TEConnect Podcast

RFID Applications & Use Cases w/Sandee Mukherjee & Elton Saunders

“It’s the year of RFID!” If you’ve heard that before and roll your eyes at it every time, we get it. RFID is that technology that always seems on the cusp of exploding into the mainstream and, in many ways, it has but we know that some VARs aren’t really believers yet. We brought in two RFID experts, Miles Data’s Elton Saunders (our first VAR guest) and Tagit Solution’s Sandee Mukherjee, to talk about what they’re seeing with the technology. What are the common current applications? Are there industries that should be using RFID and really aren’t? What are some unique use cases that we might not have thought about?

 

#VARValue – What would you say to VARs who are hesitant to get into RFID applications and projects?

 

TEConnecting with us:

Sandee & Elton – Convergence of RFID, Blockchain & Cloud Technology

Elton -  Amazon Go store technology

Dean – Elon Musk’s Neuralink

John – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (streaming on Netflix)

 

Sponsored by:

Zebra RFID Portfolio

Elo Edge Connect

 

Talk to us!

Twitter: @TEConnectPod

Email: TEConnect@bluestarinc.com 

Management & Leadership

We’re willing to bet you know when you have a good or bad manager, but if YOU are in management, are you sure what your employees would say? In this episode, Dean & John, both with management experience of their own, discuss what makes good and bad managers. What are some of the popular management techniques and styles? What does management look like right now, with employees working from home and potentially under more stress and uncertainty than ever? Are management and leadership two different things? They say people don’t leave podcasts, but they leave bad podcast hosts. We hope you aren’t going anywhere!

 

#VARValue – What are some additional tips, tricks and recommendations we can offer to managers?

 

References:

Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

The Top 7 Management Styles - Workzone.com

 

TEConnecting with us:

Dean - AI Deep Learning

John - "AI-Based Method Predicts Smell of Chemicals" - UC Riverside

 

Sponsors:

Elo Touch Solutions for Healthcare

Zebra Healthcare Scanner Instant Rebate & Red Cross Contribution

 

Talk to Us!!

Twitter: @TEConnectPod

Email: TEConnect@bluestarinc.com

Digital Signage 101 w/LG's Mike Stachura & Patrick Troutt

Hello class, welcome to Digital Signage 101, a subject that is a bit taboo to some resellers and we want to dispel the myths around it.  Our guest lecturers are LG’s Mike Stachura and BlueStar’s Patrick Troutt. Professor Stachura is going to talk about the top industries using digital signage and some you might not expect, choosing the right software & content, and why commercial units are much better than consumer for all day/every day usage. Professor Troutt is an expert in the critical components and how VARs can partner with BlueStar to find the right people to create the right solutions. By the end of this class, you’ll get an “A” if you get out there and sell some digital signage!

 

#VARValue - Why should VARs not currently selling Digital Signage get into the technology?

 

TEConnecting with us:

Mike - Near-field communications (NFC)

Patrick - Restaurant apps/rewards & TTM Manager

Dean - UFOs are real!

John - RIP Grant Imahara

 

Sponsored by:

LG's Health Protocol Solutions

 

Talk to us!

Twitter - @TEConnectPod

Email - TEConnect@BlueStarinc.com 

The Modern Distribution Center w/Chris Jackson & Kevin Thomas

Distribution has been a big, growing business for some time now, but probably never more so than when a pandemic forced millions to stay home and rely on ship-to-home, curbside pickup and other methods to get the products they need quickly and safely. We all know that these demands (and some panic buying) put a strain on our supply chain and exposed some weaknesses in processes and the ability to keep employees within warehouses and distribution centers safe and healthy. This week, we’re joined by Savant’s Chris Jackson and BlueStar’s Kevin Thomas to discuss the technology that’s moving distribution into the future. Where are robots, RFID, AI and wearables fitting in? What is the current and future impact of COVID-19? What have we learned and how can we secure the supply chain against future crises?

 

#VARValue – Why should VARs partner with a WMS provider to tackle distribution and supply chain issues?

 

TEConnecting with Us:

Chris - Life After Google: The Fall of Big Data and the Rise of the Blockchain Economy

Kevin - Mobile Hotspots

Dean - Companies Start to Think Remote Work Isn't So Great After All - WSJ

John - Face ID on the iPhone 11

 

Sponsored by:

Zebra's eBook: 5 Surefire Ways VARs Can Help Warehouses & DCs Future-Proof Their Mobile Enterprise

 

Talk to us:

Twitter: @TEConnectPod

Email: TEConnect@bluestarinc.com 

Effective Sales Presentations

Do you trust two marketers moonlighting as podcasters to teach you the dos and don’ts of sales presentations? You should, because Dean & John have plenty of experience both as the sellers and the customer. We took some time away from technology to discuss what makes an effective presentation. What are the clichés of sales? What works and doesn’t work when presenting or pitching? What should you do before, during and after a presentation? Finally, what is the TUFA method? Come for the tips and stick around for a passionate discussion on the special effects between the original Star Wars trilogy and the prequels.

 

#VARValue – How can a better presentation help SMB VARs take on the big guys?

 

TEConnecting with Us:

Dean – CGI vs. Practical Effects

John – MIT’s UV-C Autonomous Disinfecting Robot

 

Resources & References:

IMPAX Corporation

 

Sponsored by:

Elo Huddle Kit

 

The Cannabis Industry w/Dave Albert, Duane Roebuck & James Korte

Not long ago, working with the cannabis industry was treated with kid gloves, hushed tones and met with resistance as a viable place to do business. Now, as legalization steadily moves across the US and around the world, it’s turned into an industry ripe for growth and opportunity. We have quite the roundtable for this episode: Dave Albert from Retail Control Systems, BlueStar’s Duane Roebuck and returning guest James Korte, each with valuable and unique experience into how this industry works compared to traditional retailers, manufacturers or distributors. How does the perception of the industry differ from the reality? How has COVID-19 impacted them? What technology is taking off? What are the challenges for resellers looking to break in and how do we market to people that may not be as easily reached as other industries?       

 

#VARValue – How does BlueStar assist VARs with entering the cannabis space?

 

TEConnecting with our guests:

James - Camp Chef Pellet Grill

Duane - Sonos Wireless Sound System

Dave - Sonos and biking

 

Cannabis Industry Resources:

BlueStar's Seed-to-Sale Tech Guide

MJ Biz Daily

Ganjapreneur

BlueStar's HybridSaaS

 

Talk to Us:

Twitter: @TEConnectPod

Email: TEConnect@bluestarinc.com

Online/Mobile Ordering Software w/Epson's Josh Stanphill

It’s no secret that online and mobile ordering has become a huge part of the retail and restaurant landscape this year. The ability to shift operations to an online platform for delivery, takeout or curbside pickup is what may have saved thousands of businesses from closing forever. This week, we spoke with Epson’s ISV BDM, Josh Stanphill, about his experience with the demand changes. What makes a “good” software for this new normal? How should VARs be approaching this and pitching the benefits in the moment and beyond? What’s a “phantom/cloud kitchen”?

 

#VARValue – How can VARs help educate and inform their customers on how to select the right online/mobile ordering platform?

 

TEConnecting with Us:

Josh – SteelSeries gaming keyboards

Dean - SongShift

John – JustWatch

 

Sponsored by:

Epson OmniLink Printers

Enterprise vs. Consumer Devices in Healthcare w/Honeywell’s Phoebe Cresswell

Access to mobile, flexible and powerful technology for day-to-day work in healthcare is more important than ever, but with a variety of choices in consumer-grade and purpose-built devices, the market can get a little cloudy for providers. To help us sort it out, we spoke with Honeywell’s Healthcare Marketing Manager, Phoebe Cresswell.  She discusses a Honeywell/HIMSS co-study on how healthcare organizations are selecting mobility solutions. What are the driving factors? How is patient experience impacted? What are the most important differences in choosing an enterprise device over, say, an iPhone? What keeps hospital IT directors up at night?

 

#VARValue - How do VARs help educate healthcare organizations on the benefits of enterprise devices?

 

TEConnecting with Us:

Phoebe: AI in Healthcare

Dean: Vaccine production

John: Jelle's Marble Runs

 

Sponsored by:

Honeywell's Drive-Thru Testing Solutions

The Multigenerational Workplace

For our 10^th episode, Dean & John decided to riff about a topic that nearly all businesses deal with…multiple generations working together. How do you define a generation? What are the stereotypes? Is the Boomer vs. Millennial clash real? Do younger generations feel more stress? Don’t we all kind of want the same things? It’s the episode where two Gen Xers probably sound older than they planned to!

 

#VARValue - What should VARs do to make their business more welcoming to all generations?

 

What did NOT TEConnect with us?

Dean - Snapchat

John - Facebook

 

Sponsored by:

Elo Healthcare Self-Service

Honeywell QSR Drive-Thru Solutions

Zebra Ruggedized Devices eBook

Retail Tech w/Sonal Apte

Retail technology has come a long way in just a couple decades. Green screens gave way to Windows, Android, Linux, cloud-based, mobile and now we’re looking at retail as a multi-channel experience for consumers to shop wherever and however they want. This week, we’re joined by Sonal Apte, who has a wonderful depth of knowledge on these topics and more. Where does the Windows vs. Android debate currently rest? What is Unified Commerce? What innovations are on the horizon? It's the episode where John tries to whistle badly and we once again reference "Minority Report" but are not getting paid to do so!

 

#VARValue - How do VARs position themselves for the future of retail technology?

 

TEConnecting with Us:

Sonal: Avi Schiffman's Coronavirus Tracking Site (Business Insider article)

Dean: Real-Time Inventory

John: Wind of Change podcast (Original Scorpions song)

 

Sponsored by:

EloPOS Retail System