After more than 25 years on a legacy ERP, Central Ceilings reached a point where limited visibility and rigid reporting were slowing them down. By partnering with Aktion Associates and implementing Acumatica Construction Edition, overall ERP modernization transformed how their teams access and use data—shifting from delayed, centralized reporting to real-time, self-service insights.
The impact goes beyond technology. With better visibility into job performance and easier access to critical data, teams can make faster decisions, take greater ownership, and address issues before they escalate. If your systems are making it harder to see what’s really happening across your projects, this story offers a clear look at what a modern approach can unlock.
Manufacturing leaders don’t just need new software—they need a smarter way forward.
Aktion helps manufacturers modernize operations with cloud-based ERP, data strategy, and advisory expertise. From ERP selection and implementation to ongoing support and infrastructure, we stay with you every step of the journey.
The result: better visibility, stronger decision-making, and technology that scales with your business.
Learn how Aktion becomes your long-term technology partner—from discovery to ongoing support.
In manufacturing, small inefficiencies build over time—until visibility, coordination, and decision-making start to slow down.
This quick assessment helps you understand not just how your operations are performing today, but what that means for your next step.
In this download, you’ll learn how to:
Evaluate your operations across production visibility, scheduling, and reporting
Identify early signs of operational friction or growing strain
Understand where systems and manual workarounds may be limiting performance
Assess how well your operations can scale with increasing demand and complexity
Interpret your results to understand your readiness to explore ERP
In just a few minutes, you’ll have a clear picture of your current state and what it signals about whether it’s time to start exploring change.
Manufacturing operations rarely become difficult overnight. More often, complexity builds gradually—until production visibility, coordination, and reporting start to break down.
This guide provides a practical framework for understanding those early signals and what they may mean for your operations.
In this download, you’ll learn how to:
Identify early signs of operational strain across production and reporting
Understand where current systems may be limiting visibility or coordination
Align leadership around key operational priorities
Document workflows to uncover inefficiencies and gaps
Explore ERP options based on real operational needs
If your team is starting to feel the pressure of growing complexity, this guide offers a clear, structured way to evaluate what comes next.
A Practical Guide for Manufacturing Leaders Evaluating ERP Software and Implementation Partners
If you’re evaluating ERP solutions for your manufacturing business, this guide was built for you.
Selecting ERP is not just a technology upgrade. It’s a strategic operational decision that affects production planning, inventory control, job costing, shop floor visibility, financial reporting, and long-term scalability.
The Manufacturing ERP Buyers Playbook provides a structured, unbiased framework to help you evaluate both:
ERP software functionality and operational fit
Implementation partners and industry expertise
Instead of relying on polished demos, feature matrices, or vendor claims, this playbook helps you assess solutions based on how your manufacturing operation actually runs.
Who This Playbook Is For
This guide is designed for:
Manufacturing Owners and Presidents
CFOs and Finance Leaders
Operations and Plant Managers
IT and Systems Decision-Makers
Cross-functional ERP Selection Committees
If you are responsible for evaluating ERP options or influencing the decision, this playbook gives you a defensible, objective way to lead the process.
What You’ll Gain
Inside the Playbook, you’ll learn how to:
Identify operational gaps before engaging vendors
Define ERP requirements grounded in real production workflows
Evaluate vendors beyond brand recognition and surface-level functionality
Ask smarter, manufacturing-specific questions during demos
Reduce risk and avoid costly ERP selection mistakes
ERP decisions shape the future of your manufacturing operation. This guide helps you move forward with clarity, alignment, and confidence.
Distribution operations rarely struggle because of one isolated issue. Pressure tends to build across inventory, fulfillment, supplier coordination, cost visibility, and decision-making, often in ways that are easy to miss when problems are addressed one at a time.
This self-assessment is a structured, guided tool designed to help teams step back and evaluate where operational pressure may be building today across distribution-heavy operations.
What this self-assessment helps you do:
Identify where inventory accuracy and demand alignment are starting to break down
Spot fulfillment visibility gaps that delay awareness of issues already in motion
Clarify where margin erosion or cost timing becomes visible too late to act
Surface supplier reliability and lead-time issues that quietly increase risk
Assess how confidently leaders can make decisions with the information available
This is a short, structured assessment intended to be worked through thoughtfully, either on your own or with a colleague. It’s not a checklist, and it doesn’t require a large group or formal facilitation.
The goal isn’t to reach conclusions or select solutions. It’s to gain a clearer view of what’s driving operational pressure today and where focused attention may have the greatest impact.
Download the self-assessment to evaluate your current operating reality.
As manufacturing operations change, ERP systems often evolve through configuration, tweaks, add-ons, and workarounds. Over time, it can become harder to tell whether the system is still supporting day-to-day operations or is just being managed around.
This checklist provides a practical way to assess the current state of your manufacturing ERP today.
What you’ll uncover:
Where manual workarounds or spreadsheets are compensating for system gaps
Signs that planning, scheduling, or inventory visibility don’t reflect real operating conditions
Whether reporting supports timely decisions or arrives after the fact
Early indicators that your ERP setup may struggle as volume or complexity increases
Areas where reliance on IT or outside support creates friction
The Manufacturing ERP Current-State Checklist is a quick, diagnostic tool designed to help you establish a clear baseline.
Download the checklist to assess whether your ERP is still supporting how your manufacturing operation runs today.
Managing production gets messy fast. Changing schedules, material shortages, outside processing, and cost overruns can turn “good enough” systems into daily bottlenecks.
This datasheet gives a clear overview of how Acumatica Production Management helps manufacturers bring structure, visibility, and flexibility back to production operations.
In this download, you’ll learn how to:
Manage make-to-order and make-to-stock production with confidence
Connect production orders to sales orders for better alignment
Track materials, labor, WIP, and job costs in real time
Adapt quickly to schedule changes, breakdowns, and supplier delays
If your current systems make production harder than it needs to be, this is a great place to start.
Your business has evolved—but has your ERP kept up? With Acumatica 25R2 and the launch of AI Studio, a new era of intelligent automation and decision-making has arrived. If you’re still relying on outdated, disconnected systems, it’s time to see what’s next.
View this on-demand walkthrough of Acumatica Cloud ERP, the modern, AI-enabled platform built to grow with you. Whether you’re in manufacturing, distribution, or construction, you’ll see how Acumatica connects workflows, data, and people to drive smarter, faster operations.
In this session, our expert shows how AI is reshaping ERP through:
AI-assisted insights that turn data into better decisions
Predictive analytics for smarter forecasting and planning
Automated workflows that eliminate manual effort
Acumatica AI Studio for building custom AI models
Real-time dashboards and mobile access for visibility anywhere
See how leading organizations are embracing AI to modernize, boost productivity, and accelerate growth. If you’ve been wondering whether it’s time for an ERP shift, this session will help you find the answer.
Discover how Acumatica and Aktion are helping businesses harness AI to move forward faster.
Manual reporting and data wrangling slowing your team down? Watch this on-demand webinar to see how Phocas FP&A can transform your Acumatica ERP data into real-time dashboards, automated reports, and powerful analysis – without relying on spreadsheets or IT expertise. As a pre-integrated, out-of-the-box solution for Acumatica, Phocas gets you up and running fast so you can start making data-driven decisions right away. Tailored for manufacturing, distribution, and construction businesses, Phocas makes it easy to see, share, and act on the numbers that matter most. In this on-demand webinar, you’ll learn how to:
Eliminate manual reporting with automated financial and operational dashboards, synced directly with your Acumatica data
Drill into real-time metrics across inventory, sales, cashflow, and more – by customer, rep, or product
Empower teams with self-serve reports and insights – no technical expertise required
Discover the full value of your Acumatica data in just a few clicks with Phocas BI.
