The stakes are high, the competition is nimble, and budgets are tight. IN THIS ISSUE: Product News — New xTupleCommerce B2B Web Portal Demo; B2B Webinar — What's New in ERP? Business Happens on the Web; Meet the Customers — Instrument Meter Specialties Interview; Where's Wally? Making an IMPACT at the invitation-only IMPACT Manufacturing Summit; Winner Announced — HR & Payroll Survey; Partners — Why Working with Smaller Vendors Yields Big ROI; Staff Feature; xTupleU — upcoming Training; Need In-House xTuple Expertise? Post Your Job Openings (free!)
xTupler #47 | May 2018
Dear Community —
It's really, really, really here! I know, it seems as if you've heard us talking about this thing called xTupleCommerce forever, and you could easily think that it was a released product. The truth of the matter is, we've been working with a number of our fantastic customers for over four years to get to what we are proud today to release officially as xTupleCommerce 1.0. And yes, we've got special promotions for existing commercial customers who are ready to move on this exciting opportunity!
IN THIS ISSUE
HOT TOPICS
Product News — New xTupleCommerce B2B Web Portal Demo
Your customers are buying online. Are you selling — and servicing them — online? The stakes are too high, the competition is too nimble, and budgets are too tight to not leverage every competitive advantage you can — to improve customer service and grow sales. And with the official launch of xTupleCommerce 1.0, we've got a new and improved demo to test it out for yourselves.
Webinar — What's New in ERP? Business Happens on the Web
THURSDAY, JUNE 7 (2-2:30pm)
Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-04:00-US & Canada)
Join us as we explore why Digital Transformation could mean more sales for you. Many small- and mid-sized manufacturers — who thought their business was too complex for the Web or too dependent on a distribution channel — are learning the hard way that in today’s hyper-competitive world of omnicommerce (i.e., selling across every channel), more “intimate” and unique customer experiences improve those oh-so-important relationships. See the benefits of xTupleCommerce — B2B eCommerce Web Portal.
Meet the Customers — Instrument Meter Specialties Interview
What business problem were you trying to solve with xTuple and xTupleCommerce?
“Our old accounting software had a 90s mindset with no real concept of what a growing business needs. xTuple wasn't too complicated for us to use, or to learn, with the multiple free and paid support channels. Plus, xTuple had the right product offering (PostBooks®) to fit our budget and our capabilities now – to get started – and with room to grow. Our online presence was stagnating because of a platform we'd developed in-house, that only one person knew how to use. We could never develop a fully functional system that way. We needed to pay for that kind of service.”
What value have your derived for your business using xTupleCommerce?
“Our product life span is anywhere from 2-25 years or more, so most of our business is from new customers. Furthermore, our market is very scattered, so advertising channels like billboards, yellow pages, or radio weren't really an option for us. The web-presence xTupleCommerce offered was our best hope of growth. We are so excited about how this software continues to develop and benefit our business. Our web-presence has been greatly enhanced over the last 12 months using xTupleCommerce; it’s even allowed us to take advantage of advertising services. Every metric we track – from monthly visitors, monthly sessions, average session time, and bounce rate – is steadily improving.”
— Jason Dueck, Vice President of Instrument Meter Specialties
Where's Wally? Making an IMPACT...
Upcoming xTuple events include:
- FABTECH Canada — June 12-14 in Toronto — Canada's exclusive event for Manufacturers in Metal Forming, Fabricating, Welding and Finishing
- IMTS — September 10-15 in Chicago — the biennial International Manufacturing Technology Show
Winner — HR & Payroll Survey
Todd's randomly drawn response to our company's staffing and payroll survey won him an Amazon Gift Card valued at $100.
Partners — Why Working with Smaller Vendors Yields Big ROI
Big vendors come with name recognition (thanks to all those marketing — not product development — dollars spent), but they also come with a large price tag.
If you want your software vendor to be a real partner, someone who is invested in your success as a customer and helping your business grow, then here are some of my "pros" of working with smaller vendors:
xTupleR Staffer Feature
Joined: August 2011
Location: xTuple Headquarters
Mission: Clandestine R&D projects (top-secret!) and customer success through better implementations, in-house IoT specialist.
CV: From IT Manager for a multi-national manufacturing company to software engineer at xTuple, David’s deeply vested for nearly two decades in the world of computer hardware and software.
Personal: A Connecticut Yankee transplanted in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Speaks German.
Hobbies: David, and his wife Theresia, enjoy riding motorcycles through Virginia’s country roads; he dissects hardware to figure out what makes it work in his spare time.
Why technology as a career? “Thanks to technology-friendly parents, my path was set early and catapulted in middle school due to an ankle injury at a July 4th party. Summertime immobility led to the discovery of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), resulting in me running a multi-node BBS myself. The computer networking knowledge gained put me on the IT fast-track. xTuple cultivates my thirst by providing an extremely extensible platform to build upon, and the company allows us to contribute to all aspects of making enterprise software.”
xTupleU — Training Offered for 2018
xTuple's Community site continues to grow — more insider tips, how-tos, documentation and videos! Also be sure to join the xTuple Forums
(Contact us if you need your old username/password)
IN THE CLASSROOM
ERP Boot Camp: Setup and Configuration
- AUGUST 6-10
- xTuple Headquarters, Norfolk, Virginia (USA)
ERP Advanced: Power User Training
- SEPTEMBER 10-13
- Arlington, Virginia (USA)
Classroom Training Bundle
Sign up for both xTuple classroom sessions — Save 25%
Combine ERP Boot Camp and ERP Advanced — the ultimate preparation to launch a successful implementation of xTuple ERP for your business.
ONLINE CLASSES
Custom Reporting: Open Source SQL Report Writer
- JUNE 15
Project Go-Live: How to Manage your ERP Implementation
- JULY 10-11
B2B eCommerce Starter Guide for Sales Growth
- JULY 13
Non-Accountants: Easy to Understand Accounting
- OCTOBER 16
Need In-House xTuple Expertise? Post Your Job Openings
Don't rely solely on the myriad online job sites, such as Indeed.com. xTuple offers you the opportunity to share open positions in our announcements forum for the best access to the xTuple community. All are welcome to post xTuple-expertise Job Openings!! Have you joined the new xTuple Forums? (Hint: your old username/password works)
About xTuple
Grow Your World® with the world's #1 open source ERP — the leading provider of commercial open source business management software for small- to mid-sized companies. Connect with us at xTuple.com.