In an industry where margins are tight and competition is fierce, finding smart ways to reduce printing costs is a must. As we step into 2025, print businesses must rethink their operational...
What would you change if you could go back in time and do it all over again?
After another successful year at The Bernard Group (TBG), the company was inspired to answer some key questions that focus on the future. How can we continue to increase our ability to scale? What tools can we give our employees to make their jobs easier?
To answer these questions, senior leaders at TBG challenged a handful of technology experts to look at their systems and articulate an ideal “redo”. In other words, what would they do differently if they could? This discovery process produced a realization to reimplement their ERP solution, ePS Pace. The endeavor was soon dubbed the Pace 2.0 project.
TBG’s CIO, Martin Diers, first introduced Pace to the business in 2011. Back then, the company had about 50 employees and was adopting its first formal ERP system.
“TBG has always had the brain of a developer. As we grew, we knew we needed to retire our home-grown ticketing and order system and implement a real ERP. We also knew TBG was unique and needed a system we could customize, scale, and integrate. We examined every print-focused ERP on the market. Pace was the only system that fit the bill.” - Martin Diers, CIO
Fast-forward to 2023 and TBG is a much-evolved place. Multiple buildings bustle with production as the workforce grows to continuously wow new and existing clients. The company’s speed, agility, and customer-centric nature are key contributors to the steep growth curve they experienced over a short period of time.
Rapid growth is great, but it rarely renders moments of reflection.
“Rapid growth amplifies overly complex processes, data gaps, and weaknesses in general. We examined root causes and instead of addressing these areas individually, we decided to focus effort on our foundation. While this is a more ambitious approach, it’s in harmony with our long-term mindset.” - Matt Hanson, CEO
The Pace 2.0 project is built upon the ideas of creating connections and minimizing redundancies. To do this, the company is committed to adopting Pace best-practices and executing the fundamentals of product manufacturing. TBG is also onboarding new shipping and scheduling tools from ePS’s technology stack, ensuring needed connections are simple and fluent.
"Being a part of The Bernard Group's journey of growth has been an incredible experience for us at eProductivity Software. Their commitment to continuous improvement and decision-making is truly commendable. Their proactive approach in embracing automation tools and their eagerness to explore new technologies showcase their forward-thinking nature. ePS is proud to support their Pace 2.0 project. We look forward to witnessing their continued success as they further refine their processes supporting their accelerating growth." - David Bentley, General Manager, Midmarket Print Suite at eProductivity Software
At TBG, Pace 2.0 is not just being looked at as a technology project.
“Pace 2.0 truly encompasses the scope of people, process, technology and data. While there are technology aspects to this initiative, the most impactful area, and where we will drive the biggest value, will be in the alignment of our teams and the integration of our processes.” - Gene Schneider, CTO
From the outset, a dedicated cross-functional team was formed to steer the project, drawing upon their diverse expertise and perspectives to ensure all angles were covered. The team intertwines to form a cohesive unit, from senior leadership to developers and influencers, to analysts and administrators.
As the project progresses, TBG's collective energy and dedication to answer the key questions continue to propel them forward. They eagerly anticipate upcoming milestones and the transformative impact the continuous improvement project will have on the organization.
