Inform ERP

"Solid ERP"

Puntos a favor: My favorite thing about this program is that you can pretty much get from any part of the program. From the sales order entry screen to the linked purchase order or to the product details or the customer master file. Sometimes this creates too many options when training new employees, so best to have a good plan for that otherwise new people might get confused.

Contras: It always feels like the developer is adding new features, which is great, but since they charge so much for maintenance you would think these features would be integrated as part of the program, but instead they are offered in a sort of add-on structure, which can be frustrating.

"Doubled the size and revenue of my business"

Comentarios: The people who work at DDI are absolute masters at what they do. They understand distribution and software. Frankly, they have been more like consultants to my business than just come software relationship. I knew on day 1 when was I was sitting down with the founder and CEO of this company that it would be the sort of relationship I was looking for. I have not been disappointed since.

Puntos a favor: I have been using Inform for just over one year. Within that time I have doubled the size and revenue of my business, the purchase of this software has been instrumental in achieving that.
The reduction of time spent executing every day procedures cannot be understated. This system streamlines operations to such a degree that attention can be refocused elsewhere, like selling.
The selling aspect of this system is second to none. Customer management is so well intertwined within the system. In a moment you can search a contact, know a few things about them, know what they have stopped buying from you, and translate your talent as a sales rep directly into a finished order.
Everything you quote, sell, invoice, purchase and commit is represented and fully tracked in a completely live system. This is crucial to my reporting, which is also a very easy to use part of the system.
The forecasting capability within the purchasing part of the software runs circles around systems that are easily quadruple the price of this system.

Contras: The old ecommerce package was not mobile responsive. Since the release of their new ecommerce, I have purchased it. It does wonders for my business, as it is completely integrated within the software. People can order their specific products from me on their phones and in seconds I have the order being picked and staged.

"Enterprise ERP that lacks basic ERP functionalities"

Comentarios: DDI has been running our business for over 3 years. Warehouse and inventory control systems are decent, accounting meets our basic needs. The biggest issue w DDI is they are a closed source software. Integrating with other strike mission software is virtually impossible. For example, you are bound by DDI into using Authorize.net for payment processing. For a wholesaler, Authorize.net is the least favorable payment processor b/c it cannot pass level 3 data, required for best rates on corporate charge cards. Being bound to Authorize.net costs our business year just in higher CC rates. Another example would be interfacing w 3rd party e-commerce platforms, which is very difficult and expensive to achieve with DDI closed source code. The built-in e-commerce platform is pathetic. It's 1990's web technology not mobile optimized, zero customization for the structure and layout, custom rules and customer-specific catalog pricing for a true B2B experience is not available. the list goes on and on. Your business processes must conform to DDI's framework, when it should be the other way around. There are MANY other ERP solutions that can do what DDI does for a fraction of the price. They keep promising updates to meet these glaring issues, but they never materialize. We'll be making a move in the next 24 months.

Puntos a favor: DDI team was readily available during installation and training
Detailed financial and sales performance reporting
Little downtime.

Contras: Closed-source code eliminates any integration w 3rd party software
Baked-in e-commerce platform is woefully outdated
DDI is always promising to rollout new features that rarely come to fruition

"Comprehensive System but Room for Improvement"

Comentarios: The DDI system is a comprehensive system that manages sales/warehouse needs very well, but everything else is sub-par to competition. Being a comprehensive system has it's perks; it means you can use DDI for almost all parts of your company; sales, warehouse management, analytics, and even online sales are incorporated. The strong suit of the DDI Inform ERP system at managing warehouse/ sales and analytics. He warehouse management system works very well to account for inventory, and the analytics part will tell you when certain inventory items are low and allows you to send out P/O to vendors right from the system.

The sales side of the system is also great, it’s very easy to use to type in Sales Orders and adjust pricing, etc. Compared to other sales systems we used, this is definitely one of the most comprehensive.

That being said, being a comprehensive system also has some drawbacks, and DDI as a system has room for future improvement. Luckily they do update their software with upgrades/updates throughout the year. The online sales portion of DDI could use work. As of right now, their online mobile ordering page isn't mobile-optimized, and compared to other applications designed for online sales/ mobile order taking, DDI's Mobi-Order performance is sub-par. However, I did hear from DDI that they are working on this portion to improve it, so hopefully with the updates will make the Mobi-Order more intuitive.

Another problem we’ve encountered there is little room for customization within the DDI system itself: layouts and formats of invoices, sales orders, etc are all pre-set and not easily changed. If you really wanted to change anything, DDI will bill you for special customization, which can be costly. To summarize, there is no denying the DDI system is great for warehouse/sales management, but aspects of the online/mobile department can definitely use some improvements, as this is the future of sales. Overall, a very comprehensive system that I would recommend for the wholesale & distribution business.

Puntos a favor: - Great at warehouse management
- Great for sales team management, helps track salesperson
- Good for accounting
- Analytics for sales team / product team
- Constant Updates

Contras: - Lack of customization options
- Lackluster features on it's mobile site / ordering app

"DDI-Inform. Value and support today. With a clear path to needs of the future."

Comentarios: We switched to DDI a couple of years ago. As a HVAC-R distributor with four branches and growing sales, we needed a powerful ERP system that provided flexibility, stability, responsive support and a strong plan for the development of future features. DDI-Inform provides all that. Inform is adaptable to the way that you do business with an extensive list of features and options that can be turned on or off to fit your needs. It also provides a granular permissions model that allow business owners to determine who can do what in the system. We choose run Inform on our premises, but it can be hosted on Rackspace. Inform is very stable. But modern ERP's are complicated and you will always run into edge cases. When we have needed support, the support provided by DDI is responsive and timely. They have a web support portal that works quite well, but you can also call them if needed. The support team is large enough that you are never left without support, small enough that they remember who you are. One of the things that is important to us is an ERP that has plans to grow with emerging technology's while still being stable and usable in the near term. DDI has slowly but surely been updating Inform to the new Inform 2 interface. During this transition they have taken their time to make sure that we don't loose any functionality while consistently providing improvements in design and features. I'm excited for the future of this product. And the advantages that it will bring to our business.

Puntos a favor: Stable and flexible. Excellent Support and responsiveness from their team.

Contras: There are, of course, little minor issues. But nothing that has made us regret our decision.