J.R. Tapper, former president of Rigid Hitch, Inc., is a well-rounded IT leader renowned for developing top-tier technology teams. His wealth of experience spans across small to mid-sized companies in the manufacturing and distribution sectors. With a keen eye for innovation and efficiency, Tapper has earned a reputation for his patient and reflective leadership style, which fosters both innovative solutions and significant operational advancements.
Tapper’s expertise as the primary technology expert on projects in distribution, manufacturing, and retail has afforded him valuable insights into the competitive dynamics of these industries. Through this lens, he has honed not only a comprehensive skill set but also an astute understanding of what is effective and what isn’t in these industries.
In this exclusive interview, J.R. Tapper debriefs us on the challenges he skillfully navigated during an e-commerce system implementation. He contributes his valuable perspectives on cutting-edge technologies reshaping the manufacturing industry and shares strategic advice for the successful deployment of ERP systems. His insights are invaluable for businesses aiming to stay ahead in the digital transformation race.
Keep reading to learn directly from J.R. Tapper as he shares his seasoned expertise in overcoming obstacles and driving technological success in the dynamic world of manufacturing and distribution.
Table of Contents
Building High-Performance Teams
Q. What do you look for when building a high-performing team within a manufacturing or distribution company?
While building a team is always going to be a challenge for any manager in any environment, it is doubly difficult in a lower margin business like distribution. I have never been able to offer top dollar to tech talent, so I have had to find talent where others weren’t looking. I am always looking for the attitude and aptitude in people more than their experience. If you can find a person with the right attitude and aptitude, the skills are easy to teach.
In distribution web projects, content is always the biggest issue that needs to be addressed. My strategy has been to find subject experts who I could ‘redirect’ into my content department. A bored customer service rep looking for a new challenge is the perfect person for this type of position. This is where I have found my content creators. This move can be made with or without a wage update and the rep has a new skill and new career.
The same strategy can be used for entry level IT support. The tech savvy warehouse person who is always talking about their home rig is a perfect candidate for help desk support. In most cases, you can improve this person’s wage significantly without breaking your budget. Everyone wins.
Ecommerce Systems Integration
Q. Tell us about a time you overcame challenges during an ecommerce implementation. What were the challenges and how did you successfully solve them?
I was hired to create a retail web sales division for a very traditional wholesale distributor whose core business was declining. One of the great things about this business is that it had a great fulfillment process. It was clear that this was the strength for the new eCommerce business to exploit and the biggest risk for disruption as well if the integration was not seamless. From the very beginning, I wanted to make sure that the order to ship process was as efficient as possible.
The first challenge was order entry. The business system had a robust order import system that we could leverage. Our focus on this part of the process was to make sure that this was as bulletproof as possible. This meant lots of error checking and redundant processes to make sure that orders were created cleanly and correctly. Fortunately, we had sufficient time to work out the kinks in this process while the order volumes steadily climbed. By the time we reached our max volumes, our process was very solid.
The next challenge was the order confirmation process. This was required so that the ERP could close out the invoices. Originally, this was handled manually by a warehouse employee. When the volume of orders started to grow, it was clear this was not sustainable. The process was partially automated by the ERP, but it was quite inefficient. I was able to find another user in the user group who had addressed this issue through some clever scripting. With the other user’s help, I was able to fully automate this process so that no one had to do it manually, and it was much faster than the original process.
By the time we had reached our maximum order volume, we were able to comfortably handle hundreds more orders than we could have before. Moreover, we were able to accomplish this without adding any employees to enter or manage the orders.
Tech Solutions and Innovation
Q. What specific new technologies have you had the most success with and which ones do you see making the biggest impact in 2024?
In our manufacturing department, we had a couple of traditional welding robots that had served us very well over the years. It was clear that we needed additional welding capacity, but hiring additional hand welders was not possible, so we bought a cobot. We knew that the cobot would be able to handle our welding, but what surprised us was that it was more efficient than we expected. Once we learned how to use the new cobot, we found we were able to get more product throughput than projected. This meant a faster payback on the capital outlay. In fact, we determined that once the oldest traditional robot finally died, we could easily replace its capacity with a cobot for a much smaller capital outlay and save a lot of our limited floor space at the same time.
In the business and technology side of the world, I think we are just starting to see the impact of AI. Today we are only taking baby steps playing with the possibilities. Our first project was to use AI to suggest content for our web sites and social media. This was almost magical. A simple prompt about something we always wanted to write about but could never get started, created an output that was 80% of what we needed, and a little bit of editing made it very presentable.
In the future, I have no idea what AI will be able to do, but I am sure that it will be integrated into any and all business decision systems worth investing in. I am watching this space closely because I don’t want to miss what will come next.
ERP Implementation and Maintenance
Q. With your background in installing and maintaining ERP systems, how do you ensure the successful adoption of the system, and what measures do you take to maintain its effectiveness over time?
Like real estate, there are 3 things to worry about: Training, Training and Training. You can never train the users enough and you can never train them too much. Good and plentiful training can address a whole host of other issues.
The major issues with a major ERP implementation are rarely technical, they are usually people issues. The users are concerned about learning a new system. They are worried about being able to help their customers. They are worried that they are going to be punished for not being able to do their job. All these issues can be addressed with thoughtful and well-designed training.
I have always been most successful with new ERP implementations and major updates when I had the time and ability to provide adequate training. Even if I had to push the schedule on a project, I fought to do just that if we were not finished with training.
Once a system is in place, you want to keep a hold of the training and keep it up to date. New employees and employees taking on new roles need to be trained to keep their skills up to date.
Technology Communications
Q. Can you share about a situation where effective communication about technology played a crucial role in addressing organizational challenges?
The biggest threat to any company is that an employee will respond to an emailed scam. It only takes one person to make one wrong click to cause a major incident. The email filters can only do so much to stop these before they get to the end users. In the end, it is really up to all of the users to recognize these scams and avoid them.
The biggest challenge is trying to explain cyber-security to every user. There is so much noise in the media about this and so many unique terms in this arena that most users just tune it out as tech jargon. They assume that the issue is too technical for them to understand and that IT will handle it for them.
This issue is so critical, I couldn’t just leave it to chance. My strategy is to send out short (and frequent) messages regarding one specific topic boiled down to the basics without any jargon. In many cases, these messages will reference the latest news reports even if they aren’t necessarily business related. Often, I will suggest that the users share this info with their friends and relatives. By providing some value that the users can share, this gives them an incentive to look at the next one as well. In every case, I conclude the message with the message to ask me if there are ever any cyber-security questions regardless of how silly the question may seem.
After a while, I could tell that the message was getting across because I was getting questions about suspect emails. In most cases the email was harmless, but I always thanked the person for asking the question and complimented them for asking. At that point, it was clear that we had built an environment that was cyber-security aware, and we were far less likely to suffer from an email attack.
Adapting to Industry Dynamics
Q. What do you believe the most impactful external factors will be in disrupting the adoption of new technologies in the manufacturing and distribution space?
I believe that external factors are more likely to positively impact technology adoption than have a negative impact.
Demographics are going to cause lots of issues going forward. There are simply not enough available candidates in the workforce for the industry to continue to grow the same way it has in the past. Technology is going to have to continue to improve the productivity of the workers that we have. Whether it is AI or Robotics or something else, technology is going to be how we grow and survive.
Achieving Technological Excellence in Manufacturing and Distribution
JR Tapper’s insights into team building, technological innovation, and ecommerce integration are invaluable to leaders in the manufacturing and distribution industries. His strategy for effective technology communication in managing cyber security is simple yet effective, one that anyone can implement in their own team. As Tapper emphasized, attitude and aptitude are priority over experience when building effective teams.
His commitment to comprehensive training for ERP adoption, proactive cybersecurity awareness, and recognition of technology’s role in addressing demographic challenges highlight his strategic leadership in navigating industry complexities. By adopting these holistic perspectives and proactive strategies, organizations can drive sustainable growth, build strategic teams, and navigate technology adoption with confidence.