

February 2009 Company News \| From the Desk of \| Industry News Special Offer Meet Jack Whitwam We saved the best for last. We've profiled every Zerion team member, except our President and CEO, Jack Whitwam. This month, you'll get to meet him as we close out this segment of our newsletter. Residence: Davis Islands (Tampa), Florida Hometown: Chicago, Illinois Position with Zerion: President and CEO What was your first job? I was a busboy at Steak n’ Shake in Daytona Beach. But my first career-oriented job was as a staff accountant at a large national firm. What did you do before joining Zerion? I managed the Eclipse Implementation Team at Hughes Supply (HD Supply). Prior to that, I owned FIFE/Florida Electrical Supply in Tampa. What is a day-in-the-life like for you? My day is a constant balancing act between managing the business, managing a software consulting practice and managing a software sales and consulting business. Then I like to mix in working with clients to provide them with business solutions. What is the best place you've traveled to for your job? That's a toss-up between Boulder, Colorado and Seattle, Washington. If there was one place in the world you could visit, where would it be? Mt. Everest Base Camp (going next year), or Antarctica. What do you like best about your job? I enjoy the opportunity to work with other small and mid-sized business entrepreneurs. What is your favorite “customer success” story? Most recently, we were called in to help a client identify why their perpetual inventory and general ledger balances were drifting apart. Our team dug into the internal transactions and discovered an undetected problem with their filing rebates. We identified almost $400,000 of unclaimed rebates dating back 6 months, created the reports, and then filed and collected the claims that were about to expire. It was rewarding because it was real cash into the client's pocket. How do you spend most of your time when you’re not working? I like to fish, scuba dive, sail and race in 10K runs. This year I am preparing to hike 200 miles of the Appalachian Trail solo. I also spend a lot of time reading. What is a little known, interesting fact about you? I began scuba diving when I was 16, which was during the early days of the sport when equipment was very basic. Deep water cave diving was my early experience, and I explored many of the underwater caverns of the Florida Aquifer. Favorite book or movie and why: This also is a toss up, between The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander and In the Heart of the Sea: the Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. Both are true survival stories of leadership and the human spirit in extraordinary circumstances. In one sentence, describe your philosophy on life and work: You cannot control the intensity nor the direction of the wind. One can only control the trim of your sails and the course you set. In life and in work, no matter what life throws your way, you need to react, adjust and keep moving forward. Back to Top We’ve all heard that phrase, “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” It’s one of those idioms we use and never think much about. But I reflect on the idea often. This saying isn’t talking about taking advantage of people or situations. It’s not about being lazy. And it’s definitely not about favors or hand-outs. To me, it’s about mutually beneficial relationships (even if the benefit doesn’t always seem so mutual). It’s about creating a trusted network and knowing that you have people in your corner, while you stand firmly in theirs. Most important, it’s about knowing that you can’t do everything yourself if you want to be successful. As a business owner, I try to put these ideas into practice everyday. I learned in the first days of Zerion that business is more about positive interactions and meaningful contacts than it is about revenue forecasts or cost analyses. I am humbled by and thankful for the network of relationships and partnerships I’ve built over the years in the wholesale distribution industry. Whether they’re vendors or industry experts, customers or competitors, potential clients or simply other like-minded business owners, I know my career and my business would be completely different without them. It’s exactly why I believe that no networking opportunity should be dismissed, even when it seems harder to justify the cost than it was in days gone by. Conferences, seminars and training sessions are always a great way to network, as well as to learn something new that may benefit your organization. I've seen the renewed energy that can be found at a conference; and I've experienced the new ideas that are generated from hearing experts speak and by talking with others in the industry. Next week promises to be no exception to providing these kinds of benefits. Activant is hosting its annual Eclipse Summit in Nashville (Gaylord Opryland, March 1-4). Not only is this a great opportunity to meet new peers and vendors, as well as reconnect with those you already know, but it is a once-a-year educational opportunity to leverage the power of your software to its fullest extent. At Zerion, we’re obviously pretty passionate about training; and, Summit offers a wealth of learning opportunities. To learn more, visit distribution.activant.com/summit-eclipse. The Eclipse Users Group (UFO) also offers web-based and regional training sessions that can help you meet new people and get additional insight or training on Eclipse. If you aren’t a member of the UFO, I encourage you to check it out. We work closely with the UFO on a number of their programs, and are looking forward to the start of some new sessions for 2009, which will be available in late March. To learn more about the UFO or to register for classes, visit eclipseuser.com. I hope you aren’t sitting in neutral because of uncertainty this year; and that you will, instead, keep accelerating your business by developing and strengthening both your network and your knowledge. I know I’m going to do my best, so look for the guy in the picture (above) next week in Nashville. And be sure to let me know if you’ve got an itch that I can scratch. Tony King, Vice President 321.229.1089 Back to Top What’s happening with distribution, software and business? Zerion is committed to being a resource for our clients and friends. In the newsroom on our Web site, we have an RSS feed supplying new articles all the time. We also have some links to industry news. Here are some of the recent articles we found most interesting: RFID Returns Investments Within 18 Months, Users Say Wholesalers/Distributors Credit Card Scams On The Rise Could the Recession Be Good for Enterprise Software? BI Projects Fail Due to a Lack of Training and Business Support Want more news? Visit us at: www.zeriongroup.com/newsroom/industrynews.html Back to Top Get 50% off a 2 hour webinar ... Now you can get quick training to improve your Eclipse skills right from your own desk. Zerion is offering an ongoing schedule of webinar classes; and, throughout March you can get 50% off one seat in a two-hour webinar. To see the complete schedule of classes for March, or to sign-up for a webinar, visit the webinar page of our web site. This discount is only is available for newsletter subscribers for a limited time. Contact Tony King (321.229.1089) by March 27 to receive the discount. Back to Top	Job Queue Shortcuts The following two commands will help you navigate your job queues more efficiently: Shift + F3 allows you to view your job queues; and, Shift + F4 allows you to create a new job queue. UFO Offers Regional Training in San Diego The Eclipse Users Group regional training sessions are back for 2009. We'll be joining them in San Diego March 24, 25 and 26 to teach classes on RF, Purchasing and Paper Warehouse. To see the class schedule or sign-up, UFO members can visit their web site. Get Sales Training Next Week! Zerion offers an ongoing schedule of webinar classes to get you up to speed fast. Next week we're offering Sales I and II, and the rest of the month includes Billing, Operations, Release 8 and Customer Calling Queue classes. To see the complete schedule or sign-up, visit our web site. We're also offering a discount this month for newsletter subscribers! Zerion Partners with Phocas Zerion recently joined forces with Phocas, the world's leading simple Business Intelligence solution, to offer Eclipse users a solution for improving reporting and analysis. Visit the Phocas web site to learn more about them.

February 2009

Company News | From the Desk of | Industry News

Special Offer

Meet Jack Whitwam
We saved the best for last. We've profiled every Zerion team member, except our President and CEO, Jack Whitwam. This month, you'll get to meet him as we close out this segment of our newsletter.

Residence: Davis Islands (Tampa), Florida
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Position with Zerion: President and CEO

What was your first job?
I was a busboy at Steak n’ Shake in Daytona Beach. But my first career-oriented job was as a staff accountant at a large national firm.

What did you do before joining Zerion?
I managed the Eclipse Implementation Team at Hughes Supply (HD Supply). Prior to that, I owned FIFE/Florida Electrical Supply in Tampa.

What is a day-in-the-life like for you?
My day is a constant balancing act between managing the business, managing a software consulting practice and managing a software sales and consulting business. Then I like to mix in working with clients to provide them with business solutions.

What is the best place you've traveled to for your job?
That's a toss-up between Boulder, Colorado and Seattle, Washington.

If there was one place in the world you could visit, where would it be?
Mt. Everest Base Camp (going next year), or Antarctica.

What do you like best about your job?
I enjoy the opportunity to work with other small and mid-sized business entrepreneurs.

What is your favorite “customer success” story?
Most recently, we were called in to help a client identify why their perpetual inventory and general ledger balances were drifting apart. Our team dug into the internal transactions and discovered an undetected problem with their filing rebates. We identified almost $400,000 of unclaimed rebates dating back 6 months, created the reports, and then filed and collected the claims that were about to expire. It was rewarding because it was real cash into the client's pocket.

How do you spend most of your time when you’re not working?
I like to fish, scuba dive, sail and race in 10K runs. This year I am preparing to hike 200 miles of the Appalachian Trail solo. I also spend a lot of time reading.

What is a little known, interesting fact about you?
I began scuba diving when I was 16, which was during the early days of the sport when equipment was very basic. Deep water cave diving was my early experience, and I explored many of the underwater caverns of the Florida Aquifer.

Favorite book or movie and why:
This also is a toss up, between The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander and In the Heart of the Sea: the Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. Both are true survival stories of leadership and the human spirit in extraordinary circumstances.

In one sentence, describe your philosophy on life and work:
You cannot control the intensity nor the direction of the wind. One can only control the trim of your sails and the course you set. In life and in work, no matter what life throws your way, you need to react, adjust and keep moving forward.

From the desk of Tony King

We’ve all heard that phrase, “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” It’s one of those idioms we use and never think much about. But I reflect on the idea often.

This saying isn’t talking about taking advantage of people or situations. It’s not about being lazy. And it’s definitely not about favors or hand-outs. To me, it’s about mutually beneficial relationships (even if the benefit doesn’t always seem so mutual). It’s about creating a trusted network and knowing that you have people in your corner, while you stand firmly in theirs. Most important, it’s about knowing that you can’t do everything yourself if you want to be successful.

As a business owner, I try to put these ideas into practice everyday. I learned in the first days of Zerion that business is more about positive interactions and meaningful contacts than it is about revenue forecasts or cost analyses. I am humbled by and thankful for the network of relationships and partnerships I’ve built over the years in the wholesale distribution industry. Whether they’re vendors or industry experts, customers or competitors, potential clients or simply other like-minded business owners, I know my career and my business would be completely different without them. It’s exactly why I believe that no networking opportunity should be dismissed, even when it seems harder to justify the cost than it was in days gone by.

Conferences, seminars and training sessions are always a great way to network, as well as to learn something new that may benefit your organization. I've seen the renewed energy that can be found at a conference; and I've experienced the new ideas that are generated from hearing experts speak and by talking with others in the industry. Next week promises to be no exception to providing these kinds of benefits.

Activant is hosting its annual Eclipse Summit in Nashville (Gaylord Opryland, March 1-4). Not only is this a great opportunity to meet new peers and vendors, as well as reconnect with those you already know, but it is a once-a-year educational opportunity to leverage the power of your software to its fullest extent. At Zerion, we’re obviously pretty passionate about training; and, Summit offers a wealth of learning opportunities. To learn more, visit distribution.activant.com/summit-eclipse.

The Eclipse Users Group (UFO) also offers web-based and regional training sessions that can help you meet new people and get additional insight or training on Eclipse. If you aren’t a member of the UFO, I encourage you to check it out. We work closely with the UFO on a number of their programs, and are looking forward to the start of some new sessions for 2009, which will be available in late March. To learn more about the UFO or to register for classes, visit eclipseuser.com.

I hope you aren’t sitting in neutral because of uncertainty this year; and that you will, instead, keep accelerating your business by developing and strengthening both your network and your knowledge. I know I’m going to do my best, so look for the guy in the picture (above) next week in Nashville. And be sure to let me know if you’ve got an itch that I can scratch.

Tony King, Vice President
321.229.1089

What’s happening with distribution, software and business?
Zerion is committed to being a resource for our clients and friends. In the newsroom on our Web site, we have an RSS feed supplying new articles all the time. We also have some links to industry news. Here are some of the recent articles we found most interesting:

RFID Returns Investments Within 18 Months, Users Say

Wholesalers/Distributors Credit Card Scams On The Rise

Could the Recession Be Good for Enterprise Software?

BI Projects Fail Due to a Lack of Training and Business Support

Want more news? Visit us at: www.zeriongroup.com/newsroom/industrynews.html

Get 50% off a 2 hour webinar ...
Now you can get quick training to improve your Eclipse skills right from your own desk. Zerion is offering an ongoing schedule of webinar classes; and, throughout March you can get 50% off one seat in a two-hour webinar. To see the complete schedule of classes for March, or to sign-up for a webinar, visit the webinar page of our web site.

This discount is only is available for newsletter subscribers for a limited time. Contact Tony King (321.229.1089) by March 27 to receive the discount.

Job Queue Shortcuts
The following two commands will help you navigate your job queues more efficiently: Shift + F3 allows you to view your job queues; and, Shift + F4 allows you to create a new job queue.

UFO Offers Regional Training in San Diego
The Eclipse Users Group regional training sessions are back for 2009. We'll be joining them in San Diego March 24, 25 and 26 to teach classes on RF, Purchasing and Paper Warehouse. To see the class schedule or sign-up, UFO members can visit their web site.

Get Sales Training Next Week!
Zerion offers an ongoing schedule of webinar classes to get you up to speed fast. Next week we're offering Sales I and II, and the rest of the month includes Billing, Operations, Release 8 and Customer Calling Queue classes. To see the complete schedule or sign-up, visit our web site. We're also offering a discount this month for newsletter subscribers!

Zerion Partners with Phocas
Zerion recently joined forces with Phocas, the world's leading simple Business Intelligence solution, to offer Eclipse users a solution for improving reporting and analysis. Visit the Phocas web site to learn more about them.