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San Diego - A faith in technology and a strength in numbers beat back the recession for several days as dealers gathered here April 22 to 24 for the annual Activant users' group meeting. Pinnacle 2009 drew just over 400 hardware store owners and building material operators. Several of them agreed to sit down with Home Channel News for a freewheeling discussion on the intelligence of Gen Y workers; GUI versus character interfaces, data-driven inventory management and whatever else was on their minds.
The participants:
* David Bohl, president, Kibler Lumber, Mount Orab, Ohio, a fivelocation Do it Best dealer with two units in northern Kentucky and three in southern Ohio
* Randy Burgess, VP Ace Hardware, Anacortes, Wash., a one-unit dealer in the Puget Sound area
* Steve Sevruk, controller, and Nathaniel Polky, purchasing support manager, McClendon Hardware, seven locations in the Greater Seattle area
* Denise Silnes, IS manager, A.H. Bennett Co., five building materials outlets in Minneapolis, Rochester, and St. Cloud, Minn.; Eau Claire, Wis.; Fargo, N. D.
* Dennis Stine, Stine Lumber, 12unit chain of home centers, mostly in southwest Louisiana
* Brae Canlen, senior editor, Home Channel News
Home Channel News: Are any of you implementing new IT systems or software packages?
Denise Silnes, A.H. Bennett Co.: "We were one of the beta testers for Activante 'Catalyst' program in our accounts receivable department, which does cash receipts for all five branches. Our credit manager was always having problems with setting up new accounts. She'd come in on the weekends and stay late at night. We've been using Catalyst for a month, and our credit manager loves it. It's a big time saver. [With existing customers], everything is on one page instead of having to scroll through eight different pages. It's easier for her to track how they're spending and what they're spending."
Steve Sevruk, McClendon Hardware: "I've only been at McClendon's for about three months. Before I came, they had their general ledger done by an outside party. Right before...