Congratulations to the Fall 2009 Virtual Tech Fair Show Prize Winner

The Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group would like to congratulate our show prize winner for attending the Virtual Tech Fair on October 14 and 15, 2009. Suzanne M Lomas from The R.M. Wright Company Inc. received a Nikon CoolPix S630 Camera, Camera Bag, and 2 year warranty.

Suzanne first heard about the Virtual Tech Fair event from an email sent by the Consulting Group and decided to register after a partner suggested it. Their company had recently implemented a system and was curious about other software that is available to the industry. Suzanne said, “I like the idea of Virtual Tech Fairs and the setup. I was able to easily familiarize myself with the format. I think chatting and networking with others will become a common venue for these types of events.”

Suzanne found the industry experts and topics at the Virtual Tech Fair to be interesting. Educational presentations available to attendees included “Using Best Practices to Accelerate Business Performance” presented by Barry Lawrence (Texas A & M University), “Top Technology Trends Transforming Distribution and Manufacturing” presented by Corbin Ball (Corbin Ball Associates), “Value of Strategic Pricing for Distributors” presented by Dan Kaminstein (Activant), “Software Selection Studies” presented by Steve Epner and Jeff Gusdorf (Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group), “Information Technology in Today’s Distribution Environment” presented by Rodney Winger (Epicor), “Enterprise Explorer Overview” presented by IFS, “Leading the Changing Distribution Industry” presented by Gary Rippen (Infor), “Sustainability for Business Sake” presented by Larry Negrich and Jennifer Pollard (Microsoft Dynamics), and “How to Reduce Material Levels and Manage Production Schedules More Effectively” presented by Pete Zimmerman (VAI).

Not only did attendees like Suzanne enjoy learning more about industry topics but they were able to interact with leading software companies. Companies who participated included Activant, Epicor, Infor, IFS, Microsoft Dynamics, and VAI.

Even if attendees did not have the time to attend the event the two days it was broadcast live, they still have the opportunity to view the booths and presentations through the archive. Suzanne felt like an event like this helps in the research of different software packages. If you would like to learn more then visit www.virtualtechfair.com.

About The Author
Sara Nelson is a senior consultant and marketing coordinator in the Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group. She is responsible for developing content for the software distributor website, generating leads and traffic, writing articles for industry publications, and creating marketing materials. She has experience in web development, customer relations, coordinating marketing campaigns, and designing print materials. She is a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing.

About The Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group
The Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group has been serving the distribution community for more than 20 years through the publication of the Distribution Software Guide, speaking at industry programs, giving free telephone advice to distributors, and providing fee-based consulting services to companies who need help selecting the best software packages for their business. For more information visit www.software4distibutors.com.

Congratulations to the Distribution Virtual Tech Fair Show Prize Winners

The Brown Smith Wallace Consulting Group would like to congratulate all of our show prize winners for attending the Distribution Virtual Tech Fair on April 30 and May 1, 2008. Tom Noonan from AP Wagner received an Apple ipod Touch, David Hays from Teche Electric received a Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS and Don Griffith from Denney Electric Supply received a Sony Playstation 3.

All three winners first heard about the Virtual Tech Fair through an email sent by the Consulting Group’s Virtual Tech Fair Guy. David Hays said, “I was intrigued by the thought of participating in an online virtual event.” Don Griffith explained, “It was easy to get my manager to agree for me to go to this event since there were no costs involved.” Tom Noonan said, “When I saw this event I was excited because it allowed me to get some specific information about several vendors and their products without having to leave my desk. I was hoping to gain a better understanding of the software offerings available and to gain a better insight into the industry.”

Not only did attendees enjoy learning about several vendors in one place but they were also able to continue their education on business. Tom Noonan stated, “The keynote presentations were especially interesting and gave me some helpful ideas on how to get the most out of people.”

Even if attendees did not have the time to attend the event the two days it was broadcast live, they still have the opportunity to view the booths and presentations when it is archived. David Hays explained, “I was unable to plan for the event and if I’d had more time I might have attended more presentations but I may yet attend an archived presentation.”

All of the attendees reported that they were looking forward to the next event like this. Don Griffith responded, “We are not currently looking to change our software provider but at some point we will probably have to and I want to know what is available. That is why attending another event like this is so important to me.” David Hays said, “I would attend this event again because I enjoyed navigating the rich websites and the live aspect made the event more interesting.” If you would like to learn more and to sign up to participate like these attendees did then visit www.virtualtechfair.com.