18 • AUGUST 2026 • Must Read | ERP Roulette Show Your Logo has spent five years and hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to transition to a new enterprise resource planning system. Every time the Oswego, Illinois-based company comes close, an issue arises, and the process is abandoned. Coming out of the pandemic, the firm had a contract ready with an industry-specific ERP provider only for the latter to refer Show Your Logo to a non-promo-specific ERP provider. Uncomfortable with the last-minute switch, the firm backed away and signed up with a different company. After 70% of the system was built, Show Your Logo leaders realized there were flaws. “They spent 30 minutes doing a demo, and we said no, that doesn’t work,” recalls Steve Brungart, general manager at Show Your Logo. “They asked what we wanted it to do, and we spent the next two hours explaining it. After the call, I told our owner how amazing it was that they took all these notes and could make this happen. “A half hour later, the head guy from the ERP provider called and said all the things we asked for are going to break the system. So, we backed out of that, too.” Third time wasn’t a charm, either, as a breakdown in communication between both parties resulted in Show Your Logo leaving a glitch-filled system that half of its sales reps had been using for six months. Brungart later learned that the ERP provider fired its chief technology officer at about the same time his firm was having issues. “I wish I would’ve known because I would’ve been more patient,” he says. While Brungart continues to shop around, Show Your Logo has been relying upon the same system for the past 13 years. Although it does everything “reasonably well,” Brungart says it hasn’t been updated since the firm has been on it, and it doesn’t tie into any other application. “With our current ERP, I can’t get a database with my customer’s name, contact name and email address,” he says. “I’m fearful because, especially with software, if you don’t innovate, you die. I don’t know any big players on it, so if there isn’t one on it, who’s going to keep this thing going? “But I’m scared to pick up the project again because I’ve been burned so many times.” Growing Trend Branded merchandise companies use ERPs to streamline operations and integrate core business functions. These systems centralize data for inventory, order processing, customer relationship management and accounting. With the complexity of custom product orders and tight deadlines, ERP systems enable merch firms to scale, enhance customer service and stay competitive. Previous systems, many of which had been in place for decades, had become outdated. As merch firms’ needs evolved and the pace of technology – spurred by the rise of AI – accelerated, business leaders realized they had to make a change to remain competitive in the marketplace. Los Angeles-based PromoShop spent the first half of 2024 migrating to an ERP system, which included a fully integrated buildout for absorbing invoices and information through universal data feeds into its on-premises QuickBooks environment. PromoShop also expanded its partnerships and programming to facilitate one-click purchasing, implementing low/no-touch features for quick and seamless ordering. Aside from AI applications, ERP implementations and upgrades were the most cited IT-related developments among 2025 PPAI 100 companies. PromoShop spent Q3 2024 focused on integrating finance processes and optimizing workflows for automation while taking a deeper dive into e-commerce platforms and their integration in Q4.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzU4OQ==