

June 2008 Company News \| From the Desk of \| Industry News Special Offer \| In-Depth Learning Meet Kathy Williams Zerion’s product is its people. Since it’s rare that our friends and clients get to meet all of the outstanding professionals that make up our company, this month we’d like you to introduce you to Kathy. Residence: Currently lives in Orlando, Florida but will be moving back to hometown of Tampa in August Hometown: Born in Gadsden, Alabama but grew up in Tampa Position with Zerion: Administrative Manager What did you do before joining Zerion? I worked at Hughes Supply as a Lead Installer for their Implementation Team. What is your specialty at Zerion? Accounting and grant writing What is the best location you’ve traveled to for your job? I have had the opportunity to visit a lot of great places over the years, but Seattle, Washington is hands down my favorite. Not only do I think it’s one of the prettiest places in the country, but it’s also home to one of my favorite things - Starbucks coffee! What do you like best about your job? The problem solving. Each day brings with it new challenges, so life never gets boring. What is your favorite “customer success” story? I had the opportunity to work with a group of accounts receivable clerks and credit managers who had recently converted to Eclipse and were struggling in a few areas and becoming frustrated. After spending a few hours with them working through their issues and concerns I could see the relief and excitement come over them as it all started to make sense. One of them even sent me a thank you note, which really meant a lot to me. It’s such a good feeling to know that you helped make someone's job a little easier and that they genuinely appreciated it. How do you spend most of your time when you’re not working? Currently I am pursuing my accounting degree at the University of South Florida which takes up a lot of my free time. What is a little known, interesting fact about you? I got engaged to a great guy in November of 2007 and we are planning our wedding for March of next year! Favorite book or movie: Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In one sentence, describe your philosophy on life and work: Hard work and determination always pays off. Back to Top Are you looking for a cost-effective way to get your staff up to speed? I often hear from our clients that while one-on-one training and consulting in your location produces the best long-term results, sometimes you just need a one day refresher or overview of a particular Eclipse topic and you don’t want to incur extended on-site fees or travel costs. The Eclipse Users Group (UFO) has been offering regional training sessions for some time to assist their members with this need. Throughout 2008, Zerion has been instructing these classes for the UFO nationwide, as Brad mentioned in our April newsletter. The response has been outstanding. I’ve personally attended many of these sessions to see distributors turning out in a big way and walking away with questions answered and additional knowledge to help them run their operation more efficiently. As such, we’re excited to announce in this end of the month issue of The Link that Zerion is planning a road trip. Sure, we travel all the time for our clients, but only when you ask us to. This time we’re planning a cross-country tour that will expand regional training efforts on our own and all you have to do is show up. While the UFO will support us, Zerion is aiming to bring Eclipse experts in topics not currently offered by the UFO, some of which might include PDW, Pricing, User File Maintenance, and Unquality Event Tracking (UET). Our goal is to double the size of what’s been offered solely through the UFO and reach more areas with more classes. These one-day regional training sessions will be topic-specific and provide an opportunity for you to “cost-share” the expense of a Zerion consultant with other distributors in you area. Each class has a live and interactive presentation, along with hand-outs including specific menu paths and steps for future reference. For a low per-attendee fee, you can send as many of your team members as you’d like to bring new employees up to speed, brush up on your skills and knowledge, or train an employee on a new aspect of the system. It also serves as a great professional development and networking opportunity for your staff. We’ll be building the schedule as we go and will communicate dates and locations as they're available; but, we want your input - call or e-mail me if you think we should schedule a session near you and let us know what topics you need training on the most. I look forward to hearing from you and, hopefully, seeing you soon. 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: Economic slowdown has little impact on distribution so far Oracle Previews on-Demand 'social' CRM Module New Infor offering aims to help SMB's better tackle various problem Want more news? Visit us at: www.zeriongroup.com/newsroom/industrynews.html Back to Top Get 1/2 Off a Future Regional Training Session... If you contact us before July 31, you'll pay only 1/2 price for one attendee at a future regional training session. We'll make note of your discount and when a session is scheduled that you're ready to attend, you can redeem your credit. Contact Tony King to get your credit. Back to Top June Case Study A company with an unusually customized ERP software configuration was in need of a solution to enhance efficiencies with their warehouse picking process and RF technology. The options that seemed to exist were unreasonable and costly. This month, Zerion outlines a case study of how we were able to offer a few setting changes and workflow adjustments that seamlessly satisfied all of the client's requirements well within their budget. Problem: The client had a routing software program installed and it was configured to interface with their current ERP solution. They also utilized radio frequency (RF) identification, or transponder guns and bar-coding, to receive product. In 2007, the company determined that installing RF pick in at least one of their seven facilities by the end of the year was essential to achieving optimum efficiency; however, they weren't sure if this was possible with their routing software. Zerion Group was enlisted to analyze the company’s software and operational situation to determine the most appropriate course of action. Additional Information: After reviewing the client’s configuration, it was determined that there were several issues contributing to the problem, rather than just the key issue of how to turn on RF picking. Several years prior, when the client determined they needed routing software, they were forced to choose between the standard product that is a bolt-on to their ERP solution, and a product that was unsupported, but better met their important need for license plating. They ultimately chose the package that best met their needs, knowing it would create an issue with RF picking because of the workflow changes that would result. In a normal picking environment (absent RF), hard copy paper travels with the material as it is picked, whereas an RF environment is considered paperless. When a non-standard routing software is added, the router typically determines the driver’s route for sales orders based on the paper tickets. In addition, the pick and stage personnel utilize the paper tickets in conjunction with the routing software as their roadmap on the staging floor. The lack of paper in an RF pick environment would require the warehouse staff to change their processes at each stage of the daily activity, including picking, staging and routing, and it appeared the current software configuration would not allow for paperless picking. An additional issue facing the client was that the current routing of tickets required too much handling and manual change. Every ticket was moving to the routing interface incorrectly, and the process would require more accurate automation. Possible strategies: 1. Leave things as is – Many ERP clients consider this as their first option with a complex issue because it doesn’t require an obvious time or cost investment and they typically are unaware of how to solve the issue or where to find assistance. If this client chose to leave things as is, they could make minor adjustments to their processes but the issue would continue to hinder their daily and overall efficiency. This was not feasible because of the vast functionality and efficiency opportunities they were missing. They had already made the investment to install RF, but with only half of it in place they were not seeing the improvements they needed with cycle counting, random counting, picking accuracy, training time and audit errors. 2. Buy the routing interface that integrates fully with their ERP package – This option is a very expensive and labor-intensive solution. The integrative software now had license plating, but because routing packages are priced on a per truck basis (approximately $5,000 per truck), large organizations tend to make great investments in this type of functionality, and this client had already made that investment once. 3. New ERP Solution – The client could consider changing ERP solutions, but this could require anywhere from $50,000 to millions of dollars. Overall, the client was satisfied with their ERP software and this type of investment was neither logical nor affordable. 4. Modify the current software configuration and workflow to accommodate RF picking – This solution was the apparent best one; however, the client was led to believe that it was impossible. Recommendation: After one on-site visit, the consulting team was able to identify how the current ERP system could work with both the existing routing software and RF pick functionality. Unbeknownst to the client, there were some settings in the ERP system that could be changed, and some workflow processes that could be adjusted without a great impact on the staff or significant training. The recommended changes and associated implementation strategies were as follows: 1. Allow for the routing copy to print at the time of the order processing – The client was unaware this option existed or that their ERP system could be configured to print the routing copy on any printer in the warehouse. While the RF picks processed to the guns, it was suggested to allow this ticket, containing both the product and the shipping information, to print to the warehouse printer next to the routing computer. 2. Make sure the routing copy has a bar code on it – If the bar code were added onto the routing copy, the client would be able to scan the shipping information and not have to type it in. This would save a significant amount of time, while requiring only very little procedural change. 3. Work ticket processing – Work tickets could allow for separation of products that require RF picking from those that don’t. Again, the client was not aware their system could be configured to allow for RF pick for some products and not for others. 4. Pipe Lists – This particular client also carried pipe. The pipe is located outside and is always the last item to be picked and loaded on the truck, or is sometimes loaded on its own truck separate from other items. It is best handled on its own and does not require RF functionality; however, the client had a modification in their routing and ERP software that produces a pipe list print for all pipe material that has been loaded, allowing the warehouse staff to load pipe more seamlessly. Because the client didn’t want this functionality to go away when turning on RF pick, a minor change was suggested that would allow the pipe list to continue being generated normally, in spite of the paperless environment. 5. Zip Code Cross Reference – The current ERP solution had a zip code cross reference that would allow for the system to change the delivery ship via at the time of order entry to the correct routing ship via based on the delivery address. This was a perfect solution for the client because it would allow them to solve their issue that was resulting in manual fixes for every ticket that went into the routing software. When implemented properly, they could receive 60-80% successful automation with tickets in the routing software, little change to the current process, and less handling of paper tickets. 6. Setup, preparation and support – Setting up the RF pick environment requires work in the branch maintenance file, the control file maintenance and setup, ship via creation for routing, and the zip code cross reference. In addition, training would be needed to allow the staff to adopt the appropriate practices from the start and support would be needed throughout the implementation. Conclusion: This client was faced with a complicated dilemma that at first glance appeared to have only inconceivable options for resolution. When Zerion provided a fresh perspective and in-depth knowledge of ERP solutions, they were able to offer a seamless solution that more than satisfied all of the requirements at a comparably inexpensive price. The client chose to honor every recommendation they were presented and the solution was implemented in a matter of weeks. It has created greater efficiencies for the client, and they have proceeded to implement the same solution in the six other locations. Back to Top	Make your life easier by scheduling routine accounting functions. Eclipse has several features that are designed to handle frequent accounting functions for you. In Accounts Payable, you have the ability to enter a payable once and then schedule it for recurring postings at regular intervals. This works great for items such as lease payments on vehicles or equipment, or bills such as cell phones and monthly rent. You can set it up once and then let Eclipse handle the rest for you!

June 2008

Company News | From the Desk of | Industry News
Special Offer | In-Depth Learning

Meet Kathy Williams
Zerion’s product is its people. Since it’s rare that our friends and clients get to meet all of the outstanding professionals that make up our company, this month we’d like you to introduce you to Kathy.

Residence: Currently lives in Orlando, Florida but will be moving back to hometown of Tampa in August
Hometown: Born in Gadsden, Alabama but grew up in Tampa
Position with Zerion: Administrative Manager

What did you do before joining Zerion?
I worked at Hughes Supply as a Lead Installer for their Implementation Team.

What is your specialty at Zerion?
Accounting and grant writing

What is the best location you’ve traveled to for your job?
I have had the opportunity to visit a lot of great places over the years, but Seattle, Washington is hands down my favorite. Not only do I think it’s one of the prettiest places in the country, but it’s also home to one of my favorite things - Starbucks coffee!

What do you like best about your job?
The problem solving. Each day brings with it new challenges, so life never gets boring.

What is your favorite “customer success” story?
I had the opportunity to work with a group of accounts receivable clerks and credit managers who had recently converted to Eclipse and were struggling in a few areas and becoming frustrated. After spending a few hours with them working through their issues and concerns I could see the relief and excitement come over them as it all started to make sense. One of them even sent me a thank you note, which really meant a lot to me. It’s such a good feeling to know that you helped make someone's job a little easier and that they genuinely appreciated it.

How do you spend most of your time when you’re not working?
Currently I am pursuing my accounting degree at the University of South Florida which takes up a lot of my free time.

What is a little known, interesting fact about you?
I got engaged to a great guy in November of 2007 and we are planning our wedding for March of next year!

Favorite book or movie:
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

In one sentence, describe your philosophy on life and work:
Hard work and determination always pays off.

From the desk of Tony King Are you looking for a cost-effective way to get your staff up to speed? I often hear from our clients that while one-on-one training and consulting in your location produces the best long-term results, sometimes you just need a one day refresher or overview of a particular Eclipse topic and you don’t want to incur extended on-site fees or travel costs. The Eclipse Users Group (UFO) has been offering regional training sessions for some time to assist their members with this need. Throughout 2008, Zerion has been instructing these classes for the UFO nationwide, as Brad mentioned in our April newsletter.

The response has been outstanding. I’ve personally attended many of these sessions to see distributors turning out in a big way and walking away with questions answered and additional knowledge to help them run their operation more efficiently. As such, we’re excited to announce in this end of the month issue of The Link that Zerion is planning a road trip. Sure, we travel all the time for our clients, but only when you ask us to. This time we’re planning a cross-country tour that will expand regional training efforts on our own and all you have to do is show up.

While the UFO will support us, Zerion is aiming to bring Eclipse experts in topics not currently offered by the UFO, some of which might include PDW, Pricing, User File Maintenance, and Unquality Event Tracking (UET). Our goal is to double the size of what’s been offered solely through the UFO and reach more areas with more classes. These one-day regional training sessions will be topic-specific and provide an opportunity for you to “cost-share” the expense of a Zerion consultant with other distributors in you area. Each class has a live and interactive presentation, along with hand-outs including specific menu paths and steps for future reference. For a low per-attendee fee, you can send as many of your team members as you’d like to bring new employees up to speed, brush up on your skills and knowledge, or train an employee on a new aspect of the system. It also serves as a great professional development and networking opportunity for your staff.

We’ll be building the schedule as we go and will communicate dates and locations as they're available; but, we want your input - call or e-mail me if you think we should schedule a session near you and let us know what topics you need training on the most. I look forward to hearing from you and, hopefully, seeing you soon.

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:

Economic slowdown has little impact on distribution so far

Oracle Previews on-Demand 'social' CRM Module

New Infor offering aims to help SMB's better tackle various problem

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

Get 1/2 Off a Future Regional Training Session...
If you contact us before July 31, you'll pay only 1/2 price for one attendee at a future regional training session. We'll make note of your discount and when a session is scheduled that you're ready to attend, you can redeem your credit.

Contact Tony King to get your credit.

June Case Study

A company with an unusually customized ERP software configuration was in need of a solution to enhance efficiencies with their warehouse picking process and RF technology. The options that seemed to exist were unreasonable and costly. This month, Zerion outlines a case study of how we were able to offer a few setting changes and workflow adjustments that seamlessly satisfied all of the client's requirements well within their budget.

Problem: The client had a routing software program installed and it was configured to interface with their current ERP solution. They also utilized radio frequency (RF) identification, or transponder guns and bar-coding, to receive product. In 2007, the company determined that installing RF pick in at least one of their seven facilities by the end of the year was essential to achieving optimum efficiency; however, they weren't sure if this was possible with their routing software. Zerion Group was enlisted to analyze the company’s software and operational situation to determine the most appropriate course of action.

Additional Information: After reviewing the client’s configuration, it was determined that there were several issues contributing to the problem, rather than just the key issue of how to turn on RF picking.

Several years prior, when the client determined they needed routing software, they were forced to choose between the standard product that is a bolt-on to their ERP solution, and a product that was unsupported, but better met their important need for license plating. They ultimately chose the package that best met their needs, knowing it would create an issue with RF picking because of the workflow changes that would result.

In a normal picking environment (absent RF), hard copy paper travels with the material as it is picked, whereas an RF environment is considered paperless. When a non-standard routing software is added, the router typically determines the driver’s route for sales orders based on the paper tickets. In addition, the pick and stage personnel utilize the paper tickets in conjunction with the routing software as their roadmap on the staging floor. The lack of paper in an RF pick environment would require the warehouse staff to change their processes at each stage of the daily activity, including picking, staging and routing, and it appeared the current software configuration would not allow for paperless picking.

An additional issue facing the client was that the current routing of tickets required too much handling and manual change. Every ticket was moving to the routing interface incorrectly, and the process would require more accurate automation.

Possible strategies:
1. Leave things as is – Many ERP clients consider this as their first option with a complex issue because it doesn’t require an obvious time or cost investment and they typically are unaware of how to solve the issue or where to find assistance. If this client chose to leave things as is, they could make minor adjustments to their processes but the issue would continue to hinder their daily and overall efficiency. This was not feasible because of the vast functionality and efficiency opportunities they were missing. They had already made the investment to install RF, but with only half of it in place they were not seeing the improvements they needed with cycle counting, random counting, picking accuracy, training time and audit errors.

2. Buy the routing interface that integrates fully with their ERP package – This option is a very expensive and labor-intensive solution. The integrative software now had license plating, but because routing packages are priced on a per truck basis (approximately $5,000 per truck), large organizations tend to make great investments in this type of functionality, and this client had already made that investment once.

3. New ERP Solution – The client could consider changing ERP solutions, but this could require anywhere from $50,000 to millions of dollars. Overall, the client was satisfied with their ERP software and this type of investment was neither logical nor affordable.

4. Modify the current software configuration and workflow to accommodate RF picking – This solution was the apparent best one; however, the client was led to believe that it was impossible.

Recommendation: After one on-site visit, the consulting team was able to identify how the current ERP system could work with both the existing routing software and RF pick functionality. Unbeknownst to the client, there were some settings in the ERP system that could be changed, and some workflow processes that could be adjusted without a great impact on the staff or significant training. The recommended changes and associated implementation strategies were as follows:

1. Allow for the routing copy to print at the time of the order processing – The client was unaware this option existed or that their ERP system could be configured to print the routing copy on any printer in the warehouse. While the RF picks processed to the guns, it was suggested to allow this ticket, containing both the product and the shipping information, to print to the warehouse printer next to the routing computer.

2. Make sure the routing copy has a bar code on it – If the bar code were added onto the routing copy, the client would be able to scan the shipping information and not have to type it in. This would save a significant amount of time, while requiring only very little procedural change.

3. Work ticket processing – Work tickets could allow for separation of products that require RF picking from those that don’t. Again, the client was not aware their system could be configured to allow for RF pick for some products and not for others.

4. Pipe Lists – This particular client also carried pipe. The pipe is located outside and is always the last item to be picked and loaded on the truck, or is sometimes loaded on its own truck separate from other items. It is best handled on its own and does not require RF functionality; however, the client had a modification in their routing and ERP software that produces a pipe list print for all pipe material that has been loaded, allowing the warehouse staff to load pipe more seamlessly. Because the client didn’t want this functionality to go away when turning on RF pick, a minor change was suggested that would allow the pipe list to continue being generated normally, in spite of the paperless environment.

5. Zip Code Cross Reference – The current ERP solution had a zip code cross reference that would allow for the system to change the delivery ship via at the time of order entry to the correct routing ship via based on the delivery address. This was a perfect solution for the client because it would allow them to solve their issue that was resulting in manual fixes for every ticket that went into the routing software. When implemented properly, they could receive 60-80% successful automation with tickets in the routing software, little change to the current process, and less handling of paper tickets.

6. Setup, preparation and support – Setting up the RF pick environment requires work in the branch maintenance file, the control file maintenance and setup, ship via creation for routing, and the zip code cross reference. In addition, training would be needed to allow the staff to adopt the appropriate practices from the start and support would be needed throughout the implementation.

Conclusion: This client was faced with a complicated dilemma that at first glance appeared to have only inconceivable options for resolution. When Zerion provided a fresh perspective and in-depth knowledge of ERP solutions, they were able to offer a seamless solution that more than satisfied all of the requirements at a comparably inexpensive price. The client chose to honor every recommendation they were presented and the solution was implemented in a matter of weeks. It has created greater efficiencies for the client, and they have proceeded to implement the same solution in the six other locations.

Make your life easier by scheduling routine accounting functions.

Eclipse has several features that are designed to handle frequent accounting functions for you. In Accounts Payable, you have the ability to enter a payable once and then schedule it for recurring postings at regular intervals. This works great for items such as lease payments on vehicles or equipment, or bills such as cell phones and monthly rent. You can set it up once and then let Eclipse handle the rest for you!