The Competitive Edge
About The Competitive Edge
The Competitive Edge is AIM North America’s monthly, quick-read e-newsletter. Our purpose, as the title suggests, is to help you maintain your competitive edge and grow your business by putting you in touch with key information. Inside you’ll find highlights on current reseller, integrator, distributor, or manufacturer issues and market trends (a feature titled Headline AIM), along with member-specific news and information. As good as The Competitive Edge is, we’re open to new ways of making it even better, so your comments and suggestions are welcomed.
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Get Your Products Front and Center in the Eyes of Your Customers
AIM North America’s electronic marketing platform will help you gain visibility among your customers. Both website and electronic newsletter advertising customized to fit your marketing budget are included.
- The Competitive Edge newsletter
- AIM NA home page
- AIM Buyers Guide (for AIM NA members only)
Special member pricing is available. For more information, visit the AIM NA website or contact AIM North America today!
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Headline AIM—10 Tips to Recession Proof Your Business
by Mark Tanner, VP AutoID, POS, Card and Physical Security, North America, Synnex Corporation
Recession proofing your business, or at least strengthening it to survive an economic slowdown requires smart planning, good decision making and reviewing your own efficiencies as much as those of your customers. Here are 10 tips that will not only provide short term benefits, but will propel long term growth when the overall economy recovers:
AIM NA Members: Login to read the full article.
Non-Members: Join now for as little as $495!
Mark Tanner leads the AutoID, POS card, and physical security North America teams for Synnex Corporation. For further information, Mark can be reached at mtanner@synnex.com.
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Channel Bytes—E-Mail Strategies: Optimizing Delivery
by Michelle Kabele, Zebra Technologies
Marketing by e-mail is one of the easiest and most cost-effective tools available for today’s marketing managers. Unfortunately, even the most proficient e-mail experts run into problems such as junked, blocked, or filtered mailings. Use this quick guide from Zebra Technologies to increase the delivery rate of your e-mails.
AIM NA Members: Login to read the full article.
Non-Members: Join now for as little as $495!
Michelle Kabele leads the teams responsible for managing Zebra Technologies’ innovative and highly successful channel marketing and product marketing strategies. She currently serves on the AIM NA board of directors and membership committee, and has an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management (Evanston, Ill.) and an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). For further information, Michelle can be reached at Mkabele@zebra.com.
The tools and products listed in this article are for reference purposes only and should be not taken as an endorsement.
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For Members Only —The AIM NA Advantage
Social Networking | MySpace | Facebook | LinkedIn | Social MediaNing | YouTube
Did you know that the number one reason most business professionals haven't fully grasped social networks is simply that they don't know which networks to use and how to leverage them for business growth?
The JS Group offers a proven on-line action-packed 60-day socialized networking learning program. At $495 a person (AIM NA members receive an additional 30% off) your return on your investment will be near-immediate, offset by the first incremental sale you make. You will gain access to all ingredients required to increase sales leads by the percentage quotes in the first bullet above. That includes the requisite socialized networking knowledge, planning tools, and actionable tactics.
Get started today by registering at www.socializednetworking.com.
AIM NA members, login now to receive your discount code (a 30% savings!) prior to registering.
2008 Automatic Identification and Data Capture Technical Institute
July 20 – 25
Ohio University, Athens, OH
This week-long summer program has been running since 1986. Whether you offer some of these technologies to your customers and you want to brush up, or if you have only seen bar codes at the store, this technical institute has something for everyone. Supported by the major automatic identification vendors and integrators from around the country, the presentations will be informative, current, and relevant and delivered by those that know the technology!
As an AIM member, you are eligible to receive a $400 discount off the cost of registration resulting in the modest cost of $799 for the week. If you wish to stay on campus with the educators that attend the institute, housing is an additional $350 – just over half of what the local hotels cost. Login now to receive your members-only discount code.
RFP Service Gets a Makeover
Is your company looking for business? Do you have a team of employees dedicated to opportunities? If the answer is yes, then your job, and theirs, has just gotten easier!
Just in time for Q3, AIM has revamped its industry-leading sales database, known as the RFP Service, to allow direct email notification of new sales leads in real time – as they are approved!
The launch date for this updated service is next week, but your company delegate will need to make some updates NOW so your company does not miss any leads. A message was emailed on May 13, 2008 to all AIM delegates with the process.
For more information or if you have questions, simply e-mail AIM Technical Support at techsupport@aimglobal.org.
Webinars Now Available for Download
Our two most recent AIM NA webinars—Trends and Attitudes in the Barcode and Mobile Computing Industry for Resellers and R.W. Baird’s Reseller Results—A Manufacturer’s Perspective—are now available for download. Members can download the audio recorded session and accompanying PowerPoint presentation by visiting AIM Member Services.
AIM Technology Leadership Summit
It was great to see so many members in attendance at this year’s annual meeting which was packed with networking, vertical market and international opportunities, standards updates, and insights from leading analysts.
AIM also honored four individuals whose exceptional contributions to the development and growth of the automatic identification and mobility community merit special recognition.
- Richard R. Dilling Award went to Craig Maddox, retired, Director, Product Management and New Business Development, for NCR RealScan, NCR Retail Solutions Division
- Don Percival Award was awarded to Robert Leibrandt, Deputy Program Manager for the Unique Identification (UID) Policy Office in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
- Ted Williams Award was presented to Victor Vega, Director of Tag Product Marketing for Alien Technology Corporation.
- Excellence in Journalism Award was given to Mark Roberti, Founder and Editor, RFID Journal.
For more information about these awards, visit http://www.aimglobal.org/aboutaim/awards.asp.
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New Members
AFS Technologies
Join Date: May 13, 2008
Offering warehouse management, mobile sales, mobile delivery, web ordering entry, and ERP solutions, AFS Technologies is the leading provider of food and beverage enterprise software solutions. Learn more.
For a complete list of AIM North America Members, visit www.aim-na.org/memberlist.php or to join, visit www.aim-na.org/membership.php.
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AIM RFP Postings
- We currently use bar code for items that pass through the loading dock. All other tracking is manual. We may also combine this system with our building security systems.
- We need a process to create barcode labels, scan barcodes and transfer data to Excel/Access.
- A request for proposals from a US State Dept. of Agriculture and Markets for a RFID tracking system for live poultry transport crates.
- We need a process to import different items according to the demand of our customers with letter of credit, etc. type of conditions.
- We have a client who is looking for a bar code solution that will allow them to print out feedback/comment sheets with bar codes tied to the item they are giving feedback on. We are in the process of bidding the project, but the interface should work with PHP, PERL, or XML. We would like to store the bar code info in a MYSQL database along with the rest of the items info.
For complete details and how to respond to these and other recent RFPs, members can login
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Members in the News
Have a news item you’d like to share? Submit your news release to AIM NA and we’ll feature it on the AIM NA website as well as in a future issue of The Competitive Edge.
Intelligentz Wins 2008 Channel Innovator Award. Business Solutions. Learn more.
Dominate The Field Service Market. Stratix Corporation. Business Solutions. Learn more.
Change Welcome Here. Seiko Instruments. VSR. Learn more.
UID Supplier Alliance (USA-AIM NA) Continue Legislative Push. UID Journal. Learn more.
Tharo Systems Announces New PA1200+ Label Printer/Application. Learn more.
Smart Label Expertise Wins Government Contract. Lowry Computer Products. Learn more.
ACADEMIA RFID Presents Full Day ‘RFID in Healthcare’ Seminar. Learn more.
Tapping into Touch. ScanSource. VSR. Learn more.
Zebra Technologies Selected by Wilson Sporting Goods to Implement Its RFID Compliance Labeling Project. Learn more.
Avery Dennison RFID Teams Up with Dow Corning and Lowry Computer to Build RFID Solution for Challenging Work-In-Process Application. Learn more.
Intermec PW50 Printer Brings Maximum Convenience to Direct Store Delivery Applications. Learn more.
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Industry Events
Submit your events to AIM NA. Include your contact information, event name, dates, location, and website.
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THE FINE PRINT
This e-newsletter is brought to you by the
AIM North America
125 Warrendale-Bayne Road, Suite 100, Warrendale, PA 15086 USA
Phone: +1 724 934 5688 ● http://www.aim-na.org
If you do not want to receive The Competitive Edge by e-mail,
please e-mail AIM NA.
