Editorials

The best way to explain where we're going as a niche industry is to reflect on the history that has shaped what it is today. It's difficult to really capture the history when we operate and thrive in such a niche industry. EMP President Dave Mattingly takes us through the different twists and turns that A.I.D.C has journeyed, arriving somewhat optimistic and yet somehow surprised.

Oh Zebra Xi4...how you will be missed. With its practical and rational operating system. To its easy clean, no nonsense mentality. Unfortunately Zebra stopped manufacturing these not 5 years ago and soon will no longer offer support for repairs. Although, we'll still be able to scrounge up parts for a while, it's safe to say it's time to pivot or upgrade. Check out the history of the Xi4 inside!

Is it a spreadsheet? Is it a database? What is it? A huge misconception is often thinking that spreadsheets are capable of being utilized as databases. While that may be possible for small scaled data input, you'll find yourself running into problems as you expand your data volume.

Are machines going to take over? Probably. But until that happens, we should be using AI to increase efficiency and productivity. be in the workplace. It's a symbiotic relationship that we need to embrace and EMP is looking forward to learning how to integrate this new tool.

When barcoding was created it took nearly 20 years to finally start taking off in B2C environments like grocery stores. We're now starting to see similar trends of the same thing happening with RFID. Companies like EMP have been researching and using this technology the whole time. Learn how both bring something to the table in their own way.

The plumbing service that quoted you is a large company, and your calls have not been returned. But it's a big job and you don't think a smaller company would have the resources to pull it off. The Goldilocks Conundrum. EMP fits in that "Just Right" scenario for a number of reasons. Here's how.

It's one of those things where we woke up one day and realized that we were experts. That"A-ha" moment. Where we had figured out how to help customers print labels from their ERP software. We have worked with almost all the major ERPs, Oracle, Microsoft, even the ERPs specific to discrete manufacturing like Plex and Epicor. Find out how we do it!

Have you ever been involved in a pitch meeting where, no matter if you've made your decision on whether to buy, the Sales Representative can't stop doing the steps of selling? At EMP, it's a big red flag for us. Customer driven Culture is on a lot of company's minds but see how we approach it differently.

Work from home works, but not for everyone. Click to read more about our approach to remote work for our team members.

Software is evolving at a faster pace than ever before. While some platforms are still on-prem only, more business software is moving to the cloud. Bartender, the popular labeling software from Seagull Scientific, recently announced a cloud-based version of their software. Click to read more!

Steve Jobs once said, “I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done.  Innovation is saying ‘no’ to 1,000 things.  You have to pick carefully.”  Jobs is not always the best person to model your personal life after, but we at EMP feel that he had it right on this one.

It happened again recently, and the customer was a very large company.  Even with all their IT capabilities, we still found ourselves at one of their sites, running network traces, and helping them determine why their mobile computer transactions were taking so long.