Global Fastener News

Is your staff still using post-it notes around their desks rather than updating the customer file in company computers?

Post-it notes cannot be used by others when a customer calls in, Dennis Cowhey of Computer Insights pointed out at an International Fastener Expo seminar. 

“You need to be in contact with salespeople in the field,” Cowhey said. “They need to have access to current information. Post-it notes don’t provide that.”

Old software is the equivalent of using post-it notes, Cowhey said.

People are reluctant to go to new systems, he acknowledged. Phrases to avoid updating a company computer system include “the old system is paid for” and “our data is locked in the system.”

But “the ‘old system’ has hidden costs, including that there may no longer be support for the old system, Cowhey said.

If your computer system is more than five years old, “It is obsolete,” Cowhey declared. Computer speed is doubling every 1.2 years, he pointed out.

Two percent savings on a new system “is huge over time,” Cowhey added.

Reasons to go to newer software include lower maintenance, efficiency, easier training, more flexibility and support.

Cowhey said he has talked to some fastener distributors for a decade before they “finally” decided to update.

“You are not buying for technology,” he said. “You are are buying for results.”

In approaching software providers, “you gotta know what your needs are,” Cowhey advised.

Have you chosen the path or has the path chosen you? Cowhey asked. Web: Ci-Inc.com