The Integrate Intelligently Podcast

Jenn Claridge has been at Sabre Limited since 2008, and the support call she gets most often opens with the same words: MRP is broken. She wrote a blog and recorded a video answering it. The short version is that the software did what it was told.

In this first of three conversations, Jenn walks Jeff Brickler and Scott Brickler through how she got here (a soccer park, an Infor Visual migration, a filing cabinet and an Excel sheet) and what 18 years of manufacturing implementations taught her about Business Central's planning engine. It is, in her words, dumb and dutiful. It produces a different result only when a person gave it a different input.

The practical half is what to do with that. Turn less on and pilot the combinations training sessions skip: dates in the past, negative inventory in a location, a fixed reorder policy with no reorder point, a maximum order quantity set below the minimum. Then treat the item card as the engine, and let Copilot find the silly things in your data before MRP does.

What you'll take from it

• The two complaints behind almost every "MRP is broken" call: too much noise, and suggestions that look wrong because a planning parameter was never understood
• Why people, process, and technology are three different failure modes, and which one is actually the easy part
• The set-less, pilot-more approach to planning parameters, and why lot accumulation periods and dampeners exist
• Where AI helps with data cleanliness and where it doesn't replace a person looking at the data

About the guest Jenn Claridge is Vice President of Operations at Sabre Limited, a Business Central partner in Cambridge, Ontario focused on manufacturers. She came up through production, inventory control, and reporting at a manufacturer before joining Sabre in 2008.

Sabre Limited: sabrelimited.com

Jenn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennclaridge/

Scott Brickler is CEO of CADTALK, which moves engineering data from CAD into the ERP so the bill of material MRP depends on is accurate before planning ever runs.

Part 1 of 3. Next: the manufacturers who do this well, and why an ERP is a forever project. Then: the manufacturing knowledge gap and why lingo is the first-phase problem.

In this clip, Stephanie Clark of Elliott Clark Consulting joins Jeff Brickler and Scott Brickler to unpack what actually happens after an ERP go-live and why so many manufacturers rush to planning and scheduling before their data is ready. Stephanie explains why bill of materials accuracy and inventory counts have to come first, why routings should start simple, and why chasing "just in case" data slows teams down instead of helping them. She closes with her core framework for manufacturing ERP success: process, technology, automation — in that order. Key

Takeaways

🧱 Foundation first. Planning and MRP are worthless if inventory accuracy and BOM data aren't right — fix the foundation before adding sophistication.

🎯 Keep routings simple. Don't overcomplicate routings out of the gate. Start with basic time standards and build detail once the team has adopted the process.

🚫 Beware "just in case" data. Capturing excessive detail "in case we need it later" usually just delays implementation and increases inaccuracy.

✈️ Course-correct, don't wait for perfect. Like a flight autopilot constantly correcting course, budgeting and process improvement work best when you start imperfectly and refine as you go.

🤝 You're not behind — you're normal. Every manufacturer has data and process gaps. The difference is being willing to find them and fix them.

Best Quote "I'm gonna go back to my three things again: process, technology, automation, in that order. Get your process and your data cleaned up first... and then use technology to do it better, and lastly use automation to do it faster." Stephanie Clark, Elliott Clark Consulting

A bill of materials that's off by a little slips right past Business Central. No error, no warning. It just feeds wrong costs into every report downstream, and the system keeps handing you clean-looking numbers built on bad math.

In part 2 of 3, Business Central consultant Stephanie Clark, who came up as a cost accountant, follows a sloppy BOM all the way to a margin that doesn't match the bank account. She gets into why the data problems that hurt most are the ones the system never flags, what actually stops teams from getting BOMs clean, and why entering the same part into CAD, PLM, and ERP by hand is, in her words, death.

Beyond the Software: Business Central Done Right If your ERP implementation didn't deliver the results you expected, the problem probably wasn't the software. Host Jeff Brickler sits down with CADTALK founder & CEO Scott Brickler and Stephanie Clark, founder of Elliott Clark Consulting and Microsoft Business Central expert, to talk about why process comes before technology — every single time. Stephanie brings decades of hands-on ERP experience, from end user to consultant to firm owner, and she doesn't hold back on what actually goes wrong in manufacturing ERP projects.

🔑 Key Takeaways • Process, technology, automation — in that order. Automating a broken process doesn't fix it. It just makes bad outcomes happen faster. Getting the business process right before touching the software is non-negotiable. • "Lift and shift" implementations fail. Moving your old paper-based or legacy process directly into a new ERP without reimagining the workflow is one of the most common and costly mistakes manufacturers make. • Software doesn't fail — misalignment does. When clients say "the software doesn't work," it's almost always a process or data issue underneath, not a software defect. • Data quality is the foundation of everything. Costing, planning, production orders — none of it works right without clean, accurate data. Start with the 20% of items that drive 80% of your business. • User adoption is just as important as configuration. Low-cost, fast implementations can miss the hand-holding that drives real adoption. Setting users up for success takes intentional effort.

💬 Best Quote "If you try to automate a really bad process, you're just gonna have bad data and a bad process that's faster." — Stephanie Clark, Elliott Clark Consulting

⏱ Timestamps

• 0:00 – Welcome & guest introduction

• 1:00 – Stephanie's origin story: from manufacturing manager to ERP consultant

• 2:19 – Starting Elliott Clark Consulting and doing things differently

• 3:45 – Process, technology, automation — in that order

• 6:17 – The lift-and-shift trap: why copying old processes into new software doesn't work

• 7:48 – The "second opinion" service: what's really wrong when ERP feels broken • 9:07 – User adoption, low-cost implementations, and the risks of moving too fast

• 11:57 – Data quality: why you have to get your data right before you go live

📎 Connect With Us

💼 LinkedIn:

CADTALK: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cadtalk

Stephanie Clark: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephclark/

🌐 Website:

CADTALK: www.cadtalk.com

Elliott Clark Consulting: https://www.clarkelliottconsulting.com/

If you've ever confused PLM with PDM — or wondered whether your company even needs a PLM system — this episode is for you. Host Jeff Brickler sits down with CADTALK founder & CEO Scott Brickler and Mike Halladay, Solution Consultant at Arena PLM (a PTC product), to cut through the acronyms and get practical about what Product Lifecycle Management actually does, who needs it, and how AI is starting to change the game.

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🔑 Key Takeaways

• PLM ≠ PDM. PDM manages CAD files. PLM is your single source of truth for the entire product record — mechanical, electrical, software, packaging, documentation, and more.

• PLM and ERP serve different purposes. ERP is a transaction system built around what you're producing today. PLM manages all work-in-process as your product evolves from one producible revision to the next.

• Change control is where PLM earns its keep. A formal revision control process ensures that only approved, complete product definitions make it into production — protecting manufacturers from costly errors.

• Regulated and complex-product industries benefit most. Medical device, defense, high-tech, and any company managing multi-department product records will find the highest ROI in PLM.

• Even ETO companies can benefit. If you're reusing subsystems across engineered-to-order projects, PLM keeps those subsystems well-managed and revision-controlled.

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💬 Best Quote

"PLM is the system you use for all of your work in process — as you go from the last producible revision of your product to the next." — Mike Halladay, Arena PLM

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⏱ Timestamps

• 0:00 – Welcome & guest introductions

• 1:27 – PDM vs. PLM: What's the actual difference?

• 3:01 – Where PLM fits vs. ERP (and why ERP isn't enough)

• 4:46 – Revision control: PLM's core superpower

• 6:31 – PLM for configure-to-order & engineer-to-order manufacturers

• 9:53 – The engineering change process: when does it cross from PLM to ERP?

• 15:38 – Which industries and company profiles benefit most from PLM?

You understand the problem. You know what it costs. Now what? In Part 3, CADTALK CEO Scott Brickler lays out the path forward — including why the integration conversation needs to happen earlier than almost everyone thinks, and why the decision is a business one, not a technical one.

In this episode, Scott and host John Thomas discuss:

• What a good ERP implementer actually tells you — and the questions to ask before you commit
• Why bringing integration into the conversation early changes the entire ERP design process
• The crawl-walk-run approach to ERP and integration: how to stack improvements without the big bang risk

Key takeaway: "Integration isn't a technical project. It's the thing that determines whether your ERP investment delivers what it was bought to deliver."

Connect with CADTALK: https://cadtalk.com

Most manufacturers know they have a gap between engineering and their ERP. They've known for years. But when you've been working around something long enough, it stops feeling like a problem and starts feeling like just how things are.

In Part 2 of our conversation with CADTALK CEO Scott Brickler, we get into what that gap is actually costing — not just in keystrokes, but in lead time, talent, decisions, and risk.

🎙️ Guest: Scott Brickler, CEO at CADTALK Software 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottbrickler/

⏱️ Timestamps:

0:00 — Recap and transition: from "what's broken" to "what does it cost" 0:51 — Labor shortages, tariffs, and why manual processes hurt more now 1:49 — Why engineers sign up for creative work — and what happens when they don't get it

2:07 — Agentic AI can only remix what exists — the human creative edge 3:07 — The "managing by exception" misconception — it's actually lack of clarity

4:00 — Jim in building B: when tribal knowledge becomes operational risk 4:16 — "Don't go into the illusion that everything's an exception"

5:51 — The talent retention argument: tools that remove friction attract the best people

6:27 — What happens when the only person who understands the spreadsheet leaves

6:55 — Transition: from the cost of the problem to the path forward

📌 Key Takeaways:

• The cost of disconnected data isn't just in re-keying — it shows up in lead time, quoting errors, purchasing mistakes, and compliance risk

• In a labor-scarce environment, engineers who spend time on data entry are engineers you can't recruit or retain

• "Managing by exception" sounds like loss of control — it's actually the result of gaining clarity

• The single-person dependency ("Jim in building B who just makes it work") is one of the most underestimated operational risks in manufacturing

• What looks like "too much variability to automate" is usually just a lack of clarity about what the process actually needs to be

🔗 Resources Mentioned:

• Schedule a discovery session: cadtalk.com

👉 Learn more about CADTALK: https://cadtalk.com

Manufacturers spend six or seven figures on ERP systems — and most aren't getting the ROI they were promised. CADTALK CEO Scott Brickler explains why the ERP isn't the problem, and what is.

In this episode, Scott and host John Thomas discuss:

• Why the bill of material is the engine everything in manufacturing ERP runs on — and why getting it right is harder than anyone admits
• The "ERP demo problem" — why it always works in demos, and what happens when real data hits the system
• Why "consistently wrong" beats "sporadically right" — and what that means for your engineering data

Key takeaway: "Your ERP is only as good as the data you feed it."

Connect with CADTALK: https://cadtalk.com

Here's a take that might surprise you: manufacturing has had AI longer than almost any other industry.

In this episode — "Your Factory Already Runs on AI — You Just Don't Call It That" — Rob Jolliffe, CEO of Sabre Limited, wraps up his conversation with hosts Jeff and Scott Brickler by tackling the AI hype head-on. Rob makes the case that MRP is an expert system, manufacturing has been running on AI for decades — so why does the current conversation feel so disconnected?

The discussion covers why AI pitches keep missing the mark with manufacturers, where the real opportunity lies (it's not replacing what already works), and practical use cases like automated vendor follow-up, real-time material substitution, and intelligent PO review. Rob and Scott explore why the most valuable AI applications are the tasks that are too onerous for humans at scale but too costly to skip.

Key Takeaways:

• MRP and finite capacity planning are expert systems — manufacturing has had AI for decades
• Current AI pitches often try to solve problems existing systems already handle
• The real opportunity is in tasks too onerous for humans: vendor follow-up, PO review, material substitutions
• AI should enable the thousands of small decisions humans currently skip
• Business Central's extension model allows add-ons to coexist without conflict
• Goldratt's insight: the obvious use case for new technology is rarely the most valuable one

Connect with our guest: Rob Jolliffe | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robjolliffe/ Sabre Limited: https://www.sabrelimited.com

Follow CADTALK: CADTALK's Website: https://cadtalk.com Follow CADTALK on YouTube (video episodes found here): https://www.youtube.com/@cadtalk6667 Follow CADTALK on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cadtalk

Why do standard ERP production modules keep failing engineer-to-order manufacturers?

In this episode — “Build-A-Bear ERP: Why Configurable Beats Custom for ETO Manufacturers” — Rob Jolliffe, CEO of Sabre Limited, continues his conversation with hosts Jeff and Scott Brickler, diving deep into the unique challenges of ETO manufacturing in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central. Rob shares the story of a die builder whose million-dollar product was held up by a $10 guide pin, and explains why the Projects module — not production orders — is the right approach for ETO companies in BC.

The conversation covers why traditional production modules make a fatal assumption for ETO, how Business Central’s AppSource ecosystem creates a “Build-A-Bear ERP” that can be configured without customization, and what ETO manufacturers should look for in a BC partner.

Key Takeaways:

- Standard ERP production modules assume R&D is complete — a fatal mismatch for ETO

- Business Central’s Projects module handles phased BOMs, progressive invoicing, and engineering-to-purchasing coordination

- The AppSource ecosystem (9,000+ apps) creates competitive pressure that keeps add-ons innovating

- The “Build-A-Bear ERP” model gives BC long-term staying power vs. monolithic competitors

- Not every BC partner understands ETO — ask about their Projects methodology before signing

- CAD integration readiness is a critical success factor for ETO implementations

Connect with our guest:

Rob Jolliffe | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robjolliffe/

Sabre Limited: https://www.sabrelimited.com

Follow CADTALK:

CADTALK’s Website: https://cadtalk.com

Follow CADTALK on YouTube (video episodes found here): https://www.youtube.com/@cadtalk6667

Follow CADTALK on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cadtalk

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to ETO Manufacturing Challenges

01:45 The Million-Dollar Die Story

04:00 Why Production Modules Fail ETO

06:15 The Valve Assembly Example

08:00 Why Projects Beat Production Orders in Business Central

10:15 Phased BOMs, Progressive Invoicing, and Onsite Work Tracking

12:00 Business Central vs. Infor: Scoring Manufacturing and Accounting

13:45 The AppSource Ecosystem and the “Build-A-Bear ERP”

15:30 What to Look for in a BC Partner for ETO

17:00 CAD Integration Readiness and the Role of CADTALK