Since 1992, Blue Link ERP has been providing integrated inventory and accounting ERP software for small to medium-sized businesses, and it is best suited for those in the wholesale and distribution industry. In essence, our software helps product-based companies grow – profitably and measurably.
If I were to encapsulate what we stand for in a simple phrase, it would be: we strive to make life better for our employees and customers alike.
Tell us about yourself?
I was a partner in a public accounting firm many years ago, specializing in owner-managed product-driven businesses, followed by a segue into programming and system analysis. From there, it was a logical progression to become the architect of a wholesale distribution software solution. We purposely built the software for a variety of industries and unique business needs, including regulated industries such as Pharmaceutical and Food & Beverage.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
If we make it a little longer than that, it would be to embrace the work-from-home concept. Before COVID-19, I was convinced that working from home was a bad idea – let’s just say I now know better!
What problem does your business solve?
For many small/medium-sized wholesalers and distributors, managing inventory and the supply chain can be very manual, inaccurate, and ineffective. And for regulated industries – food, pharmaceutical, etc. – compliance falls into the same category. Yet these are probably the two most critical success factors for these businesses. We provide the tools and expertise to automate and manage these in an accurate, timely, and integrated manner while at the same time handling their mandatory accounting needs.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
I was struck by the disparity between what the big corporations were doing and the lack of affordable tools for smaller, owner-managed businesses. The more we looked at those early-stage entry-level accounting packages, the more we realized how much key work was performed outside of them – on paper and in manually updated spreadsheets – and even not being done at all.
So, there was an opportunity to introduce systems that could help level the playing field for those SMBs on an affordable basis.
What is your magic sauce?
Many of our customers have their own magic sauce, which is often not accommodated by off-the-shelf systems. But if they build custom solutions, then they’re stuck on that version of that technology until it’s obsolete, and then they have to reinvent the wheel. What we do differently is this: we will custom-build additions and tweaks to our ERP that accommodate their magic sauce, and those customizations survive their annual version upgrades so that they are always on the latest, up-to-date technology, but they also always have their custom functionality.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
We have been focused on creating products that solve real-world challenges for our community while maintaining a focus on leadership and scalability. The next chapter in our story is about providing even greater value to our clients, elevating products to the next level, and scaling our business.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
The biggest challenge was the Grand Recession of 2008/9. But that also turned out to be the catalyst for our biggest and most important transformation. It triggered a move from the traditional, on-premise perpetual license model to the cloud-based SaaS model, which has fueled ongoing double-digit growth year after year.
How can people get involved?
Call us at 1-877-258-5465 or complete our contact form at www.bluelinkerp.com/contact to discuss how you can grow your business with the right software, reduce manual processes and streamline operations. **Please note that Blue Link is only available to businesses with headquarters in the USA, Canada, and the Caribbean.