It was a thick A4 exercise book and it was RED. The “Red Book” was the only place to record information about the job status and all work associated with each task. Sales would be the first to enter information into the “Red Book”, Operations would maintain it and Finance would borrow (under strict sign in-out protocols!) the “Red Book” from Operations periodically to transfer the details into the financial system and invoice and match against supplier invoices.
In about 2001 there was a change to the Red Book system. The Red Book became a massive Excel spreadsheet. The excel file was of course still named “Red Book.xls”! Although several versions emerged over time and no-one was ever sure exactly how up-to-date the information was, at least the staff and management found it was a little easier to access the book and data could also be ‘cut and pasted’ a little easier.
In 2015 there was a giant leap forward in the red book system … the client purchased Netsuite.
And it has revolutionised their business:
- Unlimited (not 10) Analysis fields
- No more costly painful Upgrades – EVER
- Access anywhere anytime from any device
- No IT Infrastructure (Servers, RDP connections etc) costs or challenges
- Unlimited flexibility
- Dashboard Technology and Data Distribution at the core of the technology
If you’re still using a “Red Book” in your business, we need to talk. Perhaps there is room for your Red Book in the ‘DWR Red Book Hall of Fame’?!
Contact Nigel Wooden today for a totally confidential and no-obligation conversation about the business pains affecting your organisation today.
