Useful thinking, from ABS and beyond
Practical guides and honest commentary on ERP, IT support and business systems, alongside the industry stories we’re following.
From ABS
Ideas for smoother working
Plain-English starting points from the systems and support work we do every day.
01ERP, explained
What is an ERP, and what does it actually change?
A useful place to start if your information lives in several systems and spreadsheets.
Explore the basics → 02Stock controlWhen the system and the shelf disagree
How everyday goods-in, picking and production activity affects stock accuracy.
Explore stock control → 03IntegrationIs a person joining your systems together?
Where repeated entry creates bottlenecks, and what a joined-up flow can look like.
Explore integrations →New articles from the ABS team will appear here as they are published.
Jargon buster BOM, MRP, go-live, “quick win”… The words you didn’t ask to learn, explained the way we would on a call. Open the glossary →In the trade press
Published elsewhere
Our director Phil Abbott writes for UK technology and manufacturing titles - on AI in ERP, data and integration, and getting people to actually use the systems they have.
- Bylined articles
- 9
- Expert comment
- 1
- Publications
- 7
2026
- Making ERP work for everyone, not just the experts ERP usability: why users blame the system when the process is the real problem.
- The human-algorithm alliance Expert comment on how AI is reshaping enterprise workflows and decision-making. Expert comment · PDF
- Priority aiERP shows where enterprise software is heading Conversational ERP, predictive intelligence and what is shipping versus what is promised.
- How ERP integrations create information ecosystems that actually work Integration done properly, with a T-Card worked example.
2025
- The hidden ERP feature that could save your team hours every day Customer portals: self-service ordering, order history and the load they take off internal teams.
- Getting sales teams to actually use CRM: mission impossible? CRM adoption as a people and process problem, not a software one.
- Manufacturing intelligence: leveraging MRP for competitive advantage What MRP actually does for planning, inventory and production demand.
- Don’t replace your ERP system until you’ve done this first The case for a structured ERP review before committing to replacement.
- From automation to intelligence: AI’s impact on modern ERP systems How AI shifts ERP from process automation to decision support.
- Turning data into gold: the business intelligence story Business intelligence, end-to-end data exchange and getting value out of ERP data.