Voiceover: Red Cheetah - building generations of stronger dealers.

Steve Kahle: Alright. Welcome to Industry Live. It is July 16, 2010 here at the world headquarters of Red Cheetah in Austin, Texas. It is actually kind of a cool morning. It is probably going to be about 120 degrees today.

David Blaylock: It's not raining anymore, which is nice.

Steve: Yeah we had lots of rain, cool weather, lakes are up.

David: Lakes are up, and it is nice to have a July where we don't start off melting. We will probably end that way, but it was nice.

Steve: Good point. So David, you joined us for the first time at the Advantage Business Conference in Miami, SP Richards' show. What did you think?

David: Indeed. I have been pulling for years to be able to go to one of these shows. You seem like you guys learn a lot of stuff. I mean, of course, you are in Miami. That is what you are looking for, is education.

But I have been wanting to go for quite a while, and it was great. It was nice to see the booth, the big huge Red Cheetah booth. The SP show itself was amazing, the way they ran it. The shuttle buses back and forth to the convention center. It was great. What kind of stuff did they teach you, though?

Steve: Well, a lot of stuff, and to roll back for those that don't know David - because everyone should know David Blaylock, right? He is our most senior Deal Advisor.

David: I have been here longer than anybody else in the department.

Steve: Right. So it is a real honor to have David join us in the booth. So Andrew couldn't make it, because he had some lame excuse about having twins, right? Does that really count?

David: Well, when Mom has twins, Dad has to step up and take some of the burden.

Steve: That's a valid point. So he wasn't there. So you filled in, and did a great job. So back to your question, the General Session I found very interesting. So, the theme was CSI.

David: CSI Miami.

Steve: Correct, there you go. For the famous show. And you kind of have almost red hair. You could kind of - what is that famous actor?

David: David Caruso?

Steve: There you go.

David: I should have brought my sunglasses. I could whip them off and have the "Who" soundtrack.

Steve: That would have been a nice prop. So basically, CSI, standing for change, strategy, innovate. And overall, I felt that Jim O'Brien and Wayne Beecham did a really good job bringing these points home.

Another point, too, that I felt was interesting, was, Jim O'Brien was talking about COD. He had that up on the big screen, cause of death. And Jim's point was, and it is a real one, is if our dealers don't change, and don't allow themselves to be flexible, it is going to be cause of death.

So I think, overall, the idea here is this sort of framework of change, and innovate, and having strategy - it is not an option. If you want to survive and thrive, you really need to embrace change.

David: Yeah, you can't do business as usual. Business as usual is pretty much old school, and it is time to learn some new tricks for the new millennium here.

Steve: And so, David, here at Red Cheetah, how do we embrace this concept of change?

David: Change is always on the table. We embrace it. The best idea wins, is what we say here. And always looking, and growing, and becoming better.

And you can't get stuck in, 'We have always done it that way." That is the death no. You have got to always grow.

Steve: And having a team of about 25 people, I mean, we are fortunate to be like - we are not an aircraft carrier. We are more like a PT boat, and we can really turn on a dime. And we are continually adjusting our sails to the wind and making sure that we are sailing in the right direction.

David: Indeed. We have a team meeting later today, and it seems like every month we have a team meeting. And there are new ideas every time.

Steve: Good stuff. Kind of going on with the general session, the SP team had Larry Wingit come onstage.

David: I've seen that guy. He is the bald guy who talks about finance, and you don't know what you are doing, you have got to change and do what I say - because he is a really smart guy.

Steve: Yeah, I think if we kind of shave the end of his head, I mean, Andrew could probably take his place. Very straight-shooting.

David: I don't believe you. I think we need to try that out.

Steve: I tell you, it was a great experience. I learned a lot. And some of the real quick points.

His core philosophy was, I guess, back to work. Work, he says, has turned into a four letter word. And the bottom line is, work is challenging.

We still need to make it engaging and fun, but we need to make sure that we are looking at work in the proper context. And he feels that our culture tends to whine a little bit. And we need to work harder and also work smarter.

Core philosophy - about customer service. Be nice. That was kind of his main bumper sticker statement.

When it came to selling - ask.

I like his point about leadership - get out there and give something to follow. And I think overall some really good points. Talking about taking responsibility, being flexible, deal with change, shut up, stop whining, and get a life. I mean, he really had a very over the top kind of approach.

David: It sounds a lot like Andrew, doesn't it?

Steve: It does. And I think this point, too, was pretty direct - he said that if your life sucks, it is because you suck.

David: That definitely sounds like Andrew.

Steve: Yeah. Your results are your fault. He also said the two worst things to say to a customer. "That is company policy." We have all probably heard that, and that will definitely make you irate.

David: I would like to say I have never said those words here.

Steve: Good. That's good. And the other one was, "That is the way we've always done it," as another customer service statement that makes a lot of people upset.

David: Well, I think that goes back to the change. You are educating dealers about the different ways to try things. And they always fall back to, "We have always done that." Well, but that is why you chose Red Cheetah. You wanted to change the way you used to do things. Embrace that change, and use it to make things better and work better for you.

Steve: I agree. Good points. So I mean, all of these points that Larry Wingit brought up and also back to the change of CSI Miami and the theme is, we all need to embrace change. Our dealer community - we all want to survive.

Our approach here is, building generations of stronger dealers. Which is the concept behind not only Coalition, but also Industry Live. And if we want to build generations of stronger dealers, the one constant is always going to be change. So let's all warrior up and embrace change.

David: Indeed.

Steve: Awesome. So let's talk about the booth. So, what was some of the buzz around the booth, you being right there in the trenches, David?

David: Well, number one, about Outpost, of course. Everyone is excited about Outpost coming out, and the changes to the storefront for the customers, and what they are going to see. Everybody was excited.

Everyone wanted to know, when are we going to be able to see more than just those screen shots. I want to be a beta tester, one woman was asking me. And everybody, of course, wants to be the beta tester.

You couldn't make everyone happy. But it would be exciting to let everyone be that beta tester.

Steve: We are excited. What about our PCI compliance?

David: A lot of PCI compliance. They knew that Red Cheetah was going to be, as of July, PCI compliant. They knew that the manual credit cards were going away.

They were all worried, what does that mean to me? What are we going to have to do? So that was a big buzz.

We had Madeline Long and then Pam also, who works with Madeline in Solveras. They were there to answer some of the questions there in the booth. So it was good to have them with us.

Steve: Yeah, they are a great team. Thanks, Madeline and Pam, you guys did great.

David: Thanks, girls.

Steve: And also, the economy was certainly a big issue. Talking to our dealers, we are asking them a lot, hey, how are sales trending? A lot of the dealers were saying they were trending relatively flat.

Some were up a few points, some were up many points. Those that were embracing change.

Take SunDANCE Office Supply. I had a recent conversation with their fearless leader, John Condry. And he was talking about how they were up 25 percent over last year, because they have really embraced change. They have really interjected a lot of fun into their culture to make their whole branding be different from the superstores.

David: And I think if you go to their website - they are wearing tie-dyed shirts in bright colors, and they have got the dog as the product expert there at the shop.

So you can definitely tell that they are not just the boring Mom and Pop store. They are there to educate you, and help you out, and they are excited about helping you.

Steve: Good point. Also, a lot of dealers were saying - I think the big question I wanted to ask was how is furniture trending? Because furniture definitely is a big correlation to the overall economy.

And a lot of dealers were saying they were starting to see some of their furniture orders pick up. Now, a lot of dealers dealing with the government have seen a lot of furniture order business increase, for obvious reasons.

But overall, we are starting to see some private sector furniture orders increase, and that is really positive.

David: That is great news. Because I know that is a large portion of a lot of our dealers is the furniture as well as the office supply.

Steve: Well, you did a great job, David. Thanks for your help.

David: Sure, it was great. I got to meet a lot of dealers that I recognized. They saw me and waved, and said hi. We were pretty busy in the booth.

Some people got to chat quite a while, and others it was an, I know you, waved and smiled. It was nice. Because of Coalition, and being able to see dealers here in Austin at Coalition for two years running now.

To be able to, on-site, be able to go, hey Randy, what's up, and know who he was. And then hang out after the fact with Bob Daniels and Lou Ann from Daniels. It was great to solidify the relationships with those dealers.

Steve: And a big thank you to S.P. Richards, Elaine, you did a great job. And Dee King, as well, planned the event. Everyone made us feel very welcome. So thank you for a great show.

[music]

Steve: So now we are here with Corne Rutherford. She is our channel manager. And she is going to help shed some insight into our Dealer Advisory Council.

So overall, we have been putting together the final touches of creating a Dealer Advisory Council. And the spirit behind that is having some dealers, a cross section of our dealer community, that kind of rotates, that allows a deeper interaction with what is going on. We still want to include our dealer community. Overall, that is still going to happen, but we want to also have a little more intimacy with a select group. So tell us the story, Corne, of what happened and how this intersects you.

Corne Rutherford: Yes, Steve, it is very interesting. A few weeks ago I talked to Stacie Tracy. She Googled "advice" and approached me because I was born in South Africa and spoke Afrikaans, so actually Afrikaans is my first language. Spoke Afrikaans fluently every day for twenty one years. Stacie wanted to know what "raad" means.

Steve: Now, it is "raad?"

Corne: It is "raad."

Steve: So is there an actual roll to the tongue?

Corne: Absolutely. If you speak Afrikaans you have that roll to your tongue.

Steve: OK. Didn't know that.

Corne: And of course the English language you lose a little bit of that because words are not designed to be rolling.

Steve: Right.

Corne: So Stacie asked me what "raad" means. I told her, first of all I didn't know what she was talking about because I have never heard of "rad."

Steve: "Rad."

Corne: So she showed me and I said: Oh, that is "raad.." Raad means advice where somebody approached you and you really need advice and you give them raad. We really liked that word and we decided to go with that.

Steve: So it is spelled...

Corne: R-A-A-D.

Steve: OK, so we are not going to have a RAD council.

Corne: We are going to have a RAAD council.

Steve: Awesome. So advice. That is awesome. So, Corne, can you give us some insight into your role at Red Cheetah?

Corne: Yes, Steve, my role at Red Cheetah is channel manager. What I am going to be focusing on most is working very closely with all the wholesalers that we integrate with, the manufacturers, really everybody that would like to learn more about Red Cheetah.

I will be forefront talking to wholesalers, why Red Cheetah is important, why we want to make sure that your dealers know about it. We feel we bring a tremendous value to the dealer community. And the starting point that we feel and the most important thing is to work with our partners in this industry to show them this is what Red Cheetah can do. We just mainly want to build a very strong relationship with our partners and bring Red Cheetah in front of everybody.

Steve: Good point. We are a very partner-driven culture. We really reach out and have a very strong connection to our partners.

We also realize that the wholesaler and manufacturer and third party reps wield a significant amount of influence. We want to make sure that they are fully educated as to how we are different and better. We are absolutely excited that you can be able to be that face. We really know you are going to do an awesome job. You have been doing a great job, so thanks for being a part of the team.

Corne: You are very welcome. It has been very successful so far. We have had a couple of channels that we started working with and the results have been incredible.

Steve: Yeah, we're excited.

Corne: We definitely see a lot of positive things happening with this channel management position.

Steve: That is awesome. And so Corne, talk to us about Table Tops.

Corne: Yes. We have quite a few Table Tops this year, very exciting. A couple I attended earlier this year, great success. I really had a great opportunity talking to manufacturers, dealers, wholesalers and we are really looking forward to having more Table Tops.

Steve: Right.

Corne: It is very important for us to connect with the dealer community, also with the wholesalers, the manufacturers. It is just an awesome opportunity to be there at those Table Tops and talk about the value of Red Cheetah. And also relationships, because we are all about ongoing, strong relationships with our partners and dealers.

Steve: That is awesome. So, wholesalers, we would like to see more Table Tops, right?

Corne: Absolutely.

Steve: Great way to get that one on one interaction. All right, Corne, anything else you want to add to that?

Corne: I will be the main point of contact for Table Tops.

Steve: There you go. It is all Corne.

Corne: I haven't got that far.

Steve: That's right.

Steve: Point of contact, Corne. Well, thanks for the time.

Corne: You are welcome. Thank you Steve. I appreciate it.

Steve: You are welcome.

[music]

Andrew Morgan: Now moving on to what is new at Red Cheetah, I am here with Phillip Ryals our programming manager. Phillip, one of the newest things at Red Cheetah is the 7.0.2 release that launched just a little while ago. Tell us some of the new things that dealers are going to encounter with the 7.0.2 release.

Phillip Ryals: Encounter?

[laughs]

Andrew: Therefore have to deal with, perhaps is a better way of saying that.

Phillip: Some of the things the dealers are going to love in the 7.0.2 release are a lot of the speed improvements. That is probably going to be one of the biggest things that they notice. Just because we have gone to the trouble of reorganizing so much of the underlying structure of the Red Cheetah system.

The databases --- we have made hundreds and hundreds of changes all for the future. A lot of things that you guys haven't seen just yet, but you will love. A lot of the other changes though are behind the scenes. Some of the things that are something that you can see right now though, are the Spanish storefront.

Andrew: We did launch the SP version in Spanish. So that's going to be well-received in Canada, I'm guessing. It will be a big seller there.

So you addressed speed issues. Maybe start with how much - I think is a great statistic to talk about because some of these issues and some of these revisions, as you said, are under the hood, non-noticeable. Maybe tell the audience how many lines of code, how much of the system was actually involved in change for 702. And then again, speed-wise, what really is going to be noticeable?

Phillip: That's a great question. Would you believe 60,000 lines of code.

Andrew: Can you believe that, folks? Sixty-thousand. Philip can't even count that high.

Phillip: What did we figure? A fifth of the entire code base of Red Cheetah was changed. Along with that, hundreds of database tables were changed just to make things flow a lot smoother. A lot of it was future preparation.

Speed-wise, you're going to notice it in things like the quarter going a little bit smoother. But one of the big things that you're going to notice are our preparations for our pricing server.

The pricing server isn't launched just yet. It will be fairly soon. But when it launches, basically all of the pricing becomes real time. It goes into this state of everything is up to date right now. No more waiting till tonight. No more waiting till tomorrow morning. Everything is just real time. And that's huge. It's going to really affect a lot of people.

Andrew: So sounds like 7.0.2 is a huge advance, again for us, taking another leap forward in quarter changes over our competition. Is that basically what a lot of the changes were made?

Phillip: Right. I know coming from a previous dealership, I've realized how bad the dealer situation is during the quarter. Things can be very difficult. But what we've done at Red Cheetah, we've always made the commitment of making sure that the day that the quarter starts, all of the data is correct. You're able to do your business with the most up-to-date information. And so, all of these changes just make things easier, make things a lot faster for that transition.

Andrew: Now of all the releases that was done, Philip, was 7.0.2 by far the biggest?

Phillip: Yes.

Andrew: So taking that forward, 7.0.2 is a great launching pad for Outpost.

Phillip: That's right.

Andrew: So we've made a lot of changes. The date is coming up quickly on us. What are some of the changes that we have made recently in programming that are going to allow us to hit these dates and to deliver as promised on Outpost?

Phillip: OK. Probably the biggest thing here, and I think the thing that the dealers should take away from this, is just how committed Red Cheetah is. And this is really outside of programming. This is the company as a whole. Something that's happening is we have pretty much have streamlined all of the processes from the programming department, to testing, all the way to recording the training videos.

Everything is streamlined so that we're going to get Outpost out on time. In the case of the programmers, the programming department in general, we've wiped everything off the plate temporarily. But we've wiped everything out of the way so that we can focus 100 percent of every programmer's time on the Outpost revision.

Like Andrew said, 7.0.2 paved the way now. Now we're stable. And so, everything else, from this point on, is making sure that the Outpost release is as stable as possible, bug free as possible, and that it gives you all of the features that you wanted.

Andrew: So 7.0.2, up and going, challenges behind us, paved for Outpost, brand new dealer experience. End users are going to have a veritable playground that they can't have with Staples and Office Depot. We're really excited that these changes are coming. Programming is very dedicated to it. Phillip's doing a great job.

So Outpost launching leads us into Coalition 11. Outpost will be released prior to Coalition 11. That's here in Austin, Texas on February second, third, and fourth. We encourage you to go to www.Coalition360.com and register for that. We'll actually let Phillip and the programming team out of their cages for that one as well.

So it's going to be an exciting time. Going to have lot's of vendors, Table Top opportunities, great learning experience, educational time for all of our dealers. So thanks for watching Industry Live. We look forward to seeing you next time.