If it takes a village to raise a child, what does it take to launch an ERP system?
For KrisTech, it took countless hours of work, a seemingly endless stream of meetings, and enough synchronicity to make the Rockettes blush.
But when the company’s new ERP system went live in January 2025, it marked a giant leap for KrisTech. Not only were we more aware of what we had in stock, but the system opened the floodgates to an unprecedented amount of data and insights. Long story short, it made us a lot smarter and way more agile.
Going from initial idea to full-fledged product can be brutal – and is rarely as streamlined and simple as the final product makes it seem. But for three people, the long days and occasional nights, constant monitoring, and coordination resulted in our most sought-after award — Employee of the Year.
That’s right; for the first time in KT’s 41-year history, we have THREE Employees of the Year! The work David Albright, Justin Blakeslee, and Drew Herbert put into this company-wide project was monumental.
Congratulations, gentlemen! Your hard work will pay dividends for years to come!
Like the iconic rock band Rush, David, Justin, and Drew were virtuosos in their own right.
David handled several tricky situations with his infectiously positive attitude, creating solutions to help the sales team set up item quotes and process open orders.
“David jumped right in, setting up a workflow that made sense to everyone,” Sales Director Aaron Reighard explained at the time. “He came through January with a positive outlook and pleasant demeanor, keeping himself calm alongside those around him.”
His expertise was also critical during an important RFP process KrisTech participated in.
At the same time, Justin was pulling resources in from all over the company to get the ERP project over the finish line. He worked across nearly every department, including IT, Finance, Supply Chain, Production, and Shipping, to coordinate work and keep everyone on the same page.
“Justin built a strong and consistent rapport with the ERP consultant team, serving as a translator between the ERP Team and our internal stakeholders,” Director of Supply Chain Marcus Tagliaferri said in his January Employee of the Month nomination. “He was pivotal to explaining KrisTech nuances and processes to the external ERP Team and vice versa, explaining the new system to the Operations Team.”
Meanwhile, before, during, and after the ERP launch, Drew was our cool, calm, and collected fixer. His communication skills and level head helped him make quick work of IT issues on the production floor.
“Drew went far beyond the classic IT fix of ‘Have you tried restarting your computer?’” VP of Finance Bob Pagano explained. “He was on the floor, actively troubleshooting, providing immediate and long-term solutions, offering training, and giving hands-on support to keep production moving and products shipping.”
We had so many great people and achievements to celebrate in 2025. But as we turn the calendar to a new year, we also open the door for an entirely new group of Employee of the Month winners to emerge.
KrisTech has no shortage of amazing people, all of whom uphold our core values — something we call the KrisTech Way.
Thank you to every employee here who has done so much to help our manufacturing facility and company thrive. Your hard work is constantly noticed, and we’re excited to see what the next 12 months have in store!
