Smplify is SAP’s show where we talk with our partners about how they work with small and mid-market companies to help them simplify business processes.

 

Here’s a summary of our conversation with Nathan Crook, Sales Director of GB&Smith out of Atlanta, Georgia. Nathan works with software and analytics as an SAP partner.  As a SAP partner, GB&Smith is a solution provider, showing clients how to use (and thrive!) with SAP products.

 

GB&Smith focuses on BI, business intelligence. 

 

Are there specific clients you work with?

 

Nathan believes that no matter what type of industry you’re in, you have to have access to, understand, and explain data to the users.  Many of GB&Smith customers are in the aerospace industry, oil and gas, medical devices, and hospitals. 

 

Complying with federal regulations is a major part the client strategy for GB&Smith’s clients.  Nathan and his team help clients stay up-to-date with the products they use.

 

What are some trends small businesses should focus on?

 

Of course, BI and analytics are important.  Businesses take in a ton of information just from doing business (accounting, CRM, etc.) and being able to pull up the data, compare it across function, and deliver it to the higher-ups in the organization will continue to be important in how you run a business.

 

Who are GB&Smith’s customers?

 

Harley Davidson is a big client and focuses mainly on analytics.  They use Business Objects Enterprise and Dashboards and the 360 Suite.

 

Before working with GB&Smith, they focused on one piece of the Suite but they weren’t using it to the fullest capabilities.  Now, they utilize internal and external reporting functions across the operations side of the business.

 

Harley Davidson is a great BI case study. 

 

Why did they need this software?

 

Harley Davidson’s BI group is a small, internal team who felt like they lost a lot of control with the various pieces of the puzzle.  Once they began leveraging the BI tools + managing and documenting security, they started to feel like they had control over their BI.  This is great news for both internal and financial levels.

 

 

What value does GB&Smith offer?

 

GB&Smith takes an existing system and augments it to make it work to fit the client’s needs.

 

360 Suite, a modular set of tools that work well together, has 3 main areas: visibility (managing the BI landscape), efficiency (using the most with limited resources), and risk (who has access to what and who is looking at the data).

 

Presenting this software to address all of these challenges makes GB&Smith very valuable to customers.  Nathan and his team can focus on specific business needs and customer success, which GB&Smith always put first.

 

As an added bonus, GB&Smith also provides training (for free!) to make sure clients actually use the software to make their business more successful.

 

What other products would be good for small to mid-sized clients?

 

Sit down with a SAP Partner and look into Hana and BusinessObjects to learn how to gather data and analyze.

 

Make sure you discuss the challenges (moving to the cloud, BI, AI, etc.) and feel comfortable with the product options and how it will impact the business. 

 

If you aspire to grow and scale, grow your trustworthy network like SAP.  They present the information and provide a partner ecosystem that is invaluable.

 

To connect with GB&Smith, visit https://360suite.io/.