Day 3: Sage Summit 2013

FORT WASHINGTON, MD (7-23-2013): The third day at Sage Summit 2013 featured insightful Business Partner Breakout Sessions, the opening of the Sage Marketplace Live Expo to end users and resellers alike, and the signature networking event at Summit, known as Sage City.

As a long-time and collaborative Partner with Sage, Los Angeles-based business management solutions provider and master developer, Information Integration Group (IIG), and its representatives at Summit actively participated in seminars with topics ranging from "Sage ERP X3 Business Strategy Review" to "Sage ERP X3 ISV and Development Partner Program" to "Five Ways to Increase Sage ERP Software Sales," the latter presentation provided by the knowledgeable and entertaining duo from ERP VAR, Ms. Adrian Montgomery and Ms. Kathy Graham.

Throughout the morning and afternoon, the IIG team welcomed a number of visitors to its booth (#1096) at the Sage Live Expo, including inquiring end users and prospective resellers. IIG's built-in Sage 100 ERP enhancements, featured on colorful canvases, drew the attention of many a visitor. In particular, IIG's Service Maestro add-on for Sage 100 attracted both end users and consultants interested in a seamless solution for their dispatch and service management needs.

The most sought-after IIG enhancement at the Live Expo, however, has been its Material Planning and Production Management with work order add-on built into Sage 100 ERP, a worthy replacement for the Work Order module not available in Sage 100 ERP Premium (formerly known as MAS200 SQL). Throughout the week, IIG has been eagerly providing live web demos of all of its Sage 100 enhancements to interested individuals visiting its booth.


Panoramic view of the Live Expo at Sage Summit with IIG's booth at the right


If you or a member of your company at Summit would like to schedule a live web demo session with IIG at its booth, please contact IIG's ISV Sales Representative, Mr. Gary Mardirossian, at gary@iigservices.com, or simply stop by our booth (#1096) adjacent to Sage's Mobile Home.

Day 2 Highlights: Sage Summit 2013

FORT WASHINGTON, MD (7-22-2013): Although Sage Summit 2013 officially commenced at the grandiose Gaylord Hotel on Sunday, July 21, it was not until the action-packed Business Partner Opening Keynote on Monday morning, July 22 when Summit actually kicked off with much pomp and circumstance.

With a backdrop displaying the highest mountain peaks in the world, President and CEO of Sage North America, Mr. Pascal Houillon, led off with an optimistic message focusing on Sage's pledge to continue rising and lifting its partners to reach new "summits" in the coming year.

Sage N.A. President & CEO Pascal Houillon



Up next and introduced by Mr. Houillon was none other than the Chief Executive of The Sage Group plc and avid climber, Mr. Guy Berruyer, who echoed Mr. Houillon's "rising to the mountaintop" theme, and introduced Sage's strategic initiatives, including continued strong customer support, new product strategies, and forthcoming opportunities for expansion to the cloud and to mobile platforms.

Next up was CTO and Head of Product Strategy at Sage North America, Mr. Himanshu Palsule, who provided a captivating and detailed presentation on Sage's long-term vision with respect to its new products and services portfolio. In a witty yet serious manner, Mr. Palsule highlighted Sage's laser focus on mobility and connected services, in addition to transforming some of Sage's existing ERP systems and modules to a cloud-based format.
 

Sage N.A. CTO Himanshu Palsule



The Business Partner Opening Keynote included several additional presenters, and was followed by four simultaneous Super Sessions led by Sage North America executives and industry leaders, who provided insight and analysis on subjects ranging from Sage's "New Product and Technology Strategy" to "Mapping a True Customer Experience Strategy," and from the "Fundamentals of High-Performing Firms" to "Growing One's Business through Solutions-Based Selling."

 

A scene from the Sage Summit 2013 Business Partner Party



Informative business partner breakout sessions throughout the day were followed by a live expo in the early evening featuring Sage partners and product resellers. Capping off a busy day was Sage's Business Partner Party on the Potomac, with a live musical jam session by the band consisting of Sage and Partner employees, The Usual Suspects.

Day 1: Sage Summit 2013

Opening day at Sage Summit 2013 in Washington, D.C. was filled with informative seminars, energetic exhibitors, and roving resellers.

The Information Integration Group (IIG) team welcomed old friends and new visitors to its booth (#1096), where IIG's Sage 100 built-in enhancements for vertical solutions were proudly and colorfully standing tall. Visitors especially expressed interest in IIG's latest and popular add-on, namely its Material Planning and Production Management enhancement, which is a viable replacement for the Work Order module in Sage 100 Premium (formerly MAS200 SQL).

IIG Booth #1096 at Sage Summit 2013

Other takeaways from Day 1 included:

• Insightful presentations on Sage ERP X3, with an emphasis on this increasingly popular and robust ERP system's project methodology, sales techniques, and implementation.

• The announcement at a seminar, entitled How to Market and Sell Sage ERP X3, that Sage CRM will be released with Sage ERP X3 "in the coming weeks."

We await Sage North America President & CEO Pascal Houillon's Opening Partner Keynote on Monday morning, July 22, 2013 with eager anticipation.

Tune in to IIG's daily blog posts for the latest information from Sage Summit 2013!

Visit IIG at Sage Summit 2013 Booth#1096

* Offer available during Sage Summit 2013. Registration of partner and customer contact information during the show is required. Good towards the Purchase of one of the IIG's Vertical Solutions -- Service, Rental, POS (Point of Sale) or Multi Bin in the current version. Purchase must be made between July 21, 2013 and midnight December 31, 2013 (PST). Offer does not include Annual Support and Maintenance. IIG reserves the right to amend and cease this offer anytime without notice. Offer void where prohibited by law. Offer has no cash value. Offer may not be combined.

 

 

 

Sage Resellers!

Do you have customers on legacy MAS90/200 Service Management products that wish to upgrade to the latest version of Sage 100;
use a solution developed from ground up in Business Objects platform supporting Sage 100 SQL?

IIG's powerful Service Maestro enhancement contains a wealth of innovative features for service business and handles all service needs from entry of service calls, management of field technician schedules, invoicing for materials and labor to costing of contracts. Service Maestro integrates seamlessly with Sage 100 ERP and is available in version 4.5 (in SQL and Business Objects).

Features:
• Inventory Control
• Labor
• Service Entry
• Service technician scheduling and tracking
• Creation of drag-and-drop dispatch boards
• Auto creation of service calls based on service contracts or preventative maintenance schedules
• Tracking the history of service calls for specific items and specific serial numbers
• Streamlined billing of service calls using existing Sage 100 ERP invoice and sales order functions
• Inventory tracking of parts on repair trucks or stored at customer sites
• Setting custom labor and part rates based on defined contracts

And much, much more ...

If you have any questions call Gary Mardirossian at
(818) 956-3744 or gary@iigservices.com.

SAGE 100 ERP: WHAT'S PAST IS PROLOGUE

Do you remember the days when Sage sales consultants would sell 3 to 5 new ERP systems weekly just by answering the phone? Do you recall the times when end users would not complain (too much) about the total cost of product and implementation because you had prepared your resellers and customers in advance? Proper preparation would often eliminate any surprises for you and your client when total cost would become a point of discussion.

What happened to the good old days when new system sales were easier to land? What we believe has happened is that software sales consultants have not prepared their prospects for the ultimate presentation; you know, the one that includes the total cost, including the price of the product, maintenance, deployment and training.

Further, a practice seldom used by sales consultants today is the ability to upsell to existing customers. For example, vertical-specific enhancements, such as Information Integration Group’s (IIG) Rental management solution (known as the Rental Maestro), integrate seamlessly with Sage 100 ERP (formerly known as MAS 90/200) and handle all of your rental processing needs – from order entry and inventory management to generating rental contracts.

One of the major reasons why potential enhancement solutions often turn into missed upselling opportunities is because many software sales consultants fail to make an effort to study the industry in which their prospect or customer work.

This is why conducting a complete business analysis is so critical. In addition to learning about your clients and their respective industries, inquiring about the responsibilities of each employee within a company’s structure is vital, especially in terms of listening to your customer’s specific requirements and asking the right follow-up questions.

As Shakespeare has written, “What’s past is prologue.” Asking constructive questions and offering a wide range of enhancement solutions, tailored to fit the needs of the prospect, are strong suits at IIG. Here is a sampling of some of IIG’s most popular add-ons:

Advanced Distribution

Apparel (Size and Color) Maestro

Material Planning and Production Management

Process Manufacturing

Service Management

Don’t forget to visit IIG at Booth #1096 at Sage Summit 2013 (July 21-26) in Washington, D.C.

 

About Information Integration Group, Inc. (IIG)

 

Founded in 1991, IIG is a leading business management solutions provider specializing in Sage 100 ERP (formerly Sage ERP MAS 90 & MAS 200), Sage MAS 500 ERP, Sage CRM and NetSuite for small & mid-sized enterprises. As an award-winning master developer, IIG has created hundreds of solutions for today’s business needs. IIG’s diverse group of consultants and programmers are dedicated to helping their clients achieve critical business insights for bottom line decision-making through a full range of easy-to-use, scalable, and customizable applications. More information about IIG software solutions and services is available at our website.

Sage, Sage 100 ERP, Sage 500 ERP, Sage CRM and Sage Software are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sage. NetSuite is a registered trademark of NetSuite Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or web and social media site. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Contact: Gary Mardirossian
818.956.3744, x215
sales@iigservices.com

www.iigservices.com