Spotlight Series

Where Manufacturing Breakthroughs Take Center Stage

The Spotlight Series is a high-impact, 30-minute virtual program designed to showcase the latest technologies, groundbreaking research, and outstanding initiatives shaping the future of manufacturing. Each session delivers powerful insights from industry leaders and innovators, giving attendees an inside look at transformative ideas and solutions driving progress in the manufacturing sector.

Join us for concise, engaging presentations that keep you ahead of the curve - perfect for busy professionals who want maximum value in minimal time.

Please note: Spotlight Series programs featuring independent speakers are available exclusively to members for live and on-demand viewing; email membership@sme.org for on-demand links. Company-sponsored Spotlight Series programs are open to members and non-members. Dates and topics are subject to change.

Interested in sponsoring a Spotlight for your company? Learn More.

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AI Reinvented ERP Migration and Implementation (Here’s How): September 9 | 2-2:30 p.m. ET
Sponsored by SME Corporate Member, AttivoERP

AI Reinvented ERP Migration and Implementation (Here’s How)

Migrating to a new ERP has always been a slow process — you can’t just flip a switch and have a fully integrated system. That’s beginning to change: AI is starting to play a meaningful role in the process, and very few ERP partners are using it yet.

Where AI actually fits across a migration — cleansing, analysis, and mapping your data into the new system, plus configuration and testing

How AI makes implementation faster and more efficient, bringing costs down and putting ERP within reach for more businesses than ever before.

What an AI-assisted implementation realistically looks like for a small-to-midsize manufacturer, and how to spot the right partner to guide you through it.

You’ll leave able to tell what’s real from what’s just hype, and know what to expect from a modern, AI-enabled ERP project. Every attendee gets the AttivoERP Fit & Readiness Checklist — a vendor-neutral gut-check that includes where you stand on ERP.

Len Reo

President & Founder

AttivoERP

Len Reo is the President and Founder of AttivoERP, where he brings decades of experience solving complex business challenges with best practices and ERP technologies. With a background in accounting and finance and a deep understanding of many industries, Len has led Attivo in helping businesses grow efficiently.

Previous Webinars

AttivoERP Spotlights...The ERP Wake-Up Call Manufacturers Are Actually Heeding: View the Presentation Check Out the ERP Fit & Readiness Checklist Watch The Replay

As a manufacturer, you’ve built your operation on what works — spreadsheets, whiteboards, and a handful of software tools. But as you grow, the cracks show: double data entry, inventory that’s never quite right, and numbers that don’t match the floor. This session meets you there, then shows what an ERP system is and what it can actually do for a growing shop.

What an ERP system actually is: one connected place where production, inventory, purchasing, orders, and accounting share the same real-time data — and how it differs from MRP, MES, and WMS

The concrete benefits for a growing manufacturer: accurate job costing and margins, real-time inventory and scheduling, faster quoting, fewer errors, and the visibility to make confident decisions

How to tell whether ERP fits your size, processes, and goals, when it isn’t the answer (yet), and what to look for from an expert, vendor-neutral partner that’s been around for over 30 years.

You’ll leave understanding what ERP is, what it could change for your shop, and whether it’s time to make a move.

Acumatica Cloud ERP Spotlights...AI-Enhanced Cloud ERP for Manufacturing: DSD Business Systems offers ERP, CRM & HCM solutions like Sage Intacct & Acumatica. Since 1984, they've helped businesses streamline & energize growth.

View the Presentation Watch the Replay

The next generation of manufacturing operations isn't just connected, it's intelligent. In this live webinar, discover how Acumatica's AI-enhanced Cloud ERP helps growing manufacturers eliminate bottlenecks, automate complexity, and make faster decisions with real-time data across every corner of the business.

AI Where It Matters Most: Learn how machine learning and intelligent automation are transforming production planning, demand forecasting, and cost visibility on the shop floor

From Disconnected Tools to One Platform: Why manufacturers outgrow basic software and how Acumatica unifies purchasing, production, inventory, finance, and fulfillment in a single system

Real Results for Real Manufacturers: Live product walk-through and case examples showing what AI-enhanced ERP looks like in practice, not just in theory

The manufacturers winning right now aren't working harder, they're working on smarter, AI-enhanced systems.

Pareshkumar Hotchandani Spotlights... Accelerating Digital Transformation in Regulated Manufacturing: Regulated manufacturing requires rigorous documentation, validated processes, and fully traceable workflows-all while maintaining operational efficiency. Pareshkumar Hotchandani, Staff Automation Engineer and Site Operational Technology Lead at Smith and Nephew Inc, introduces a practical, site level approach to accelerating digital transformation by focusing on three key enablers: compliance driven frameworks, smart digital inspection systems, and citizen development.

Drawing from real implementations in highly regulated environments—including the deployment of validated electronic Device History Record (eDHR) frameworks and OEE systems in a MedTech setting-the program illustrates how modular, auditable architectures strengthen traceability, enhance audit readiness, and improve data integrity.

Attendees will gain a clear, actionable roadmap for modernizing regulated manufacturing using scalable frameworks, frontline focused smart digital systems, and citizen driven innovation.

This replay is member exclusive. Members can email membership@sme.org for the replay link.

ECI Software Solutions 3-Part Spotlights Series: ECI Software Solutions has helped businesses around the world grow with industry-specific, cloud-based ERP. ECI sponsored a 3-part Spotlight to help job shops and mixed-mode manufacturers advance Manufacturing Business Maturity with practical insights and actionable steps to improve efficiency, visibility, and competitiveness.

Watch Part 1 Watch Part 2 Watch Part 3

Learn more about each session below:

Part 1: Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Manufacturing

View the Presentation Watch the Replay

For many job shops, "Level 1" maturity means living in a constant state of firefighting—relying on tribal knowledge, disconnected spreadsheets, and paper travelers that disappear the moment they hit the shop floor. This "visibility gap" doesn't just cause stress; it leaks profit through missed deadlines, inaccurate quoting, and hidden operational costs.

The first session will talk about:

How to examine the realities of reactive manufacturing and how to spot it in your business

How to diagnose Level 1 bottlenecks and identify the manual workflows currently slowing your production

Leave with a clear understanding of the foundational digital steps required to stop reacting to problems and start building a predictable, scalable operation.

Part 2: Building a Repeatable Success Engine

View the Presentation Watch the Replay

Growth without integration is just more chaos. As manufacturers move to "Level 2," the goal shifts from simple survival to system discipline. This is where "streamlined" becomes a reality rather than a buzzword. By integrating core systems, such as linking your Bill of Materials (BOM) directly to purchasing and establishing formal routing, you create a repeatable "success engine" that reduces variability and human error. 

The second session will talk about:

What a truly streamlined workflow looks like, from disciplined routing to basic scheduling

How to align your office and shop floor so everyone is working from a single version of truth

How to build a digital foundation that supports your team’s growth instead of hindering it

Leave with a clear understanding of how to transition from disconnected tools to an integrated ERP environment.

Part 3: Data-Driven Dominance: Achieving Foundational Automation

View the Presentation Watch the Replay

Stepping into foundational automation is where your data transforms from a record of the past into your greatest competitive advantage. At Level 3 maturity, we eliminate the friction of manual touchpoints. By automating scheduling against real-world capacity and syncing barcoded inventory directly to your ERP, your shop floor becomes a high-performance engine that gives you the real-time pulse of your production for faster, smarter decision-making. 

The third session will talk about:

The power of digital work orders, real-time job costing, and live WIP (Work-in-Progress) dashboards

How to capture labor and material data as it happens, allowing for "right-now" decision-making

Walk away with a clear roadmap for moving into Level 4 proactive optimization, ensuring your shop is future-proofed for the long term.

Jake McKee Spotlights...Turning Customer Conversations into Product Decisions: Manufacturing teams talk to customers every day, yet much of what they learn never makes it into real product decisions. Jake McKee, Principal Strategist at Customer Conversations, introduces the Customer Conversation Compass, a practical framework for turning everyday customer conversations into clearer insight, better tradeoffs, and stronger product direction.

Rather than adding more surveys, dashboards, or reports, the session focuses on how teams can take back ownership of customer conversations, listen more deliberately, and recognize which signals actually deserve attention.

Using concrete examples from manufacturing environments, see how small changes in how conversations are framed, interpreted, and shared can dramatically improve decision-making.

This replay is member exclusive. Members can email membership@sme.org for the replay link.

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Spotlight Series

Where Manufacturing Breakthroughs Take Center Stage

Register Now

AI Reinvented ERP Migration and Implementation (Here’s How)

Len Reo

Previous Webinars

Part 1: Breaking the Cycle of Reactive Manufacturing

Part 2: Building a Repeatable Success Engine

Part 3: Data-Driven Dominance: Achieving Foundational Automation