Here's your (abbreviated) March Adventures-in-P21 eNews Update.
Your 2020 review of projects, tips, industry scoop, and more.
Now reaching over 3,800 (world-class) Prophet 21 ERP system users!
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We hope this email finds you doing as well as possible, in these very unexpected and challenging times!!
Rather than send out our full newsletter this week, we decided to send a brief check in to be sure you are ok, and to share the following operational updates:
- Nobody yet knows how quickly this pandemic will pass, but as things play out over the next few weeks/months, we do know that the supply chain that we all work in ...is and will be critical in keeping everyone moving forward. It will also be a vital part of rebooting/rebounding our economy over the coming months/years. Please know that if we can help you in this mission, we are here...and we’ll do everything that we can to be on it for/with you!
- New resources/bandwidth: we are pleased to share that we’ve added two more highly talented full-time team members to our growing staff. Dave Bressler, and Jason Brand, bring us a wealth of new Prophet 21 (wholesale distribution) and now Epicor 8 & 10 ERP (manufacturing) experience on several levels. These include a vast amount of: operations, support, DBA, c# programming, software development, SQL development, bar coding, crystal reports/forms, SSRS, PowerBI, business rules, database tuning, and API/middle-ware integrations type of experience.
- Our highly talented development is now spread-out over 9 states, and we already work remote from each of our home offices. We are isolated and plan to continue working normal business hours for hundreds of system users. If you run into unexpected challenges or if we can support/augment/solve business process problems that may arise, please let us know.
- We will be sending out a full newsletter (in April) with news, tips, updates, & resources. If you have questions/challenges/needs that we can address with from our Development Team, please send them in and we'll answer them for you (and/or if helpful also share for others in our next newsletter).
- We will also be bringing back our Friday Funnies...in times like this, humor and simple little distractions can help bring some sense of balance. If you'd like to see a joke or funny video in your inbox each Friday, please click/reply with this email link > Send me Friday Funnies in the subject. (disclaimer: They may end up being all really bad dad jokes, but we will do our best to bring you a few smiles on Friday's). Here are a few examples from our Funnies Friend in Nashville :-)
- Did you hear the rumor about butter…. Well I’m not going to spread it around.
- Do you know what you call an elephant that doesn’t matter… irrelephant.
- Did you hear about the guy who invented lifesavers candy… he made a mint!
- A ham sandwich walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender says, “sorry we don’t serve food here”.
We thank you for your time, and we thank you for the important work that you do for our supply chain. We
wish you, and your team the very best in this incredibly challenging time. We'll be back in a few weeks with a newsletter, in the mean time, please let us know if we can help...and we'll be on it for you!
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Epicor®, Prophet 21®, KKR, and Your Industry News Round-up
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Here is our March 2020 round-up of industry news. As our world has collectively and unexpectedly turned on a dime, we hope that some of this Covid-19 related information may bring you, your team, and your customers...some ideas and value:
Care, Communicate, Plan: Distribution Value Will Weather a Coronavirus Crisis
- By: Thomas P. Gale – MDM - A major part of the equation that has built so many incredible ongoing success stories in distribution – face-to-face communication and interaction – has virtually overnight been removed from the table indefinitely. But the real strength has always been in the depth and quality of our personal relationships, writes MDM’s Tom Gale. That won't change.
Today: 5 Rules for Growing Customer Loyalty in the Time of Coronavirus - By: Jonathan Byrnes and John Wass & MDM - Much is being written about how to manage the supply chain threat of COVID-19. The problem is that virtually all of it focuses on disruption threats to inbound supply chains from suppliers. The equally important, longer-lasting challenge is managing your customers through the crisis period to maximize their long-term loyalty and profitability. Read More.
6 Steps to Prep Your Company for Coming Coronavirus Disruptions
- By: John Gunderson – MDM - The worldwide disruption caused by COVID-19 means distributors need to consider both short- and long-term action plans for your inventory and customer pricing programs. MDM’s John Gunderson shares actions that are critical to helping your company anticipate customer needs.
We found this news interesting & promising from a ground zero perspective. If this outcome is possible, we can (and we will) do similar (or much better):
Chinese e-commerce grows during COVID-19 epidemic
- FreshPlaza.com - Chinese e-commerce grows during COVID-19 epidemic ... "Distribution obviously suffered from the restrictions on transport since the outbreak of ... are also aware that there are many agricultural wholesale traders in second-, third-, ...
Online sellers strap in for a wild roller coaster ride with coronavirus - by Ma
rk
Brohan | DigitalCommerce360 Mar 10, 2020 -
The coronavirus is being felt throughout the ecommerce industry and retailers in particular are getting ready for a wild ride. But the precautions and actions retailers are taking vary widely. In fact, 34% of retailers are still taking only a wait-and-see approach, according to a survey of 304 merchants by Digital Commerce 360.
Q&A: How medical suppliers can deal with coronavirus -
Mark Brohan
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DigitalCommerce360
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Mar 9, 2020 -
In a Q&A, healthcare and ecommerce expert Justin Racine discusses how suppliers are dealing with the coronavirus outbreak in ways that can help them stand out in their industry.
Grainger's ongoing drive to go more digital - by Paul Demry, DigitalCommerce360 -
The distributor's digital selling channels, including its ecommerce sites and KeepStock inventory management programs, accounted for more than 70% of orders in 2019, up from less than half in 2012.
How to Get the Most Out of Your PIM Platform - by: Shashin Shah, MDM Online - Robust PIM solutions can streamline the source of product data and all digital assets, positioning distributors to make the most of your unique value proposition by improving customer engagement, automating operational processes and swiftly executing a new value chain.
7 Supply Chain Dangers for Distributors to Avoid - by: Robert Sabath MDM Online - There are key responses distributors can take to address issues that arise from blindly following a competitor’s lead, giving all customers equal service, allowing technology to paralyze you, making the wrong software decision, missing changes in your customer base, taking on mediocre business and becoming complacent about competitor capabilities
How to Determine the Most Impactful Changes You Can Make to Your Business - by: Michael J. Vitale, MDM Online - Motivators to change come from three categories: competitive environment motivators, external environment motivators and internal environment motivators. Consultant Mike Vitale explains how identifying these origins can help distributors to choose the most effective path toward business transformation.
Resources On Linkedin:
If you aren't a member yet,
you ARE missing out!
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We get a lot of emails from our friends in the P21 user community each month that are looking for new roles, opportunities, and/or seeking relocation. We also get contacts from companies that are looking for fulltime talent.
We'll always do our best to connect talent...if you are looking for a new role, or if you have an opening, please send Mike the details…when we see a fit, we’ll gladly (and confidentially) make the connections (without any fees or strings for either party). We've helped make MANY of these win/win connections over the past 14 years, and we've already connected 2 new hires in 2020 (with a few more pending)!
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Got Content, Feedback, Questions?
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If you have articles, press releases, adventures, questions, and/or tips to share with other Prophet 21® system users in the next edition of Adventures in P21, please send them our way! e.
blaze@mindharbor.com
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MindHARBOR.com Quicklinks & More Information:
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Thank you for reading, and for the opportunity to be your Partner-in-P21!
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Please forward & share this newsletter with a fellow P21 user today!
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MindHARBOR is not part of /or associated with any of the brands and logos listed on this email or our website including: Epicor Software Corp., Epicor Prophet 21®, Activant®, Dynachange®, ICE®, Microsoft®, AutoCrib®, Cribmaster®, SnapVend®, Power Bi®, Intel®, Microsoft®, and/or any other registered brands and service marks. MindHARBOR "is" an independent systems provider specializing in high end, high quality custom C# .NET programming, custom business application development, SQL server reporting services (SSRS), and eBusiness Consulting services on time, on spec and on budget...
since we opened our business on January 1, 2000.
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