Author: Daryl Vaz

Human to Superhuman Automation Event

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Human to Superhuman Automation Event

It's easy to understand, right? Even when explained “what is automation?” by Afaq Qazi, an automation specialist. I tried my best to ignore the thoughts, telling me, “I already know this stuff”. It's easy to tune out when you think you know. The challenge is that maybe I'm wrong. Keeping an open mind, I listened to what Afaq had to say.

The speed of technological change is forcing people to reevaluate what they know about automation. Of course automation is a hot topic and for good reason. It is controversial. It can be good or bad depending on where you sit. As an employee, automation can induce fear in even the most talented workers. Take the GM closures as an example. More automation combined with declining sales means many people will soon be out of work. Knowledge workers are also not without risk of being replaced by automation. As a business owner, automation is required to compete.

I listened to Afaq speak with passion about the work he is doing. This doesn't come across from a website. Ideas about Robotic Process Automation(RPA), Business Process Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain were discussed with the enthusiam of a child in a toy store. I've read about these ideas and watched videos about them on Youtube, but never before spoke with and expert about them. This experience is the same one you will recieve when you attend our Human to Superhuman Event. Connecting your business to the right automation solution is where the real magic happens and it always starts with education and a conversation.

Tangentia makes GROWTH 500


Tangentia makes the GROWTH 500 list. 6 years in a row!

Canadian Business and PROFIT today ranked Tangentia on the 30th annual GROWTH 500, the definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies. Published in the October issue of Maclean’s magazine and at CanadianBusiness.com, the GROWTH 500 ranks Canadian businesses by their five-year revenue growth.

Tangentia made the 2018 GROWTH 500 list with five-year revenue growth of 586%. This is the 6th year in a row that Tangentia has been recognized by GROWTH 500. “It is never easy to earn a spot on the GROWTH 500, but this year’s applicant pool was the most competitive yet,” says Deborah Aarts, GROWTH 500 program manager. “This year’s winners demonstrate the resilience, innovation and sheer management smarts it takes to build a thriving business today. Canada—and the world—needs more entrepreneurial success stories like these.”

“Tangentia is honored to be on the GROWTH 500 ranking and we are really proud to be on this list for the last 6 years” says Managing Partner Vijay Thomas”. “This achievement reflects the consistently high growth rate that Tangentia has been able to achieve over the last almost 15 years of our existence since we started in Toronto in 2003. This also speaks to the vibrant Canadian economy and ease of doing business in Toronto. We have been able to grow globally with additional offices in USA and India but our roots will always be Canadian and we will always cherish this recognition.”
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We are 15 years old – Time passes by quickly when you are having fun

Time passes by quickly when you are having fun

As we enter 2018, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our global customers, partners, associates and friends on behalf of all at #TeamTangentia. The entire extended team of Tangentia sincerely wishes each of you a fantastic 2018 and thank for your support, encouragement and business over the last 15 years. We hope to connect with each of you during 2018 and look forward to many more years of working together. As the title says it seems like 15 years passed by very quickly since we started in 2003, but all of us at Tangentia still think of ourselves as a startup and we try to keep the same energy and enthusiasm that made us succeed over the last 15 years.
The other day I registered to attend a startup conference and was rejected as their definition of startup was less than 10 years in existence and less than $10 million in revenue. We obviously failed their litmus test and it got me thinking. Are we really a startup? or Are we a normal stable business? and the answer I realised is YES to both.
Tangentia via our own global offices as well as via a global partner ecosystem now has the processes and infrastructure to deliver “Global Boutique” Technology Solutions like a global consulting major. When we started, many of our critics said that “Global Boutique” was an oxymoron and could not be done but we were able to pull it off. Today, if you are a medium sized retailer in India looking for an eCommerce solution or a Canadian bank looking for a mobile application,Tangentia could deliver a solution that covers the entire spectrum from designing, developing, testing, hosting and managing the solution using our global resources. We guarantee the same highest levels of security and project governance that our customers expect from the larger consulting companies and this is done via our SOC 2 certification and our global Project Management Office(PMO). Even with the maturity in our infrastructure and processes, we have strived to keep our soul, distinctly startup. We take on projects that most of the larger firms say “cannot be done” and actually pull it off. Our associates have a “can do” attitude that some of our customers have said, has transformed their entire project teams and we push hard everyday to make things incrementally better.
I would also like to specifically mention our IBM relationship which is 15 years old this year – Tangentia is a gold certified partner of IBM and provides resell and consulting around IBM solutions in USA, Canada and India. We have added a few other partnerships over the last few years and look forward to nurturing those as well but the IBM partnership will always be special I guess.
So how does Tangentia look 15 years from inception. From a 2 person startup, we now have 4 business units.
People: The Tangentia People group provides strategic IT staffing for companies globally. The IT staffing involves on-site, offshore as well as near-shore models and our People’s group counts some of the large global consulting companies as customers.
Projects: The Tangentia Projects group business designs, builds and operates complex IT applications for medium and large enterprises globally. The projects are primarily around eCommerce, EDI/B2B, Security, RPA and Business Analytics.
Partners: The Tangentia partners group resells, implements and finances IBM, Microsoft, Oracle,SAP,Salesforce, Sailpoint, BluePrism, Automation Anywhere, ServiceNow and other partner software in USA, Canada and India.
Cloud: The Tangentia Cloud group hosts multiple SaaS business applications on the Tangentia Cloud platform like Tangentia Commerce Cloud for agile enterprise eCommerce, Tangentia Gateway for cloud EDI and OrderManagement, Tangentia Secure for enterprise access management and security. The Tangentia Cloud Platform now has 2000+ customers that use our platform daily.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and keep following our blogs and social media posts as we journey into the future.
1-877-TANG-BIZ

sales@tangentia.com

Six reasons to use Tangentia EDI for Microsoft Dynamics NAV integration

  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV integrationTangentia EDI

Six reasons to use Tangentia EDI for Microsoft Dynamics NAV integration

Founded in 2003 in Toronto, Tangentia has grown rapidly to become the leader in Global Boutique technology solutions. Through a ‘Think Global, Act Local” strategy that is implemented via offices in Toronto, Calgary, New York, Goa and Bengaluru, Tangentia has built an impressive roster of 1000+ customers. Rounding up our growth story, Tangentia Inc. has made it to the Profit 500 List of Fastest Growing Companies in Canada for the last 6 years in a row and Tangentia America LLC is now an INC 5000 company.

Tangentia EDI is the oldest of the six divisions of Tangentia; the others being Tangentia Digital, Tangentia Automation, Tangentia Cloud, Tangentia Security, and Tangentia Consulting.

Why should businesses integrate their EDI data with their ERP?

Large enterprises and SMBs that supply to major retailers such as Walmart, Costco, Amazon, Loblaws and Hudson’s Bay are mandated to utilize EDI as a means to exchange business transactions. This enables efficient and secure electronic exchange of business data between them.

To respond to this mandate, each supplier maintains an EDI system that they use to electronically communicate with their enterprise-level customers. Additionally, each organization also maintains their own ERP/Accounting System to manage their business processes and information.

With the huge amount of data that is going back and forth from different sources, it has become a necessity for every business to consider integration between their business applications.

1)        Integration automates manual tasks: Enables focus on higher-value tasks rather than data entry.

2)        Integration increases shipping & invoice accuracy: Real-time sync from ERP to EDI and vice versa enables accurate order fulfillment.

3)        Integration allows quicker turnaround: Speeds up order processing, providing a competitive edge in today’s fast-moving world.

EDI integration has been a complex, time-consuming and resource-intensive process for customers, large and small. Tangentia EDI, through its cloud-based, SaaS offerings such as Tangentia Gateway, Tangentia Grid, and EZ Border Solutions, makes the entire EDI integration process seamless.

Tangentia EDI’s Navision Engine integrates directly with Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and connects businesses with trading hubs in the Retail, Automotive, Logistics, and Industrial sectors.

Six reasons to use Tangentia EDI for Microsoft Dynamics NAV integration:

1)       Stability: Backed by the global Tangentia Consulting & Technology Organization

2)       Credibility: 75+ Microsoft Dynamics NAV implementations worldwide

3)       Flexibility: Integrations to 50+ ERP/WMS/eCommerce systems

4)       Reliability: 1000+ EDI customers globally

5)       Scalability: Connect to more than 2000+ trading hubs globally

6)       No EDI chargebacks: Guaranteed EDI compliance to trading partner specifications

1-877-TANG-BIZ
sales@tangentia.com

How to Pick an EDI Service Provider … Do they have a Karen?

  • How to Pick an EDI Service Provider
    Do they have a Karen?

I have worked next to one of the hardest working, most knowledgeable and talented EDI sales and support people in the business for over two years. Her name is Karen and she has been working with Tangentia for close to 5 years. She arrives early and stays late. She has the best attitude and is always willing to put in a little extra effort. In every case, it’s not just a little extra effort but a lot of extra effort. That’s what you want when choosing an EDI provider.
Sitting next to Karen, I am always amazed at how she manages to get so much done. She is always working. She works so hard she literally has to be reminded to go have lunch. There is no one person that I have ever worked with that has impressed me more. Any company would be lucky to have a Karen.
When selecting an EDI provider, most things are the same. The prices are similar. The services are similar. Every vendor wants your business, and you as a client are looking for a secure, scalable solution that just works. If you are thinking about switching EDI service providers, you have your pick. But the question you have to ask yourself is, do they have a Karen?
Without a doubt, Karen leads our customer service team on all accounts. Listening to her laugh, I would say she is probably the happiest person in the world. Customers love her, her colleagues love her, and I’m confident you will, too.
I was asked to write an article to help us sell our EDI services. When I thought long and hard about why I would choose Tangentia for EDI, sure the technology is world-class and setup is easy. You’ll definitely save money and the system is also super user-friendly. But besides that, the real reason I would choose Tangentia is because I know that if I did need support, I could call Karen and she would not only solve my problem, but also put a smile on my face and make my day. This I can guarantee.
So if you are new to EDI and considering your options, or if you are looking for alternatives to your current EDI provider, the question you should ask any vendor is “Do you have a Karen?” Chances are they don’t, because there is nobody like Karen. We are lucky to have her on our team, and you will be, too, when you decide to choose Tangentia as your EDI service provider.
To work with Karen directly and have her setup your company on EDI, just send her an email with your contact details to:
kbriones@tangentia.com
She will promptly call you back and will be so happy it will make you smile.
Thank you, Karen, for all that you do.
We love you.

PS: A note from Karen…
Thank you so much for your kind words. Never did I imagine that I can be blogged about in this lifetime. Your blog submission truly made my day – should I mention it made me tear up a bit? Hehe.
As for the blog requirement, since this could be published on our official blog site, my edit suggestion would be to emphasize the characteristics that all of us at Tangentia share as a team, rather than as individuals. It would be a great opportunity to highlight the things that set our team apart from our competitors which are: our team’s consistent hard work, positive attitude, and going the extra mile to help our customers overcome their challenges.

PPS: As you can see, even when Karen is recognized for her efforts, she goes out of her way to share the credit with the entire team. That’s a real team player.

1-877-TANG-BIZ

sales@tangentia.com

Stories from the last 15 years – Do you want to keep driving trucks or change the world?

  • Stories from the last 15 years – Do you want to keep driving trucks or change the world?

Ask most people in Toronto about what they remember about 2003, and many might remember the crippling power outage that shut down most of the North East in August of that year. For me personally, it was the start of Tangentia towards the end of 2003.

I always wanted to start something of my own but the catalyst was when the French company I worked for at that time sold their operations in Canada sans me ( yes I was literally the only employee left in Canada). I decided that if I was going to have to build a business from scratch, might as well do it as an entrepreneur rather than an employee. Throwing caution to the wind, I looked around and found Mohan who was somebody I hired as a java programmer at a previous job in Montreal and who had also moved to Toronto.

Mohan, believe it or not, had got himself a truck driving license and was driving refrigerated containers to Chicago from Toronto! Having been to business school and having read Steve Jobs do the “do you want to sell sugared water all your life” to John Sculley, I asked Mohan “Do you want to drive trucks all your life or change the world” and he agreed to help me during the week and drive his trucks over the weekend. So now I had a programmer and I took on all the remaining positions in the company.

We got our first project which was for a customer in Montreal that wanted us to install an AS2 software on an AS400 and integrate it with their JD Edwards ERP system and they wanted it done ASAP. With no projects in hand, we had to think fast. We asked them if they had their maintenance agreement with IBM up to speed and they said yes. Far from installing software on it, neither Mohan nor I had ever seen an AS400 server but I felt that if somebody could do it then we should be able to do it as well.

It was already past noon in Toronto and the customer wanted the install done the next day in Montreal and we did not budget any travel costs. So this is what we did: Mohan got a rental car and he drove to Montreal – I got hold of IBM support and conferenced Mohan as he drove to Montreal, and we figured out that the AS400 libraries were different from a windows directory etc. However, with Mohan’s strong UNIX background, we were able, over the next 5 hours that it took him to drive to Montreal, to understand what had to be done.

Mohan stayed with his uncle as we obviously had not budgeted a hotel and walked into the customer’s office the next morning. We had a few minor hiccups but before the end of the day the software was installed and the customer who was a large apparel manufacturer was transacting EDI purchase orders and invoices seamlessly with Walmart via AS2. I spoke to the customer a couple of years later and everything was still working as we had installed it!!

We got lucky, as in 2003 Walmart was mandating all their vendors to move their EDI from the VAN ( Value Added Network) to AS2 and we got very busy doing these small migration projects all over North America. This is the origins of the Tangentia EDI & Ecommerce group that 15 years later has 1000+ customers globally including many Fortune 500 companies that outsource their entire B2B Infrastructure and Order Management to us.

Somebody wise once said – the harder you work the luckier you get.

1-877-TANG-BIZ
sales@tangentia.com

Wallgreens is phasing out SupplierNet

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Wallgreens is phasing out SupplierNet

Walgreens announced in their March newsletter that they are rolling out their SAP implementation to the Distribution Center (DC) level, and will be retiring SupplierNet EDI portal beginning April 2018.  What this means is that all Walgreens vendors are required to use EDI to exchange electronic business data with Walgreens.Walgreens, along with other major retailers worldwide including Walmart, Costco and Hudson’s Bay, utilize EDI to manage a massive amount of business data that they exchange with their suppliers and trading partners. In a typical setting, suppliers who wish to do business with these major retailers are being required to become EDI-compliant to enable them to receive electronic purchase orders and send electronic shipment notices and invoices.

Tangentia’s Tangentia Gateway solution is a web-based EDI solution offering that has EDI connectivity with more than 2000+ trading partner worldwide, making it one door for many opportunities to quickly start doing business with some of the world’s largest retailers. It enables SMB and large enterprise companies to be fully EDI compliant with their trading partners’ requirements at a fraction of time and cost. Tangentia Gateway is hosted and managed on our cloud, running 24×7, and ensuring that all transactions are seamlessly received end-to-end. Tangentia’s award-winning security cloud infrastructure, built in partnership with IBM’s cloud services offers cost-effective enterprise EDI. EDI has never been more secure, more reliable, and consistent in delivering your important transactions.

Tangentia Gateway also helps organizations successfully integrate their EDI data with their ERP/WMS system. We have the experience and flexibility to custom integrate with various ERP/Accounting systems such as NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, SAGE 300 (formerly Accpac), SAGE 100 (formerly Business Vision), Sage 50 (formerly Simply Accounting), Quickbooks, SAP B1, SAP R/3, SYSPRO, Oracle, AX (Axapta), GP(Great Plains), Acomba, JD Edwards and many others seamlessly. Furthermore, Tangentia Gateway also seamlessly integrates with eCommerce platforms such as Shopify, Magento, and WooComnmerce, which eliminates the need to manually key in data that are coming in from your eCommerce sales channels into your ERP / Accounting system which improves efficiency and faster fulfillment.Once your EDI data is integrated with your accounting system, any change in EDI specifications by one of the trading partners will no longer mean a change in your accounting system. Tangentia Gateway automatically validates product info, shipping data, and internal pricing rules, creating cross-references where necessary,  to maintain the integrity of suppliers’ accounting systems and databases.Do reach out to us today to establish your EDI connectivity with Walgreens and more.

1-877-TANG-BIZ

sales@tangentia.com