Month 16 – November 2013

My first two weeks of the month were spent in Texas. I mentioned briefly last month that there was a computer system conversion I was helping with. You’re probably wondering what the heck that is, so please allow me to elaborate. In several of my past blog posts, I referenced the Eclipse computer software. Most modern wholesalers/distributors use what is called Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. An ERP allows a business to create, track, and maintain sales, purchase orders, inventory, and finances. It is an all-in-one software package to help run your business. The majority of Hajoca owned profit centers are currently using the Eclipse brand. However, we still had numerous Texas-based locations that were using a different ERP system. Therefore, Hajoca decided that now was a good time to integrate everyone onto Eclipse.

To make a long story short, I was asked to be a part of the team that installed, set-up, and trained people on Eclipse. After two long weeks of blood, sweat, and tears, we got everything in place and running. But in all honesty, it was not that bad. We worked 10 to 11 hour days, but everyone put in their due diligence and the Texas employees were doing their best to learn the Eclipse system as quickly as possible. Between the delicious meals and the fact that I got a free trip to San Antonio, there was not much I could complain about. And as I always like to say, it was a fantastic learning opportunity.

After the two weeks in Texas were over, I was all ready to get back in my groove in Philly. However, my regional manager, Paul, had other plans for me. One of our other Weinstein Supply locations in Lansdowne had just lost a couple of employees and were struggling due to a personnel shortage. Paul asked me to go work at the Lansdowne office for a month. I was a bit shocked because this was totally unexpected, but handling the unexpected is part of becoming a top-performing manager.

So far I have spent two weeks in Lansdowne, and I have primarily been helping out with answering phones, order writing, billing/processing checks, and filing transfer delivery papers. I had no issues getting to know the people there; we have already established a good working relationship. The plan is to continue this through mid-December and then return to Philadelphia.