News & Events
This Week in IDEA | June 18, 2008
Our eNewsletter, This Week in IDEA, keeps you informed with the latest news and education about IDEA, our solutions and services, and our customers and partners. IDEA’s knowledgeable staff and other contributing writers share insights, resources and special offers to help you Unleash the power of e. Subscribe now to receive This Week in IDEA in your email inbox every other Thursday and add our RSS feed to your reader.
Contents
- New IDEA and IDEA IRD Customers
- The IDEA E-Biz Forum ‘08 Takes an Executive Turn
- Top 3 Business Information Best Practices
- July Industry Data Warehouse Training Calendar
- Did You Know? IDW Hot Facts
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New IDEA and IDEA IRD Customers
IDEA announces three new IDEA customers and 11 new IDEA IRD customers. Read more about these companies and how you can begin trading with them electronically to expand your business.
New IDEA Customers
Coastal Electric Supply, from Houma, LA, became a customer on June 5, 2008. They will depend on Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) for their product and pricing needs and will take advantage of the cost saving features and reliability of Industry Data Exchange (IDX). Founded in 1972, Coastal Electric Supply is a wholesale supplier to the marine, oilfield, and industrial markets worldwide. They are a proud member of NAED. Find out more at www.coastalelectric.com. Welcome aboard!
Vantage Group, from Crystal Lake, IL, became an IDEA customer on June 9, 2008. They will depend on the Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) for their product and pricing needs and will take advantage of the cost saving features and reliability of Industry Data Exchange (IDX). Vantage Group was formed exclusively to support the electrical supply needs of the multiple location industrial and commercial customer. Vantage Group is comprised of, and owned by, five of the most progressive Electrical Distributor organizations in the world. Find out more at www.vantage-group.com. Welcome aboard!
North Valley Distributing from Redding, CA, became an IDEA customer on June 12, 2008. They will take advantage of the cost saving features and reliability of Industry Data Exchange (IDX). North Valley is a full line electrical distributor located in Redding, CA. They are a proud member of NAED. Welcome aboard!
New IDEA IRD Customers
IDEA, a 1SYNC Data Pool On-Board Solution (OBS) partner, implements suppliers that subscribe to the 1SYNC data pool using IDEA's IRD CERICOMX® application. IDEA was recently assigned 11 suppliers:
- Photoco Inc.
- American Farms LLC
- Fellowes, Inc
- Calderon Textiles
- Fishing Hot Spots
- R.A. Dudley Nurseries, Inc
- Handcraft Mfg
- COKeM International, Ltd
- Ole Mexican Foods, Inc.
- Tile Marketing & Management Services, LLC
-
Bright Image Corporation
These companies will be trained to use IRD CERICOMX®, an IDEA branded product for supporting and uploading supplier product information into the GS1 Registry® and GDSN via the 1SYNC Data Pool.
If you would like to find out more about the CERICOMX® product, please contact , IRD Product & Customer Support Manager, at .
Tags for this post: idw customers idx ird north valley distributing coastal electric vantage group
The IDEA E-Biz Forum ‘08 Takes an Executive Turn
IDEA has developed new sessions for the Forum agenda which cater to our executive attendees. These strategic sessions are scheduled prior to IDEA’s 10th Anniversary Gala on Tuesday, September 17.
“Mergers and Acquisitions: A Deep Dive View of What Works,” will explore the core issues and challenges faced by management when a merger or acquisition occurs. Jon Skelly, Principal, PCE Investment Bankers, Inc., will share his first hand experience on the topic. He will walk through the pressing issues of integrating two organizations and explain how to overcome common obstacles including cross-border integration, managing divestures, benchmarking, talent retention and merging cultures. This is a not-to-be-missed educational session for all executives in the industry whether you recently experienced a merger or you simply want to be prepared to manage an organizational change of this magnitude.
John Stelzer, Director of Retail Industry Marketing, Sterling Commerce, will address the importance of information in the second executive session, “An Executive’s Guide for Leveraging Information as a Strategic Asset.” He will present a structured methodology for identifying (1) how information is linked to key performance indicators and (2) where technology should be applied to best drive the business. You will leave this session with a better understanding on how information can be used as the most effective and least expensive asset in a business executive’s arsenal, especially when formulating company strategy.
About the Speakers:
Jon Skelly
Jon Skelly is an M&A and capital markets professional with PCE Investment Bankers, Winter Park, Florida, and leads PCE's Distribution and Industrial investment banking team. He works with distribution companies and private equity firms on acquisitions, sales of businesses and Employee Stock Ownership Plans.
Prior to PCE, Jon served as Director of Strategic Business Development for the HD Supply subsidiary of The Home Depot with responsibilities for completing strategic acquisitions in the wholesale distribution industry. Prior to The Home Depot, he served as Director of Mergers & Acquisitions for Hughes Supply, Inc., with responsibilities for strategic acquisitions and divestitures across all businesses within Hughes Supply's wholesale distribution portfolio. While at The Home Depot and Hughes Supply, Jon completed acquisitions and divestitures with over $4 billion in total transaction value.
Prior to Hughes Supply, he served as an investment banker with Robert W. Baird & Co. with a focus on the wholesale distribution industry. He holds an MBA degree from The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, and a Bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Florida.
John Stelzer
John Stelzer is Director of Retail Industry Marketing at Sterling Commerce. His work with industry leaders, associations, standards bodies, and industry councils has placed him at the forefront of nearly every major industry initiative in the last twenty-four years.
He pioneered many of the standards used by companies today to drive operational efficiency and accelerate supply chain execution. He chaired the earliest committees to develop many of the first electronic data interchange (EDI) industry standards—for which he received the first industry citation awarded to an individual (rather than a corporation). He also developed and tested the first standards for network-to-network audits and controls that revolutionized reliability in value-added network-to-network interconnects.
Stelzer worked at the epicenter of industry efforts to standardize and implement global data synchronization (GDS) in the retail sector. He has served on a number of committees within the Global Commerce Initiative to identify opportunities for process optimization in the supply chain. And most recently, he has immersed himself in retail strategies for seamless cross-channel execution and the ability to leverage this capability to deliver a competitively differentiated customer experience.
Stelzer is a highly-respected thought leader having created dozens of courses and videos and thousands of articles, white papers, and speeches continually redefining the next level of business innovation. His insights are punctuated with real-world examples and a passion for the possible. And, his speeches are infused with humor and energy. He has provided education and consulting on process integration and automation to more than 27,000 professionals from over 16,000 companies to date. And, his more than two decades of work with the best and brightest in the retail supply chain provide him with a unique perspective to see where and how organizations can take their businesses to the next level of performance while avoiding the classic pitfalls.
Take a look at the complete agenda and register now to save $100 per registration!
Location:
Gaylord National Resort
201 Waterfront Street
National Harbor, MD 20745
For Hotel Reservations, call:
1 *Reference the IDEA E-Biz Forum Rate
Tags for this post: ebiz forum speakers john stelzer jon skelly
Top 3 Business Information Best Practices
Business Information – many companies approach this subject from the wrong angle, leading to a lot of wasted effort. In fact, companies spend more than 70% of time, energy and money dedicated to BI on people and process issues. The mistake a lot of companies make is buying technology with the hopes that it will apply to their business objective. Companies should start by defining the business objective(s), then the people, metrics and processes that support the objective(s).
One of the key obstacles a company faces when constructing an efficient BI system is the lack of support from senior management. Additionally, many companies approach this issue with the sole objective to fix or clean up the data. Cleaning or fixing up data is not a business objective but that is how many companies drive their business information efforts. As a result, the organization spends its time responding to tactical requirements, instead of driving business objectives.
It is important to have a team to bridge the divide between IT and business objectives. In today’s business environment most organizations are facing an information explosion but don’t have a management strategy in place.
Best practices:
- Get an Executive to sponsor your information management efforts. Consider the organizational structure so you are able to adapt to changing business priorities.
- Define the objectives necessary to deliver the business strategy. Don’t just get mired in cleaning up the data. Construct your plan to improve on current processes that play into achieving the objectives.
- Compare your plan with current initiatives, tools and technologies. The plan should strike a balance between strategic perspective and tactical requirements. It should be flexible enough to evolve over the next 8-10 years.
This is why:
Between now and 2012 organizations will experience a threefold increase in data, content and quality issues.
Tags for this post: data management
July Industry Data Warehouse Training Calendar
IDEA continues to offer Industry Data Warehouse (IDW) distributor and manufacturer trainings and focused sessions on Net Pricing and the Inbound Mapper. The July dates for these trainings are:
IDW Distributor Training Sessions:
Wednesday, July 9: 1:30-3:00PM
Wednesday, July 23: 1:30-3:00PM
IDW Manufacturer Training Sessions:
Thursday, July 3: 1:30-3:30PM
Thursday, July 17: 1:30-3:30PM
Thursday, July 31:1:30-3:30PM
Net Pricing Training Sessions:
Thursday, July 10: 1:30-2:00PM
Thursday, July 24: 1:30-2:00PM
Inbound Mapping Sessions:
Wednesday, July 2: 1:30-2:30PM
Wednesday, July 16: 1:30-2:30PM
Wednesday, July 30: 1:30-2:30PM
Additional training sessions are announced each month in This Week in IDEA.
To sign up for a training session, please contact at .
Did You Know? IDW Hot Facts
You can take three steps to receive Industry Data Warehouse reports in your inbox. These reports can also be emailed to your team members when they request one on the Users screen.
On the Users screen under “Receive messages via email”
- Make sure your email address is recorded
- Check the type of reports you would like to receive
On the Reports screen under “Push Delivery”
3. Check the “Enable email” box
Once the IDW primary contact checks the “Enable email” box, the reports selected on a team member’s Users screen will be sent to their inbox.