NAED National is THE Electrical Distributor’s launchpad

Technology endures at the forefront of a generational change in business. The haves and the have-nots (or the on-boards and not-on-boards) show us a digital divide that is ever widening.

The recent National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED) National Meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts, was another excellent example of how a national association can and does help its members. In this case, it's electrical distributors — and borrowing from the U.S. military slogan — NAED helps them be all that they can be. Embracing technology is one of those help factors as NAED has a robust Allied Partner Program.

I attended the National Meeting with xTuple VP of Sales Wally Tonra and agree with the bloggers at ElectricalTrends' NAED Annual recap that technology is experiencing a generational change. And xTuple is right in the middle of it, especially since our business management software runs on Linux/Unix, Windows, Mac and modern mobile platforms, making it easier for small and large, young and old, technical and not-so-technical, to work together.

For example, on the distribution-specific side of software, xTuple for Wholesale Distribution (xWD) features an External Vendor Catalog that serves as the on-ramp to connecting to the new world of digital images available from Trade Service, IDEA and the manufacturers themselves. Associations like NAED are helping their members get-on-board with technology, as easily and as cost-effectively as possible.

New xWD user, Kemp Electric Supply illustrates the power enjoyed when technology is embraced. With a “go-live” of their new ERP software achieved within an unheard of 90 days, Kemp said it was all thanks to outstanding support at the user and developer levels. Automatic order-processing and invoicing via email allows Kemp Electric to keep customers informed with immediate sales order acknowledgements and to push out invoices immediately, ultimately receiving payments more quickly, improving cash flow. Quoting and billing time at Kemp has been cut in half as a result of these improvements. Painless AND profitable. Mission accomplished!

At NAED National: Bill Russell of Boston Celtics fame with Wally Tonra, xTuple