice workflows rather than replicating inefficient legacy processes. As a result, the system was implemented largely out-of-the-box with minimal customization.
Despite the scale of the transition, the go-live experience was smooth and uneventful.
Two years after implementation, the impact of Acumatica and Aktion is visible across every department at Gem Cabinets.
Before implementing Acumatica, Gem was tracking less than $500,000 in physical stock for their custom ordered projects, while maintaining more than 2,000 cabinets in inventory within their Stocked-to-Go product line as a buffer against uncertainty in the Stocked-to-Go program.
With real-time inventory visibility now available, Gem has reduced the physical cabinet count within their Stocked-to-Go product line to approximately 800 units, while increasing the total tracked inventory value of this program to over $2.5 million – that includes custom ordered projects.
This shift freed warehouse space, improved reporting accuracy, and reduced capital tied up in excess inventory.
Before implementing Acumatica, departments at Gem Cabinets operated largely in isolation. Each team had access only to its own forms and data, limiting visibility into the broader business. Sales teams couldn’t easily see project costs; service teams lacked insight into budgets, and leadership had limited visibility into how operational decisions affected profitability.
With Acumatica, that environment has changed dramatically. Employees across the organization can now view project budgets, inventory levels, operational metrics, and financial performance in real time. Field service operations are also fully connected, with more than 80 subcontractors using the Acumatica Field Service mobile app to receive work orders, log time, and report job progress directly from the field.
This shared visibility has fundamentally changed how decisions are made throughout the organization. Teams can now identify margin erosion early, monitor project performance as work progresses, and make adjustments before small issues turn into larger financial problems.
Greater transparency has also increased accountability and empowered employees to think more strategically about their roles and the impact of their decisions on the business.
Two years after go-live, Gem Cabinets continues to work closely with Aktion Associates for system support, upgrades, and ongoing optimization. Because many of the same consultants who led the original implementation remain involved, the team already understands how Gem operates and why the system is configured the way it is.
That continuity has proven especially valuable as Gem evolves its processes and adopts new Acumatica capabilities. Instead of starting from scratch with each request, the Aktion team can quickly diagnose issues, recommend improvements, and help the organization move forward with confidence.
Today, Gem views Aktion not simply as a software partner, but as a trusted advisor helping the company continue to refine its processes and maximize the value of its Acumatica platform.
Gem Cabinets has moved from two disconnected legacy systems and limited operational visibility to a unified cloud ERP platform that supports every department across the business.
With Acumatica and Aktion, the company has eliminated data silos across the organization, reduced inventory by 60 percent while improving reporting accuracy, connected office, warehouse, and field teams on a single platform, enabled real-time project profitability tracking, and elevated operational awareness across the entire workforce.
Today, Gem Cabinets operates with the systems, visibility, and data discipline needed to support its next phase of growth.
If your organization is facing ERP limitations, Aktion brings the industry expertise, honest guidance, and full‑stack capabilities to help you modernize with confidence.
ReArch Construction is a construction and real estate management firm with a diverse portfolio that spans construction projects, property management, leasing, and capital improvements.
As the organization continued to grow and balance both construction and real estate operations, leadership recognized the need for a modern, cloud-based ERP platform that could support increased complexity while improving visibility and efficiency across the business.
Working with Aktion Associates, ReArch transitioned to Sage Intacct Construction, building on a long-standing partnership and creating a scalable financial foundation designed to support both day-to-day operations and long-term strategic goals.
HEADQUARTERS
South Burlington, VT
INDUSTRY
Construction & Real
Estate Management
SOLUTION
Sage Intacct Construction
Miter Payroll
TimberScan Titanium
Procore
WEBSITE
www.rearchconstruction.com
As ReArch grew, the finance and accounting teams needed greater visibility into project and property data, easier access to information for remote and distributed teams, and improved efficiency during critical periods such as month-end and year-end close. The leadership team also wanted to ensure that both construction management and real estate operations could be managed cohesively, without introducing separate systems that would increase complexity and administrative overhead.
After evaluating several ERP options, ReArch selected Sage Intacct Construction for its modern, cloud-based architecture, strong reporting and dashboard capabilities, and ability to support both construction and real estate accounting within a single platform. Sage Intacct’s intuitive drill-down functionality, real-time reporting, and flexible structure aligned well with ReArch’s goals for improved financial transparency and easier access to data.
Aktion Associates played a critical role throughout the process, providing ERP advisory services, implementation process leadership, and hands-on guidance tailored to ReArch’s operational needs.
Sage Intacct serves as the financial hub for ReArch, integrating with key systems used across the organization:
Procore supports field operations and project management, enabling seamless collaboration between project teams and accounting.
Miter HR Payroll simplifies payroll processing with a direct integration that improves accuracy and efficiency.
TimberScan Titanium automates accounts payable workflows and approvals within a cloud-based environment. These integrations allow ReArch to maintain a connected technology ecosystem that supports both operational and financial teams.
“The payroll integration alone has been a big-time saver for our team ... It’s significantly reduced manual effort and improved accuracy.”
ReArch’s relationship with Aktion spans many years, back to 2009, and that long-term partnership played a key role in the success of the Sage Intacct implementation. Aktion’s team worked closely with ReArch to ensure the system was configured to reflect how the organization operates. Clear communication, responsiveness, and deep industry knowledge helped keep the project on track and aligned with ReArch’s expectations. “We’ve always appreciated Aktion’s willingness to listen, adapt, and make sure we’re set up for success—not just during implementation, but for the long term,” said Christa Vandevord.
Since going live, ReArch’s accounting and project teams have continued to adopt new Sage Intacct features and capabilities. While some efficiencies were realized immediately, leadership sees even more opportunity ahead as additional functionality is rolled out and refined.
“Once the team started seeing the time savings and visibility Sage Intacct provides, adoption really picked up,” shared Mary Ann Wood. “We know there’s even more value we’ll unlock as we continue to build on what we’ve implemented.”
By partnering with Aktion Associates and implementing Sage Intacct Construction, ReArch Construction has established a modern ERP foundation that supports both construction and real estate operations. The result is improved financial visibility, streamlined workflows, and a scalable platform that positions the organization for continued growth. “We’re in a much better position to understand our business and make informed decisions,” said Christa Vandevord. “Sage Intacct and Aktion have given us a system that supports where we are today—and where we’re going next.”
If you’re wondering what kind of impact a modern, cloud‑based ERP could have on your organization, Aktion brings the industry expertise, honest guidance, and technical depth to help you get there.
We help you build the operational backbone that supports your next stage of growth.
Marine Solutions needed deeper insight into company-wide performance as it expanded operations across multiple regions. Leadership relied on data within their ERP environment but lacked an efficient way to analyze trends, forecast revenue, and share insights across teams.
By partnering with Aktion Associates and implementing Phocas’ business intelligence platform, Marine Solutions gained a centralized analytics layer that transformed how leaders accessed, interpreted, and acted on business data.
HEADQUARTERS
Nicholasville, KY
INDUSTRY
Civil Engineering Construction
SOLUTION
Phocas – Aktion Analytics
WEBSITE
www.msimarinesolutions.com
As Marine Solutions grew to 10 offices nationwide, leadership needed faster, clearer insight into financial and operational performance. While their core system provided standard reporting, advanced analytics required manual work, multiple exports, and complex spreadsheet manipulation.
Executives wanted to:
Marine Solutions selected Phocas as a modern BI platform capable of delivering dynamic dashboards, flexible reporting, and real-time analytics layered on top of their existing systems. Aktion led the implementation with a collaborative, consultative approach, working closely with Marine Solutions’ leadership team to design dashboards tailored to their decision-making needs.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all rollout, Aktion partnered with stakeholders to define specific data points, reporting structures, and forecasting models. This ensured the system reflected how Marine Solutions analyzed performance.
With Phocas connected, financial and operational data updates automatically. Leadership no longer waits for reports or manual distribution.
Regional directors and department leaders now access role-based dashboards daily or weekly, allowing them to monitor performance and adjust strategy in real time. Filtering tools enable instant analysis, from company-wide summaries down to individual regions or project segments, without rerunning reports.
One of the most transformative capabilities has been predictive visibility. Aktion helped Marine Solutions bring planning data into Phocas, allowing leadership to track future revenue trends and evaluate how projects contribute to growth. This forecasting intelligence supports decisions about staffing, budgeting, and business development priorities.
Marine Solutions’ implementation journey reflected a realistic, hands-on process that evolved over time. As both teams worked together to refine requirements and reporting goals, the system became increasingly aligned with the company’s expectations and operational needs. Leadership emphasized that clearly defining desired data points and outcomes early in the process were keys to success. With that clarity established, Aktion was able to tailor the solution and deliver the advanced reporting capabilities that Marine Solutions required.
Today, Marine Solutions benefits from a stable analytics environment supported by knowledgeable consultants and technical specialists who can help address complex reporting scenarios when needed.
Marine Solutions operates with a level of clarity and agility that was previously out of reach. Executives can evaluate performance instantly, managers can track progress independently, and the finance team no longer spends hours preparing reports. The result is a leadership team aligned around the same real-time data, driving faster, more confident decisions across the organization.
By implementing Phocas with guidance from Aktion, Marine Solutions transformed its reporting environment into a strategic intelligence platform. Automated analytics, dynamic dashboards, and accessible insights now power decision-making across every level of the business. What began as a search for better visibility became a catalyst for operational alignment, forecasting precision, and scalable growth.
If you’re wondering what kind of impact a modern, cloud‑based ERP could have on your organization, Aktion brings the industry expertise, honest guidance, and technical depth to help you get there.
We help you build the operational backbone that supports your next stage of growth.
Menominee Industrial Supply was founded in September of 1980 as a local industrial supply distributor with only four employees.
Through decades of dedicated service and support to customers, Menominee Industrial Supply has grown into a multi-state distributor of Industrial, Timber Harvesting and Power Equipment supplies with over thirty employees.
Their experienced and educated outside sales staff span the upper Mid-West covering and supporting our product lines in 11 states.
HEADQUARTERS
Menominee, MI
INDUSTRY
Industrial Distribution
SOLUTION
Infor CloudSuite Distribution (CSD)
& TWL
WEBSITE
www.menindsup.com
Menominee Industrial Supply, LLC (MIS) is a Midwest-based wholesale distributor serving a diverse customer base with complex ordering, pricing, and fulfillment requirements. After more than a decade on a highly industry-specific legacy ERP, MIS faced an unexpected turning point when its previous system, CODIS, was sunset by its ownership group.
With limited time to evaluate alternatives, MIS needed a modern ERP platform that could support EDI, eCommerce integrations, advanced inventory accuracy, and scalable reporting—without disrupting customer service. To support this transition, MIS partnered with Aktion Associates and implemented Infor CloudSuite Distribution (CSD) with TWL, establishing a future-ready foundation for growth.
For more than 13 years, Menominee Industrial Supply relied on CODIS, an ERP solution tailored to the Industrial Distribution Industry that was also deeply embedded in daily operations. That stability ended abruptly when the software’s development and ownership group announced it was permanently shutting down. The announcement forced MIS to act quickly, moving away from a familiar, highly customized system and evaluating modern ERP platforms under a tight timeline. Beyond replacing basic functionality, the new solution needed to support:
“We weren’t just replacing software. We were stepping away from a system that supported us for over a decade,” said Dubey. “That’s not a small change.”
Assembled a cross-functional internal selection team that included ownership and leadership across Sales, Operations, and Finance. Together, they defined what the organization needed versus what it wanted in a future ERP platform.
After extensive research, demos, and evaluations, the list narrowed to two finalists: Infor CloudSuite Distribution and Epicor. While software capabilities were closely matched, the decision ultimately came down to implementation partner performance.
Aktion was recommended by both Infor and a trusted industry peer. From the earliest discovery conversations, the Aktion team demonstrated exceptional responsiveness, clarity, and commitment to understanding MIS’s business. As a true cloud-based ERP, Infor CloudSuite Distribution positioned MIS for long-term scalability, ongoing innovation through regular updates, and reduced reliance on on-prem infrastructure.
“We weren’t looking for the lowest-cost software,” said Dubey. “We were looking for a solution and a partner.”
MIS selected Infor CloudSuite Distribution with TWL, with Aktion leading implementation, integration strategy, and custom development.
Advisory & Implementation: Aktion worked closely with MIS to configure CloudSuite Distribution in a way that preserved critical customer workflows while modernizing internal processes.
Special attention was given to purchasing, freight logic, rebates, and kit functionality to ensure continuity with legacy operations.
Warehouse & Inventory Management: The implementation of Infor TWL provided a new level of inventory tracking, accuracy, and visibility, capabilities that were not achievable in the legacy environment.
“TWL gave us the next step in inventory accuracy and visibility that we simply didn’t have before,” Dubey said.
Custom Integrations & Enhancements: To support MIS’s eCommerce and high-volume customers, Aktion developed custom bulk order importers, payment integrations, and EDI enhancements that extended CSD beyond standard functionality.
The MIS project was complex and, like most ERP migrations of its size, encountered challenges along the way. What defined success, according to Dubey, was how those challenges were handled.
“There were difficult conversations,” he said. “But I never felt avoidance or a change in attitude. Aktion stayed engaged, honest, and committed.”
Menominee Industrial Supply hit the ground running on Infor CloudSuite Distribution — processing over 1,000 orders within 48 hours of go-live. With Aktion’s onsite team managing the transition in real time, full operation was restored in just 2 days. The result: sharper inventory visibility, and stronger operational insight.
Through its partnership with Aktion and the implementation of Infor CloudSuite Distribution, Menominee Industrial Supply successfully navigated a high-risk ERP transition while preserving customer service and operational continuity.
More than a technology upgrade, the project established a collaborative, trust-based partnership focused on problem-solving, transparency, and shared success.
If you’re wondering what kind of impact a modern, cloud‑based ERP could have on your organization, Aktion brings the industry expertise, honest guidance, and technical depth to help you get there.
We don’t just implement software — we help you build the operational backbone that supports your next stage of growth.
Headquartered in Palatine, Illinois, Midwest Optical Systems brings more than 30 years of experience and innovation in optical design, fabrication, and inspection. The company is a worldwide leader in machine vision filters and optical solutions, with representation in over 30 countries and a catalog of more than 3,000 cutting‑edge products.
Midwest Optical filters are the premier solution for industrial imaging, delivering dependable results, flawless control, and the highest image quality. Known for product durability, availability, and same‑day shipping, the company has built its reputation on innovation and exceptional customer service.
Industry: Optical Design & Fabrication
Headquarters: Palatine, IL
Solutions: Acumatica ERP ↗
Website: midopt.com ↗
Innovation and customer experience are part of Midwest Optical’s DNA. When its existing ERP and accounting software stopped supporting modernization efforts—and began limiting both internal efficiency and customer responsiveness—leadership knew it was time to make a change.
By modernizing with Acumatica ERP and Aktion Associates, Midwest Optical gained:
Midwest Optical is known for combining advanced technology with high‑touch customer service. However, its legacy ERP environment was no longer aligned with the company’s innovative culture or growth trajectory.
The existing system limited flexibility, offered little customization, and slowed modernization efforts. Leadership needed a platform that could support both manufacturing and distribution operations—while enabling rapid change as business needs evolved.
As an international organization with multi‑industry operations, Midwest Optical required one ERP solution capable of managing the entire business. Acumatica met every requirement.
Midwest Optical selected Acumatica for its:
Midwest Optical partnered with Aktion’s Acumatica team over several months to define an implementation plan, establish a launch timeline, and develop a comprehensive training curriculum.
While the project involved complex details, Aktion ensured Midwest Optical had a clear understanding of the system and each team member’s role.
Aktion Associates worked closely with Midwest Optical throughout the transition, providing guidance, education, and post‑go‑live support. The result was a successful modernization that balanced speed with long‑term system understanding and stability.
With deep Acumatica expertise and a structured modernization approach, Aktion helped Midwest Optical:
Midwest Optical continues to rely on Aktion as a trusted partner to refine and evolve its ERP environment as business needs change.
If you’re wondering what kind of impact a modern, cloud‑based ERP could have on your organization, Aktion brings the industry expertise, honest guidance, and technical depth to help you get there.
We don’t just implement software — we help you build the operational backbone that supports your next stage of growth.
The 6 ERP Buying Criteria Construction Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore
As firms face tighter margins, labor constraints, and increasing compliance demands, ERP decisions carry more risk and more upside than ever. Selecting an ERP system is among the most consequential technology decisions a construction firm will make. The right platform becomes the operational backbone of your business—supporting job costing, billing, compliance, and long-term growth. The wrong one introduces friction, manual workarounds, and risk.
Construction companies operate under pressures that most industries never face—project-based execution, complex labor compliance, multi-entity structures, and extremely tight margins. These realities demand more than a generic ERP retrofit. Construction leaders need an ERP platform purpose-built for how construction actually runs, designed from the ground up to manage projects, people, risk, and profitability at scale.
Selecting an ERP is a strategic decision that impacts financial control, operational efficiency, and long-term growth. For construction firms, the right choice must be evaluated against clear, construction specific criteria—and those decisions should be led by executive leadership, with direct input from finance and operations. This is not an IT-only decision; it’s a business decision that shapes how the company manages risk, profitability, and scale.
Here are the 6 core buying criteria every construction company should prioritize:
1. Construction-Specific Functionality Comes First
An ERP should not need heavy customization to handle core construction workflows. If job costing, WIP reporting, progress billing, or compliance tracking require workarounds, the system is likely not designed for your industry.
A construction-focused ERP should natively support:
These capabilities are foundational—not optional. Firms that compromise here often pay later through manual processes, delayed reporting, and margin erosion.
2. Real-Time Visibility and Reporting Capabilities
Real-time visibility isn’t just about reporting—it’s about protecting margins before small variances turn into missed forecasts or cash flow pressure. Construction leaders cannot afford to make decisions based on outdated data. ERP systems should deliver real-time, role-based visibility into performance without relying on spreadsheets or after-the-fact reports.
When evaluating reporting and analytics, ask:
During demos, insist on seeing real construction dashboards, not generic sample reports. Strong ERP platforms empower every stakeholder with timely, relevant insights.
3. Integration and Flexibility Across Your Technology Stack
Most construction firms rely on a mix of estimating tools, payroll systems, field applications, and project management platforms. A modern ERP should integrate seamlessly with these tools—not force a complete rip-and-replace.
Key integration considerations include:
Flexibility ensures your ERP evolves with your business rather than constraining it.
4. Deployment Model and Scalability
Deployment decisions impact cost, security, and operational agility. For many construction firms, cloud-based ERP platforms offer clear advantages:
Regardless of deployment model, confirm the platform meets security, compliance, and performance standards appropriate for financial and payroll data.
5. Ease of Use and User Adoption
Even the most powerful ERP fails if teams do not use it consistently. Usability and training are critical—especially in organizations where users span accounting, operations, and the field.
Look for:
Ease of use directly impacts data accuracy, reporting reliability, and overall ROI.
6. Implementation, Support, and the Role of a Strategic ERP Partner
ERP success is determined as much by how the system is implemented and supported as by the software itself. For construction firms, implementation involves far more than configuration; it requires aligning job costing, billing, labor compliance, reporting, and data across the organization.
A construction-focused partner like Aktion Associates brings industry expertise that reduces risk and accelerates value. Beyond technical deployment, the right partner helps firms:
The most successful ERP initiatives treat implementation as a long-term investment, not a one-time project. Working with a partner who understands both construction operations and ERP strategy helps ensure the system delivers sustained ROI, scalability, and confidence at every stage of growth.
Choosing with Confidence
ERP selection is not about finding the most popular platform; it’s about finding the right fit for your construction business. By evaluating solutions against clear, construction-specific criteria, firms can reduce risk, protect margins, and build a scalable foundation for growth.
For a deeper, structured approach, including readiness checklists, vendor scorecards, and red flags to avoid—download Aktion’s 2026 Construction ERP Buyer’s Playbook, designed specifically for small to mid-sized construction firms. If your organization is entering an ERP replacement cycle, engaging Aktion early can provide the strategic guidance needed to make a confident, well-informed decision.
Fragmented inventory and order visibility isn’t a sign that something is broken. It’s a sign that a distribution business has outgrown the systems that once worked.
As distribution organizations scale, complexity increases. Inventory moves faster. Orders change more often. Fulfillment paths multiply. Without intentional alignment, systems that once supported growth begin operating independently. That separation introduces risk when systems are no longer moving together, even if teams are doing the right things.
For leaders, that risk shows up fast. It hits margins, labor costs, and the time spent managing exceptions instead of making decisions.
This article reframes common distribution pain as misalignment across inventory, orders, and fulfillment — a problem modern ERP systems are designed to solve.
Distribution operates on razor-thin margins. Acumatica’s industry research shows that average profit margins in distribution hover around just 1.8%. At that level, even small breakdowns in inventory accuracy or order execution have an outsized impact. Misaligned systems don’t just create friction. They quietly erode profitability.
When inventory availability, order commitments, and fulfillment reality don’t match, leaders absorb risk in the form of expedited shipping, excess stock, missed commitments, or lost customer trust.
👉Modern ERP platforms are designed to prevent these breakdowns by keeping inventory availability, allocations, and fulfillment activity in sync across the business.
Distribution is dynamic by nature. Inventory moves continuously, and orders change as conditions shift.
Problems arise when systems can’t keep pace together:
Over time, decision-making slows. Leaders make more conservative commitments. Growth feels riskier than it needs to be.
👉 Systems built to keep inventory, orders, and fulfillment aligned reduce exceptions and allow decisions to be made with confidence rather than caution.
When systems don’t align, people fill the gaps. That approach doesn’t scale, particularly in an industry where Acumatica research shows labor represents more than half of total operating expenses. Using people to reconcile inventory, orders, and fulfillment data turns misalignment into an ongoing operating cost: labor expense rises, execution slows, workarounds become permanent, to name a few.
👉A unified ERP reduces the need for manual reconciliation by ensuring updates happen once and flow automatically across inventory, orders, and fulfillment processes.
Misalignment often triggers a familiar response: more dashboards, more reports, more manual checks. But leaders don’t need more data. They need data they can rely on.
When inventory, orders, and fulfillment fall out of alignment, added visibility creates more risk than clarity:
👉Alignment, not information volume, is what restores control. That alignment comes from systems designed to treat inventory, orders, and fulfillment as connected processes.
At the leadership level, inventory visibility isn’t about knowing how many units are on hand. It’s about confidence in availability.
As complexity grows, that confidence erodes. Acumatica highlights that advanced inventory controls — including real-time allocation, lot and serial tracking, and expiration-based picking — are not consistently supported across systems.
When inventory data isn’t unified, leaders hedge by carrying extra stock, delaying decisions, and limiting opportunity to protect against uncertainty.
👉Modern ERP platforms address this by unifying inventory controls within a single system, allowing leaders to trust availability across locations without buffers or manual verification.
Most midmarket ERP systems share similar core capabilities. According to Acumatica, ERP applications typically differ by only 10–20% in functionality. Execution and alignment matter more than feature lists.
👉 The real differentiator isn’t what a system can do in isolation. It’s whether inventory, orders, and fulfillment operate together as a single system as complexity increases.
Fragmentation is not the cost of doing business in distribution. It signals that the systems were not designed to scale together.
Leaders who want control set a clear standard:
👉Distribution doesn’t stall because leaders lack insight. It stalls when system misalignment creates uncertainty where clarity is required, and that’s a problem leaders can eliminate.
Acumatica Distribution Edition brings inventory, orders, warehouse activity, and fulfillment into a single operational framework, allowing leaders to make decisions based on real-time conditions instead of delayed reconciliation.
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This article draws insights from the Acumatica Distribution Edition Handbook, which examines how modern distribution organizations manage inventory, orders, and fulfillment as complexity increases.
⬇️ Explore Acumatica Distribution Edition Handbook for a closer look at how leading distributors align inventory, orders, and fulfillment to reduce risk and improve execution.
As distribution activity expands beyond traditional order-to-delivery workflows, ERP fit for complex distribution operations becomes increasingly important. Products move through orders, inventory, pricing, and delivery as part of broader, industry-driven operations. In some cases, distribution is the primary function. In others, it supports service, project work, fabrication, rentals, or equipment-based models. Either way, distribution activity plays a meaningful role in how the business operates day to day.
For years, FACTS has provided a stable and familiar foundation for these environments. Teams know the workflows, rely on deeply embedded processes, and see the system perform as designed.
What has changed is not the reliability of FACTS, but the complexity of the operation around it.
The biggest shift for many organizations running Infor FACTS isn’t a sudden failure of the system. It’s the steady increase in operational complexity around it.
Operational complexity has increased steadily over time. Order volume has grown, transaction velocity is higher, and pricing and inventory management now span more locations, channels, and customer commitments. For many organizations, distribution activity also operates alongside service, project work, fabrication, rentals, or equipment-based models within the same environment.
These changes introduce variability that didn’t exist when many ERP implementations were first designed. Orders change after release, deliveries split or delay, customer requirements evolve mid-cycle, and finance, operations, and customer-facing teams must respond quickly with little margin for error.
FACTS continues to do exactly what it was designed to do. The challenge is that the business now operates with a level of motion and interdependence that legacy ERP assumptions didn’t anticipate. As that gap widens, teams begin to feel friction. This happens because the system no longer aligns with how work actually flows today, not because processes are broken.
For many organizations, this is the moment when cloud-based platforms like Infor CloudSuite Distribution enter the conversation, not as a replacement for what worked, but as an evolution designed for how operations now run.
To accommodate this variability, teams adapt the system around them. Teams add customizations to handle operational outliers. Additionally, they introduce manual steps to bridge process gaps. Teams also export data to spreadsheets or secondary tools to gain visibility the core ERP no longer provides.
Over time, these adaptations create friction. Visibility begins to lag behind operational reality, processes become more difficult to maintain, and even small changes require greater effort and coordination. The system continues to function, but it becomes less effective at supporting timely, confident decision-making as complexity increases.
As organizations reassess ERP fit, understanding how modern, distribution-specific cloud platforms are designed becomes an important first step. Cloud-based platforms like Infor CloudSuite Distribution reflect that evolution. Built for distribution-intensive and hybrid operating models, CloudSuite Distribution handles variability and interconnected workflows.
Instead of forcing operations into rigid process paths, the platform aligns to how work actually flows across orders, inventory, pricing, service, and delivery. For many FACTS users, this marks a natural next chapter. It restores alignment between ERP design and modern operational reality without a disruptive reset.
As organizations reassess ERP fit, understanding how modern, distribution-specific cloud platforms are designed becomes an important first step. Infor outlines its approach to supporting complex, distribution-driven operations in a short resource. The resource explains how CloudSuite Distribution reduces friction, improves visibility, and supports growth as operational complexity increases.
For teams considering what comes after FACTS, this provides a practical way to explore what has changed and what a more aligned ERP foundation can look like.
