Century Bike Ride

On Sunday September 13th, Jim Partridge, Kevin Hoyle and Justin Hoyle of B2BGateway.Net www.b2bgateway.net will be participating for the third year in a row in the Narragansett Bay Wheelman Bicycle Club’s Century (www. nbwclub.org). The annual, one day 100 mile tour is through the scenic coastal shoreline, forests and marshlands of southeastern Rhode Island and Massachusetts. There will be over 2,000 cyclists participating this year. Although, the tour is recreational ride and not a race, we wonder what B2BGateway member will finish first! Jim, Justin and Kevin – good luck!

Rhode Island Office

I have been with B2BGateway.Net www.b2bgateway.net for a little over 3 ½ years now. I started working in our European Office in Dublin, Ireland. Our EU office has since moved to Galway, Ireland and I have since moved back to Rhode Island. Our Rhode Island office is located in Wyoming, which is a small town in Southern Rhode Island. The town does have other places of business; a grocery store, three pharmacies, a few gas stations, hair salon and two gyms. But I think it is pretty safe to say we are the only Business to Business company in the area. Whenever I am out at lunch and someone happens to ask where I work, I let them know about our office “right down the street”. Most people are extremely interested to hear about what we do. When I first say we are software as a service company specializing in EDI, I lose them. But then I explain to them a real life scenario of B2BGateway.Net being part of the process of getting certain items into the local Stop & Shop or CVS, they are back and interested again. At B2BGateway.Net, we are helping making every day easier for someone somewhere. Like making sure CVS gets the ASN on time for a shipment arriving the next day at CVS Wyoming. I take great pride in knowing we helped make the process a little smoother and I also think the people of Wyoming, RI can take some pride in knowing this is all happening in their little town.
Riona

Fonality

In early 2009, we switched our phone system over to Fonality (www.Fonality.com). Fonality has used B2BGateway.Net’s www.b2bgateway.net EDI services since 2008. When we learned about the flexibility of the Fonality’s phone system, we thought it would be a perfect match for B2BGateway.Net. We currently have three offices, two in the United States and one in Ireland. We really needed a phone system that would seamlessly link the three offices together. With Fonality, we can easily transfer a call from the Rhode Island office to Ireland. Another great feature is the availability to take the phone with you anywhere. If you are traveling or working in another office, as long as you have an internet connection, you will be able to use your phone. It is nice to not have to worry about forwarding your calls or making sure wherever you are they have a phone for you to use. Fonality has definitely helped B2BGateway.Net in a big way!

AAFES 5010

Over the next few weeks, B2BGateway.Net www.b2bgateway.net and AAFES (www.AAFES.com) will be working together on AAFES 5010 upgrade. B2BGateway.Net has been working with AAFES for almost 10 years and are on AAFES recommended EDI Provider List. The 5010 upgrade will take place behind the scene and will not disrupt the daily transmission of EDI documents. The upgrade to 5010 will include the 850 Purchase Order, 860 Purchase Order Change, 856 Advanced Shipped Notice and 810 Invoice. AAFES and B2BGateway.Net hope to have the upgrade completed by the end of September. If AAFES contacts you about the upgrade, please let your Support Engineer know and they will be able to assist.

Interbike Show

Brian Alty and Justin Hoyle from B2BGateway.Net www.b2bgateway.net will be attending 2010 Interbike International Trade Expo in Las Vegas (www.interbike.com). The expo is taking place over September 22 – 24. The show brings 1000s of cycling related brands from around the world. It features Industry leaders and innovative products in the bicycle industry. Interbike started in 1982 by Steve Ready and Herb Wettenkamp. Interbike is the largest bicycle industry trade show in North America and is held annually. Justin and Brian are looking forward to seeing a few of B2BGateway.Net’s partners and clients that will be exhibiting this year: Le Saint Logistics (www.lesaint.com), Nuun (www.nuun.com), Luna Sports (www.LunaSportsGear.com), Niner Bikes (www.NinerBikes.com), Look Cycle (www.LookCycle.com) and Sidi America (www.sidiamerica.com) to name a few.

Target DVS

In early 2010, Target.com announced a transition from Its Channel Intelligence TargetVantage Platform to an in-house solution for DVS vendors. At B2BGateway.Net www.b2bgateway.net,we took early initiative by contacting Target and letting them know we were prepared for the migration. As Target moved closer to starting the migration, they kept B2BGateway in the loop by providing updates and copies of the new EDI mapping specifications. One of the changes that came with the migration, was new requirements to their packing slip. B2BGateway was able to create the packing slips according to Target’s specifications and we are able to offer this service to our clients. As we head into September, we will be reaching the tail end of the migration and should have all vendors moved over to the new platform. If you are a current Target DVS vendor and need an EDI solution, please visit www.b2bgateway.net or call us at 401-491-9595 for details about our services.

B2B & Twitter

When I first heard B2BGateway.Net www.b2bgateway.net was on Twitter (twitter.com/B2BGateway). I thought “Reeeeeally? Seeeeriously?” I had always thought Twitter was reserved for those self-obsessed celebrities that feel like everyone is so interested in their random thoughts. You know, the John Meyers, Miley Cyrus’, Paris Hiltons of the celebrity world. I just did not see where B2BGateway.Net was going to fit in. Then I was asked to setup an account of my own and check it out. Bad idea. Now I am totally obsessed! It is not just celebrities tweeting about nonsense; it is a great, simple way for businesses to keep customers up to date on just about everything. Through Twitter, B2BGateway.Net can follow QuickBooks, Netsuite and Interprise and stop on top of new ERP trends and changes. We are also able to following 3PLs like Kuehne & Nagel. It truly is a nice way of staying connected to everyone in your industry. Although I hate to admit it but there are some celebrities I follow on Twitter, ie Lindsay Lohan – she is a train wreck, how could you not be interested?

Riona