DDI System hosted 250 attendees during Inform Connects 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee, during their 6th biennial user conference. DDI System, an ERP software provider for wholesale distributors, leveraged the insights of Steve Epner and Dirk Beveridge to facilitate discussions on facing change in the disruptive marketplace.

Inform Connects brought together Inform ERP system users for two days of training on system capabilities, new features and thought provoking strategies facing the modern distributor. Beveridge discussed innovation and building a new, relevant customer experience — something DDI System leverages as part of their mantra every single day.

“At DDI System, we bring together your customer’s information to provide greater insight and touch points that drive customer engagement and meaningful client conversations,” says Barbara Jagoe, COO. “Readily available contact screens serve as powerful, analytic tools to improve customer relationships and increase sales. The ability to see a customer’s purchase patterns, history, and personal notes — like where they like to vacation or their hobbies—allows our distributors to engage and connect on a much more personal level better than any online shopping experience.”

Inform also had Epner, a distribution expert and lecturer at the University of Industrial Distribution, discuss innovation in face of digital disruption.

“Distributors must face the new competition and continuously look for innovative ways to communicate their point of difference. Greater customer engagement and the availability of online shopping tools all add to enhancing your clients buying experience,” Epner explained.

For DDI System users, this means capitalizing on the strengths of the independent distributor. 

“eCommerce needs to be part of the equation. Distributors can no longer ignore the impact of this new education. They all need to maintain a digital presence with strong product content, and an easily adoptable customer portal with save shopping carts, customer specific pricing and 24/7 ordering capabilities.” said DDI Founder and President Adam Waller. 

The Inform eCommerce session (“Creating a Symphonic Customer Experience with eCommerce”) during Inform Connects 2017 brought some of the largest audience attendance.

“DDI eCommerce is unbelievable. The end result of what (DDI) did for me was incredible. 20 percent of orders are coming in online from customers, and growing,” said Howard Steirn from Riverside Paper Company, Inc. in Hialeah, Florida. 

Walking away from the conference, users have an understanding of what is in store for the future of DDI.

Inform Connects will reconvene in 2018 in a location to be determined.