This Week in IDEA | April 14, 2011

IDEA announces new Directors and Officers for 2011 - 2012

The IDEA Board of Directors elected Larry Stern, president and CEO of Standard Electric Supply Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the IDEA Chairman of the Board for 2011-2012. He previously served on the Board as the Vice Chair from 2010-2011 and Treasurer from 2008-2010.

“The Board is energized by the renewed efforts of IDEA to take the Attribute Schema to the next level. It’s the Board’s priority to help the industry work together to provide and utilize the attributed marketing information that is needed to stay competitive. IDEA’s forward-thinking mindset will also result in new and improved products and services in 2011-2012 that I believe will set the electrical channel apart,” said Stern.

Stern has been with Standard Electric Supply Co. since 1989 and has held the position of president since 1994. He is actively involved with the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) as a member of the Board of Directors, and he serves on the Affiliated Distributors (A-D) Electrical Division Board and SupplyFORCE Board of Directors. He also participates on several distributor advisory councils with electrical equipment manufacturers.

Outgoing IDEA Chairman, Delton D. Nickel, former president (retired) of Pentair’s Technical Products, served in the position from 2010-2011 and will continue to serve on the 2011-2012 Board as a voting director.

"I appreciate the insightful dialogue that is happening between manufacturer and distributor leaders on the IDEA Board and committees. I thrive off overcoming the challenges we face in our efforts to integrate and synchronize product information and systems," said Nickel. "As a new retiree, serving on the IDEA Board is an ideal way for me to stay connected and give back to the industry I am passionate about."

IDEA welcomes two new officers: John Burke, president and COO, Kirby Risk Electrical Supply and Valerie Jones, VP of customer service and inside sales, OSRAM SYLVANIA, and one new voting director, Wes Smith, president, Mayer Electric Supply Co.

The 2011-2012 IDEA Officers: (* Denotes Non-voting Director)

• Chairman: Larry Stern, President and CEO, Standard Electric Supply Co. (WI)
• Vice Chairman: Stephen Sokolow, Chairman of the Board, Leviton Manufacturing Co.
• Treasurer: John Burke, President and COO, Kirby Risk Electrical Supply
• Secretary: Valerie Jones, Vice President of Customer Service and Inside Sales, OSRAM SYLVANIA
• President: Robert Gaylord, President and CEO, IDEA*

Additional Voting Directors:

• Phil Barrios, Sr. Director, Corporate Marketing and eBusiness, Hubbell, Inc.
• Greg Linder, Vice President, Sales Operations and Customer Support, Lutron Electronics
• Del Nickel, former President (retired), Pentair’s Technical Products global business unit (GBU)
• Wes Smith, President, Mayer Electric Supply Co.
• John Teipen, Director of eBusiness, Graybar
• Greg Thrall, Sr. Vice President, Operations, Border States Electric

Additional Non-voting Directors:

• Tom Naber, President and CEO, NAED
• Evan Gaddis, President and CEO, NEMA

Photo Downloads:

• Gaylord with outgoing and incoming Chairs – from right: Del Nickel, Robert Gaylord, Larry Stern
• Gaylord welcomes Stern as 2011-2012 Chair – from right: Robert Gaylord, Larry Stern

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Does the Activant Acquisition Affect You?

On April 4, Activant Solutions announced that it has been acquired by Apax Partners, one of the world’s leading private equity firms with a strong heritage of technology investment. Apax Partners also acquired Epicor Software Corporation, a provider of enterprise business software solutions for the mid-market and the divisions of global 1000 companies. The equity firm has plans to merge the two companies under the Epicor Software Corp. name.

From the Activant press release: "This transaction is extremely positive for Activant's customers, employees and investors alike," said Pervez Qureshi, Activant president and CEO. "Our market leadership and expertise in distribution perfectly complements Epicor's expertise in the manufacturing and services sectors."

Activant is an IDEA strategic partner that provides technical development, support and hosting of IDEA’s Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) and Industry Data Exchange (IDX) solutions. Historically, deals of this magnitude take time to disseminate and integrate into the organizations; IDEA anticipates no near-term impact to the current relationship and the services we provide the electrical channel. If this acquisition affects our customers and/or partners in any way, we will communicate changes to you right away.

For more information about the acquisition and merger, we recommend reading the following:

• The official Activant press release
• The MDM blog post, “The Potential Impact of the Activant and Epicor Deals”
• The Information Week report, “Apax Partners To Merge Epicor, Activant”

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IDW Utilities Workstation 2.0 Now Available

The Utilities Workstation v2.0, a product data management application of the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW), provides several new features and enhancements that users have requested:

• Attribute Enhancement Tool - Easily add attributed product data to your IDEA product catalog, in compliance with the UNSPSC-based Electrical Attribute Schema v2.0
• Export Lists to Excel - Export attributed data lists from the Utilities Workstation to Excel for external editing or analysis
• Item lists in the search function - Search for a list of UPCs, catalog numbers, class codes, UNSPSC codes, or other criteria using the search box to immediately isolate specific items for editing
• Blank field search capability - Search for items based on blank or non-blank field status
• Task Naming - Track your Workstation tasks with unique names and easily identify the work focus of a task
• Task List Refresh - Easily refresh the task list after submitting or to check the status of a task

These new features will be detailed in the last section of the Utilities Workstation User Guide v2.0 – IDW manufacturer users will be notified once the updates are added to the IDEA Portal. Please contact your account manager or email if you have any questions.

The Utilities Workstation provides a product data manager with online access to their product data in the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) on a searchable, item-level basis. This allows for corrections and changes to IDW product data while bypassing the need to invoke an EDI or EZViewPipe data upload process. Find out more>

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NAED to Recognize an IDEA Board Member at Annual Awards

The National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) will honor four industry leaders at the 2011 NAED National Electrical Leadership Summit in San Diego. Congratulations to the winners: John Duda, retired CEO and chairman, Butler Supply Company; Glenn Goedecke, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Mayer Electric Supply; Delton Nickel, retired president, Pentair’s Technical Products Group; and RAB Lighting.

Excerpts from the NAED press release:

• John Duda, retired CEO and chairman of Butler Supply Company, in Fenton, Mo., will receive NAED’s highest honor, the 2011 Arthur W. Hooper Achievement Award. This honor is presented to an individual who has led an exceptional career in electrical distribution spanning many years. Duda began at Butler Supply in 1968 as the credit manager. Since that time he has served in a variety of roles including accountant, office manager, and CEO and chairman.
• Glenn Goedecke, executive vice president, sales and marketing, for Mayer Electric Supply in Birmingham, Ala., is the recipient of the 2011 NAED Distributor Distinguished Service Award. The award is given in recognition of outstanding and dedicated service to NAED and the electrical distribution industry.
• Delton Nickel, retired president of Pentair’s Technical Products Group, is being honored with the Associate Service Award for his consistent promotion and support of the tenets and goals of NAED. Nickel is being recognized for his leadership on the IDEA Board of Directors, and participation in the Associates Advisory Council, National Electrical Leadership Summit and region conferences.
• RAB Lighting will receive the 2011 NAED Industry Award of Merit. This award is presented in recognition of a company or individual in the electrical manufacturing business that has been exceptionally active in promoting and supporting the wholesale electrical distribution industry. RAB Lighting is receiving this award for their involvement and commitment to both NAED and the industry.

Read more about these winners in the NAED press release and in the April edition of tED Magazine – access it online and jump to page 63. Congratulations to all!

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Take 10% Off GS1’s U Connect LIVE Event

GS1’s annual event, U Connect LIVE, will be held from May 31 to June 3, 2011 at the Orlando World Center Marriott. U Connect LIVE focuses on how value chain visibility – through GS1 Standards – provides opportunities for your company to reach consumers over new channels, win their confidence and loyalty, and enhance their experience while improving your company’s efficiency and trading partner relationships.

• Hear Steve Levitt, the bestselling author of FREAKONOMICS and SUPERFREAKONOMICS, speak on "The Freakonomics of Business" in the June 1 keynote address.
• Hear Chef Jeff Henderson, chef and author, speak on Thursday, June 2, about his triumphant personal experiences: "From the Streets to the Stove: the Power of Change."

For over 10 years, the U Connect Conference has been the place to go for those companies who want to be at the forefront of progress in using GS1 Standards to achieve value chain visibility and optimization – from efficiency to safety to sustainability. GS1 Standards allow companies to identify, capture and share information across their value chains, unlocking opportunities and enabling solutions to many of their most pressing challenges.

Find out more on the U Connect LIVE website – here is the complete agenda.

All IDEA customers and partners receive 10% off registration – use code: 11UCON10-050-TRASN. We hope to see you there at booth #105… REGISTER NOW!

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New Synchronization Customers

IDEA welcomes one new IDW customer and 13 new IRD CERICOMX customers.

New IDW Customer

Parkway Wholesale of North Hollywood, CA became an IDW customer on April 1, 2011. Parkway distributes product lines in electrical as well as solar and lighting products. They will utilize the IDW Data Synchronization Platform to synchronize product and pricing information with their supply partners. Find out more at www.parkwaywholesale.com.  

New IRD CERICOMX® Customers

As a 1SYNC Data Pool On-Board Solution (OBS) partner, IDEA implements suppliers that subscribe to the 1SYNC data pool using the IRD CERICOMX® Data Synchronization Platform. IDEA was recently assigned 13 suppliers:

• Darnell Design, Inc. 
• Vanson Halosource, Inc.
• Tat-On, Inc.
• High Ridge Brands Co.
• Fresh Grill
• Morada Produce Company
• Double R Brand Manufacturing, LLC
• ROCASUBA, Inc.
• Rowland Coffee Roasters, Inc. 
• Voyetra Turtle Beach 
• Evofem Inc. 
• Sun Ban Fashions
• De’Longhi America, Inc.

These companies will be trained to use IRD CERICOMX®, an online catalog that suppliers use to register product data with the GS1 Registry® and GDSN via the 1SYNC Data Pool. Suppliers also use this solution to publish product data to demand partners including retailers such as Lowe’s and Walmart.

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