Paul McLellan
Solution Architect/Product Manager at Suite Engine
Actions
Paul McLellan is a Solution Architect and Strategic Advisor at Suite Engine, where he bridges product strategy, sales enablement, and cross-functional leadership for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central solutions. With over 30 years of experience spanning global eCommerce, distribution, payment processing, and software design, he specializes in overseeing integrated solutions that connect ERPs to the platforms where commerce actually happens — Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and beyond.
Before joining Suite Engine, Paul owned and operated LightBulbs.com, a global online distribution business he built from the ground up over three decades. That firsthand experience — managing inventory across warehouses, reconciling marketplace settlements, and navigating the realities of multi-channel fulfillment — gives him a perspective that most solution architects simply don't have. He's lived on the customer side of every integration problem he now solves.
His career in technology started long before eCommerce existed. In 1991, Paul taught himself to code by writing video games on a Commodore Amiga, sparking a lifelong obsession with how software should work and — just as importantly — how it should feel. That user-first design philosophy runs through everything he does, from API architecture to the pixel-level details of a UI.
Paul lives in Minnesota with his wife and nine children — so when he talks about managing complexity at scale, he means it in every sense.
The Integrated Tech Stack Advantage Why Growing Companies Are 2x More Likely to Connect Their System
Mid-market companies accumulate disconnected systems: CRM, ERP, HRIS, support ticketing, project management. Data lives in silos. Employees manually copy information between systems. Reports require consolidating exports from multiple sources. Research shows growing SMBs are 2x more likely to have integrated tech stacks.
Outcome: Clear integration strategy to connect critical business systems
Takeaway: Decision framework for building vs. buying connectors
Key Discussion Points:
• Integration maturity model: point-to-point to hub-and-spoke to event-driven to real-time
• Platform comparison by company size: Zapier vs. Make vs. Workato vs. Celigo
• High-value integration patterns for finance-IT collaboration
• CRM-to-ERP integration: quotes, orders, and revenue recognition
• HR-to-finance integration: payroll, headcount, and forecasting
• Support-to-billing integration: usage tracking and invoicing
• Decision framework for building vs. buying connectors
• Data quality at integration points
• Security and compliance considerations
• ROI measurement for integration investments
The Technical Debt Balance Sheet: Quantifying Legacy System Costs in Financial Terms
The 'balance sheet' and 'interest rate' metaphor is the most CFO-friendly framing available. Treating technical debt as a compounding financial liability speaks the CFO's language directly.
Outcome: Ability to quantify and communicate technical debt in financial terms
Takeaway: Technical Debt Ratio calculation and prioritization framework
Key Discussion Points:
• Calculating your 'Technical Debt Ratio' and quantifying maintenance drag
• The compounding 'interest' of deferred maintenance
• Mapping technical debt to business risk and opportunity cost
• Prioritization frameworks: risk-based vs. opportunity-based modernization
• Building the CFO-ready business case for infrastructure investment
• Quick wins: where to reduce debt with minimal disruption
• Technical debt in M&A: due diligence considerations
• Communicating technical debt to non-technical stakeholders
• Creating a sustainable debt reduction roadmap
• Metrics to track technical debt over time
Multi-Channel Commerce: Financial Visibility Across Sales Platforms
As distributors expand across Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, and direct web channels, finance teams often lose visibility into true channel profitability, inventory carrying costs, and cash conversion cycles. This session demonstrates how to unify order-to-cash workflows within your ERP using the Microsoft technology stack.
Outcome: Clear framework for achieving financial visibility across multiple sales channels
Takeaway: Integration strategies and data quality requirements for multi-channel commerce success
Key Discussion Points:
• The multi-channel visibility challenge: Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, direct web
• True channel profitability: costs most finance teams miss
• Inventory carrying costs and allocation decisions by channel
• Cash conversion cycle differences across sales platforms
• Unifying order-to-cash workflows within your ERP
• Microsoft technology stack integration: Outlook, AI-assisted order creation
• Channel-specific margin analysis and reporting foundations
• Where DIY integrations break down and why
• Evaluating connector solutions: what to look for
• Data quality requirements that determine success or failure
Right-Sizing Your IT Team: Finding the Optimal Mix of In-House, Outsourced, and Co-Managed
Practical and comprehensive framing that incorporates fractional leadership (vCIO/vCISO) economics as a component rather than separate session—the fractional leadership question is part of the broader staffing model decision.
Outcome: Optimized IT staffing model balancing cost, capability, and control
Takeaway: Cost comparison frameworks and decision criteria for staffing models
Key Discussion Points:
• Assessing current IT capacity and identifying capability gaps
• Cost comparison frameworks: true cost of in-house vs. managed services
• When fractional leadership (vCIO/vCISO) makes sense vs. full-time hire
• Structuring co-managed arrangements that maintain internal control
• Transition planning: moving between staffing models
• Vendor selection criteria for managed services
• SLA design and performance management
• Knowledge retention and documentation requirements
• Building internal capabilities while using external support
• Success metrics for blended IT teams
2026 Technology Summit Sessionize Event Upcoming
Please note that Sessionize is not responsible for the accuracy or validity of the data provided by speakers. If you suspect this profile to be fake or spam, please let us know.
Jump to top