EDI Matters This blog has been created for EDI professionals or those who just wish to find out more about all things wonderful in the world of EDI. http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:11:03 EST Stress in the workplace got you down? http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
If our main source of stress comes from work, it's safe to say we're the most stressed when we're at work. Is it the constant influx of emails and calls? An evil co-worker, perhaps? According to a poll produced by the American Psychological Association in 2011, only 52% of the population surveyed said their company makes them feel valued. If half of the population didn't feel their job was valuable, then that would definitely be cause for wanting to stay home in bed all day. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most stressful), a staggering 72% of the population rated their daily stress level to be a 4 or higher with the average being 5.21 percent.

In our (B2BGateway's) industry, stress is just the nature of the beast. I'm fortunate enough to work in an environment where the attitude is, "work hard, play hard." We're constantly looking for ways to keep morale high, so whether it's a Wii ping pong tournament, a luncheon or some free time-off for having met goals, we all know that at the end of the day, all of our hard work pays off.

So, are you ready to take the high road and ditch the stress? Here are some of the top stress busting tips from the International Stress Management Association, UK:

1. Avoid unnecessary conflict- Only fight battles really worth winning. Try not to sweat the small stuff.

2. Adopt a healthy lifestyle- Try taking a walk at lunch. Not only will the endorphins put you in a better mood, the fresh air will help to clear your mind. Also, try to lay of things like cigarettes and alcohol as one is a stimulant and the other is a depressant!

3. Accept the things you cannot change- If your co-worker is a jerk, it's likely that they'll always be a jerk. It might be painful but the results are almost always the same. Kill 'em with kindness, and you'll always look like the good guy (and you'll probably get some satisfaction out of it).

4. Take time to recharge your batteries- Whether it's grabbing a bite with friends or watching a cheesy soap opera on the couch, give yourself some time to unwind.

5. Try to find the underlying problem- Discovering what the problem is will bring you one step closer to a solution. Even the smallest steps to alleviate that stress could be the answer to making your whole quality of life that much better.

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]]> Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:11:04 EST What's your Green Contribution? http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp We’re all used to hearing the saying, “Every little bit helps,” and it certainly does, but do you know how much exactly? I mean, does it really matter whether or not you throw the one can of soda you drink a day in the trash? Well allow me to hit you with some knowledge.  That can will take 80 to 100 years to decompose.  That seems like a pretty long time to me, especially since 36 billion of them were landfilled last year. Recycling just one can conserve enough energy to run a television for three hours. That’s just a drop in the bucket compared to a glass bottle which takes 1,000,000 years to decompose. Literally, a million years! To put that into perspective, the Great Pyramids were built in 2,900 BC. That’s less than 5,000 years ago.

American’s throw away 4.6 pounds of trash every day, more than any other country,  1.5 pounds of which is recyclable materials. If you work in an office environment, that number is probably much higher. Unfortunately paper and cardboard make up a staggering 73% of materials in the landfill.

So whether it’s a soda can, the newspaper or the empty toilet paper roll, reconsider putting it aside until you can recycle it. It might be a hassle, but those couple sodas a week translates to 156 cans a year, all of which will outlive us in a landfill. So whatever your contribution may be, just remember, every little bit helps.
Not sure where you can recycle near you? Log onto http://earth911.com/ for more information.

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]]> Mon, 6 Feb 2012 10:35:05 EST Pumped for the Pats http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
Americans will spend more than $1 billion on Super bowl snacks this Year. What will your contribution be?
According to AdWeek and TurboTax, Super bowl viewers plan on spending $184 million on potato chips, $40 million on pretzels and $36 million on puffed cheese. That's right, puffed cheese.
The National Chicken Council states that more than 1.25 billion portions of wings will be consumed this weekend. That's enough to circle the globe...twice. That's a lot of wings, good thing chickens don't need them.
7-Eleven claims there is a 20% increase in antacids on the Monday after the Super bowl, according to Squidoo.com. That must be due to the 2 million pizzas we're consuming from Pizza Hut and $11.8 million worth of beer the day before.
So whether you're tuning in to route for the Pats or Giants, to watch a good ole' "Gronking," or just for the commercials, there's no doubt you'll be eating well this Sunday.
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]]> Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:11:05 EST http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp B2BGateway and GS1 Ireland Help Cloverhill Food Ingredients Ltd. Improve Their Supply Chain Efficiency

Cork, Ireland- CloverhillFood Ingredients, Ltd., one of Ireland’s leading food ingredient suppliers to retail, dairy, meat and food manufacturing companies, partners with B2BGateway and GS1 Ireland to automate and improve their supply productivity.

With more than 2,500 products and SKUs, Cloverhill was in need of barcodes and product identifiers. That’s when B2BGateway stepped in and recommended that Cloverhill source their barcodes and GTINs through GS1. Being that GS1 is the global leader in providing solutions and standards for supply chains, Cloverhill was able to work B2BGateway to automate their entire electronic data flow of orders, invoices and shipping notices to and from all of their vendors.

“The B2BGateway cloud-based EDI solution is really easy to use, as easy as sending emails,” said Cloverhill’s CFO, Dan Neville. “Having EDI set up with the correct data standards and GTINs means we now tick all the right boxes to supply all the large retail multiples throughout Europe and further afield.”


For more information regarding Cloverhill Food Ingredients, Ltd., please call +353 29 21844 or log onto http://cloverhill.ie/contact.asp

To learn more about B2BGateway, please log onto http://www.B2BGateway.Net or call +1 (401) 491 9595


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]]> Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:11:05 EST Sage Peachtree turns 50 this year! http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
Sage Peachtree turns 50 this year! No not that the accounting software package Sage Peachtree was first developed in 1962, but rather as with all Sage North America products, Sage Peachtree will be rebranded this year as Sage 50.

In 2012 all Sage North America software products, including Peachtree, Simply Accounting and MAS will be rebranded Sage 50, Sage 100, Sage 300 and Sage 500 ERP in line with the current branding structure of their European counterparts.

As a Sage Universal Developer, B2BGateway has been providing fully integrated cloud based EDI solutions for all Sage products on both sides of the Atlantic since 1999. B2BGateway’s EDI solutions are currently used by clients operating Sage 50, Sage 200, Sage Line 500, Sage Peachtree, Sage Simply Accounting and Sage MAS 90, 200 & 500 ERP software solutions.

B2BGateway looks forward to the rebranding of all Sage North American products in 2012 and will continue to offer market leading, fully integrated cloud based EDI solutions for all Sage products, no matter what their new name tends to be.
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]]> Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:11:06 EST Happy Thanksgiving http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
B2BGateway would like to wish all our clients, partners and friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!
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]]> Tue, 4 Oct 2011 11:11:03 EST Intuit Connections ISP Summit 2011 http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
B2BGateway.Net a leading global EDI solution provider and Intuit QuickBooks Gold Developer will be attending the Intuit Connections ISP 2011 Summit in Orlando, Florida this October 9-12, 2011.
This year’s summit takes place at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld hotel. The theme of this years event is “Connections,” to represent the important role the summit plays in connecting ISP (Intuit Solution Providers) with peers, vendors, and Intuit representatives as they look for new ways to improve and expand their business.
“Connections” will be an intimate, high touch, business and innovation focused event showcasing the industry’s best solutions including B2BGateway.Net’s Cloud\SaaS based fully integrated EDI solutions for all Intuit QuickBooks products. As in previous years, B2BGateway.Net will be a technology sponsor of the event and will have a booth in the main floor. Make sure to drop by and say hello if you are planning to attend this event.
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]]> Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:11:04 EST B2BGateway.Net EDI enables the Clash of the Ash! http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
Hurling is the name given to a traditional Irish sport played with sticks called hurley's and a small leather ball, it is also known in colloquial terms as the Clash of the Ash - referring to the hurley sticks used which are crafted from Ash trees. Each team consists of 15 players and a game typically consists of two periods of play of 35 minutes each. Hurling is older than the recorded history of Ireland. It is thought to predate Christianity, having come to Ireland with the Celts and has been a distinct Irish pastime for at least 2000 years. The earliest written references to the sport in Brehon law date from the fifth century. The tale of the Táin Bó Cuailgne (drawing on earlier legends) describes the hero Cúchulainn playing hurling at Emain Macha. Similar tales are told about Fionn Mac Cumhail and the Fianna, his legendary warrior band. Meallbreatha describes punishments for injuring a player in several games, most of which resemble hurling. The Seanchás Mór commentaries on the Brehon Law state that the son of a rí (local king) could have his hurley hooped in bronze, while others could only use copper. It was illegal to confiscate a hurley.

Traditionally hurley sticks have been sold at club or team level or passed down from player to player, however, B2BGateway.Net EDI solutions have brought the sale of hurling sticks into the 21st Century! Champion Hurleys Ltd., one of the leading hurley manufacturing companies in Ireland started selling their hurley's to Musgraves (SuperValu & Centra retailers) and needed EDI to submit their invoices electronically to the retailer. Champion Hurley's contacted B2BGateway.Net who set them up on their cost effective, web based EDI solution - WebConnect. Champion Hurley's can now submit all their invoices electronically, bringing over 2,000 years of tradition into the 21st Century!
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]]> Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:11:06 EST B2BGateway.Net develops TASC - EDI Testing Portal http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
Global EDI Specialist, B2BGateway.Net have expanded their offering in the Cloud with a new SaaS EDI Testing Portal - TASC (Testing And Supplier Compliance) Portal. The TASC portal offers On-Demand 24/7 EDI Testing & Validation Services for Large Format Retailers, Manufacturers and Third Party Logistics Providers (3PL’s). As more and more firms become EDI compliant the pressure on trading partners to implement successful EDI testing, mapping and validation procedures can put a huge strain on any firms resources. With B2BGateway.Net’s new TASC portal, however, firms can now access on-demand 24/7 EDI Testing and Validation services thus freeing up personnel to focus on their production environment. The advantages of using B2BGateway.Net’s TASC portal include cost and time savings, consistency, ease of use and the portal is fully customizable to meet the individual needs of any particular client.
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]]> Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:11:03 EST On being different.................. http://www.b2bgateway.net/blog.asp
Over the past month or so, I have had some extended business travel and some free time in the European Union (EU). Having spent time in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, France and Italy, you see a few things that are different. No, not just the obvious things like different languages, or driving on the other side of the road, but the more subtle things. For example, in Europe the grocery shopping carts (trolleys) have 4 wheels that swivel. This doesn’t sound like much, but if you come from the United States and you are used to the carts traveling in two dimensions and suddenly you are faced with three dimensions, it can be a big change.
In Paris, I noticed that a lot of people seem to litter. I’ve seen Parisians eat a sandwich and throw the wrapper on the ground. I watched a lot of Parisians open a pack of cigarettes (from my limited point of view, I’m pretty sure that all Parisians smoke, although there may be one older gentleman in South Paris who does not…) and the wrapper ends up on the sidewalk. In Ireland and the UK, a large percentage of the people smoke as well, but they are not allowed to do it indoors. So the sidewalks are filled with smokers. I spend most of my time walking down the sidewalks coughing; so much that I’ve found that you have to ‘step inside for a breath of fresh air’.
In the United States, when we go to the beach, there are teams of people watching us and blowing their whistles to make sure we don’t swim out too far. If we do, they are ready to swim out and rescue you (remember the TV show Baywatch…). But in Europe, if you want to do something stupid and you end up hurt or dead, it is your own fault. “Oh, he swam out to far and drowned. Bummer, he should have known better” (It is best if you read this quote with a French accént).
But, being different is interesting. After cataloging some of the differences between the US and EU (which would fill a whole book), I started thinking about differences in organizations and in particular, B2BGateway.Net (yep, here is the tie in). At B2BGateway.Net, we are different; not just in what we do, but in how we do it. People at B2BGateway.Net enjoy what they do and take pride in their work, but they also have personalities that are different and unique. This newsletter and some of our future video clips will show some of the different personalities that make our company great. I hope you enjoy.
Thanks , Kevin
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