PROFIT University 2004 Conference Pulls Clients & Profits Together!

Furniture World Magazine

The 18th annual PROFITsystems client conference focused solely on increasing the bottom line for storeowners and managers. PROFITuniversity 2004 drew upon 8 years of data, ideas, practices, programs and systems developed in the KAIZEN Seminars along with the collective experience of over 2000 stores world-wide. Hundreds of PSI clients and employees attended the conference, held last week at Disney's Contemporary Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando. The conference started with a popular and crowded Welcome Luau on Tuesday evening, giving attendees a chance to network and catch up with what’s been happening with each other since the last meeting. The keynote speaker Wednesday morning was Jerry Epperson of Mann, Armistead and Epperson in Richmond, who gave attendees much to think about with recent trends and current directions in the furniture industry. Dan Bolger of the Bolger Group explained how to gain competitive advantage through warehousing and delivery operations. Renee Rouwhorst of Not So Basic Training presented ideas on the art of handling complaints, and managing conflict. Jon Parks and Brad Lebow of Horich, Parks and Lebow enlightened the group with advice on advertising issues and samples of successful ad spots. The world-famous Disney Institute also held everyone’s interest with a “Leadership, Disney Style” presentation mapped over the history of Walt Disney Enterprises. Thirteen other "best practice" presentations rounded out the meeting and provided a long menu of ideas that attendees could choose from to improve the profitability of their businesses. Rick Stark, CEO of PROFITsystems said, “Several sessions involved real-life case studies and financial analyses which spurred questions and debates that extended into the hallways of the hotel during session breaks.” PROFITsystems gave clients a closer look at the current PROFITwindows release, Version 10.3, which includes totally seamless integration with MicroD’s “Easy Order Manager” special order configuration software with photo-realistic renderings of configured merchandise; viewable images in several inventory related programs; the option to automatically generate and post special order purchase orders directly upon completion of the sale; automatic interface of sub-ledger transaction entries to the general ledger and the option to auto-post them as well. These, along with many other enhancements to PROFITwindows were enthusiastically received by the conference attendees. Thursday evening the group braved the rain for a tour of the attractions at Pleasure Island and the camaraderie that comes with being among the largest network of users of software and consulting solutions in the world. FurnishNet, Truckskin, RouteView, MicroD/Exim and Ashley Furniture Industries joined the event as sponsors and provided support for clients looking into new technology and revenue streams. The next PROFITuniversity conference is currently being planned with a date and location to be published in the future. As a result of many requests, we are opening the next conference to all retailers, not just PROFITsystems clients, so that there can be a wider exchange of moneymaking ideas. PROFITsystems is the world’s leading provider of Windows - based retail furniture software. We continue to provide our clients with the very latest software features and functions, and the highest-quality support, at one of the lowest prices in the industry.