Dec. 2, 2025

Episode 438: The future of Online Shopping with Business Central

In this episode of DynamicsCorner, join hosts Kristoffer and Brad as they discuss an innovative e-commerce solution for Business Central, featuring special guests Tom Flierl and Jeff Seidel from Amla Commerce. Discover how Artifi and Znode are revolutionizing product customization and digital commerce. From real-time virtual proofs to seamless integrations, explore the cutting-edge innovations that are setting new industry standards. Tune in for insightful discussions, laughter, and a glimpse into the future of online shopping.

Send us a text

Support the show

#MSDyn365BC #BusinessCentral #BC #DynamicsCorner

Follow Kris and Brad for more content:
https://matalino.io/bio
https://bprendergast.bio.link/

00:00 - Hosts Kick Off And AI Vibes

02:50 - Meet Tom And Jeff, Company Backgrounds

04:20 - What Artify Does For Custom Products

08:20 - From Order To Production: Files And Data

11:15 - Beyond Embroidery And AI Setup

13:55 - How Artify Integrates With E‑Commerce

16:20 - Why Zenode Focuses On B2B

19:55 - Catalogs, Pricing, And Program Portals

23:20 - Data Architecture: PIM, Sync, And Scale

27:10 - Warehouses, 3PLs, And B2B Logistics

31:20 - Implementations, Replatforming, And Growth

36:10 - Timelines, Change Management, And Events

39:20 - How To Learn More And Wrap Up

WEBVTT

00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:04.080
Welcome everyone to another episode of Dynamics Corner.

00:00:04.639 --> 00:00:09.759
What is an e-commerce and custom artification?

00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:11.519
I'm your co-host Chris.

00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:12.800
And this is Brad.

00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:16.079
This episode was recorded on November 20th, 2025.

00:00:16.239 --> 00:00:17.679
Chris, Chris, Chris.

00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:19.440
E-commerce.

00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:21.679
Custom orders.

00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.679
I have so many ideas now after having that conversation.

00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:30.480
With us today, we had the opportunity to speak with Tom and Jeff about Artify and Xenode.

00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:53.679
How are you doing?

00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:54.399
Hello.

00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:56.159
Hi, good afternoon.

00:00:57.200 --> 00:00:58.159
Hey, good afternoon.

00:00:58.320 --> 00:00:58.880
Doing great.

00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:00.399
Uh great, great.

00:01:00.479 --> 00:01:04.000
Uh thank you for taking the time to speak with us this afternoon.

00:01:04.319 --> 00:01:04.879
Thank you.

00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:06.159
Um appreciate it.

00:01:08.079 --> 00:01:09.519
No, no, it's good.

00:01:09.680 --> 00:01:14.159
You know, I I I'm kinda just a little quiet right now.

00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:18.400
I have been AI vibe coding all week long.

00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:19.280
Wow.

00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:22.400
It's unbelievable.

00:01:22.640 --> 00:01:23.439
Unbelievable.

00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:32.719
Like I literally now just did like do a code review of this application, and I think I did a better code review than I could have done.

00:01:32.959 --> 00:01:34.239
So you're vibe coding.

00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:38.159
A lot of people are doing uh vibe agent agent vibing or something like that.

00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:45.439
Well, I I'm pa I I'm I'm putting it all in one bucket because I really don't know what you call it.

00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.120
I don't know if it's really vibing.

00:01:47.280 --> 00:01:53.120
If I know about the application and I know about the language, and I'm doing it.

00:01:53.280 --> 00:02:00.640
I think the term or the uh the vibe coding has been coined from you just kind of going with the vibes.

00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:06.879
I have to I I know the history of it, but I'm so odd at the moment that I can't think clearly about it.

00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:12.000
So it's uh it's a strange world that we're coming into.

00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:15.840
I think uh uh and it's going too quickly.

00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:22.560
Anyway, enough of my short burst of uh uh conversation.

00:02:23.039 --> 00:02:26.879
Well, that vibe is applying everywhere to everything you do now.

00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:33.360
It is, it is, and I think I'll have to try to go a day without talking about it or thinking about it.

00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:42.400
I think the only way to do that is to just go out into the woods and walk around and not have any cell phone or anything or talk to anybody uh to see about it.

00:02:42.639 --> 00:02:46.879
Anyway, um uh thank you both for taking the time to speak with us.

00:02:46.960 --> 00:02:49.599
Uh and before we get into the conversation, would you mind telling us a little bit?

00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:50.719
Yeah, so you bet.

00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:56.879
Um by the way, I did fill out the form that was linked in the meeting with all my information.

00:02:57.280 --> 00:03:01.840
So chief commercial officer at AMLA Commerce, which is our parent company.

00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:06.400
We have two products Artify, which is for product customization.

00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:09.759
So a good example is Land Zand has a uniform division.

00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:19.840
They customize products like uh business uniforms, and our platform allows them to do that directly in an e-commerce experience and see a real-time virtual crew.

00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:31.680
And then our other product is C Node, which is a V e-commerce platform uh built in the Microsoft stack, and we work with a lot of mid-market enterprise manufacturers and distributors.

00:03:31.840 --> 00:03:37.280
And my background is I grew up in the SI world and the digital agency space before coming to our public.

00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:38.800
And uh okay, great, thank you.

00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:39.919
How about you, Jeff?

00:03:40.960 --> 00:03:42.719
Yeah, um, I'm Jeff Seidel.

00:03:43.039 --> 00:03:47.120
I'm the director of partnerships here at AMLACommerce for our products, Artify and Zenode.

00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:50.479
I've been in the Microsoft channel for about four years.

00:03:50.560 --> 00:03:57.599
Um, and my day-to-day is working with our Microsoft partners, our agencies or systems integrators, and our ISV partners.

00:03:57.680 --> 00:03:58.800
So thanks for having me on.

00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:00.639
Oh, great, great, thank you.

00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:06.800
So you have two products on the market that you work with uh in the business central space.

00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:18.480
Um can you tell me a little bit more about each of those products and uh how that how they can be leveraged within uh somebody who has a business central implementation?

00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:19.120
Sounds great.

00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.439
Jeffrey, you okay if I jump in on that?

00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:28.560
Yeah, so um one of our products is called Artify, A-R-T-I-F-I.

00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:36.000
Uh the URL is artifylabs.com, and Artify is for online product customization.

00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:46.480
So the use case really is in the promotional product space, the uniform industry, the safety industry, where product customization is mission critical.

00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:59.439
So a good example is uh Land Zen is a very large uniform manufacturer and they have a business uniform division where Fortune 500 companies work with Land Zen to create their uniform program.

00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:05.519
It could be an airline that allows pilots to go in and customize their airline uniform.

00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:10.720
The pilot wants to be able to see what that uniform looks like in a shopping experience.

00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:16.160
They want to see where their logos go, maybe on their shoulders or on their chest.

00:05:16.240 --> 00:05:19.600
Uh, and this those are typically pre-approved logos.

00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:22.560
Um, they may have some flexibility to add their own logo.

00:05:22.639 --> 00:05:26.959
So perhaps they're they're a vet and they have a military logo they want to add.

00:05:27.199 --> 00:05:44.240
There's different rules that can be configured or created for every different scenario with uniforms, promotional products, etc., including even having the captain write Captain Tom in embroidery on that on that uh uniform before they hit the buy button.

00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:53.439
So our product Artify actually allows, it's it sits on any platform, it's agnostic, but it allows for that customization to occur in a shopping experience.

00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:58.959
So there's a real-time virtual sample on screen before the customer hits the buy button.

00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:03.360
Uh I like that.

00:06:03.439 --> 00:06:04.399
And I asked for that.

00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:06.639
I've come across the need for that before.

00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:24.800
So now if you have a product that is customizable, this gives your customer a shopping experience to where they can customize it on the web, see the results, and then it will be put into business central for you to process.

00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:27.279
And what does it create?

00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:31.759
Does it create a an assembly order, production order, purchase order, sales order?

00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:35.839
How does that dynamic information get into the question?

00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:59.120
So typically that information is passed back into the e-commerce platform, and the e-commerce platform typically has both SKU level pricing and variant level pricing, and then that gets pushed into business central along with so that'd be the order file, and then along with the metadata for the actual customizations, and Artify provides a PDF output file.

00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:12.639
So think of a think of a the PDF file showing what the product is, what are the coordinates for where the different customizations occur, what are those customizations, as well as information.

00:07:12.720 --> 00:07:22.399
So, for example, if it's an embroidery file, it will actually provide the DST file, it will provide the thread color, the thread count, all of that information.

00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:23.279
That's cool.

00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:33.680
So somebody who's on the floor who's actually got to produce the product gets the output file and they punch it into a machine and they create the actual uniform or could be a promotional product, etc.

00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.360
So it provides all the data for the production team as well.

00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:45.519
So this creates more it's so it it's more than just creating an order, it sounds like to me.

00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:50.399
It's if you have a custom product or custom in your case embroidery.

00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:54.000
Fortunately, I know, or unfortunately, I don't know if you how you call it.

00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:55.839
I know a little bit about embroidery.

00:07:56.000 --> 00:08:10.319
So so then you receive the or even other uh type of design, because I've had worked with systems this before where they had customizations and you're sending a file to feed into the machine, and then it will automatically uh adjust that product for you.

00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:16.160
And if it's embroidering, it will create the design without the operator having to set anything up.

00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:20.720
They just load the file, let the machine run, and then that product gets output.

00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:22.160
That's pretty cool.

00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:24.319
There's so many uses I could see for that.

00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:31.279
And honestly, in 2025, everybody seems to have that on demand.

00:08:31.439 --> 00:08:33.360
I want it now and I want it my way.

00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:38.480
That having that flexibility I think is creative.

00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:47.360
Um does it work with other than uh embroidery could it work with other types of products, or is it geared towards more just embroidery?

00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:51.440
And I'm getting to I can think of jewelry where people want to customize their settings.

00:08:51.519 --> 00:08:56.799
I can think of other types of uh logo type products where they maybe print.

00:08:56.879 --> 00:09:04.559
So if you have a custom t-shirt shop that you may want to uh be able to quickly create customized t-shirts for some.

00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:06.320
It works with all of the above.

00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:10.320
It could be a heat transfer file, an embroidery file, an engraving file.

00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.519
Those are just in our world, those are decoration methods.

00:09:13.919 --> 00:09:17.120
And we have a long list of decoration methods we support.

00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:22.080
I brought up embroidery because embroidery is a very expensive decoration method to manage.

00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:27.360
Most companies have to take a logo and they have to have it digitized, which is expensive.

00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:29.840
And there's large offshore teams that do this.

00:09:30.080 --> 00:09:38.799
Before Artify, companies would actually receive the order, and a customer service rep would have to take the logo and send it to an offshore team.

00:09:38.960 --> 00:09:43.039
They would get it back five days later, then they email the customer, go in.

00:09:43.200 --> 00:09:47.919
Maybe they would have a design team create a virtual proof, you know, that'd be emailed.

00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:58.720
So your sales cycle in that time period would be anywhere from one business week to two business weeks to get one uniform completed or to get a uniform program approved.

00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:02.480
Today, today they can be done in two minutes automatically.

00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:07.360
Now, to your question, is it beyond just embroidery types?

00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:07.840
Absolutely.

00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:15.519
I mean, we have customers in the uh the Christmas card catalog where you can customize a Christmas card.

00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:21.840
We have customers that do park benches uh and and things like garbage cans for golf courses.

00:10:22.080 --> 00:10:26.159
Um but where you see I I use the term earlier, mission critical.

00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:34.639
Where you see mission critical product customization is typically in some very large categories like uniform promotional product safety.

00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:40.720
Think of all the guys on the highway and and and uh gals too that have high viz vests with the logo on the back.

00:10:40.960 --> 00:10:45.919
It's very common in those industries, but we support a very, very broad number of industries.

00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:48.320
Wow, so it saves a lot of time then.

00:10:48.480 --> 00:11:03.840
I mean you you gotta think about all the uh companies that uh does this a long life, long sales cycle and and kind of compress that into minutes, sounds like it's not just a long sales cycle, it's a lot of manual labor that can be automated.

00:11:06.080 --> 00:11:06.399
Wow.

00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:10.399
See, so it's just like it's just like vibe and embroidery, vibe and custom products.

00:11:10.559 --> 00:11:12.399
The uh I'll tell you something.

00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:21.519
We were talking about AI before we got on here, but one of the we're just releasing this feature and we're starting in the promotional products category.

00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:33.440
So one of the um challenges if you have a very large catalog of SKUs and you have customization on every product is knowing the exact XY coordinates on a product.

00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:38.879
So in the promotional product space, we're actually using AI to do automatic product setup.

00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:50.240
So if you have a catalog of 5,000 products and you want to set up the XY coordinate on every different water bottle, t-shirt, uniform, we're actually automating that entire process with AI.

00:11:50.639 --> 00:12:02.879
So there's there's some really cool releases that we're uh that that we are releasing um in Artify as well that not only automate the buying process but also the the operational process in the background.

00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:12.399
So with Artify, where so you had mentioned so Artify then communicates with an e-commerce solution.

00:12:12.960 --> 00:12:20.399
That e-commerce solution is it your e-commerce solution or can it work with other e-commerce solutions?

00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:22.720
I'll I'll get a little bit deeper into that.

00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:25.679
Um our e-commerce solution, Zenode, absolutely.

00:12:25.759 --> 00:12:30.559
There's a pre-built integration, uh obviously because sister products.

00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:34.799
However, Artify does integrate into any other platform.

00:12:34.879 --> 00:12:43.279
We actually have partnerships with Big Commerce, uh Adobe Magento, go down the list, Shopify.

00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.720
Now, I want to get a little deeper on that answer.

00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:57.200
In bigger uh companies that do this where it's mission critical, such as uniforms, there's a need to stand up at typically a unique store for a customer.

00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:11.679
So, for example, if I am managing airline programs and hotel programs, I can't be sharing the same product catalog that I share with a Hilton hotel chain that I share with an American Airlines program.

00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:15.919
And typically there's a custom portal for each customer.

00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:20.240
You typically can't do that on a traditional B2C platform.

00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:41.360
So that's where Xenode really partners well with Artify because Zenode manages multi-store very, very easily, because Zenode was built for these complex B2B use cases, not for the mom and pop Shopify store owner or you know, maybe the smaller retailer that might run big commerce.

00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:44.159
I understand.

00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:51.919
So in essence, your solution with Xenode is you have a different portal for each customer.

00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:59.519
Therefore, it's their product lines and their customizations that are available for their customer to purchase.

00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:05.039
There's one one use case for Xenode, but Xenode does manage that use case very, very easily.

00:14:06.639 --> 00:14:06.960
Okay.

00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:08.240
I like this Artify.

00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:37.039
Now, with Artify, can someone upload their own design or is it already pre it has to be pre set up from the the You can do both a merchandiser can create templates and and typically you do have to have some templated rules, um so but also within those templates, then they can control a rule like let the user upload a logo.

00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.080
But there's still rules on like where can the logo go.

00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:49.120
Can the logo does it have to be forced to fit into a small space where it's very defined, or do you give them an op, we call it an open canvas where the logo can be moved around?

00:14:49.360 --> 00:14:52.159
So there's a bunch of rules that still go into that.

00:14:52.480 --> 00:15:01.679
Um because on the back end, the more the fewer rules you have, the more difficult it is to automate the process to set up the product when you're in a production environment.

00:15:02.480 --> 00:15:13.840
Also, most companies want to control the brand experience so their pilots don't walk onto an airplane and the uniform looks crazy because they put their name on the back of the uniform instead of on the left chest.

00:15:14.000 --> 00:15:14.240
Right.

00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:17.600
So there's some practicality to this as well.

00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:24.320
I wonder if that ever had our product, but who knows?

00:15:27.039 --> 00:15:28.480
I want to make the logo go ahead.

00:15:28.799 --> 00:15:29.200
I'll wear that.

00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:31.120
Yeah, I'll wear that today, huh?

00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:35.120
It's not a basketball uniform, it's a pilot's uniform, right?

00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:46.639
No, it's um so so with the setup, so we're talking about Artify and then the Zenode, uh, we'll we'll talk about maybe the setup of them both.

00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:53.440
So Zenode is uh an e-commerce solution that interfaces with Business Central.

00:15:53.679 --> 00:15:56.399
That e-commerce solution, where does that reside?

00:15:56.559 --> 00:15:58.080
Is that a cloud-based solution?

00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:07.840
Is it a solution that a customer or or a merchant that uses that would have to host themselves or host elsewhere?

00:16:07.919 --> 00:16:09.440
Uh how does that question?

00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:11.120
No, it's completely cloud-based.

00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:19.120
Everything is in uh Microsoft Azure SQL, so cloud database, uh uh Azure Kubernetes for updates.

00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:28.000
It's a true SaaS platform, although the database is siloed because a lot of bigger companies don't want their data intermingled with other with other companies' data.

00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:33.840
But everything is cloud-based, true distributed SaaS model, and all all built in Microsoft.

00:16:34.320 --> 00:16:34.639
Okay.

00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:44.320
And then the interface with Business Central, uh, does it work with Business Central online or Business Central on-premises?

00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:46.320
Um it can work with both.

00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:54.080
Um, you know, on-prem, sometimes there are latency issues and and depends upon how customized the implementation was for the ERP.

00:16:54.559 --> 00:17:00.559
Xenode has, we call it a Commerce Connector, and within that Commerce connector, there's data exchanges.

00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:14.400
So you can simply map Xenode's API and Xenode's an API first platform with the BC API or whatever webhook is available, and you can just create touch points for them to communicate.

00:17:14.720 --> 00:17:18.319
So it's very easy to map it with a standard BC integration.

00:17:18.559 --> 00:17:22.160
If there's customization, then there's ways around that within our platform.

00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:28.319
But we have this this connector data exchange uh engine that that really powers all of that.

00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:31.200
So it does work with custom.

00:17:31.359 --> 00:17:45.920
So if you have an extension within Business Central, you add fields, you can those fields can also be used to send data up to Zenode so that the experience for your customer uh or however how you may be processing it are also uh available.

00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:47.279
Yep, absolutely.

00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:48.799
Absolutely.

00:17:49.759 --> 00:17:59.599
With it being an e-commerce platform, uh payment processing, do you do the payment processing or can they use their their own payment processor?

00:17:59.759 --> 00:18:06.720
Can a merchant use their own pay payment processor uh or select from a list of those Tom, I can jump in on that.

00:18:06.799 --> 00:18:10.000
Um we have a partnership with a company called Spreadly.

00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:12.880
Uh Spreedly is a payment aggregate.

00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:17.119
Um so we actually allow our customers to choose from any of those.

00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:23.200
There's about 150 different payment gateways that they can choose from, um, which really simplifies that process.

00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:24.640
And that's great.

00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:28.559
Spreadly and all these payment gateways are PCI compliant.

00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:32.720
So typically an e-commerce platform doesn't actually own the payment gateway.

00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:45.200
That's a specialized product that is provided by typically large banks or financial institutions or the the companies like FIServe that provide the services underneath those banks.

00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:47.519
That's great.

00:18:47.759 --> 00:18:53.039
I know, I know if I had an e-commerce solution, I wouldn't want to manage the payment gateway myself.

00:18:53.200 --> 00:18:57.359
I think there's just too much to me personally, I think there would be too much risk there.

00:18:57.440 --> 00:19:08.079
I know there's others that can do it and they do it on their own, but and they do it successfully, but I would leave that to someone else because I'd rather just vibe away over here and not have to worry about that sensitive information.

00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:10.400
So a lot of liability to carry.

00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:12.480
Oh, absolutely, absolutely.

00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:18.799
Um so for an implement.

00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:22.319
So what else is in the Xenode product for e-commerce?

00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:28.880
So you mentioned that it works uh and integrates with um uh your other product.

00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:35.680
If somebody wanted to use that as a standalone e-commerce solution, is that also an option for them?

00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:36.720
Oh, absolutely.

00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:37.599
Yeah, absolutely.

00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:44.400
Xenode has many customers integrated with Artified as many customers that aren't in those categories.

00:19:44.559 --> 00:19:49.920
We have a number of global manufacturers that run global aftermarket parts on Xenode.

00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:56.480
We have a number of manufacturers that are based in North America that create portals for their dealers.

00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:04.000
Um Xenode's just an it so there's a couple things because the e-commerce category right now is kind of confusing to understand.

00:20:04.640 --> 00:20:11.359
A lot of traditional B2C platforms have started to get into the market and say we're also B2B.

00:20:12.160 --> 00:20:13.519
Um, and they're not.

00:20:13.759 --> 00:20:16.079
And so that's where Xenode really stands out.

00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:19.440
We we really focus only on B2B.

00:20:19.519 --> 00:20:23.519
100% of our customers are manufacturers and distributors.

00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:35.440
Um and so and we have the capabilities to help those companies manage the complexities of what manufacturers and distributors need to manage in e-commerce.

00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:37.200
I get it.

00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:38.880
Okay, I understand that.

00:20:38.960 --> 00:21:08.079
So now there is a big difference between B2B and B2C, and I've come across that, and a lot of times someone tries to have a platform that does both, and it requires some specialization because uh customization and specific features because you may need uh and I'm I'm asking some of these questions as I go through it, is you can so then with it being B2B, you can have specific catalogs, product catalogs, pricing catalogs for a specific customer.

00:21:08.240 --> 00:21:11.440
And again, working with Artify, where you're saying you have a separate portal.

00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:13.200
I see how all that flows together.

00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:13.599
Right.

00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:19.680
Um I was just saying one of the biggest um requirements in B2B is customer-specific catalogs.

00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:25.680
It could be customer-specific, like account-specific assortments, segment-specific catalogs.

00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:30.640
If you're a large distributor, you may serve plumbing electrical and industrial.

00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:45.519
Well, depending, you know, if Jeff logs in and he's uh he's an MRO purchasing agent, he may only be purchasing industrial products where if I log in and I'm an electrical contractor, I'm only gonna look at the electrical catalog potentially, right?

00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:48.079
So catalog manager management matters a lot.

00:21:48.160 --> 00:22:02.160
Now you get into extreme use cases like uniform programs or even government contracts, it's where you have to show a pre procured approved catalog to the buyer, or you're gonna lose your business with that buyer.

00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:03.039
Makes sense.

00:22:03.279 --> 00:22:07.519
No, someone someone that's interested in and uh I know you have two products, right?

00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:09.599
You're Zenode and uh Rtify.

00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:25.200
Uh just going back to Artify, for for an organization that uh you know want to um not necessarily eliminate but minimize all the manual process, uh, what does it usually take for someone to implement that that product?

00:22:26.640 --> 00:22:31.359
Um you know, typically uh one, they would have to have an e-commerce platform.

00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:33.839
It's hard to implement without an e-commerce platform.

00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:44.720
Although do we have some we do have some companies that actually implement it and integrate it into their ERP so their salespeople can create virtual proofs and and customizations on behalf of the customer.

00:22:44.880 --> 00:22:47.279
Think of somebody in an inside sales role.

00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:54.319
But one, you would need an e-commerce platform, and then two, you would need decent assets.

00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:03.279
Um, so think about if you're gonna do a uniform, you need to have the flat asset of the front of the uniform, the flat asset of the back of the uniform go down the list.

00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.880
We can also do 360 rotation if you have a graphic file.

00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:11.519
Um, and then you need to have some sense of where the rules are on those uniforms.

00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:12.880
Right?

00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:26.240
Or you have to have somebody who's going to somebody in the merchandise, they call it merchandising or um e-commerce management department who's going to know those rules and set up the products or understand how to set those up.

00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:28.240
That's that's really about it.

00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:29.759
Yeah, pretty straightforward.

00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:34.640
Do you do you guys help for like organizations that maybe don't have those prepared?

00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:42.000
Because there's there's been times where I'm helping them implement something like we need these requirements, and like, I don't know what those are.

00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:44.000
Can you help me out?

00:23:44.559 --> 00:23:49.680
Yeah, I mean, we we absolutely help with the a set of requirements ahead of time.

00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:53.680
Uh we are a software company, so we don't have a photo studio for flat assets.

00:23:53.759 --> 00:24:02.079
We don't have a um, you know, we do offer some product setup help, and we've automated a lot of it with AI, but we are a software company.

00:24:02.160 --> 00:24:10.319
So at the end of the day, we provide what I would say is base the base software and the some assistance with product information and setup.

00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:11.920
Gotcha.

00:24:12.160 --> 00:24:12.720
Gotcha.

00:24:12.960 --> 00:24:16.240
And and so there's a requirement to get their e-commerce.

00:24:16.880 --> 00:24:19.279
Hopefully they do have e-commerce.

00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:26.640
Um do you typically then uh perhaps uh work with them if they're not happy with their e-commerce?

00:24:26.720 --> 00:24:31.759
Uh so they implement e-commerce first before uh doing Artify.

00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:41.039
Typically, what happens is they will come to us and say we love Artify, but we're unhappy with our e-commerce platform.

00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:44.240
And like like literally, this is how the story goes.

00:24:44.480 --> 00:24:49.519
We have a B2C platform and we realize we need program management and we need a B2B platform.

00:24:49.759 --> 00:24:54.799
Any recommendations, and we typically say, Well, can we introduce you to Zenode?

00:24:55.119 --> 00:24:58.240
And it's not even part of our sales strategy, it literally is.

00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:02.400
There's just a lot of companies that are suffering with the the wrong e-commerce platform.

00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:04.799
So there is there's an overlap there.

00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:12.400
I think the data is like 68% of manufacturers and distributors are unhappy with their e-commerce platform and want to replatform.

00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:13.519
That's it, that's fun.

00:25:13.759 --> 00:25:24.720
That's interesting because uh yeah, every time there's an e-commerce conversation, uh, they always mention that you know we want to change, we just don't know where where to go.

00:25:24.799 --> 00:25:24.960
Right.

00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:26.319
Who to go to.

00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:27.200
Yeah.

00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:31.920
Jeff has been like a vital part of our company.

00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:35.279
Um, we see a lot of that in the Microsoft channel.

00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:45.359
I think Jeff identified that very early on as there's a lot of manufacturers and distributors, whether than BC or uh what used to be called FNO, that are struggling.

00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:55.119
So is yeah, to take away from that a little bit, just from that topic, because I I think about this with a lot of applications.

00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:59.599
People struggle with their ERP software, people struggle with the e-commerce software.

00:25:59.920 --> 00:26:02.960
I struggle with uh my wallet sometimes.

00:26:03.519 --> 00:26:09.119
If you're struggling with the e-commerce platform, is it a case of growth often?

00:26:09.200 --> 00:26:12.319
Do you see uh Tom, you mentioned that Jeff, you see that space.

00:26:12.480 --> 00:26:17.200
Is it typically an issue of I outgrew the e-commerce platform?

00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:34.400
Meaning my either my business has changed, or my business model has changed, or my business volume has changed, because you may start off with um, I know you have Zenode, but you may start off with Shopify or something, or you may start off with Big Commerce.

00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:37.200
There's a lot of e-commerce platforms out there.

00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:54.400
And you started off as a B2C shop, and then you realize that there's a space for B2B, and then you try to squeeze B2B within that same platform without exploring other options or even expanding uh uh you know, expanding the use of the application.

00:26:54.559 --> 00:27:01.359
I I see this often on the ERP implementations where you go through an ERP implementation, we talked about this in previous episodes as well.

00:27:01.599 --> 00:27:02.319
When are you done?

00:27:02.400 --> 00:27:07.200
You're really never done because you need to have maintenance on that to keep up with your business.

00:27:07.359 --> 00:27:12.880
Do you find that's a often struggle for them, or do you think it's they just chose the wrong platform?

00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:14.720
I think it can be both.

00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:30.240
Um I think that if you end up purchasing Shopify as your platform, or not to pick on Shopify, it could be any uh direct consumer platform, um, it's it's very simple to run that type of retail model, right?

00:27:30.480 --> 00:27:40.400
So um typically you have an MSRP price list, we all log on, see the same catalog um and pay the same price unless you have some sort of coupon code or something.

00:27:40.559 --> 00:27:46.559
Whereas with B2B, uh it's very likely you have a customer-specific catalog, customer-specific pricing.

00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:50.480
There needs to be a different data model on the e-commerce experience for that to work.

00:27:50.720 --> 00:28:02.480
So um I think that people go into the process of selecting a platform, maybe they know the brand name, Shopify, and purchased it, and then two years later they're running into issues and replatforming.

00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:20.799
I I'll jump in and actually how Jeff and I met, Jeff worked uh with another company and uh in the e-commerce space, and they had a customer that actually was on BC, they still are, and they had a catalog of 1.5 million SKUs.

00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:21.440
Wow.

00:28:22.240 --> 00:28:31.359
They were making calls back and forth to BC to surface that product information, and their ERP was getting overtaxed, overburdened.

00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:42.880
E-commerce experience was very, very slow, and they actually found Zenode, and now they're they have almost six million SKUs on Zenode, and they have no performance issues.

00:28:43.119 --> 00:29:06.880
And uh, that's actually how Jeff and I got to know each other, but it was literally it wasn't a bad platform, it just wasn't a platform that's made for their B2B business model, and so they've actually my understanding is their it's their sales have increased fivefold online since moving to Zenode because they can now run a much bigger catalog and they can create uh customer-specific catalogs because they have a lot of government contracts.

00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:13.279
So there's a lot of problems that were solved that maybe didn't surface initially that now have surfaced and and we've helped them.

00:29:13.680 --> 00:29:24.319
Yeah, I think that goes to the use case of they bought the right platform for themselves at the time, and then a few years later their company had grown so much that it was time to find something a little bit more scalable.

00:29:25.599 --> 00:29:26.960
Yeah, that that makes sense.

00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:41.920
That's I think that's a lot of the common scenarios, um, at least from my experience, where they may be coming from an ERP system, and along the way, they're also not only they're outgrowing their ERP system, but they're also outgrowing their um e-commerce, right?

00:29:42.000 --> 00:30:06.400
And and so uh the the question becomes, you know, how much of those project you want to take on, uh, you know, because first of all, you gotta upgrade or move to an ERP system, and then at the same time trying to build an entire e commerce platform, which typically Coincides with the decision of do we stay with the existing one or look for something else?

00:30:06.480 --> 00:30:09.119
And that usually a common conversation is that yeah, you're right.

00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:12.079
Brad had mentioned and Jeff, they outgrow that.

00:30:12.160 --> 00:30:16.799
And it may not be a bad solution at that time, but eventually they'll outgrow.

00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:18.640
And they want to do other avenues.

00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:20.240
Right.

00:30:21.039 --> 00:30:21.359
Right.

00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:31.519
Step back to the architecture a little bit, thinking of uh the use case of the experience for uh those that are using it.

00:30:32.319 --> 00:30:40.240
Artify is a web-based application that has data and has information in it to allow for the customization of product.

00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:41.519
Um I'll simplify it.

00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:43.200
Uh I know you it does it has a lot of features.

00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:44.559
I'm just kind of breaking it down.

00:30:44.880 --> 00:31:00.000
And then you have Zenode, which is the e-commerce or it can be any e-commerce solution in the middle, and then you have your underlying ERP software, which we're talking about with Business Central, and I heard you mentioned, and I always say this every time I say it, FNO, F A X, FNSCM, F.

00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:04.000
I can give you the whole lineage uh of names that it's had.

00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:09.359
It's had I think it's had more than Business Central, to be honest with you, uh, in a shorter period of time.

00:31:09.599 --> 00:31:10.319
We have to look that up.

00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:11.519
It's hard to keep up.

00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:13.680
It's very hard to keep up.

00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:17.279
Where does the data reside and how does the data get there?

00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:24.000
So one of the challenges that I see with implementations is we have master data management issues.

00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:38.720
That master data management can be within business central itself, across companies, across tenants, and then now you add e-commerce to it, and sometimes you have there would we have duplicate entry of data?

00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:40.319
How does the data go back and forth?

00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:43.599
You know, one system has a need for more data than another.

00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:46.400
Uh, and now we add this other layer to it.

00:31:46.640 --> 00:31:50.720
Where does the data reside and how does the data get managed?

00:31:51.680 --> 00:31:53.680
Jeff, do you mind if I jump in on that?

00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:55.440
Yeah, you got it.

00:31:55.759 --> 00:31:58.640
Yeah, so it depends upon the size of the company.

00:31:59.359 --> 00:32:03.200
Um and it depends upon their e-commerce platform.

00:32:03.359 --> 00:32:11.039
One of the reasons that the scenario we were just talking about, they were having issues is because all the data resided within the ERP.

00:32:11.759 --> 00:32:14.640
And that means constant calls back and forth.

00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:20.880
Um, with Zenode, at the core of Zenode is a PIM or a product information management system.

00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:28.319
And the data is actually pushed from BC or any ERP into Zenode, into the PIM.

00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:34.880
The PIM has unlimited attributions, so a lot of Zenode customers will enrich the data there as well.

00:32:35.599 --> 00:32:39.279
Um, and then from there, that's where you can have catalog management.

00:32:39.440 --> 00:32:47.359
Because the PIM can create unlimited numbers of catalogs, and the catalogs can be applied to stores one to many, many to one.

00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:50.400
But Zenode also does multi-store very, very well.

00:32:50.720 --> 00:33:01.839
And so when you think about it, having that type of architecture allows for that ability to have six million SKUs rather than topping out at one million, right?

00:33:02.160 --> 00:33:12.559
It allows for customer-specific catalogs, and then those catalogs are applied based upon a counter profile that log in to the actual portal or the e-commerce experience.

00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:16.400
Oh, so yeah, I was gonna ask about that PIM solution.

00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:19.920
So Zenode has a built-in PIM solution.

00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:20.720
Correct.

00:33:21.039 --> 00:33:21.599
That's amazing.

00:33:21.680 --> 00:33:22.640
Okay, very good.

00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:25.279
And in the PIM is there, I just want to be clear.

00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:36.799
It's not there for if you think about traditional MDM, if you think about workflow for internal teams uh as a source of truth, it really doesn't replace a true best of breed pim.

00:33:37.200 --> 00:33:42.480
It can have a two-way sync with a best of breed pim, it can have a two-way or one-way sync with an ERP.

00:33:42.640 --> 00:33:47.039
It's really meant for ease of management of the e-commerce experience.

00:33:47.279 --> 00:33:56.240
And it also reduces your your tech stack and your tech debt because you don't have to have constant calls to a third-party PIM to get your catalog data, right?

00:33:56.799 --> 00:34:07.359
Your merchandisers are in one admin console and they're running 2,000 catalogs on one store, or they're running 2,000 stores with 4,000 catalogs all centrally in one system.

00:34:07.839 --> 00:34:08.880
Yeah, that's fantastic.

00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:19.119
But it can it also work with if they if for some reason they love their PIM solution, will it, Xenode, uh, work with that with another PIM solution?

00:34:19.519 --> 00:34:20.159
Absolutely.

00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:28.800
There's unlimited attribution, our connector, commerce connector we talk about, can also do full data exchanges back and forth with any PIM solution.

00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:36.480
And then in that case, the architecture typically is your ERP pushes your base product information into the PIM.

00:34:37.039 --> 00:34:41.440
Your best of breed PIM is for MDM and for workflow.

00:34:41.599 --> 00:34:47.599
So that the marketing department, the engineering department are all have a source of truth for product information.

00:34:47.840 --> 00:34:56.480
From there you would push it into Zenode, and that's where you would actually have your catalog creation and your account-specific catalogs, etc., configured in the platform.

00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:05.280
Okay, so we have the product information catalog do you have within Zenode?

00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:09.840
So does it have integrations to other systems as well outside that it can use to source that?

00:35:10.079 --> 00:35:12.320
Uh so we have the e-commerce system.

00:35:13.199 --> 00:35:19.039
And I'm just thinking from data integration from many systems uh that you can bring into your e-commerce uh platform.

00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:25.039
Um does it have the opportunity to integrate with other systems, fulfillment centers uh or the like?

00:35:25.679 --> 00:35:44.719
Or even other catalog type or either other or other catalog type programs, because again, I'm thinking of in some of these cases where you may be a merchant or a provider that you you know, you think of some of these organizations that they may not necessarily source the product or they may have uh three PLs to distribute the products for them.

00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:56.159
I know in the in the case of Artify where it's custom or niche, it may be in-house, but it also may be at other facilities as well to get that information over to there.

00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:58.079
So do you have that type of access?

00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:03.280
Absolutely, but that's not a catalog issue, that's at more of an order issue and a warehouse issue.

00:36:03.599 --> 00:36:17.119
So because Zenode is made for true B2B, you can have unlimited unlimited numbers of warehouses and you can assign inventory to warehouses within the platform or pull inventory from multiple warehouses.

00:36:17.360 --> 00:36:21.280
You can also display that because that affects shipping rules.

00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:22.639
Right?

00:36:23.360 --> 00:36:27.920
Yes, if I'm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and I'm buying commercial plumbing parts for a product.

00:36:28.159 --> 00:36:29.280
If you are, I'm sorry.

00:36:33.679 --> 00:36:40.000
Oh you just upset a good portion of the the northern part of the country.

00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:45.840
Um I don't know about a good portion of it, but um it's cold up there.

00:36:46.000 --> 00:36:56.079
I spent time up there uh January February, and man, the Milwaukee, that that's uh when I was walking over the bridge, it's like everything's frozen over.

00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:58.960
And uh yeah, it's it's too cold.

00:36:59.119 --> 00:36:59.920
Too cold for me.

00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:05.440
I don't know where my dissatisfaction with Wisconsin had come in from.

00:37:05.599 --> 00:37:06.239
I I don't know.

00:37:06.400 --> 00:37:11.440
Maybe I know with Minnesota, I think it's just the two of them, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

00:37:11.840 --> 00:37:12.400
All right.

00:37:13.199 --> 00:37:14.719
Sounds like you're a Bears fan as a kid.

00:37:15.280 --> 00:37:16.079
I can't solve for that.

00:37:16.159 --> 00:37:19.199
I can solve for for multi-warehouse and complex BW.

00:37:21.840 --> 00:37:26.000
I'm sorry, I go on a little tangent here and there, and I I just hear some of these things and I get triggered.

00:37:26.079 --> 00:37:27.360
No, I'm definitely not a Bears fan.

00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:27.920
Come on.

00:37:28.159 --> 00:37:29.199
I don't think anyone is.

00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:30.480
Most people are Packers fans.

00:37:30.559 --> 00:37:32.000
I assume you two are, right?

00:37:32.320 --> 00:37:33.280
I thought everyone was.

00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:34.559
The other one is.

00:37:34.960 --> 00:37:35.599
The Packers.

00:37:38.639 --> 00:37:40.239
Are you really a Packers fan?

00:37:40.639 --> 00:37:41.199
Oh yeah.

00:37:41.440 --> 00:37:42.159
No, you're not.

00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:43.679
You're just saying that now.

00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:54.559
Listen, I've known Jeff quite a bit now, and he is definitely not a Packers fan, or he's one of those that he's a fan of whoever he's talking with.

00:37:54.960 --> 00:37:56.559
I'm definitely not a Patriots fan.

00:37:56.639 --> 00:37:57.440
I'll say that.

00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:03.519
Everybody I'll I'll I'll I'll I'll I'll sound like Tom H.

00:38:04.159 --> 00:38:05.440
Everyone loves the Patriots.

00:38:05.679 --> 00:38:07.119
Everyone hates the Patriots.

00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:11.119
Everyone hates the Patriots because they won for so long.

00:38:11.280 --> 00:38:14.400
It's very easy to be a hater when your team loses to them all the time.

00:38:14.639 --> 00:38:16.800
We had a few rough years, but look at this year.

00:38:16.880 --> 00:38:22.559
I yes, everyone can say that we have an easy schedule, but I'll tell you, Drake May, you you you pay attention.

00:38:22.639 --> 00:38:24.800
The Pats dynasty will be back.

00:38:25.039 --> 00:38:27.199
Um I I don't know.

00:38:27.280 --> 00:38:29.599
Uh we could talk about Jeff Bob too if you want.

00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:32.719
They do have an easy schedule this season.

00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:33.280
Okay.

00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:34.000
Okay.

00:38:34.559 --> 00:38:37.760
They may have an easy schedule, but they're still beating all those teams.

00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:38.880
So that's true.

00:38:39.039 --> 00:38:41.360
You can only beat who is in front of you.

00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:42.559
So yeah, that's it.

00:38:42.639 --> 00:38:45.840
So um we've just gone from e-commerce to ESPN.

00:38:47.840 --> 00:38:52.239
Well, yeah, we we cover a wide range of uh topics here today.

00:38:52.480 --> 00:39:01.840
Now we're talking about uh uh I told you, I just sometimes I just get triggered by things, and um I'm definitely not a Green Bay Packers fan, nor a Minnesota Vikings fan.

00:39:02.159 --> 00:39:04.480
Nobody is a Vikings fan, we understand.

00:39:04.800 --> 00:39:06.719
No, yes, I understand that too.

00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:10.239
Uh, how many Super Bowls have uh the Packers won?

00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:15.519
Four Super Bowls in 13 World Championships, I think.

00:39:15.760 --> 00:39:18.079
If you go way back back to when Tom was a kid.

00:39:24.159 --> 00:39:25.280
Oh, good times.

00:39:25.599 --> 00:39:26.079
No, that's good.

00:39:26.159 --> 00:39:27.440
So yeah, I'm sorry I went there.

00:39:27.599 --> 00:39:35.039
So you you do support to have uh multi-warehouse uh 3PL type uh access uh inventory by location.

00:39:35.199 --> 00:40:04.239
I know that's not a product uh catalog type uh integration, uh, but I've um I've worked with other type of channel applications, so I was just trying to think about that used too, and that's what their product information uh catalog um uh information manager excuse me uh came to mind, and then I was thinking about even like with Shopify integrations with 3PL access uh to orders fulfillments uh to be able to help facilitate the the order process.

00:40:04.960 --> 00:40:05.440
Absolutely.

00:40:06.239 --> 00:40:09.760
So with Shopify, it's probably more of a 3PL for a retailer.

00:40:09.920 --> 00:40:14.480
With us, it's more than likely a distribution center or a warehouse.

00:40:14.880 --> 00:40:25.519
And you know, think uh I was mentioning if you're it's a commercial plumbing purchase online, it's probably an order that is worth$100,000, right?

00:40:25.840 --> 00:40:31.599
For commercial plumbing products for a big a big building uh that's being built, maybe it's a stadium.

00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:36.559
Um, they're gonna want to have that ship from the warehouse where the products are closest due to weight.

00:40:36.800 --> 00:40:39.119
It's probably being shipped on pallets or truckloads.

00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:40.800
That's B2B, right?

00:40:41.440 --> 00:40:52.559
So that matters a lot, and it's a whole different thing than having your uh your tennis shoes shipped from a local 3PL because the retailer has them stored in a 3PL.

00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:54.559
Whole whole different mindset.

00:40:59.599 --> 00:41:00.639
Okay, I have that.

00:41:00.880 --> 00:41:07.920
So with this, have you worked with other e uh ERP applications besides Business Central and F uh whatever the other one?

00:41:08.480 --> 00:41:12.079
FNO, FNX, FNSCM?

00:41:12.400 --> 00:41:12.639
Yes.

00:41:13.039 --> 00:41:13.519
AX.

00:41:13.840 --> 00:41:14.000
Okay.

00:41:15.039 --> 00:41:19.039
What other product what other products have you worked with, other uh ERP applications?

00:41:19.519 --> 00:41:24.400
Zenode is integrated into multiple versions of Epicore.

00:41:24.559 --> 00:41:29.599
Uh Epicore Kinetic is a manufacturing ERP that's very prominent in the Midwest.

00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:32.000
So we have lots of customers on Epicore.

00:41:32.320 --> 00:41:38.800
Uh and also Epicore's other ill uh Eclipse, which is in the distribution space we've integrated with.

00:41:39.280 --> 00:41:44.079
Well I go down the list, uh Net Suite, SAP, you know.

00:41:44.320 --> 00:41:48.559
I would say the ones that are more mid-market enterprise that serve manufacturers and distributors.

00:41:49.920 --> 00:41:52.079
But but I there's a long list of them.

00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:56.079
Yeah, if you if you can name it, we've probably integrated to it, to be honest.

00:41:56.320 --> 00:42:02.800
But um the the dynamics ERPs are certainly our fastest growing user base.

00:42:03.920 --> 00:42:04.559
Oh it's great.

00:42:04.719 --> 00:42:07.440
But the application itself is growing significantly.

00:42:07.840 --> 00:42:15.679
And the uh also I mean I think in 2025, again, you bring it up, which is the year we're in, uh I think.

00:42:16.079 --> 00:42:24.000
And um if you don't have some sort of e-commerce presence or online presence, it's I think it's a challenge for most businesses.

00:42:24.159 --> 00:42:34.960
I mean, there still may be some that uh quite uh aren't there yet, but I think as um technology is advancing and increasing, you know, to have that option um is important.

00:42:35.199 --> 00:42:37.840
Even if it's just for order entry, never mind selling.

00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:42.400
You know, I've I've worked with some that they've had online catalogs for just order entry.

00:42:42.880 --> 00:42:53.039
Um the whole purchase and other type process uh or payment excuse me, processing they still do uh with B2B you can still do POs and uh and bills and such like that.

00:42:53.199 --> 00:42:57.679
So yeah, so so you guys uh growing in the dynamic space.

00:42:57.760 --> 00:43:04.719
Uh I do I am curious if you are going to be at directions in Orlando in April.

00:43:06.320 --> 00:43:06.800
Absolutely.

00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:09.199
You guys have you guys getting a booth?

00:43:10.719 --> 00:43:11.039
We are.

00:43:11.119 --> 00:43:11.280
Yep.

00:43:11.440 --> 00:43:11.840
Oh, very good.

00:43:12.719 --> 00:43:17.920
We'll be at pretty much any Microsoft show that you can name off right now next year.

00:43:18.320 --> 00:43:18.880
No, okay.

00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:20.320
You guys have signed up for all of them.

00:43:20.400 --> 00:43:20.800
That's awesome.

00:43:21.039 --> 00:43:27.360
Yeah, we'll we'll be at directions, we'll be at at Summit, um the AI Summit or whatever they're calling it now.

00:43:27.599 --> 00:43:29.519
Oh, AI and Copilot Summit.

00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:30.639
Yep, you got it.

00:43:30.800 --> 00:43:34.239
So any of the ones that you can name we're we're probably going to that.

00:43:34.320 --> 00:43:34.480
Yeah.

00:43:34.639 --> 00:43:36.639
No, and we'll be at convergence next month, too.

00:43:40.400 --> 00:43:42.400
Consider going to convergence.

00:43:42.639 --> 00:43:44.480
Yes, uh bringing it back.

00:43:45.360 --> 00:43:46.480
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:43:46.639 --> 00:43:50.960
I remember that, geez, many years ago when I first got into it.

00:43:51.039 --> 00:43:52.400
I think I went to a convergence.

00:43:52.480 --> 00:43:56.960
My first one was in Atlanta many, many moons ago.

00:43:57.039 --> 00:43:58.000
So we'll see how that goes.

00:43:58.159 --> 00:44:09.920
I may take the drive over to it and see uh with it being a relatively short drive um through the alligated land uh to take a look at it.

00:44:10.559 --> 00:44:17.440
Uh when it goes through an implementation, uh I know this is a tough question because I I hear this all the time myself and it's tough to answer.

00:44:17.519 --> 00:44:20.559
But what can someone expect for a typical implementation time?

00:44:20.719 --> 00:44:36.000
I know there's a lot of variables to it, but from your experience, just you think of like an average company, you know, not uh there's always ed cases, there's different sizes, there's different requirements, but generally speaking, um how how long does an implementation usually take?

00:44:36.159 --> 00:44:39.199
Is it days, hours, weeks, months, years?

00:44:39.920 --> 00:44:47.119
Uh typically I would say on the low end, three to six months for a mid-market distributor manufacturer.

00:44:47.360 --> 00:44:58.559
We have had some companies that have you know four ERPs and four different e-commerce platforms, and they're centralizing everything and going through major digital transformation.

00:44:58.880 --> 00:45:00.320
That can be more than a year.

00:45:00.480 --> 00:45:09.519
Because it it has less to do with our platform and more with deprecating old systems and centralizing the data and change management and go down the list.

00:45:09.840 --> 00:45:31.920
Yeah, that's I can see what that's a challenge for this because usually uh I'm saying in that case, then it's because they're doing an entire system implementation, so the time period's not necessarily implementing the product, it's getting everything implemented as a whole and the people to do that and the reorganization and the strategy versus saying I already have this in place and I can get this done and set up.

00:45:32.480 --> 00:45:32.960
Exactly.

00:45:33.119 --> 00:45:35.119
It's a it's a that's I understand that model.

00:45:35.199 --> 00:45:42.960
That's why it's it's always a tough question to ask, but uh sometimes it's good to just get an idea of the you know the simplicity of um getting it set up.

00:45:43.119 --> 00:45:45.840
Uh the strategy of it's always a challenge, and it's tough.

00:45:45.920 --> 00:45:47.840
I hear that question all the time with ERP implementations.

00:45:47.920 --> 00:45:49.599
Everyone's just like, ah, you can just set it up.

00:45:49.760 --> 00:45:54.000
But they forget about the people portion of it, they forget about the data portion of it.

00:45:54.239 --> 00:45:56.320
If you don't have change management.

00:45:57.199 --> 00:45:58.559
Oh yes, oh yeah, yeah.

00:45:58.639 --> 00:46:06.480
And then also you're still trying to, it's almost sometimes like trying to change the bus wheels as the bus is going down the freeway as you're going through this.

00:46:06.559 --> 00:46:10.960
So uh same same concerns, absolutely.

00:46:11.440 --> 00:46:12.960
Yeah, it's it's a little challenge.

00:46:13.199 --> 00:46:16.800
Well, uh Jeff and Tom, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us this afternoon.

00:46:16.880 --> 00:46:18.079
We really do appreciate it.

00:46:18.239 --> 00:46:24.079
Um I'm interested in this because I have some good ideas as well with uh the whole artify piece.

00:46:24.320 --> 00:46:25.360
The artify piece, yeah.

00:46:25.440 --> 00:46:27.760
That is interesting.

00:46:28.480 --> 00:46:31.840
I I can't tell you how many times I've come across the need for that.

00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:34.719
And you wouldn't think about it, but we're in that world.

00:46:34.800 --> 00:46:39.440
Everybody wants the unique and on-demand type product, right?

00:46:39.599 --> 00:46:54.480
It's not just uh I mean you're you're talking about in uniforms, but it's almost like assemble to order, but variations, and you want to be able to get it out easily, quickly, and let the customers get what they want with all the different combinations and variations.

00:46:54.639 --> 00:46:57.599
So I have uh I may have to call you up.

00:46:57.679 --> 00:46:59.440
I may want to set up my own little store for something.

00:46:59.519 --> 00:47:05.679
I have a good idea for I'm not telling anybody what the idea is yet, but um they'll have to see.

00:47:06.159 --> 00:47:11.840
Jeff, I'll talk uh if the Jeff and Tom, if you guys, if I make it to um Convergence, I'll talk with you there.

00:47:11.920 --> 00:47:15.440
If not, I'll definitely see you in the directions in April.

00:47:15.679 --> 00:47:16.960
Back in Orlando.

00:47:17.199 --> 00:47:20.320
So um, but again, thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us this afternoon.

00:47:20.480 --> 00:47:30.320
And if anyone would like to have more information about uh Xenode, Artify, or how this uh can be implemented with this system, what's the best way to reach you?

00:47:30.800 --> 00:47:42.559
Yeah, I I think the best way go to either either of the uh URLs, artifilabs.com, or Zenode is Z N O D E.com.

00:47:42.800 --> 00:47:46.639
Uh fill out a form, request a demo, contact us.

00:47:46.880 --> 00:47:52.480
We'll have the right people follow up immediately, or you'll actually be able to hit someone's calendar and schedule time.

00:47:53.280 --> 00:47:54.400
Excellent, great, thank you.

00:47:54.480 --> 00:47:59.840
And we'll also have uh links to um in the show notes for to be able to get in contact with both of you.

00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:02.320
Again, thank you, and uh look forward to seeing you soon.

00:48:02.400 --> 00:48:03.119
Ciao ciao.

00:48:03.599 --> 00:48:04.159
Thanks, Brad.

00:48:04.320 --> 00:48:04.480
Thanks.

00:48:05.199 --> 00:48:05.760
Bye.

00:48:06.239 --> 00:48:13.440
Thank you, Chris, for your time for another episode of In the Dynamics Corner Chair, and thank you to our guests for participating.

00:48:13.760 --> 00:48:15.280
Thank you, Brad, for your time.

00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:19.039
It is a wonderful episode of Dynamics Corner Chair.

00:48:19.199 --> 00:48:22.559
I would also like to thank our guests for join joining us.

00:48:22.719 --> 00:48:25.440
Thank you for all of our listeners tuning in as well.

00:48:25.679 --> 00:48:29.519
You can find Brad at developerlife.com.

00:48:29.760 --> 00:48:34.239
That is D V L P R L I F E dot com.

00:48:34.400 --> 00:48:39.840
And you can interact with them via Twitter, D V L P R L I F E.

00:48:40.559 --> 00:48:53.199
You can also find me at Matalino.io, M-A-T-A-L-I-N-O.io, and my Twitter handle is Matalino 16.

00:48:54.079 --> 00:48:57.039
And see you can see those links down below in the show notes.

00:48:57.119 --> 00:49:00.239
Again, thank you everyone, thank you, and take care.

Jeff Seidel Profile Photo

Jeff Seidel

Director of Partnerships

Tom Flierl Profile Photo

Tom Flierl

CCO

Tom is the Chief Commercial Officer at Amla Commerce, parent company of Artifi, Nelli, and Znode. Tom leads sales, marketing, channels, and account management teams, as well as managing analyst relations. He leverages over 20 years of business experience in sales, marketing, digital commerce, and technology to assist customers through their digital journey. Tom is frequently featured as a speaker and thought leader on digital commerce.