Bellwether Magazine - Leadership Now Issue - 2nd Quarter 2015

BELLWETHER

Volume 6 | Issue 2 | Second Quarter 2015

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“Before you are a leader, success is credible all about growing yourself. When you

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become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

Jack Welch

Letter from the Editor

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Leadership

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Corporate Finance

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Industry News

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Cover Story

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Technology

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Human Resources

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24 Perspectives on Leadership in Today’s Work Place

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LETTERFROMTHEEDITOR

BELLWETHER

A Blytheco Magazine Volume 6 Second Quarter, 2015 www.blytheco.com www.bellwethermagazine.com STAFF EDITOR Apryl Hanson CREATIVE DIRECTOR Greg Went CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Avalara Shaun Boros Hilary Buckley Joni Girardi Warren Glick Russell Harley Bachir Kassir Denise Renee Phinn Collette Pleva Steve Showalter Kelvin Takhar Bill Wiersma Paul Ziliak ADVERTISING SALES Ginger Kittinger SUBSCRIPTIONS www.bellwethermagazine.com Or contact Ginger Kittinger (800) 425-9843, Extension 2501 ginger@blytheco.com Bellwether Magazine is published by Blytheco with principal offices at: 23161 Mill Creek Road Suite 200 Laguna Hills, CA 92653 If you wish to be removed from the mailing list or to add names to the mailing list, send your request, including name, business name, and mailing address to the above address or to ginger@blytheco.com This is a copyrighted publication and all articles herein are covered by this copyright. Any use of the content for commercial reasons or other form or reproduction of material herein is strictly prohibited without prior, written approval of Bellwether Magazine.

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

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Leadership Fact or Fiction?

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by Russell Harley

he short answer - it is a fiction. Even though there are a number of articles that differ from this point of view including ones at Forbes and the World Economic Forum. If you want to know the details as to why this crisis should be considered fictional in this author’s opinion, then please keep reading.

One reason for these differing points of views is people are looking at different types and definitions of what leadership is. Someone could be a recognized leader in a particular field or business then changes fields, like Ron Johnson moving from Apple to JC Penney, which did not go so well for Penney’s.

‘JC Penney did away with this strategy [having coupons] after Ron Johnson assumed the helm of the company, modeling the company’s stores after those of Apple.’ (Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/

panosmourdoukoutas/2013/09/27/a-strategic-mistake-that-haunts-j-cpenney/)

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

When people at the senior levels look to find leaders, they typically search for people who are similar to them, regardless of whether they would be considered leaders or not. This is termed as being a ‘team player’ or ‘having a good culture fit.’ A great approach, if you want things to stay the same. After all, JC Penney and Apple both sell consumer goods, so the same models for one could be applied to the other successfully… Right?

Not necessarily. Leadership, by its very definition, is an act or instance of leading, giving guidance or direction.

To push the company forward you need to implement change, not keep things the same. As noted in an article

LEADERSHIP at Inc.com, using ‘best practices’ is not an indication of leadership. Being comfortable with the people around you and following the pack is not leadership either.

So what makes a good leader? The Holden Leadership Center at the University of Oregon notes a very thorough list of leadership skills that encapsulate needed traits of good leaders. Two that stand out: Open to Change and Initiative. Neither sound like traits of people who follow others. While these traits were certainly true of Mr. Johnson at Penney’s, he failed at several others; like being Evaluative and Interested in Feedback. You need more than just a few of the items listed in order to be a real leader: Matter of fact, a leader should have almost all.

There are also dangers in trying to be a leader or take a leadership role in a company as well. Many times people can get into trouble attempting this with peers and superiors. The trouble can either be failure (due to lack of support or consumer outrage, as in Mr. Johnson’s case) or the individual is felt to be the ‘odd’ person out and does not ‘fit in.’ This obviously reduces the number of people that could be considered for leadership roles. This desire to have everyone ‘fit in’ reinforces the perception there is a lack of leaders in companies.

While this is all very interesting, what does it have to do with Project Management (the topic typically covered in these articles)? Let’s compare the leadership traits from above with what the Project Management Institute says are the key traits that all Project Managers should have*:

• • • •

Show their worth Understand business strategy Overcome hurdles Improve team performance

These can easily be mapped to the aforementioned leadership traits. Plus, although many Project Managers do not realize this, they are really leaders within their organization. Are Project Managers not expected to lead project teams to successful completions of projects?

Communicate well with very diverse groups of people at all levels within an organization? Etc., Etc. Almost everything on Holden’s list can be applied to Project Managers.

While there are no solid numbers of Project Managers, a rough estimate puts about 9-11 million in the U.S. That’s

a lot of leadership potential. Assume that only 30 percent are working at what would be considered ‘leadership’ levels, i.e. major projects with multiple millions of dollars of budget, etc. That still leaves around 3 million people who should have most of the traits listed by Holden.

So what is wrong? With this many people possessing these skills there should be no perception of a leadership shortage at all. It looks like there are plenty of people to fill whatever leadership roles are needed.

The issue is company boards and C-level executives do not look at the Project Management field as a leadership field. MBAs and other leadership trainings are given far more weight over Project Management. This is really strange given the impact that Project Managers have on companies around the world. Typically the highest position in a company for Project Managers is a Director role of some kind; not a very high level of leadership at that level.

It all boils down to the perception of Project Managers versus typical C-level candidates. There are Projects Managers that work directly with executives every day leading initiatives that will increase profitability, improve/ transform their businesses. If you trust Project Managers to do these major efforts successfully, why can you not trust them to actually do a C-level job?

‘Well a Project Manager does not know the things I know,’ could be one response. In actuality, Project Managers most likely know more than what a C-level thinks they know. In many cases, a Project Manager can be overridden by executives to the detriment of the company. So who knew more than whom in these cases?

In conclusion, the perceived leadership shortage is not due to an actual lack of leaders, it is due to looking in the wrong places for leaders. Until this perception changes about where to find leaders, there will continue to be a cry of ‘Where have all the leaders gone?’ However, if you are willing to expand the horizon of where to find leaders, you will find them where they have always been: Right beside you, leading the critical work your company needs to have done. *Source: http://www.pmi.org/learning/professionaldevelopment/career-central/four-must-have-traits-for-projectmanagers.aspx

About the Author Russell Harley is a veteran project manager and PMO director, passionate about helping organizations embrace world-class project management practices and “climb out of the quicksand” in terms of gaining control over complex, ever-changing project portfolios. You can reach Russell directly at russellharley@thepmoview.com or through LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin/ in/russellharley.

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

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The Leadership Style of Morning Star’s Chris Rufer: Is ‘Self-Management’ the Next Level of Leadership and Business Success

by Bill Wiersma

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gribusinessman Chris Rufer is dominating an industry and, in the process, is turning management norms on their head. Rufer, founder of Woodland, CA-based Morning Star, is the world’s largest tomato processor with annual revenues of $700 million. Their customers include major companies like Kraft and Frito-Lay. It has been estimated that Morning Star, a private company owned by the Rufer family, controls approximately 40% of the world-wide market for two essential intermediate products: tomato paste and diced tomatoes.

When it comes to tomato processing, Morning Star is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. Not bad for someone like Rufer who was raised in a blue-collar family in Merced, California and later earned an MBA at UCLA. Rufer founded Morning Star in 1970 and it has been through his contrarian approach that the company has flourished.

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What has enabled this eye-popping success?

Morning Star is operated by ‘self-managed professionals’. It’s Rufer’s brain-child. He considers this ‘platform’ ---which, in effect, is Morning Star’s central operating system--to be their competitive advantage. That belief is hard to argue with as Morning Star’s employees are off-the-charts when it comes to engagement metrics and delivering bottom-line results. As a result, Morning Star is able to pay 15 % above market in salary and provide a benefit package that is unsurpassed in the industry.

At Morning Star, employees make all the decisions. There are no bosses, no titles, and no promotions. If an employee needs

LEADERSHIP something, they buy it; they don’t need to ask anyone.

For management junkies studying this curiously unique, world-class phenomenon, it’s nirvana. The Harvard Business Review, Forbes and other national publications have all written about Morning Star’s approach to ‘selfmanagement’. The company’s approach is truly fascinating having seen it first-hand when they were a client of our firm. A quick search on Google will enable you to learn more about Morning Star or ‘self management’ should you desire.

This issue of Bellwether has leadership as its theme.

Breaking new ground, establishing a new status-quo, shaking up an entire industry are just a few outcomes consistent someone exhibiting ‘next level’ leadership qualities. That’s precisely what Chris has done at Morning Star. That’s real leadership! And it’s a marvelous opportunity to learn from one extraordinary professional.

From a leadership point of view, what is it that enables someone to accomplish the types of things that Chris Rufer has? What can we learn from Chris—and others like him? What characteristics are especially important? If you’ve read many of my previous Bellwether articles you know the importance I put on leading oneself first before leading others. That’s what trusted professionals do.

That’s what Chris does.

After years of working with tens of thousands of professionals, I believe that the defining characteristic of the trusted professional is being comfortable in your own skin. What does it mean to be comfortable in your own skin? Simply said, it means that the person isn’t conflicted about the most basic tenants of their nature—their identity, if you will. They’re not trying to be someone or something they aren’t. Typically they hold a core set of beliefs along with specific values supporting those beliefs. They’re not phony; they’re real. Invariably they are confident, typically in an unassuming way. If there was ever anyone who was comfortable in their own skin, it is Chris Rufer.

Self-assured, unpretentious, natural, inspiring, transparent, authentic, and humble are just a few of the adjectives people use to describe those who are comfortable in their own skin. These are people who don’t obsess about what others think of them, don’t talk trash about others, aren’t trying to win popularity contests, aren’t trying to be better than anyone else, don’t measure their success against others’ success, aren’t swayed by whimsical social fads, and aren’t torn by the fickle winds of public opinion.

In a recent blog post, a frustrated Alan Weiss, CEO of the Summit Consulting Group, asked why so few people are

comfortable in their own skin these days. Does it stem from the desire to fit in (i.e. conformity)? Or perhaps it originates from a desire to be liked. These are two big drivers in my view. Weiss continued, “The people I’ve seen become most successful are those who aren’t afraid to stand out in a crowd.”

Weiss isn’t suggesting one adopt a ‘fashionista’ mind-set in the hope of developing a cadre of sycophant followers.

Rather, he’s suggesting people stand up for (and make actionable) their best ideas and heart-felt beliefs---even if it cuts against the grain of conventional wisdom, even if it isn’t popular. That’s a professional’s way of standing out-driven from higher-order thinking.

That’s precisely what Chris has done. Early-on Chris was constantly “laughed out of rooms” when he first sought financing for his fledgling company. Later he was scoffed at for the seemingly high-stakes gamble he took on the grand experiment he called ‘self-management’. Neither experience fazed Rufer in the least. He doggedly pursued what he believed in. In the end, Rufer revolutionized his industry and turned traditional management thinking on its head. That’s ‘Leadership 2.0’. That’s the right way for a professional to stand out.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that it has never been Rufer’s aspiration to ‘stand out’. It’s never been about him. Shy is a word Chris uses in describing himself. He appears to be quite fit. He’s a neat (but not a snappy) dresser. He’s a regular guy---until it comes to his ideas.

When expounding his point of view, Chris unknowingly sucks all the air out of the room. And when you combine that passion with his matchless personality, he’s one of the most unique people you’ll ever meet. Whether he likes it or not, Chris—the professional-- stands out.

From where I sit, Alan Weiss is right; today, fewer and fewer people seem willing to take a stand on the things that they claim matter to them. Said another way, the next level of leadership is alluding them.

Ask yourself: as a professional what do I stand for? My ideals with purpose, what are they? What are the valuedriven things (ones bigger than myself) that mean something to me? Professional: to what degree do I feel that word describes me? What about my colleagues, to what degree would they say that ‘professional’ describes me?

Getting answers to these questions gets you a whole lot closer to your expression of next level leadership.

About the Author Bill Wiersma is the principal of Wiersma and Associates, LLC, a consulting firm that helps leaders create cultures centered on professional ideals. His expertise has been featured in numerous media outlets -- including the New York Times. Bill, the author of two critically acclaimed books, is a trusted advisor to executive leadership on senior team development and organizational culture. His latest book is “The Power of Professionalism”

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LEADERSHIP Characteristics of a Great Warehouse Leader

by Shaun Boros

W

hen it comes to your job day in and day out, do your employees respect you? As you work to move products and goods through the warehouse into the hands of your customers, are you thinking about how you can better improve the warehouse environment for your employees? Do you take the time to listen to their concerns, or are you solely focused on the end goal of increasing efficiency and profit?

In an effort to help you reach your desired outcome without sacrificing your warehouse in the process, we have identified a few characteristics that set great leaders apart from the rest.

1. Great Leaders Choose Their Destinations Wisely. - Do you know the direction your company is headed this year or in the years to come? Do you understand the purpose behind the goals that come across your desk from senior management?

Attuning yourself to the heartbeat of your company can help you better determine the direction your warehouse needs to take in order to succeed.

2. Great Leaders Take the Time To See the Whole Picture – Not Just Snapshots. - No matter how much we wish we could, warehouse leaders will never be able to be in every part of the warehouse in a single moment. In fact, many of us aren’t even able to visit every area of the warehouse in one shift! With that said, great leaders need to know exactly what is going on in every area of the warehouse at every moment in order to lead it well. Snapshots and summaries won’t do; in a sense, we need a panoramic image of the warehouse.

Partial leadership – that is, leading without complete knowledge of what is going on in every area of the warehouse – can inhibit your progress toward reaching your goals and cause problems down the line. Assign stand-in leaders in each station to manage the areas you cannot be in and relay important information back to you. Also consider implementing mobile technology solutions that can track warehouse activities in real-time so you can stay up-to-date on every area in the warehouse without having to be present.

3. Great Leaders Understand There Will Always Be Roadblocks and Plan For Them Accordingly. - Problems are inevitable in the warehouse. In order to take your leadership skills to the next level, you need the ability to foresee problems and develop responsive, actionable plans. Rather than leading their warehouse teams blind, great leaders look ahead at the issues that may arise and adjust their courses accordingly. They know that they cannot prevent problems from occurring, but with a little foresight and informed planning, they can ensure that the warehouse operation goes on without a hitch.

4. Great leaders use technology to their benefit. - Technology

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

can provide warehouse managers with many advantages, including increased efficiency, improved productivity, cost savings, improved accuracy, more informed decision-making capabilities, and a real-time view of the warehouse. Through the implementation of barcoding and mobile technology, warehouse leaders can arm their staff with the tools they need to get the job done and get it done well. Rather than be cautious about new technology and solutions, great leaders do the research necessary to find out if and how these solutions can boost them to success.

5. Great Leaders Train Great Leaders. - The final (and most important) characteristic of a leader is his or her ability to train up great leaders. You may be responsible for the entire warehouse, but who do you have in place to take charge on the receiving dock? Who you choose to represent yourself when you cannot physically be present matters more than you think. By selecting the right person to take charge and investing in their development as a warehouse leader, you are essentially building the future of your company. You won’t always be there, so developing great leaders while you still can should be your top priority.

Scanco: In the Business of Developing Great Warehouse Management Leaders Scanco did not become a leader in warehouse management technology without a lot of work and effort. We put in the time and energy necessary to not only understand how the warehouse works, but to also help leaders like you improve it. Our Sage 100 warehouse management products are designed to provide you with a holistic view of the warehouse so you can identify issues as they arise and train your team on how to respond. Our Sage 100 mobile app, Scanco Warehouse, even allows you to see what is happening in the warehouse in real-time so you can better plan how to manage your warehouse operation.

Great leadership involves more than simply showing up; it requires you to be present, proactive, and in the know on all aspects of the warehouse. Learn more about how we can help equip leaders like you to move from good to great by visiting www.blytheco.com/scanco We are in the business of training great leaders – are you?

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CORPORATEFINANCE WHY BUSINESSES NEED EFFICIENT PROCESSES FOR AP DEPARTMENTS

By Warren Glick

W

hile the investment associated with having an accounts payable (AP) department may be considered a standard cost of doing business, it’s one that you can control and ideally minimize with efficient AP processes. Here are a few ways an efficient AP department can make a direct impact on your business’s bottom line.

Maximize The Outputs Of Your Staff Every invoice processed through your AP department presents a cost - in the form of the human resources expense your company bears for AP employees - and material costs associated with invoice preparation, particularly when your system still relies on hard copy-based billing processes.

Regardless of whether your company processes hundreds or thousands of invoices each month, the function presents a substantial cost that you can easily manipulate by instilling processes and making investments that optimize employee contribution and productivity.

As experts at RPI Consultants explain, the average AP team member paid a salary of about $45,000 can contribute to “all in” invoice processing costs as high as $60 per invoice - mainly due to inefficiency. RPI Consultants explain that figure is largely because 75 percent of the costs associated with the average AP department are attributed to basic data entry.

Nearly 35 percent of businesses surveyed by The Institute of Financial Operations echoed that sentiment; they employ between five to 10 full-time employees in their AP departments whose primary job function is to match and enter invoices into an AP system. Your business can optimize the potential return on investment from every person in the AP department by leveraging cost-efficient technologies like automated accounting systems and image capture tools that eliminate manual processes, redundancy and human error. The result has AP staff focusing on more valuable tasks and the business functions and needs that impact the bottom line.

Improve Customer Service.

Your vendor relationships are just as important as those you cultivate with your customers, for different reasons. As Deb Golden, AP lead at the pharmaceutical provider Astrella reported, highly efficient and centralized AP departments deliver cost efficiencies in tandem with increased performance.

The company reports low invoice costs (ranging from about

About the Author

$2 to $5 per invoice), improved accountability and enhanced convenience thanks to one centralized location tasked with handling all AP needs.

Eliminate Human Delays Despite the size of your AP department, the efficacy of your workflows and the degree to which they are impacted by “human delays” greatly influence departmental performance and cost. With automated workflows, for example, your business can reduce the “bottleneck” that occurs when items must receive approvals or escalation from business leadership before processing continues. When the appropriate business leader is electronically notified of the need for his/her involvement in an AP matter as part of the automated workflow, he/she can provide necessary guidance and/or approval electronically, and reduce the delays that often arise from travel and similar schedule challenges when leadership approval is required. At the same time, optimized and automated workflows can electronically alert the AP team about items that need to be escalated, eliminating the need for cumbersome manual tracking.

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Manage the capture, workflow, and storage of your invoices and documents with instant retrieval of all your business information from your Sage Screen, the desktop or web with the real-time visibility required in today’s business environment.

ACOM delivers unparalleled ease of operation and Sage ERP usability! For more information, download the data sheet at http://www.acom.com/pdf/datasheets/DS_V_BLYTHECO_ EZCM_SMARTER-PE_BROCHURE.pdf or call 800-425-9843.

A forum participant and noted BPM and ERP industry contributor, Warren Glick is currently Director, Corporate Marketing for Sage Gold Development Partner ACOM Solutions, Inc. Long Beach CA and Atlanta, GA.

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

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Is a Lack of Fiscal Fitne ss Around Tax Compli ance Stunti ng Your Company’s Growth?

by Avalara

T

he financial health of a company is a chief factor in its ability to grow. As the CFO of your organization, it’s your job to drive the company towards profitability while keeping a keen eye on the bottom line. How you allocate time and money in the business is a critical part of this strategy. This includes managing compliance issues, such as sales tax.

In a recent Forbes article, Deloitte’s top leadership touted the fact that many companies fail to make tax management a priority, especially when it comes to costsaving decisions. True, it isn’t a money maker for your business, but how you deal with sales tax can directly impact spending and revenue.

Are your tax practices keeping pace with your company’s growth? Start by asking: 1. How Much is Compliance Really Costing My Company? Time is money. Being first to market with new ideas or products, prompt, resolutiondriven customer service, and getting products into customers’ hands quickly are paramount to getting those sales numbers up. But how you allocate time on the back-end is equally important. Onerous tasks, like managing sales tax, that take staff away from revenuegenerating activities erode profits. According to Aberdeen Research, the main issues companies face around sales tax are the extensive labor and costs involved in managing it.

For small to mid-size companies, the biggest burden

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comes from dealing with taxability changes and rate updates and preparing and filing returns. For larger organizations, it’s preparing for and overseeing the audit process. The Aberdeen report also showed that, for small to mid-size companies, the dedicated spend on employees’ time to manage sales tax runs between $63,000 and $67,000 annually. For larger organizations, this ballooned to nearly $400,000 a year.

Simply put, managing sales tax manually just doesn’t pencil out as a good use of time or money. You are better off outsourcing it and reallocating internal resources to profitable activities.

2. Are We Up to Date on Nexus?

As your company grows, it’s likely that your tax liability

CORPORATEFINANCE will grow too. Expanding where and how you sell can create “nexus”— an obligatory connection between you (the seller) and the state or municipality in which you now have a presence to collect and remit sales tax. And for each new location where nexus is created, there’s a different sets of rules and regulations.

More obvious nexus triggers include expanding into new locations, selling online or adding new products or services. But there are a host of other activities that create tax obligations that companies often overlook. These include outsourcing fulfillment, using drop shippers, employing a remote salesforce, international selling or participating in trade shows.

These activities can be significant enough physical presence under state nexus rules to create a tax obligation.

If you aren’t clear on all your sales tax obligations, consider having a nexus study done.

3. Am I Doing Enough to Protect Against an Audit?

As your business gets more complex, so does compliance. The more relationships you have with distributors, manufacturers, and others along the supply chain, the greater the exposure to tax risk.

Compound that with that fact that tax rules are constantly changing. In 2014, there were close to 14,000 rate and jurisdiction changes and 9 million product taxability changes in the U.S. Keeping that all straight and up to date is a daunting task. And, according to Wakefield Research, companies aren’t doing a very good job at it. A recent survey of financial professionals found that businesses aren’t adapting fast enough to changing tax regulations and lack the processes and expertise necessary to be compliant.

Getting it wrong can be costly. The average cost of an audit has risen steadily over the years; Wakefield n o w

If you aren’t certain the processes you have in place now are sufficient to managing sales tax properly, explore alternatives such as sales tax automation, which ensures the right tax rate or exemption is applied to all your transactions and reported correctly to the proper taxing jurisdiction. Should you get audited, you will have detailed, accurate data and documentation readily available to prove compliance.

4. Is Our Sales Tax Management Sufficient?

A recent ComputerWorld survey showed that, next to containing costs, the biggest priority for executives over the next year is to optimize and automate business processes. Industry experts unilaterally agree that tax compliance should be a key function that companies automate in their ERP or ecommerce systems. Deloitte’s leadership touted this explicitly in a recent webcast.

When polled, a quarter of the participants acknowledged that centralized and automated sales tax management would reduce the likelihood of over or underpaying tax.

If your company is growing, the tax solution you’re currently using may not be robust enough to scale with your business. Cloud solutions offered by thirdparty providers like Avalara that integrate into ERP or ecommerce systems are gaining popularity both for ease of use and cost efficiency. This “set it and forget it” simplicity frees up capital previously eaten up by expensive equipment, maintenance fees or licenses as well as staff time since no dedicated resources are needed to refresh rate data or manage on-premise software.

If you aren’t certain your ERP or ecommerce system is fully automating sales tax, talk to your provider about getting a pre-certified connection to a third-party tax automation solution. It’s highly likely that your provider has partnerships with best-in-class vendors and can recommend the best option for you in terms of cost and compatibility.

How money flows in and out of a business is central to its success. Don’t let process inefficiencies be a stop gap in your growth.

estimates it at $114,000. There’s no hard and fast rule to indicate if your company will be audited, but statistics show that fast-growing companies are at greater risk simply by the fact that they are bringing in more revenue.

Take the first step in maximizing your ERP system by using this handy to-do list “Planning for Growth: Could it be time to upgrade your ERP system?”

Available at: http://bit.ly/1wWQ2mS

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

17

The Global Market is Ready for You. Are You Ready for the Global Market?

by Kelvin Takhar

Manage Global Supply Chain Operations with Warehouse Automation and Shipping Execution

Y

ou have a world class product that you supply locally and domestically and the rest of the world is waiting for it. With the right tools and support, your Supply Chain has the power to connect you to customers around the world. To get your goods to the global market, consider the following:

1. What Supply Chain challenges must you address to secure your place in an ever expanding global market?

2. What technology do you need to solve these challenges?

3. What solutions do you need in place to manage your global operations and drive both your Supply Chain and Omni Channel performance?

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INDUSTRYNEWS

These are big questions, yet there are straightforward answers available. It is just a matter of taking clear and methodic steps to evaluate and address all your challenges and gaps in order to successfully take your products to the world. Here are 3 key steps to get you moving forward: 1. Identify Supply Chain Challenges and Automation Gaps in your Order Management and Order Fulfillment cycle.

2. Implement turnkey end-to-end ERP Integrated Solutions that do not require customization to eliminate/phase out disparate systems within your Supply Chain.

3. Unify your Warehouse Operations and Shipping Execution to ensure both are fully aligned to support your Omni Channel with fully automated, ERP Integrated picking and packing and shipping B2B, B2C and to your 3PL (third party logistics firm).

Identifying and Closing Automation Gaps There are a myriad of benefits to systematically evaluating your Supply Chain and the technology necessary to support it. By identifying and closing automation gaps in your Order Management and Order Fulfillment cycle you are able to: a. reduce costs and risks in rekeying order entry data b. increase staff efficiency and productivity c. improve financial visibility for reporting d. support trading partner compliance (EDI) e. improve your vendor scorecard f. enhance trading partner relationships

End-to-end ERP Integrated Solutions The ability to consistently and cost effectively deliver is at the heart of meeting the global demand for your products. Turnkey technology is the most efficient and cost effective way to ensure the productivity of your Supply Chain is not adversely affected now and well into the future by upgrades that cost both time and money. Without cumbersome customization, upgrading the technology supporting your Supply Chain will not compromise or break essential links to other components integral to the automation you already have in place. Eliminating disparate systems within your Supply Chain by implementing end-toend ERP Integrated Solutions that do not require customization also gives you the flexibility of adding modular functionality as your company grows to meet increasing global demand.

Unified Warehouse Operations and Shipping Execution With ERP Order Integration and ERP Shipping Integration in one Solution you have the advantage of managing your Global Supply Chain Operations with one click. By leveraging one platform to manage multiple locations across your enterprise you will drive omni-channel performance. The correct alignment of both warehouse automation and shipping provides the benefit of improved staff productivity, freight analytics for reporting, multimodal shipping execution implemented in multiple countries and global carrier compliance.

Unlock the Power of Your Global Supply Chain Understanding how to unlock the power of your Supply Chain is critical to successfully supporting your global reach. Go global with confidence; take the right steps to drive Supply Chain performance today.

To unlock the power of your Supply Chain and for more insights to drive Supply Chain Performance now, go to: www.blytheco.com.com/edisoft

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19

What Every Company Ought to Know About Trading with

by Hilary Buckley Big-Box Retailers

I

s your company considering doing business with the largest retailers on Earth? Becoming a supplier for Amazon and other big-box retailers such as Overstock.com and Walmart can hold enormous benefits for manufacturers in terms of increased sales and a larger exposure base. But this move can also spell disaster for unprepared companies.

Typically, the biggest problem that new big-box suppliers face is chargeback fees. The likelihood of not meeting compliance requirements is so high that many retailers advise their new suppliers to set aside a large amount of money, such as $50,000, just to cover chargeback fees.

Not only can your mistakes lose you money, they can also damage your reputation. Every time you incur a fee, your retail trading partner marks that on a scorecard. Too many problems can endanger your shelf placement positions, impact your promotional access, and even lose you a contract.

The good news is that with some extra preparation, you can avoid making these costly mistakes. When you add big-box retailers to your list of trading partners the correct way, your company can experience growth that you’ve only dreamed of.

Reaching Your Business Goals When small businesses start, true leaders have dreams of becoming household names like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos, and they definitely want everyone to know and love their product.

The trouble with these dreams, however, is that sometimes you have to turn them into reality by taking an enormous leap. If your company leaps into a retail relationship with a big-box like Amazon without a clear EDI plan, it’s likely that 20

Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

instead of raking in profits, you’ll pay crippling chargeback fees.

Massive retailers have the power to process orders quickly and efficiently for a large number of customers. But in order to meet their deadlines, they enforce extremely strict electronic data interchange (EDI) requirements on their trading partners. If you don’t meet their compliance regulations, you can be charged per offense. In the huge order sizes that big-box retailers command, even a small per-box fee can balloon until it’s out of control. With larger volumes, smaller margins, and standard NET 90 payment terms, how much in chargeback costs can your company realistically absorb? Clearly, the easiest path to success lies in avoiding those chargeback fees to begin with.

Lead by Empowering Your People True business leaders know that their teams are an intrinsic part of their ongoing success. If you don’t want to allocate tens of thousands of dollars toward error corrections, you need to empower the people on your team to help you focus on the details. The best way to do that is to provide them with an effective EDI system.

INDUSTRYNEWS

Effective EDI includes: • Up-to-Date Mapping: Each retailer requires a specific form, or “map” with a very specific format. Though many of your trading partners will require the same information from you, their systems are set up to read that information in a different order — which means that, depending on who you’re trading with, you might have to provide slightly different information in a slightly different order for every single retailer you work with.

Every time you miss a field or do things out of order, you face yet another chargeback fee.

• ERP Integration: EDI software works best when it’s integrated with your ERP system. This allows your order and customer information to seamlessly flow into your EDI maps and also into your ERP-connected shipping partner forms. This will reduce and sometimes even eliminate expensive and error-prone duplicate data entry.

• Validation Checking: Have you gathered that big-box EDI is all about dotting your “i”s and crossing your “t”s?

With built-in validation software, your EDI system will check those details for you and point out errors so that you can fix them immediately. You’ll never have to worry about the costs that arise from forgetting to fill in a single form field again. If your systems are up to date with the latest retailer requirements, you’ll know that you’re providing your trading partners with the information they demand.

• Simple Automation: Because EDI coordination requires a lot of detail-oriented work, it can be easy to get caught up in what you’re working on and lose track of your deadlines. With automated features, your software will complete orders for you. This means you can lower your labor costs and still get work done on time.

• A Helping Hand: Retailers change their EDI compliance requirements frequently. You have to constantly stay on top of updates — or suffer the consequences.

Though some businesses prefer to build their own EDI documents, it doesn’t hurt to consult with an EDI expert when you need one. This is something that’s often overlooked by companies who choose to leap into supplier relationships with big-box retailers, but smart leaders know it’s a bad idea to do everything alone.

• Easy to Learn Software: If you’ve already started working with big-box retailers like Amazon, you’ve probably already experienced some steep chargeback fines. This means that you already have less money, less time, and more stress – and that your employees will have to learn a new EDI system while meeting higher production volumes. Reduce the stress and get up to speed fast when you choose a system that not only provides effective workflows, but that already looks like the ERP system your company is currently using.

Conquer Your Fears with MAPADOC With MAPADOC, you can start or continue your big-box retailer relationship the right way. Not only is MAPADOC a market-leading, multi-national EDI solution with over 20 years in the Sage marketplace and 700+ implementations, it’s embedded right into your Sage ERP system so that your team can easily flow information from your ERP to your EDI – all while using the helpful workflows to learn at record speeds.

MAPADOC leads in EDI documentation, providing the largest number of documents in a single system. Plus, we listen and respond to your needs, consistently adding the new documents that you need. With MAPADOC’s built-in validation features and powerful automation, your company can increase production volume while maintaining the focus and dedication you’re known for.

Lastly, MAPADOC’s service is known as “the best in the business,” providing your company with a dedicated EDI expert consultant who knows your team and your specific needs, and is there to help you when you need it. With our 99.6% client retention rate, you can trust that we’ll exceed your expectations too.

Take that leap to bring your company to the next level and become the leader you know you are — with the sales you’ve always dreamed of.

Lead your supply company to retail success. Visit www. blytheco.com/mapadoc or call 800-425-9843 to learn more.

About the Author

Hilary Buckley works with MAPADOC, the only EDI solution that looks and feels like your Sage 100 ERP, Sage 500 ERP, or Sage ERP X3 system. With over 20 years in the Sage marketplace and 700+ implementations, MAPADOC’s expert team can assist you in increasing your success with big-box suppliers.

Learn more at www.blytheco.com/mapadoc.

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

21

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

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23

Lori Seal

Blytheco COO

Jef Blomstrom

Perspectives on Leadership in Today’s Work Place

Phil Sim

Blytheco VP Professional Services

by Denise Renee Phinn

Blytheco Director of Business Accounts

Tina Renner

Blytheco Sage 100 Practice Leader

A Roundtable Discussion with Blytheco Leaders

E

ven though foundational principles of leadership are unlikely to change, current successful best practices continue to evolve. While trying to pin down what is working right now to help individuals, teams and organizations accomplish awe-inspiring, extra ordinary feats can be fluid, it is not elusive. Simply get a few time tested executives and managers together and you’ll notice common themes.

24

Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

COVERSTORY And that’s exactly what we did. We virtually gathered a segment of Blytheco’s management team to share their thoughts on leadership in today’s workplace.

Lori Seal is our very hands-on Chief Operating Officer. Phil Sim is the engaging team lead for our consulting and custom development practice as the Vice President of Professional Services. Jeff Blomstrom is our charismatic Director of Business Accounts, heading up our inside sales team. Rounding out the panel is the knowledgeable and approachable Tina Renner, Sage 100 Practice Manager.

We asked them a few pointed questions and here’s what they had to say.

In your opinion, what is the #1 quality that whole organizations and team leaders need to have in today’s workplace?

Lori Seal – “I would say the number one quality that a leader and even team members should have is a strong sense of excellence. I think if you’re going to do anything with a group of people, having a real focus on doing something that’s outstanding and noteworthy is key. Otherwise, you’re just hanging out with a group of friends, having a good time together, which is a whole other thing! If you’re in leadership, you really need to lead by example and set the bar. Even raise the bar!”

Phil Sim – “If I had to boil it down to one quality, I think it is agility. The challenge we have today is that the world is quickly changing around us. When we evaluate our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and our threats, the reality is that what we might see today can be completely different tomorrow, definitely different in 3 months and very different in a year. We just have to be continually on our toes, continually be agile and make adjustments in our organization to account for all of those changes that are happening every single day.”

Jeff Blomstrom – “There are so many qualities that organizations and leaders have to have in today’s workplace, there’s no question. But I would say making sure you have the right people on your team and investing heavily in them is probably the #1 most important thing an organization needs to promote.”

Tina Renner – “I think the most important quality is commitment. I think it’s important to earn the respect

of your team through hard work and by setting an example and the only way to do that is to demonstrate your commitment to the organization. At Blytheco, everyone knows how committed our executives and team leaders are by their hard work and level of involvement they have in many projects and initiatives.

If a leader has commitment, then other qualities like honesty, ability to motivate, or having initiative will automatically exist.”

What do you do to build bridges of trust with those who are your direct reports?

Lori –“The #1 thing I do is lead by example. It’s really difficult to ask your team to do things that you aren’t willing to do or demonstrate. You’ve got to be willing to exhibit the behaviors that you’re asking for. Another important aspect is practicing vulnerability. I think part of establishing trust is taking risks with your team, showing who you really are. Be real. Admit your own weaknesses, struggles or failures.”

Jeff – “I find trust to be an enabler. It helps organizations reach the next level. And if you don’t have trust within and across teams, individuals are going to be counterproductive. They’re not going to take ownership.

They’re going to work in fear. They’ll place blame.

I think the best way to build trust is not only to be a crystal clear communicator but also being honest, being approachable, and being consistent. Personally, I over communicate with my team every way possible.

I do hold everyone accountable, but I don’t place blame. I try to find the good in every individual and help create a successful path for them so that they’re Continued on next page

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Perspectives on Leadership in Today’s Work Place Continued from previous page doing what they’re good at and what makes them happy. At the end of the day, you can’t fake heart.”

Tina – “What helps me to build those bridges is that I’ve walked the walk and talked the talk that my direct reports have. I’ve been a consultant myself, having both worked for a CPA firm for 18 years and I owned my own consulting business. So that trust level comes from me having done exactly what they do and being able to give well informed advice.

The other thing that is important in building trust is honesty. The reality is people don’t always want to hear the truth in a situation. But I do try to be fair and honest and I think it goes a long way when it comes to me building trust with my team.”

Phil –“I think it starts with having good relationships with all of my team members, whether they are direct reports or not. We are in a people business and in order for us to operate effectively, it all starts with having good relationships. To me, that’s the very first and most important thing. If I can establish with my team members that I’m here to support them and that I’m looking out for not only their success but the organization’s success, I feel like that puts us on the same side of the table and that in itself establishes trust.”

How do you help build bridges of trust amongst the team you are leading to encourage them to work together efficiently?

Tina – “We have such a highly educated and experienced team and I think we truly respect each other. But because we are a national firm with multiple offices and quite a number of remote team members, we can have the challenge of figuring out how do you trust someone you’ve never met before? We’re only talking by phone, video or email. But I think you gain trust by working with someone and by giving them advice and helping them when they’re overloaded and

26

Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

you reaching out when you need some assistance.

And I think that our team members are all just that, team members. They share experiences, they off load assignments and generally help each other. It’s just the level of employee that we have. You have to have that mindset to be successful on our team. We’ve worked really hard on this at Blytheco and I think over time, we’ve stressed the importance of being team players.

There is no “I” in the Sage 100 team or in any other team across the company. I think that’s just what we do.”

Phil – “As long as we are on the same team, we’re fighting for the same cause and vision. To me, that goes a long way in building trust. Once unified common goals have been established, as long as my team has alignment around them, that in itself builds the framework that is required in order for us to operate effectively as a unit and trust each other.”

Jeff – “One of the things I do within my team are “After Action Reports” when we have a failure and they can be difficult. One of the hardest things for teams to do is trust that you’re not going to place blame when something goes wrong and that we will actually work together to solve the problem. When you work with teams that way, they have trust and faith in you because ‘A,’ you are helping them solve a problem and ‘B,’ they are also being part of the solution. They’re not just handing you the monkey without the banana! I mean if you’re going to hand me a problem, hand me the solution!”

Lori – “For me, it’s really about challenging people to have the difficult conversations with each other.

When one person is not happy with another’s behavior, it’s really easy to go and talk to other people about that frustration. To me, a high performance team is comprised of individuals who can take their issues directly to the source and be truthful and honest in a way that’s respectful.”

COVERSTORY What signs do you look for in your team members to identify leadership potential in them?

Phil –“There’s a lot of attributes that I look for. If someone is going to be an effective leader, they have to be a strong communicator. They have to be trustworthy. They need to be someone who does what they say they are going to do, somebody who believes in team success before his or her own personal success, somebody who is detail oriented, and somebody who has no ego and shares the same vision and philosophy as the organization. But probably the biggest aspect I look for is someone who is very passionate about what they believe and what they stand for. And if they can use that passion in a leadership role, then they are going to go a very long way.”

Jeff –“I like it when people provide me with solutions to problems and when my team members look to the future strategically. When I observe them positively interacting and solving problems not just within our immediate organization but across and in other workgroups, they get on my radar. I look out for when they rapidly adopt and apply new strategies. If I ask them to engage in boardroom conversations and participate in strategy sessions with fellow executives and they shine… I’m looking to see them doing that consistently and unemotionally. Those are leadership qualities that I look for.”

Lori –“That individual has to be demonstrating the behaviors, skills, dedication and values that you would want to have because leadership is first and foremost about being someone that people can emulate, leading by example. Beyond that, leadership is about ownership. It’s about taking responsibility for an outcome, no matter what. And it’s about being able to do that through people.”

What is your personal process for handling feedback about yourself or something you’ve done which is hard to hear?

Tina – “I listen. I’m self-critical anyway. I take things to heart. I try not to make the same mistakes twice. I’m always worried that I’m not coming off the way that I want to, that I’m too aggressive or that someone took my words the wrong way. I don’t want to offend anyone.

Obviously, it is very important that when you coach or manage someone, your words are being effectively

heard. You want them to be coachable. So when the same thing is happening to me, I want to listen, make sure that I’ve heard what has happened, but I also reach out quite a bit. I’ve got a great manager, Phil Sim, and he has been so great with giving me examples of things I can improve.

Phil – “I don’t’ know if there is a particular process for me. I’m always looking for continual improvement.

When I was a kid, I used to play sports so being around coaches was the norm. And the job of a coach is to share feedback, good or bad so that the players improve. I’ve always looked at feedback in that light so I don’t know if the idea of “hard to hear” feedback exists for me.

If someone is sharing feedback that is potentially hard to hear, in my mind I think they’re coming from the background of trying to improve things. And I’m going benefit from that improvement so why should I have an ego? Why should I take a look at that feedback and say that’s not right or ignore it. At the end of the day, they’re trying to help me so I’m not going to stop that.”

Jeff – “After action reports are difficult because I don’t like to fail. I try to not take it personally and keep in mind that I’m looking to grow. Sometimes when we’re trying to adopt a new process or methodology, the team is sometimes resistant to change and slow adapters. That’s a natural reaction when it comes to change. What I try to do when there’s vocal resistance that can be construed as “I’m not going to do this.” I try to look at it differently. I look at is as if they are trying to solve the problem. They are resisting because in their mind, they are actually trying to solve the problem.”

Lori – “It’s good to hear feedback from other people.

The first thing is to make sure you’re calibrated around the fact that feedback is for your growth. You’ve got to first check your attitude. It’s really important that the person receiving feedback understands that it’s beneficial. I think the second thing is to recognize that we all have things to improve; it’s not a personal attack.

I think it’s important to check your ego at the door.

We’re all learning and growing. Really take the attitude of a learner and not be emotionally sensitive I think is really key. I think it’s also important to check back in with that person who gave you feedback periodically and see if they’re noticing any improvement.”

Continued on next page

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27

COVERSTORY Perspectives on Leadership in Today’s Work Place Perspectives on Leadership in Today’s Work Place Continued from previous page What habits do you personally maintain or what tools or resources are you currently plugged into to strengthen your effectiveness as a leader?

Tina – “I think networking is the #1 thing any good manager and any good professional needs to do.

I also subscribe to Manager-Tools.com, which is an online resource which has podcasts and training.

I also read a lot. Right now, I’m reading a book about ‘start with the why.’ I also have quite a bit of friends who are managers and we share information.”

Lori –“I belong to a coaching organization called Vistage. We meet one day a month with our peers, fellow leaders and we talk about our leadership challenges, leadership principles and we’re able to challenge one another and inspire one another to be at the highest level that we possibly can be.”

Jeff – “I like to be motivated. I’m a junkie for good business processes and motivation programs. I read a lot and one of my favorite books is Good to Great by Jim Collins. There are many important easy takeaways anyone can apply to become great.

Another thing that I learned early on in my career was from a book by Michael Gerber. In it, he talks about being processed driven. Once you test an idea and it works and you work out all the bugs and you know it is effective and sustainable long term, you create processes around it. And the processes are there so that individuals feel empowered.

They don’t need to check with you on how to do something; they are empowered to replicate the process.

No one likes to be sold something so I recently read a book called the art of the soft selling process.

Also the executive team is constantly sharing great articles and I, in turn, share them with my team.

Phil – “I’m always working to be a better person and leader. I’m always trying to reflect on when I’m doing well and when I’m doing poorly… that reflection is very important because you always have to consider what transpired, what can be improved and I think that in itself helps to strengthen any individual to be more effective as a leader.

In terms of tools and resources I use, I am a frequent listener of podcasts. I love to listen to them while I run. I also belong to leadership and growth organizations where topics around leadership and management are routinely discussed and I’ve found those to be very helpful.

Probably the most important thing I do to keep growing my effectiveness as a leader is to be surrounded by effective leaders. I’m always trying to observe others. I love the fact that I’m surrounded by a very strong executive team because I’m always looking at what Stephen, Lori, Jeff, Jay… all the executive team members are doing and really learn from them. Because we have such a strong leadership team, it’s been a lot of fun witnessing how they operate and I try to take nuggets to put into my repertoire of being an effective leader.”

To see more questions and answers, watch for future updates on our blog at:

blog.blytheco.com 28

Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

“Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.”

Stephen R. Covey

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888.205.1531 | www.highjump.com/truecommerce bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

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Leadership Quotes

“There is nothing like a concrete life plan to weigh you down. Because if you always have one eye on some future goal, you stop paying attention to the job at hand, miss opportunities that might arise, and stay fixedly on one path, even when a better, newer course might have opened up. “ -

Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo

“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.”

-

Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!

“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”

-

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook

“Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

-

Oprah Winfrey

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

-

Helen Keller

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

-

Maya Angelou

“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.”

-

Sara Blakely, Founder of Spanx

“It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”

-

J.K Rowling, Author of the Harry Potter series.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

-

Mother Teresa

“I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.”

-

Virginia Rometty (CEO of IBM)

“To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.”

-

Eleanor Roosevelt

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

-

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Dwight D. Eisenhower

Bellwether Magazine Magazine || Second Second Quarter Quarter 2014 2015 Bellwether

“Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.”

-

Peter F. Drucker

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”

-

John C. Maxwell

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and selfrestraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.”

-

Theodore Roosevelt

“The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

-

General Colin Powell

“There is a difference between being a leader and being a boss. Both are based on authority. A boss demands blind obedience; a leader earns his authority through understanding and trust.”

-

Klaus Balkenhol, Olympic Equestrian Gold Medalist

“In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”

-

Seth Godin

“Surround yourself with great people; delegate authority; get out of the way” -

Ronald Reagan

“The challenge of leadership is to be strong but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not a bully; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly.”

-

Jim Rohn

“When eagles are silent, parrots begin to chatter.”

-

Winston Churchill

“Courage is not the absence of fear. It is going forward with the face of fear.”

-

Abraham Lincoln

“I admire the courage and self-reliance it takes to start your own business and make it succeed.”

-

Martha Stewart

“Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

-

Margaret Thatcher

“I don’t go by the rule book, I lead from the heart, not the head” -

Princess Diana

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes or initiative or leadership bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative leadership

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Leadership Quotes

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly, smilingly, nonapologetically, to say “no” to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger “yes” burning inside. The enemy of the “best” is often the “good.”

-

Stephen R. Covey

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.”

-

Jim Rohn

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

-

Martin Luther King Jr.

“Success in life is founded upon attention to the small things rather than to the large things; to the every day things nearest to us rather than to the things that are remote and uncommon.”

-

Booker T. Washington

“Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do.”

-

Nelson Mandela

“The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.”

-

Robert F. Kennedy

“There are many qualities that make a great leader. But having strong beliefs, being able to stick with them through popular and unpopular times, is the most important characteristic of a great leader.”

-

Rudy Giuliani, Former Mayor of New York City

“We must not lose our faculty to dare, particularly in dark days.”

-

Winston Churchill

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

-

Bill Gates

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

-

Warren Buffett

“If you’re competitor-focused, you have to wait until there is a competitor doing something. Being customer-focused allows you to be more pioneering.”

-

Jeff Bezos

“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.”

-

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Steve Jobs

Bellwether Bellwether Magazine Magazine || Second Second Quarter Quarter 2014 2015

“Management is nothing more than motivating other people.“ -

Lee Iacocca

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

-

John Quincy Adams

“Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.”

-

John D. Rockefeller

“One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency.”

-

Arnold H. Glasow

“A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be.”

-

Rosalynn Carter

“The leaders who offer blood, toil, tears and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic.”

-

George Orwell

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.”

-

Jack Welch

“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.”

-

Andrew Carnegie

“No executive has ever suffered because his subordinates were strong and effective.”

-

Peter Druker

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.”

-

John Wooden

“Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”

-

Sam Walton

“Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.”

-

Dale Carnegie

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”

-

Nelson Mandela

“First rule of leadership: everything is your fault.”

- Unknown

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes or initiative or leadership bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative leadership

33 33

Widen Your View to Solve More Problems

by Paul Ziliak

I

f Sage 100 ERP was being reinvented today, what would the “must have” features be? What system features or characteristics should an ERP system publisher absolutely include to make it a forward-looking application? Cloud?

Paperless? Workflows? Those things probably come to mind.

To get an idea about what changes people are looking for in Sage 100, we can look at Sage 100 ERP idea site (https://www5.v1ideas.com/ TheSageGroupplc/Sage100ERP)–a repository of almost 1,800 product improvement suggestions garnering over 28,000 votes. I did, and it turns out that there is an incredibly diverse range of somewhat related requests being made. Here are some of them: •

Enter customer PO numbers, then directly access the sales order.

•

Access contacts without first selecting the customer.

• Access ship-tos without first selecting the customer.

• Access Item Vendor Maintenance more quickly.

• Conduct an ad hoc search of UDF fields.

• Search by email address in customer masterfile.

•

Speed up inquiries.

• Search within a search (multiple criteria at once).

•

Access Google’s search engine.

• Search by serial number.

• Search vendors and customers with expanded criteria.

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

TECHNOLOGY • Search invoice history by job number.

• Simultaneously search across all master records.

• When only alias item number is known, conduct an item code search.

• Search by check number in accounts payable (AP).

• Search by inventory item with enhanced description field.

• Search inventory item extended description fields.

• Find vendor alias item number.

• Search by vendor remit data.

• Use quick look ups (default to F2) for inventory, customers, etc.

• Look up customer check number.

• Quickly look up an item on a particular sale when you know the order number and item number.

• Find a part number based solely on the alias.

• Look up customer information by number or name.

• In accounts receivable (A/R), look up Invoices paid based on the customer check number.

• Search customer memos.

• Search customer by zip code.

• Search customer by phone number.

• Search inventory by other fields.

• Search for inventory by country (as user defined field).

• Search for comments in sales order.

• Identify duplicates (customer, vendor, or employee name).

If you look at the single feature requests on this list, it might not ever get on Sage’s radar as a product enhancement idea. While many of these requests are directly related, others just don’t seem to fit in.

Also, individually, they are not popular enough to warrant the development time.

However, by broadening your view, an overall solution becomes less cloudy. They can generally be categorized into several groups–the search category, including look ups or search X (field) by Y (information), the process improvement category (speeding up operations and eliminating steps), and the intelligence and data cleanup category.

In fact, the informal research I’ve done on the idea site shows about 360 requests for various search, process, and intelligence related needs. Those ideas represent about 43% of the total votes on the entire idea site. So here’s the big question: What if the Sage 100 ERP system had a universal search function?

Okay, great question – what about universal search – what do I mean by that? What I’m referring to is the ability to retrieve information – knowledge that resides in your Sage 100 ERP system – the same way you might use Google, Yahoo, Duck Duck Go, or whatever, when searching the internet.

Sounds cool, but would we be solving everything on our list? If we check the Sage 100 ERP idea site we only find a single solitary suggestion to add Google-like search. And that suggestion has attracted a grand total of… 5 votes.

But taking the bigger picture into consideration again – and asking questions like “what if we were going to build this thing from scratch?”, rather than thinking of it as an add-on into the existing system – can lead to the invention of a whole new approach.

So you start with a vision of the ideal transformative search and productivity experience and you build it up from there. One that not only solves the individual requests, but transforms the core product into a flexible platform for optimizing workflows, creating much more value for everybody. Now THAT’s worth developing!

Much like using a good search engine, you want the user to start the process by entering as much information as they know, and then let Sage 100 ERP tell them where it is and what they can do from there. No menu navigation to the company or module should be required – a true transformative and no-training-necessary method for using Sage 100 ERP would result!

Continued on page 36 bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

35

Continued from page 35

xkzero loves to solve problems at a core level, designing expansive solutions that are easy to use for everyone. xkzero has developed a transformative universal search tool for Sage 100 ERP called GetX.

we made a note about it. Using GetX I can just type ‘anders and repair and 2010*’ and I quickly have results without having to navigate menus, look up buttons, tabs and so on.

GetX solves so many of the Idea Site requests above because it was engineered to transform the Sage 100 experience like Google transformed the way we found web sites.

By addressing a group of problems holistically, with strong consideration for user experience, GetX saves every user time, provides instant intelligence, improves customer service, requires no training or services – and increases the confidence of every single user of Sage 100 ERP.

GetX searches at lighting speed across all companies, modules and tasks to locate exactly what you’re looking for. GetX returns the data in a familiar list style, is easily filtered by company and module, and provides hyperlinks to whatever tasks might be associated with the data it found. Simply click on the hyper-link and GetX takes you exactly where you need to be.

Here’s an example: Let’s say that there is a repair order needed for our vendor ‘Anders’. Further, we know that they have some particular rules regarding repair orders, and we knew that our last repair was in 2010 – and that 36

Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

Don’t miss our webinar series – GetX versus the Sage 100 ERP Idea Site, in April, May and June 2015. Check our blog site www.ERPappsBlog.com for registration details.

To learn more, go to:

www.blytheco.com/xkzero/ERP-search.asp

TECHNOLOGY

Improving Clients Experience for B2B Companies

by Bachir Kassir

I

often attend trade shows and meet many businesses in the B2B space. Engaging in conversations with these leaders and decision makers usually reveals their apprehension around online order processing. They tend to feel as though ordering online is mainly for B2C companies, and that their business cannot be run online, mainly because of the complexity and workflows requirement. These are just a few of the common sentiments they share with me as their reason why they can’t do business online:

by Joni Girardi

• My business is too complicated to automate and run online.

• I offer different pricing to different customers.

• I offer even different pricing per product per individual.

• Some products are only available to particular customers, or may be restricted to certain territories.

• Our products frequently change.

• Only sales reps can places orders for customers.

• I only need an online catalog; I don’t need an ecommerce site.

• It will be very expensive to do what we want.

• I do not have somebody to manage it.

• We do not sell to customers only businesses.

• I do not have anyone to upload images. and list goes on and on!

By using the right tools, B2B companies can transform their processes to automated ones, simplify selling and completely run their business online. When I share that, these leaders usually express their fear of paying astronomical prices in order to accomplish their goals.

Fortunately for them, at WebJaguar, we have a strong history of working with hundreds of B2B customers to cost effectively solve exactly the same issues.

Leveraging technology and business automation platforms are a standard practice at larger companies and have been an integral contribution to their growth. Having the right processes in place in your business is crucial to your company’s success, largely because it makes you more efficient and helps you to positively improve your customer’s experience.

Another great “side effect” is that your company’s valuation is much higher, mainly because you are endorsing technology and are creating duplicatable processes for your business.

WebJaguar has been creating solutions for clients with the above issues for over 15 years. We enable B2B companies to have affordable access to high functionality, cloud-based business solutions. Our clients are able to login to the site and be recognized, see all products they are selling and the pricing. Our clients can also go directly to their customer’s dashboard and view order history, order status and much more. Most importantly with the Quick Re-order form, customers can easily place repeat orders either from previous orders or from a smart re-order form.

WebJaguar has fully featured integration with Sage. We also have special support for Sage 50 and Sage 100. We work with our clients to determine the different touch points necessary for their sales process and execute the right strategies as a result. Ultimately, customers have access to inventory status that is linked to their Sage ERP software. (See chart.)

About the Author Bachir Kassir is the President and Founder of WebJaguar Commerce. Company focus on B2B business and work with the promotional products industry. Prior to founding Webjaguar, Bachir worked as a developer and engineer at Apple in the Silicon Valley. Studied Engineering Management degree at Santa Clara University. Bachir has BSEE from University of Florida with emphasis on Computer programming.

Linked in profile: www.linkedin.com/in/advancedemedia/en

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

37

TECHNOLOGY

How Data Boosts Leadership From Top To Bottom

by Joni Girardi, DataSelf CEO

J

ust a few years ago, the only people we called leaders had a title on the door. Then technology intruded, the world changed, and organizations ached with complexity.

Leaders at the top soon found that modern business actually worked better when leadership came from every corner of the organization — what’s now called “Leadership 2.0” — because it takes half the effort for twice the benefits.

What made this possible was data — data not just for those with positional authority but for managers and supervisors in the warehouse, HR, marketing, and in just about every function under the roof.

They could lead with data, thanks to analysis tools that made the always-plentiful data easily understood and insightprovoking. Everyone got smarter in a hurry. They made faster decisions along the long chain of leadership that went all up and down the organization.

Micro-leadership You could think of their small but important decisions as micro-leadership — to lead teams and even shifts. Everyone knows how just one bad move making one customer’s order arrive late could bring an angry phone call to the CEO. One short-staffed shift could delay shipments. One incoming pallet, hastily stored, could send a headache through several departments before it’s resolved.

But not on a team that leads itself. Well visualized data shows everyone how many days since the last missed shipment or the last injury, the team’s rising productivity and below average sick days. They’re engaged.

Meanwhile, winning sales people — who set the standard for all other sales people — keep an eye on their dashboard.

They watch the averages go up or down, take note of the big wins and losses. They see who’s ordering and who’s not. They spot a warning when a longtime customer’s orders drop off.

They see opportunities and threats coming a mile away. Just five minutes a day makes all the difference to team cohesion

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

and team success when everyone leads from an effective dashboard.

Macro-leadership Further up the pyramid, the CFO leads from a broader dashboard. The CFO’s staff uses statistical and economicanalysis expertise to stem waste and monitor crucial financial activity.

At the very top, the CEO breathes a little easier knowing that — though ultimate leadership stops at his or her desk — the many small decisions made every minute all around the organization roll up to a smarter organization overall.

Immediate Benefits Benefits of such leadership are immediate on all levels.

Employees everywhere are more engaged and feel more ownership. With data at hand to judge their own effort, they can find new efficiencies and new services. Old pockets of cynicism and boredom dissolve in favor of pride and energy.

Leadership With Data It doesn’t happen overnight, but the right data tools can plant the seeds in a week. Leadership 2.0 requires easy, self-service access, with reports and data discovery available as soon as it’s needed. Above all, it requires a system that lets just about anyone see and understand data at their own level of comprehension.

One product offers best-of-breed visualization powered by Tableau and a strong backend powered by Microsoft BI to supply the data, priced for mid-sized organizations. DataSelf Analytics makes data analysis and reporting accessible to leaders at all levels — in fact, just about anyone from beginner to expert, with no help from IT. Get more information at www.blytheco.com/dataself

HUMANRESOURCES Leadership: Being “First” Doesn’t Always Equal Being “The Best”

“I want to be first! I want to be the leader!”

These are common phrases I hear my four year old yell. Whether it’s going up or down the stairs, or simply walking down the hall, she loves to be first. The leader! We can all remember wanting to be first as children. The first in line to go to lunch, or the first to line up and head out for recess. When playing games it was great to be picked first. It implies that you’re the best.

by Steve Showalter Leadership is a fantastic trait. It is something we all strive for in our personal lives as well as professionally. But let’s take a minute to go back to the “I want to be first” mentality. I’m not sure at what point I realized it, but being first doesn’t exactly make you a leader.

So what exactly is good leadership?

A simple answer to that question is a person or company that leads. However, to me it’s how that person/company leads, that is important.

As a company you are always striving to be the leader in your industry. Countless times you read marketing materials where a company cites being “…on the cutting edge,” or “…the industry leader.” These get attention and are equally important aspects of being able to offer your customers the best solution, or product out there.

Technology is a tricky one in terms of being the leader. It is always thought of as an industry where you must be the first, or leader to be the best.

Our philosophy is to be the best – even if we are not always the first. For us being the best means paying attention to the market and determining what is best for the company, or person, using our software. Being the first to offer something doesn’t make it the best. Offering new technology, or functionality doesn’t make you the best if it isn’t the best thing for your customer.

Technology for the sake of technology. We talk about this often at ScanForce. There are so many “cool” and fun to use products out there that it can be easy to get caught up in the latest and greatest form of technology. That doesn’t always mean that the “latest and greatest” is the best for your company, or your customers.

Paying attention to what the market wants and to what makes the most sense for your customers is key. To us, that is good leadership. Not getting caught up in the moment, but making sure that we stay true to our values of offering an easy to use solution that solves problems and makes life easier.

Leadership can mean different things to different people.

To my 4 year old it is being first - no question. To me that is only part of the equation. You obviously can’t be the last one to the party, so to speak, and still be a leader. However, the manner in which you conduct yourself and your business demonstrates leadership.

At ScanForce we watch the market closely and also keep a very close eye on developing technologies. Sometimes we’re the first and sometimes we’re following the market. Overall we lead by providing the best solution for what our customers need and want. This is the aspect of leadership that we hold highest and also helps us determine who, or what to watch.

Learn more at: www.blytheco.com/scanforce

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

39

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If you’re struggling with “Manual Sales Tax Syndrome,” isn’t it time you asked your accountant about AvaTax?

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Some side effects of AvaTax implementation are common and well documented. These include, but are not limited to: greater sense of ease and well-being , significantly reduced risk of penalties and interest in the event of an audit, greater focus on profit-making activities, more free time to enjoy the things you love — including family and friends. If you experience any of these very common side effects, contact your accountant immediately and inform them of your AvaTax discovery.

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

41

Considering a Service Management Software Investment?

How Executives Can Get the Team on Board with Effective Change Management

by Collette Pleva

Y

ou’ve put a lot of research into selecting the right service management system to meet your business needs. Now, how do you ensure a smooth transition? Use these steps to get your team on board for a successful implementation.

Most executives don’t wake up one day and say, “hmm…I think I’ll start shopping for service software today.” An event, inefficiency, or need for competitive advantage triggers an “aha” moment resulting in the realization that you need to stop conducting business the way it’s always been done and start searching for a more effective solution.

Once all this work is done and the decision is made, the implementation project begins and success is defined.

Smooth sailing ahead! …or is it?

Initiating a Service Management Software Project: Problems from the Executive’s Chair

Maybe you aren’t able to get the reporting you need when you need it; maybe invoicing isn’t being processed timely enough; maybe technicians are still using archaic paper processes. Competition is on the ball and new technology can be a game changer in helping to solve these inefficiencies.

Once you choose a system, you want to move full steam ahead. You’re confident with your decision and you’ve chosen a system that will solve the business problems that were affecting the bottom line. But is your service team of managers, back office workers, and technicians on the same page? If not, you may be in trouble.

Whatever the impetus, executives see the switch to service management software as a business decision and one they don’t take lightly. It’s an investment, so often times they seek advice from other executives, look to outside consulting resources and even research on their own to get the advice they need to make a wise decision.

The team in the service department is the end user of the software, so their input is essential if you want a successful transition. One of the biggest risks to any implementation projects’ success is not gaining buyin prior to the project start. Here are some challenges you may run into if you don’t build that acceptance across the entire service team

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

HUMANRESOURCES and keep their needs in the forefront: • One or two naysayers could sabotage the entire project.

• These saboteurs may make it difficult to collect and clean up current data necessary to transfer to the new system.

• They may think (and say) the software provider is incompetent because they don’t understand the reason for using the software.

• They may give up with the excuse, “it’s too complicated” before the project and training is underway.

• They may miss the deadlines in the project schedule and drag out the entire project timeline.

These challenges are real and likely stem from the fear of change, both to their current processes and to their job security. Negative attitudes and uninformed participants can ruin project’s success and kill any forward momentum.

Focus on what’s in it for them: more efficient data collection, skill building and growth opportunities. A ‘best practice’ method to follow is to get your team involved from the beginning of the project and when process change decisions are being made.

Get Your Team to Support the Project: What They Need to Know Now you know what could happen to your project if you don’t proactively involve each team member. How do you go about involving them in a meaningful way in order to give the project the momentum it needs to succeed?

Here’s what every person on your service team needs if you want a unified, forwardmoving journey to a more successful service business:

• They need to understand the business impact on why the decision was made. What’s the impact the new system will have? Ask them what they hope to gain from the system.

• They need to understand what problem the company wants to solve or accomplish. What’s the impetus for purchasing the software? What numbers are down? What do you hope to improve?

How will you measure the ROI? • They need to know how this will affect their current processes. They’ve been doing the same processes for years; in what ways will they have to change?

How will the new system help them succeed?

• They need to be heard when they voice concerns about the project and how it will affect how they do “their process.” What resources and training will be available to guide them through the process in the beginning and after the project is over?

Proactively answering these questions and involving everyone the software will touch are simple steps that will make a positive difference to your team, and ultimately, the success of your software implementation. Let your service team know their thoughts and opinions are valued and you’ll receive respect for the software initiative in return.

Establish Trust with Your Software Vendor Open communication between the software project team, executives and stake holders is essential in any software implementation. Your final step to a successful software transition is to make sure the service management supplier you go with has an established customer experience strategy that will support and guide you through the implementation process.

Transitioning to a new service management system is never easy. Take some of the pressure off by maintaining open communication between software supplier, executives, and all company stakeholders— including your team and the technicians who will be using the software.

www.blytheco.com/field-service-software

About the Author Collette is the Director of Customer Experience at MSI: provider of service management software and creator of the enterprise field service app, Service Pro.

bell•weth•er -noun: one who takes initiative or leadership

43

www.blytheco.com/avercast

44

Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

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45

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Bellwether Magazine | Second Quarter 2015

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