Where We’re Speeding Off to This Month

In April, we welcomed SAFECO in California to our list of E.Z. Support customers. We also recently began working with Peninsular Electric Distributors in West Palm Beach, Florida. We’ll be spending time with both of them this month, as well as teaching UFO classes, and taking GVH Millenium Distribution in Amarillo, Texas live on RF. We look forward to working with everyone!

Fix Those Darn Decimals, Would Ya?

Some Eclipse systems are set to have 3 decimals for pricing on customer receipts. While this is helpful for certain functions, it can seem like overkill for others. It’s particularly inconvenient when some of your customers’ systems can’t handle ship tickets with 3 decimals. Without changing your forms, you can make this a little more tolerable. You can set the system to round the number, and always make the 3rd digit zero. (Ex. Before: $10.345, After: $10.350) Go to Customer Maintenance, Pricing, Additional. In the spot that says “# of Decimal Places for Pricing” change the number to “2”.

All Aboard for Chi-Town

You may have heard about the regional roundtables that the Eclipse Users Group is doing. Now it’s time for these Pricing and Sales Management workshops to descend on the Windy City … NEXT WEEK! If you’re in the area, or within driving distance, get signed up!

We’re partnered with the UFO to offer you an opportunity to learn best practices from each other, while also getting feedback from an Eclipse expert. The Zerion instructor will stimulate conversation based on an outline; and users will be able to hear from their peers about what is or isn’t working for them, as well as ask questions of each other and the instructor.

Pricing topics will include authorizations, rounding rules, settings to help in a down economy, and increasing margins, just to name a few; while Sales Management topics will include commissions, human resources and top 5 screens for a manager.

And don’t forget, the UFO is always offering cost-effective online training options with Zerion instructors. May’s schedule includes classes on Receiving, Shipping and Warehouse Management. To register for the roundtables or webinars, visit the UFO’s web site.

News: Recovery for Distribution, Strategic Pricing, Infor

What’s happening with distribution, software and technology? You can always find out in Zerion’s online newsroom. Some stories we found interesting this month include Adam Fein declaring the recovery is here for distribution, a conversation on a topic we’re passionate about: strategic pricing, and a report on Infor’s focus on mid-market distributors. GET MORE news…

Big or Small, Zerion Does it All

Our newsletter this month leads with a success story about Independent Electric Supply, one of the largest electrical wholesalers in the country. Yes, it’s true, we have some big clients. And, we love them. But, our heart is even bigger for the small ones. After all, we’re a small business. We know what it’s like to feel less than top dog. We know what it’s like to feel like our needs aren’t the most important. So today we’d like to make sure all of the small Eclipse customers know: we’re here for YOU, and we have a program just for YOU.

We’d like to introduce our E.Z. Support Program! Eclipse will be Easier for you and your team with ongoing remote support from Zerion. Like we said, E.Z.

You pay a small, monthly fee; and, in return you’ll receive ongoing, quick access to our team via e-mail, phone and webinars for Eclipse-related questions, training, problems and consulting. When you get in touch with us, you call a real human directly. And you become our most important focus at that moment. I personally guarantee it.

It’s not expensive. It’s not complicated. There’s no bureaucracy. There’s no hassle. It’s simply the Eclipse help you need, when you need it … no matter how big or small you are. Check out the clients we recently signed. Will you be next?

We Welcome Our Newest Clients

We recently signed up Electric Supply of Tampa and Power Bolt and Tool in Fort Myers for our E.Z. Support Program. Both of these Florida-based clients have contracted with Zerion to provide ongoing Eclipse support, training and consulting. We’ve already started working with them on a monthly basis to answer questions, address problems and most importantly, help them operate more efficiently. Welcome!

Log Off Faster from the Eclipse Banner Screen

It’s time to go to lunch and you want to log-off Eclipse; but, you’re in the Eclipse Banner Screen. Isn’t it a pain to log-in to Eclipse, just so that you can log back off? We think so. Here’s a way around it: Type the letters that spell the word ‘Off’ and then hit enter. This will log you off of Eclipse right from the banner screen. GET MORE Eclipse help…

From the Desk of Tony King: A Winter Rewind

Ahh, the Winter Olympics! Many of us have spent the last few weeks immersed in the excitement, tragedy and beauty of this season’s biggest event. It takes me back just a few short years ago to when we all were watching the Summer Olympics. Alonzo wrote an article about the “Zerion Olympics” we perform for our clients. He said, “… all that time on the couch got me thinking – between the widely-celebrated opening ceremonies, the massive scheduling and production, and the amazing athletic performances, everyone involved with the Olympics spent a great deal of time preparing for one of the biggest moments of their careers. But, most people don’t think about the work, they only focus on the result. It’s the same with ERP software installations and business management consulting.“ He added, “The goal of partnering with us is often to increase gross margin, standardize processes or streamline operations;, but what it takes to get there is the accomplishment.”

Pretty profound, eh? (Get it, “eh”? Vancouver Olympics? Anyone?! Okay, nevermind.) I’m not trying to toot our own horn; but, I did enjoy reflecting on this piece and getting some warm fuzzies about the work we’ve done for clients over the past four years.

He closed with another gem, “While it may not be as impressive or exciting as the events of the last few weeks, it’s as if we participate in our own little Olympics every day. When we walk away from a company that is operating more efficiently because of us, we feel like a gold medal team. And I think that’s something to be proud of, even without the worldwide applause.”

Even though our archives are packed with good content, I don’t refer back to past newsletters very often (though I found I kind of liked it, so maybe I should do it more often!).  Apparently this month is special, because I also referenced a past column in this month’s feature on purchasing. As business owners and managers, sometimes we realize that the tried and true approach is the best. Other times, we have to test out something new, like tweaking the training offerings for the UFO this year, introducing a new tool to run your business better, or printing a second pick ticket for your wire room or yard. So, all in all, I guess what this month’s newsletter is about is finding what works and sticking with it; yet always being open to new opportunities and methods. I hope you do the same in your business.

Eclipse Can Do More: Let’s Chat About It

Zerion is coming to a city near you! For the past two years, our trainers have led the Eclipse UFO’s Regional Training sessions throughout North America. This year, we’re pleased to announce that we’ll be joining the User’s Group for regional roundtable discussions. Instead of typical instructor-led training classes, our team will facilitate one-day discussions in a variety of cities on key Eclipse topics.

This format has brought good attendance and positive feedback from members in the past. It allows attendees to learn best practices from each other, while also getting feedback from an Eclipse expert. The Zerion instructor will stimulate conversation based on an outline; and users will be able to hear from their peers about what is or isn’t working for them, as well as ask questions of each other and the instructor. Each roundtable presents a great opportunity to make Eclipse work better for you.

Mary Barlow, the UFO’s executive director, said, “I am really excited about our 2010 training offerings. We’ve listened to our users and provided more opportunities for them to learn from one another. I look forward to seeing many of your names on our class registrations lists this year!”

The UFO will be offering Pricing and Sales Management roundtables on consecutive days; plus  Report Writer and User -Defined screens, separately, on consecutive days.

Pricing and Sales Management will be offered in three different cities, starting on April 7 and 8 in Birmingham, Alabama. Pricing topics will include authorizations, rounding rules, settings to help in a down economy, and increasing margins, just to name a few; while Sales Management topics will include commissions, human resources and top 5 screens for a manager.

Report Writer and User-Defined screens will be offered in five different cities, beginning in San Jose, California in June. We’ll share more information about these roundtables as they get closer.

In addition to on-site roundtables, cost-effective online training options will be available throughout the year. The UFO has expanded its web-based training from years past to include more classes and discussion opportunities. Two or two-and-a-half hour webinars (led by Zerion) began in early February and will resume again in April after the Activant Summit. In addition, online roundtables are available every month.

For a complete schedule of in-person and online options, click here. To learn more about the UFO or to become a member, visit their site.

Some Stellar ROI with Pricing Optimization

When distributors think about ways to increase profits, they usually look at sales first. How can we sell more to existing customers? How can we find new customers? Their second thought often is about operations. How can we reduce costs and overhead? How can we do more with less? I typically don’t see distributors focus first on their product pricing; likely because it’s a tough nut to crack. But here’s some food for thought: a change in the processes used to price products could result in as much as 2 points on your bottom line.

That was the first paragraph of an article from our newsletter last March where we announced our partnership with epaCUBE. It’s strikingly similar to the beginning of an article we recently saw in Industrial Supply magazine (A Game of Inches: Stellar Industrial Supply utilizes pricing analytics model to make incremental margin improvements). It’s about an industrial and safety supply distributor (and Activant customer) in Tacoma, Washington. They recently implemented a pricing optimization program called SPA and have experienced a convincing outcome. The article states that Stellar Industrial Supply “discovered that it is possible to make incremental margin improvement even when sales are flat or down.” The company’s president, John Wiborg, said, “We’re improving efficiencies and better managing supplier pricing, which helps with our marketing and purchasing efforts. We’re closing loopholes in our processes that we didn’t know existed.”

Stellar’s results are a good reminder of the potential of pricing analytics. I encourage you to go back and read my article from last year, and to read the full article on Stellar. There’s alot of good information on the benefits and concerns with adding a pricing module to your Eclipse platform. Whether you use epaCUBE or SPA, pricing optimization can have some stellar ROI for your business. Let us know if you want to talk more about your options.