Happenings December 13, 2024

    In this issue:

• National Day Spotlight
• Acumatica Tip
• ISV Spotlight
• Managed Services Tip
• Events, Blogs, Movies
• Webinars, Community
• Points to Ponder

The purpose of a newsletter is an opportunity for the ASWi team to provide you and the rest of our clients with information on all the new ASWi an Acumatica related things (or “happenings”) that you may not otherwise be aware of.

Please feel free to share this newsletter with any/ all of your team. Pease let me know if anyone on your team who would like to be added to the mailing list for the next issue and removed.

You can always have a look at back issues of Happenings on ASWi’s web- site at: https://aswiblog.wpengine.com/category/customer-newsletters/

A salesperson’s role is to help customers solve their problems. B. Tracy

National Salesperson Day honors the value and dedication of sales professionals. Good sales professionals are knowledgeable about the value that their solutions provide, they understand what their customers are trying to achieve and the roadblocks they face, and are up to date on current and upcoming trends.

They answers to customers’ questions and provide insights that their customers are not aware of. Sales professionals are especially busy now as the year end nears.
If you work with a sales professional who resembles the paragraphs above, today is a great day to let them (and their business) know. An email or call will be greatly appreciated by your favorite sales professionals.

About the photo: ASWi Sales Executives Nate Belachew and Jonathan Council, along with ASWi Consultant Matt Hill, sharing information and assisting prospective customers while manning the Acumatica booth at the IMTS 2024 tradeshow.

Salesman: This ERP will cut your workload by 50%.
Customer: Great, I’ll take two of them!

ERP Sales Rookie: I ended up working 50 hours this week!
Sales Pro: When do you stop working part-time & go to full time hours?

Daughter: Do you like selling fork lifts?
Salesman: It has its ups and downs.

Q: How does Yoda get his leads?
A: He uses the Sales Force.

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226) if you would like to learn more about Acumatica Cloud ERP’s Inventory Control.

Shipping less than truckload (LTL) can be a practical choice for many shippers, but it also comes with a host of potential inefficiencies and surprise fees that can eat into your budget. Understanding where these hidden costs originate and how to manage them is crucial for optimizing your shipping strategy.

Let’s dive into the factors impacting LTL pricing and explore how you can avoid common pitfalls.

What Impacts LTL Pricing

LTL pricing is influenced by several factors, including the total weight, distance traveled, and density of your freight. However, tariffs set by carriers also play a significant role. These tariffs, which are uniform across the industry, are determined by the class of cargo being shipped and typically last for a year.

Whatever the hidden costs might be, we broke down some of the most common ones so you can keep an eye out.

Accessorial Fees

Accessorial fees are extra charges for services beyond the standard agreement between the shipper and carrier. These fees often arise from inaccuracies or missing information and can significantly increase costs. Common accessorial fees include: Liftgate, redelivery and layovers, Bill of Landing (BOL), limited access, driver load and unload fees, and many more.

Late Fees
LTL shipping can suffer from delays due to inefficiencies like transloading at terminals and suboptimal routing. When shipments are late, shippers face not only direct costs from penalties but also indirect costs from customer dissatisfaction. In fact, a significant percentage of LTL shippers experience delays of 1-2 days, with some reporting average late fees of $477 per shipment.

Damage Claims

With LTL shipping involving more handling and transloading, the risk of damage is higher compared to other shipping modes. Shippers often have to replace damaged goods and cover additional shipping costs. In recent years, a substantial portion of LTL shippers have reported significant costs related to damaged goods, with average claims running into thousands of dollars.

Limited Carrier Options

A robust multi-carrier solution should offer a diverse range of carrier and service options. If your software lacks flexibility in carrier choices, you might face higher shipping costs and reduced adaptability in handling supply chain disruptions.

How FreightPOP TMS Can Help Avoid Hidden LTL Fees

• Enhanced Visibility and Accuracy
• Optimized Route Planning
• Automated Documentation
• Claim Management

If you would like more information on FreightPOP TMS, please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226).

Securing mobile devices is more important than ever. Mobile devices often contain sensitive company data and can be a significant security risk if not properly managed. Here are some techniques to help you secure your mobile devices:

Mobile Device Management (MDM)
MDM solutions allow you to control and secure mobile devices used within your organization. These solutions offer features like remote wipe, device encryption, and application management. With MDM, you can enforce security policies, manage app installations, and ensure that all devices comply with your security standards.

App Security
Securing the apps that employees use is crucial. Ensure that all apps come from trusted sources and are regularly updated to fix any vulnerabilities. Use app whitelisting to control which apps can be installed on devices. Additionally, consider implementing application- level encryption to protect sensitive data.

User Training
Educating your employees about mobile security is one of the most effective ways to prevent breaches. Provide regular training sessions on topics such as recognizing phishing attempts, creating strong passwords, and avoiding unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Encourage employees to report lost or stolen devices immediately.

Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security. MFA requires users to provide two or more verification factors, making it significantly harder for unauthorized individuals to gain access to devices and data.

Device Encryption
Ensure that all mobile devices are encrypted to protect data in case the device is lost or stolen. Encryption scrambles data, making it unreadable without the correct decryption key. This is particularly important for devices that store or access sensitive information.

Updates
Keep the operating systems and applications on all mobile devices up to date. Regular updates and patches often include security enhancements that protect against new threats. Configure devices to automatically update to the latest software versions.

Network Connections
Ensure that all mobile devices use secure network connections, especially when accessing corporate resources. Use Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to encrypt internet connections and protect data transmitted over public Wi-Fi networks.

By implementing these techniques, you can significantly enhance the security of mobile devices within your enterprise.

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226) if you would like to learn more about ASWi’s Managed Services and to learn more about securing mobile devices within your organization.

Obvious

Attempting to fill my van’s water tanks while driving through outback South Australia, I discovered my hose attachment was too small for the tap. I made my way to the local shop and started rifling through their hose fittings selection. A fellow traveler passed me in the aisle, paused, and asked me what I was looking for. I explained the situation, showing him the attachment I had brought with me.

“May I?”, he asked, taking the hose attachment from me. He then gently unscrewed the inner attachment layer to reveal a larger, perfectly sized neck. Turns out I had the right attachment all along, I just didn’t know it. And that’s because I’d never thought to interrogate my understanding of a hose fitting.

“What You See Is All There Is” (WYSIATI) is a cognitive bias popularized by Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman, and describes our tendency not to inquire beyond what is obvious. When it comes to behavior, what seems ‘obvious’ often isn’t:

• We assume people will do the right thing if we explain it, but superannuation has to be mandated in Australia to make sure we save for our retirement.
• We believe more choice is better, but fewer options often improve the odds a decision will be made. Endless options can overwhelm us.
• We think numbers are objective, but ‘97% fat free’ is perceived differently from ‘3% fat’, and $200 is different from $200 marked down from $300.

What’s not immediately obvious, but crucial to understand, is:
• There are common patterns in how humans make decisions.
• It’s often not your price that’s the problem, but the perception of the price.
• What we stand to lose is typically more impactful than what we may gain.

The good news is, you’re holding the right hose fitting. It’s just a matter of unscrewing the cap to reveal the next layer.

In today’s digital landscape, securing your accounts and sensitive data is more important than ever. One of the most effective ways to enhance security is by implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Why MFA Matters
MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring two or more verification methods to access an account. Even if a password is compromised, MFA helps prevent unauthorized access, making it a critical tool in safeguarding sensitive information.

Types of MFA
1. Something You Know
This could be a password, PIN, or answer to a security question.
2. Something You Have – Examples include a mobile device, security token, or smart card.
3. Something You Are – Biometric methods like fingerprint scans, facial recognition, or voice recognition.

Best Practices for Implementing MFA
1. Use Multiple Factors – Combine at least two different types of verification (e.g., password + mobile device) to enhance security.
2. Regularly Update Your Methods – Stay up-to-date with the latest MFA technologies and ensure your methods are not outdated.
3. Educate Your Team – Ensure everyone understands the importance of MFA and how to use it correctly.
4. Enable MFA on All Critcal Accounts – Prioritize implementing MFA on accounts that contain sensitive data or have access to critical systems.

Please let our Customer Success Manager Keith Wood know (keithw@ASWiUS.com, 717-581-1226) if you would like to learn more about ASWi’s Managed Services and to learn more about how they can assist your organization with cybersecurity processes and tools.

When to be vague vs precise

Let’s say you are advertising a new product, like a razor. Should you describe it as being “laser-sharp” or “high quality”?

Laser sharp uses concrete, precise language whereas high quality is more abstract. New research has revealed which type to use, when. This matters because ads cost money, lots of money, so you want to make sure what you say has the biggest positive impact possible.

So, what did the researchers find?

In one of their experiments they had 124 hockey fans rate a product (in this case a new hockey stick) and a radio station’s ad BEFORE the game – when the outcome was uncertain, and other fans rate those things AFTER the game, once the outcome was known. Before the game – when uncertainty was high – fans rated the product and radio ad higher when concrete language was used.

After the game, it didn’t matter as much, though abstract messages tended to be preferred.

There are two lessons from this:

1. When your customers are feeling uncertain – like during an economic downturn or health crisis, or even when it’s a new type of product – you are better to be concrete, like ‘laser-sharp’. When things are stable and the product is familiar, you can be more abstract, talking about ‘high quality’.

2. Whether you are engaging the services of a copywriter or ad agency, or writing the copy yourself, be sure to keep on top of behavioral research like this. Just because your copy is beautiful doesn’t mean it will be effective.

Things will never be easier than now

Believe it or not, your job will never be as easy as it is today.

I’m not talking about AI and other technologies.

I’m talking about hindsight.

You’ll look back and think life was easy.

Because things will only get more chaotic, more complex and more compressed.

Nearly every weekday, a motivational quote is posted on X/Twitter by @ASWiDelivered and on LinkedIn by @ASWi.

• “I am always going to do my best, no matter where I am.” Will Rogers
• “Business is the science of human service.” Elbert Hubbard – 1921
• “How can any undervalue business habits? As if anything could be done without them.” Florence Nightingale – 1868
• “Employees do their best work when their happy.” Orison Swett Marden – 1913
• “Companies should be about fewer games, fewer hoops, & more value.” Gregory Ciotti