The CBO Academy attracts all sorts of talented graduates from completely different backgrounds. Joe Moorby is a shining example of this. After completing his Tourism Management Degree and satisfying his thirst for travel, Joe joined the CBO Academy in June 2017. Since then Joe has successfully completed the Epicor certification process, he has proven himself to be an integral member of the CBO team, providing specialist support to Epicor customers and our consultants.
Tell us a little about your degree, place of study and how did you hear about the CBO Academy Scheme?
In 2012, I came up from South East London to study Tourism Management at the University of Sunderland; which was ranked 2nd best institution for this course in the UK. I was happy to move up North, as the region in general has a good reputation for being friendly, helpful as well as the additional bonus of a vibrant nightlife for students.
Whilst studying Tourism Management, I had the great opportunity to participate in a study exchange programme and went to Australia for 6 months in 2014. My taste for travel continued into 2016 where by this time I worked in hotels in Austin, Texas for one year. As much I enjoyed working in hospitality, I knew this wasn’t the industry for me.
I made the decision to return home and took an IT desk job for 6 months. Prior to university, my education was geared up around IT. Whilst I enjoyed and knew deep down that I wanted to progress my career in IT, I wanted to expand my horizons and experiences hence: the direction towards Tourism Management and travel.
It was then in Jan 2017, I moved back up to the North East, I received an email from Sunderland University Graduate Employment Services detailing an opportunity to learn and work with Epicor ERP through the CBO Academy. Since I had a technical background, I thought would be a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills, as well as channel my growing knowledge of IT.
What did you know about ERP before applying?
To be honest …not a great deal! I think ERP (which stands for Enterprise Resource Planning), isn’t a common terminology but in fact, it is everywhere! For example, in my previous IT helpdesk role, I was working on the company’s ERP system on a daily basis but no -one referred to the system as ERP.
What attracted you to join the CBO academy?
What I find great about the CBO company, is there is a huge amount of support and expertise available to me. If I have any questions, I find that there are always consultants on hand who are happy to give you their time and share their knowledge which is really refreshing.
Take me through your typical working day.
There is no typical day at Clear Business Outcome, as each day is different to the next which I genuinely enjoy as it brings great variety to the role. However, if I did have a describe my typical day, this is what it could be:
8.30am – Arrive at the office and grab a coffee. Normally I’m the first person in the office. As they say, the early bird catches the worm!
8.45am – 9.30am – Load up my emails to see if there are any ‘fires’ or urgent action required with specific consultants. I would also support the CBO consultants by organising their day to provide customer support.
9.30am – 11.00am – I would then take time to thoroughly look through and investigate current customers cases – supported the consultancy team.
11.30am – 1.00pm – Weekly hub meeting with the support team to review current customer cases.
1.00pm -2.00pm – Grab a spot of lunch.
2.30pm – 5.00pm – Support consultants with customer support either through call or onsite visits; which is a good learning experience for me as I’m picking up new information all the time.
How does CBO support you with your learning?
What I really like about working at CBO was that my first 3 months into the role was purely focussed on Epicor ERP training. CBO doesn’t just throw you in the deep end as some companies do. We have access to relevant Epicor learning resources via the online Epicor University portal to assist with exams and certification modules furthermore; our exams are funded by CBO which as you can imagine is another great advantage. Prior to the courses commencing Damien Sullivan (Managing Director) and Neil Holdsworth (Consulting Director) came up to the Sunderland head office and dedicated their time to provide me with a need to know Epicor essentials.
In addition, there hasn’t been a consultant who has turned me away when I have a question. They have time to talk through different scenarios and best practices no matter how busy they are. Our consultants know their stuff and are literally the Epicor People through and through!
What’s your favourite Epicor module and why?
My favourite module is the Advanced Materials Module (AMM). This module enables manufacturers to produce electronic requests for materials, dispatch those materials, and track inventory movements including raw materials and work in process.
What’s clever about AMM is that it allows manufacturers to track inventory in real-time and therefore; allowing the user(s) to have control and visibility of raw materials.
I’m mesmerised every time I see AMM in action.
What’s the hardest/ challenging thing about working at CBO and with Epicor software?
One of the challenges for those who are new to working with Epicor is that we will read and learn the Epicor knowledge via certification and courses, however, sometimes we don’t get to see some of the modules in the real-world environment – yet. Which understandably comes with time.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to join the CBO academy?
Be up for the challenge – Epicor is a huge piece of software and there is so much to learn and grasp; which is a fantastic learning opportunity. Even our consultants who are the Epicor Experts, who have been established within the industry for a long time are always learning something new.
Embrace the hunger to learn – if you don’t know something, you really need to have that thirst for knowledge to find the unknown out.
What is your Top Tip for Epicor users?
Make note of the daily tips! This is the white screen that flashes up when you log into Epicor (see below). I advise not to ignore these tips as they can come in very handy and provide you a quick insight into parts of the system that you might not be exposed to daily. I always take note of it. For example, if I’m looking at a customer case – a relevant tip may pop up which could really help me out / give me a good starting point.
Where do you want to be in your career in 5 years’ time?
Retired – I can dream 😊. If I win the lottery you never know!
More realistically, I would like to be an experienced Epicor consultant in 5 years’ time and can go into businesses and provide value to them and help as much as needed.
Are you interested in joining the CBO team or applying to our CBO Academy? Get in touch.
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