Cody Durden, founder of The Fractional Syndicate.

Who is Cody Durden?

Cody Durden is the founder of The Fractional Syndicate and co-founder of Syndicate Systems. He helps manufacturers and distributors fix the expensive problems that sit between departments: what sales promised, how the floor builds it, what accounting can prove it cost, and the ERP meant to tie them together. Cody has more than 10 years of experience running IT and data for manufacturers and distributors, with hands-on work in Macola and Prophet 21, ERP migrations, MSP transitions, and margin and pricing analysis. He holds a Master’s in cybersecurity engineering from the SANS Technology Institute. Cody also serves as a fractional CIO for companies that want senior technology leadership without a full-time hire. He is based in the Houston area and works with clients nationwide.

Why the work sits between departments

The expensive problems in a manufacturer or distributor rarely sit inside one department. They sit in the seams: what sales promised, how the floor actually builds it, what accounting can prove it cost, and the ERP that was supposed to tie all three together. I understand how each one works and what each needs from the others. Nobody has to translate for me, and nobody gets to blame the other guy’s system.

So I follow the dollar end to end, quote to cash. Where does the order stop moving? Who keys it in a second time? Which step adds a day and no value? Then I take those steps out. That’s the part that pays. A cleaner process is faster, costs less to run, and it tells you the truth about margin while you can still do something about it.

That means a lot of hours in Macola and Prophet 21, getting reporting out of ERPs that weren’t built to give it up easily, and a lot of time on plant floors with the people who actually do the work. I’ve done the migrations, rebuilt the reporting, built the margin and pricing analysis leadership runs on, and sat on both sides of a service contract, which is why I know what a fair one looks like.

Technology is usually the tool I reach for, but it isn’t the point. The point is that somebody couldn’t answer a question they needed answered, a few weeks later they can, and the number at the end of the month moves. That’s the job.

Why work with one senior person instead of a firm?

Mid-sized manufacturers and distributors get a bad deal from the consulting market. The big firms are expensive and slow and send people who’ve never seen a shop floor. The cheap end sends a help desk. There’s not much in between for a company doing twenty or eighty million dollars with one IT person and a long list of problems.

So that’s what this is. Enterprise-quality work, without the enterprise overhead, from someone who’ll give you a straight answer about whether you need it.

I’m also not interested in one-off projects that end badly. I’d rather build something that works and still be around in three years to hear how it’s going.