The Root of the Name “Rootstock Software”

People ask us all the time: What does the name Rootstock have to with ERP software?

To help answer this question, we turn to one of nature’s most powerful tricks, discovered by humans thousands of years ago.

In the practice of gardening and cultivation, especially with fruit-bearing plants like grapes or apples, the rootstock is the part of a plant, often underground, from which new growths can be produced above ground. It is also a stem with a well-developed root system to which a bud from another plant can be grafted.

A rootstock is a well-developed root system that is selected for its interaction with the soil, its ability to provide the roots and stem to support a new plant, its ability to obtain the necessary soil water and minerals, and its resistance to likely pests and diseases. Rootstocks are often selected for specific traits such as the ability to bear superior fruit and resistance to drought, root pests, and diseases.

A robust rootstock is essential to fruit growers because it provides stability, resilience, higher fruit yields and serves as the foundation for future growth. Wine producers and other fruit growers carefully choose the right rootstock in order to expand their output and meet growing consumer demand.

So, let’s ask the question again: What does all this have to do with Manufacturing ERP?

Okay, think of your company as a vineyard. Just like a vineyard needs a strong rootstock to succeed, your company needs robust business systems to succeed. In fact, the business systems that a company uses greatly determines its competitiveness, efficiency, ability to serve customers, growth trajectory and profitability. And this is Rootstock Software’s exact mission.

Our goal is to give manufacturing, distribution and supply chain companies a strong business system foundation to help them become more efficient, more profitable, more resilient to market changes and position them for future growth.

When we started, we wanted a company name that reflected our mission.

We’ve all used software that looks pretty but doesn’t hold up under changing technologies and user habits. We wanted our company name to represent the concept of a solid, robust and well-architected, product foundation that will stand up to changes over time. That’s Rootstock Software in a nutshell.

From a software application point of view, Rootstock Cloud ERP chose the Salesforce Cloud Platform as a key part of the business systems foundation. To take the horticulture analogy further, it is also a flexible solution with which other software applications can be easily integrated (“grafted”).

And the Rootstock concept does not stop with our software; it’s about our services and people too. It can be argued that successful implementations are determined more by the quality of the people and support you get than the software itself. At Rootstock, our implementation consultants and support teams are people you can rely on. They’ll help advise and guide you on the best ways to manage your project to get the highest yield from your ERP implementation project. To maximize your success, you need great software and great people, and that is what Rootstock is all about.

In good times and bad, under good market conditions or under sudden economic stresses, you need to know that your business systems and the people supporting it will provide the foundation to help make your company stronger and help it grow.

And that is the Root of the name Rootstock.