Cosmo DeNicola Companies News

Friday, October 21, 2016

Amtech Software Unveils its Digital Transformation, iNEXT at iThink Conference in Las Vegas

More than 150 industry professionals from corrugator, folding carton and rigid box plants throughout the country met at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, from September 25-29 for Amtech Software’s 15th User Conference and the unveiling of iNext, the next generation of Amtech’s Imaginera system that leverages the Cloud and web-based technology to create powerful new tools for its users.

The five-day conference gave both experienced users and those new to Amtech’s Imaginera system an opportunity to enhance their knowledge base and improve their use of the software and its integration into their company’s many business operations.

Cosmo DeNicola welcomed his customers on Monday morning with unbridled enthusiasm and shared details of Amtech’s investment and commitment to iNext, as well as an ambitious 15-year plan for the future of the company.

Why 15 years? “We wanted to create a platform that would span two business cycles,” said DeNicola. “We wanted to make sure we incorporated the latest technology and had a way to enable new technologies in the future. And we had to do things in a way that would engage a new generation of packaging employers and software users.”

DeNicola also shared how Amtech upgraded all the company’s internal systems so it could be “faster at solving problems, faster at delivering information and faster at improving the quality of outcomes.”

iNext Is iNow

iNext, the next generation of Amtech’s Imaginera System, leverages the power of the Cloud to empower box plant employees to work anywhere at anytime. “iNext will open new doors,” said DeNicola. “All of a company’s employees can have access to all information all of the time using the power of the Cloud. It is truly a platform for the future. Tomorrow is today and the future is now.”

For users who are not ready to make the immediate leap to the Cloud, DeNicola pointed out that iNext works with Amtech’s current Imaginera platform.

Educational Sessions

Amtech’s iThink Conference featured more than 20 educational sessions that were presented on Monday and Tuesday of the conferences and focused on virtually every element of the company’s comprehensive portfolio of software modules.

The session “Complex Product Structures” was presented by Tina Lampus, who instructed attendees on how to manage complex product structures, from estimating to order entry to shipping.

“Disaster Recovery” was presented by Mark Handzlik and Vince Fornito, who raised the questions,“What happens when disaster strikes? And “Is your system and data safe?” Attendees learned how to prepare for the worst so their company is fully protected.

Stephanie Sneed presented “Optimizing Release 4.0,” where attendees were introduced to the latest release of Imaginera in order to prepare for their update.

“Inventory Management” was presented by Michael DeNicola and Sue Hahn, who provided attendees with strategies and best practices for leveraging barcoding to automate and streamline inventory management.

Vince Fornito and Eric Nolan presented “Reducing IT Costs,” which focused on ways users could reduce infrastructure costs and the day-to-day management of their IT environment.

“Troubleshooting Tips, Tricks and New Fields,” a highly interactive session led by Tina Lampus, informed attendees of multiple techniques used by Amtech customers to make their daily work faster and easier.

“Analyzing Waste and Quality” was presented by John Clark and focused on ways companies could improve quality management and waste tracking and analysis.

Sue Hahn presented “High Velocity Closing Books,” which focused on ways companies can speed up month-end and year-end accounting processes.

“Real-time Production,” led by Darren Artillio, showed attendees how to eliminate manual errors and make waste reconciliation mandatory.

Eric Nolan presented the “Imaginera Network Tuneup,” which detailed ways in which attendees could improve their utilization of the system and fine tune their implementation.

In “iServe: Amtech & Futura’s New User Platform,” Dominic Sambucci gave attendees a first-hand look at the new platform.

“Interfaces and Integrations” was presented by Glenn Poyner, who taught users the best ways to request customizations and personalizations for their Imaginera system.

In the new session named “Speed Dating,” Darren Artillio, Mike Cruz, Tina Lampus and John Clark answered attendees questions, one after the other, in a new and exciting learning format.

Cosmo DeNicola and Eric Nolan led the session on “Business Intelligence and Analytics,” where users learned how to leverage their dashboard to get a bird’s eye view of their operation.

“SELF Service,” led by Michael DeNicola and Darren Artillio, introduced attendees to Amtech’s Customer Care Portal and all the tools they need to “self-service.”

Eric Nolan presented “In-Plant Signage,” in which attendees learned how to leverage Amtech’s business analytics modules to visually engage their employees and managers.

In “Go Paperless,” Darren Artillio taught attendees how to reduce paper usage by leveraging the power of document storage to improve workflow and customer service.

Individual Attention

Concurrently, Amtech Software employees were available for One on One conferences with users to discuss users’ individual issues, concerns and ways in which they could optimize Amtech’s many modules and the new iNext platform at their respective plants.

A new feature at this year’s conference were interactive “Lunch and Learn” sessions, where attendees shared their concerns and asked questions of Amtech specialists over an informal lunch. Topics included Cloud, Costing, iNext, iServe, Mobility Sales & Logistics, Product Structures, Programming RFE, Public Relations, Reporting, and Top Gun.

The third day of Amtech’s iNext Conference featured “Mobile Wednesday,” a three-hour session that showcased Amtech’s innovative mobile solutions, which included software and technology designed to streamline a box plant’s operations.

John Clark led Amtech’s “Fall 2016 Continuing Education Course” on Wednesday afternoon, during which he taught attendees how to analyze cost margins in order to determine account strategies for making decisions on existing and future business

Users Respond

Users and attendees representing a variety of roles and responsibilities at plants expressed their satisfaction with their investment of time and money in Amtech.

“I came to learn about the iNext rollout and what it’s going to mean for our plant,” said Bob Wilcox, Controller at Ontario, Canada based McLeish Corr-A-Box Packaging and Design. “We’ve been Imaginera users since 1993 and it was great to get an overall understanding of the new system now that we’re ready to upgrade.”

“The one-on-one sessions were valuable and actually helped solve some of my problems,” said Gabriel Teodor, also of McLeish.

Nicholas Pablonis, IT Manager at U.S. Corrugated, was also impressed. “It’s been amazing. I got to see the new technology coming down the pipe and I’m excited about the tighter integration with the sequel server. iNext is truly the future,” he said. “I also need to say that my experience with Darren Artillio here has been nothing but stellar. He is one of the best technology salespeople I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with in my 30 years in the industry.”

Chris Scallan, Plant Superintendent at Newark, New Jersey based Kampack, said, “This conference was interesting because Amtech is taking the next step in moving to the Cloud with a web-based platform. I’m really excited about iNext and we’re going to start using it soon.”

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Chicken Soup for the Soul Announces Live Theater Development Partnership - Stellation Entertainment

Expands School Offerings with Plays Based on Stories from its Book

October 19, 2016 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

COS COB, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chicken Soup for the Soul is coming to the stage! The world’s favorite storyteller, with more than 250 books in print, is bringing a select group of its 20,000-plus stories to life through live theater for audiences of all ages. Chicken Soup for the Soul has teamed up with Stellation Entertainment to adapt a wide variety of diverse stories to be performed for live audiences. These shows will be distributed worldwide by Theatrical Licensing agent, R&H Theatricals, a division of Rodgers & Hammerstein, An Imagem Company, for performances by schoolchildren, amateurs and professional performers.

The stories will be adapted into innovative one-act musicals ranging from 15 minutes to 45 minutes in length. These mini-musicals can be presented alone or grouped together to create an event around a life lesson, age group or theme. Schools will be able to choose shows with a variety of social themes and casting options, creating a customized production to fit their specific needs.

“For many years our books and stories have been important resources for teachers in their classrooms and we are increasingly focused on creating first-class extraordinary educational materials. We recently introduced a proactive bullying prevention program based on our stories known as ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul Hallway Heroes’ that is now in use in more than 20 states and we plan to continue to introduce new education programs over time,” said William J. Rouhana, Jr., chief executive officer of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

“Many middle school and high school teachers have contacted us to put on Chicken Soup for the Soul theater productions,” continued Rouhana. “We have been looking for the right partner for our live theater efforts for over a year. We can’t imagine any stronger group than Stellation Entertainment and Rodgers & Hammerstein to bring our stories to life on school stages.”

“We believe that this new format will open up many performance opportunities beyond the standard fall and spring musicals. Every year we will be releasing a series of new titles to expand the catalogue,” said William Meade, president of Stellation Entertainment.

“We are pleased to partner with an extraordinary global brand like Chicken Soup for the Soul. Their stories have brought laughter, tears and a sense of belonging to millions of people. We are thrilled to be working with Stellation Entertainment to adapt the Chicken Soup for the Soul message for the stage,” said Imagem chief executive officer, Bill Gaden.

The first round of shows will be released worldwide by R&H Theatricals in 2017.

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Chicken Soup for the Soul, the world’s favorite and most recognized storyteller, publishes the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. With well over 100 million books sold to date in the U.S. and Canada alone, more than 250 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, “chicken soup for the soul” is one of the world’s best-known phrases and is regularly referenced in pop culture. Today, 23 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and hope through its books, this socially conscious company continues to publish a new title a month, but has also evolved beyond the bookstore with super premium pet food, television shows and movies, podcasts, and a variety of other digital content and licensed products, all inspired by true stories, as it continues “changing the world one story at a time®.”

ABOUT STELLATION ENTERTAINMENT, LLC

Stellation Entertainment is a cutting edge provider of live entertainment around the world. For over fifteen years they have produced live theater, recordings, television and interactive shows in over 20 countries including touring school productions throughout the United States and South Korea as well as a musical theater exchange program with the Chinese Ministry of Education.

ABOUT RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN, An Imagem Company

Rodgers & Hammerstein is the organization founded in 1944 by the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II to protect and license their theatrical works. R&H owns the rights to the world’s most popular stage and film musicals, including Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella and The Sound of Music. With offices in New York City and London, the theatrical licensing division, R&H Theatricals, represents the stage performance rights to over 150 musicals by more than 200 writers. Collectively these include works by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Rodgers & Hart (Babes in Arms, Pal Joey), Kern & Hammerstein (Show Boat), Kurt Weill (The Threepenny Opera, One Touch of Venus), Adam Guettel (The Light in the Piazza, Floyd Collins), as well as the incomparable, Irving Berlin (Annie Get Your Gun, White Christmas). R&H Theatricals is home to recent works from Broadway (Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, [title of show], First Date, Sophisticated Ladies and Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party), Off-Broadway (Carrie the musical, Ordinary Days, Altar Boyz, Giant, 21 Chump Street), perennials such as Once Upon a Mattress, Big River and Footloose, a Theater for Young Audiences (TYA) collection which includes Garfield The Musical with Cattitude and Mad Libs Live!, and the longest-running revues in the history of Broadway - Smokey Joe’s Café - and Off-Broadway - I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. Rodgers & Hammerstein is An Imagem Company: www.rnh.com.

Friday, October 14, 2016

Mobile Wound Capture App Hits Market

Futura Mobility has announced that they will now offer an all-in-one clinical mobile app solution.

The Wound Capture application makes it easy to identify and record wounds or other images, while quickly integrating with your HER. This mobile app is HIPAA compliant and will improve your patient’s outcome.

Our mobile app is not only easy to use, but is integrated with your patient registration system via file watching. This enables you to auto on-board and update submitted patient data. With our built-in “timeout” you never have to worry that patient data is resident between transactions on the device, whether it is IOS or android. Use Futura Mobility’s wound capture app on any BYOD with camera bar code interpretation or ruggedized device with built in bar code scanner.

Features include:

• Web-based console for administrating users, patients, data driven wound area, &location lists

• Ability to brand the console and device app colors with your hospital logo and colors

• Image recall based on retention periods

• Integration services to Active Directory providing second level app security

• Built in report writer and analytics to create reports and statistical analysis

If you would like to learn more about our quick to implement and easy to use all-in-one Wound Capture app, please contact us at sales@futuramobility.com or 215.642.3363.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Weathering the Ups and Downs of Your Business' Finances

Cash flow is very different from sales, orders, an earned revenue. It can come from many parties: customers, banks, vendors, investors; and can take many forms: debt, equity, etc. Cash in any industry is king. Follow these tips on how to take control over your cash flow and "wear the crown."

Use your vendors as a bank by extending payment terms, using credit cards and tying vendor payments to customer payments upon acceptance. For large purchasers, get Letters of Credit which are less costly than borrowing and use leasing for your internal capital expenditures by matching your payment plan with accounting amortization and estimated useful life.
Asset-based loans allow companies to leverage all assets (receivables, inventory, intangibles) to squeeze collateral to create credit lines. Factoring uses accounts receivable to provide speedy cash flow for growing companies.
Many Executives and entrepreneurs focus too much on the profit and loss and don't manage the balance sheet. Find other assets to leverage. Pay attention to ratios such as debt to equity and current ratio.
Whispers can create noise in collections. Stay tuned in to customer service and quality issues (they can be cash killers). High finished goods inventory and delayed customer shipments can stretch cash flow. Consider invoicing clients and requiring payments for shipments on hold.
Create Proactive collections process paying close attention to the terms and conditions of sales and payments. Timely collection calls and prompt issue resolution can keep the cash flowing. Invoice customers electronically by leveraging technology to speed up the invoicing process with electronic signature for proof of delivery.

Take for example, Amtech Software, and award-winning, 35-year old technology company specializing in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for the packaging and forest products industries. When we decided to re-architect one of our products to the cloud we knew it was going to be a multi-year project with costs in the millions before we would begin to generate cash flow.

We found our lender to be very supportive and offered long-term financing which gave us the confidence to begin the design phase. Once we moved from design to development (85 percent of the costs in this phase) we set out to find a hungry development company that would help us align our payments with anticipated cash receipts. We were very firm in our requirement that any vendor must have the financial strength and staying power to support their cost by delaying our disbursements to them. We found a vendor who was enthusiastic to initiate the project and meet our needs by extending payments over 30 months in total and six months in total and six months past completion date.

Between our bank and vendor our product development costs have not had any negative impact on our revenue and operations. In fact, they have paved the way to what we hope will be unprecedented growth.

As a 35-year technology industry veteran, Cosmo DeNicola has founded and led several national companies (both private and public) to market-leading positions. Philadelphia-based Cosmo DeNicola Companies is a privately held holding company with a diverse portfolio of businesses ranging from health care, technology, professional sports and entertainment.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Amtech Software’s 2016 iThink Conference Draws Users To Las Vegas

More than 150 industry professionals from corrugator and folding carton plants throughout the country met at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, from September 25-29 for Amtech Software’s 15th User Conference. The three-day conference gave both experienced users and those new to Amtech’s Imaginera system an opportunity to enhance their knowledged base and improve their use of the software and its integration into their company’s many business operations.

Amtech branded the conference “iThink” with the intention of provoking thought and conversation around the next generation of technology and how it will be applied to the corrugated industry. Much of the conversation focused on “iNext,” the next generation of Amtech’s Imaginera system that leverages the cloud and web-based technology to create powerful new tools for users.

“We’ve evolved from ‘I think’ to a collaborative ‘we did it,’” said Cosmo DeNicola in his introductory comments.“We’ve created a platform that will span two business cycles and we want to incorporate the latest technology as well as enable new and future technologies to engage the next generation of packaging employees and software users.”

Amtech’s software analysts were available for one-on-one consultation sessions throughout the conference and users attended breakout sessions focused on individual applications within the diverse Imaginera system and add-on modules.

Complete coverage of the Amtech Software’s User Conference will appear in a future issue of Board Converting News.

Friday, October 7, 2016

Pursuit Healthcare Advisors Approved as Registered Education Provider by the PMI

PHILADELPHIA, PA – October 5, 2016 — Pursuit Healthcare Advisors, LLC (Pursuit) is pleased to announce that we have been certified as a Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) by the Project Management Institute (PMI).

PMI is the leading not-for-profit professional membership association for project managers. They offer eight certifications including the Project Management Professional (PMP®). Organizations with R.E.P. status have demonstrated that they are capable of providing world-class, effective project management training necessary to earn and maintain a PMP certification.

“We are very honored to be approved as a PMI R.E.P.” says Marc Hirshfield, Managing Partner for Pursuit. Michael Gwardyak, Service Line Vice President adds, “It is an enormous achievement for our team, and one that highlights our commitment to the community. Our project managers help clients effectively implement a variety of initiatives across the healthcare IT spectrum. Using our proven methodology, PROVANTEDGE, we are able to bring services and tools that are backed by PMI best practices and standards.”

In addition to providing scalable project and program management guidance to their clients, Pursuit is proud that they can now help clients earn Professional Development Units (PDUs) toward their PMI credentials.

Friday, October 7, 2016

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?? Practice, Practice and Best Practices….

John Clark
The packaging Industry is going through a major transformation as competition heats up and markets remain stagnate. To compete companies must reduce cost, improve customer service, innovate design and deliver on time. The pressures companies are facing are forcing them to review all their workflows to achieve these goals and drive improved performance. These improvements manifest themselves in transformational Best practices.

Here a a few:

Making it easier to do business with your company

Packaging manufacturers are providing online quotes and ordering. Enabling Customer Self-service with real time tracking of production and deliveries.

Going paperless

Electronic Proof of Delivery (iPad,tablet,phone)and automated invoicing delivers invoices immediately for improved cash flow by eliminating invoicing turn around time. Additionally this reduces the administration effort (Billing person) and could eliminate a position in companies where there are large quantities of orders. By going paperless for specs and scheduling in the plant companies can electronically collaborate from design to order fulfillment assuring that customer specs are perfect and orders arrive Just in Time.

Tighten up the sales process and enabling Mobile devices

Companies are implementing sales force automation systems and workflow tools to automate the sales process from customer inquiry through design, sample making and quotations. This improved workflow gets the end user a more accurate, timely (and profitable) quote while providing the basic information necessary for the plant to initiate approvals and production. Salespeople are also becoming more like account managers and are assuming a much broader level of responsibility where they need access to continually updated customer information such as: orders, schedules, shipping and AR to grow an account and be part of the service paradigm. Today’s CRM systems have taken over for the good old days of personal touch and telephone calls.

Big Data and Analytics are replacing reports and excel spreadsheets

Historical information is becoming a thing of the past (pun intended) as companies have access to real-time data and sophisticated algorithms that can predict the future and alert you to trends. In addition to reports and graphs analytic tools are crunching productivity, sales , logistics and financial information and present results anywhere anytime for an actionable response to improve a situation and outcome.

Finally companies are outsourcing non-core functions such as IT and payroll as plants try to better utilize team members strategically and attempt to get lean by reducing headcount. The migration to the Cloud is reducing IT spending, capex and human support needs as companies need access to a team of outsourced experts vs a single treaded expert.

Understanding your customers and your internal strengths and weaknesses are the first steps in redefining how you can operate at a higher level. Adopting new, better practices will rely on your commitment, people and stick-to-itiveness.

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Simply Happy in Seconds

A Crash Course in Chicken Soup for the Soul Advice and Wisdom that Will Change Your Life

COS COB, Conn. – When Amy Newmark sat down and read more than 100 past Chicken Soup for the Soul books nine years ago, prior to becoming publisher and editor-in-chief of the iconic series, she had no idea how much reading those 10,000 stories would change her. She says that her “crash course in Chicken Soup for the Soul advice and wisdom” left her happier, more relaxed, more compassionate, and more grateful for the blessings in her life. And she reports that her education has continued as a result of the tens of thousands of additional revealing, personal stories she has read since that initial immersion.

Simply Happy (Chicken Soup for the Soul; Amy Newmark; October 4, 2016, 978-1-61159-949-7, $14.95) distills what Newmark has learned into a fast-paced and funny deep dive into dozens of simple ways to create a happy, confident, and positive life. Most of her tips are easy to implement—in a second—just by deciding to view something differently. Newmark recounts examples from her own life and more than 60 Chicken Soup for the Soul stories that she found particularly influential. There are 25 chapters with a wide-ranging selection of Newmark’s best stories and tips, including chapters on:

using thankfulness to change relationships at home, at school, and at work
easy time management tips
having fun while raising responsible kids
using the power of no to make time for what matters
making a habit of stepping outside your comfort zone
harnessing your dreams to discover what your subconscious already knows
changing your life forever through forgiveness
six easy ways to reduce stress and keep it away
why you need to eliminate toxic people from your life
how to get the best out of everyone—family, friends and strangers
why you should strive for excellence but not perfection
why you should treat yourself as well as you treat your guests

Publishers Weekly said of the book: “This compilation of lessons from a Wall Street investment banker turned self-help author and publisher will enrich the lives of its readers... Sensible and empowering...”

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL

Chicken Soup for the Soul, the world’s favorite and most recognized storyteller, publishes the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. With well over 100 million books sold to date in the U.S. and Canada alone, more than 250 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, “chicken soup for the soul” is one of the world’s best-known phrases and is regularly referenced in pop culture. Today, 23 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and hope through its books, this socially conscious company continues to publish a new title a month, but has also evolved beyond the bookstore with super premium pet food, television shows and movies, podcasts, and a variety of other digital content and licensed products, all inspired by stories, as it continues “changing the world one story at a time®.”

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Steinberg First Round Client Steps Up in Debut

How's this for fate ...

When Paxton Lynch was called off the Broncos bench to make his unexpected NFL debut this weekend, 100 of his closest friends and family members just happened to be in the stands.

Here's the deal ... the Broncos were playing in Tampa Bay -- about 90 minutes from where the Denver rookie went to high school.

100 of the QB's closest friends and family decided to buy tickets to the game to support their boy -- knowing he's the 2nd string QB behind Trevor Siemian ... who's been on fire lately.

Fast forward to the 2nd quarter -- Siemian goes down, Paxton goes in and balls out -- 14 of 24 for 170 yards and a TD ... and his cheering section LOVED IT!!!

"We weren't even expecting him to play," Paxton's mother, Stacie, tells us ... "We just went to show support, and were lucky enough to see him get some action."

"He was excited everyone was able to come!"

We also spoke with Lynch's high school coach, Allen Johnson, who says he wasn't surprised by Paxton's performance -- he'd been preparing like crazy for that moment.

"I talked to him after the game yesterday briefly," Johnson said ... "He said he’s going to be there for the team and not be the reason why they don’t make it back to the Super Bowl."

Moving forward, Siemian is expected to start next week ... but both Lynch's mom and ex-coach say he'll be ready to go if need be.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Amtech Promotes 3 New Presidents

Cosmo DeNicola, President of packaging industry leader Amtech Software, is proud to announce a major expansion plan that will digitally transform the packaging industry.

With the completion of their iNext cloud-based system, Amtech expects to install and convert 100 plants per year for the next several years to their new platform. To handle the volume of business and the high expectations of their clients, they have enhanced their implementation methodologies, grown their staff, and created a more robust leadership team. With 35 years of experience and 1,000 plants installed, Amtech is drawing from its past to enhance its future and the futures of their customers.

“We are growing our company with confidence by promoting from within,” stated Amtech Chairman Cosmo DeNicola.

Recently announced promotions that will go in effect January 1, 2017 include: Eric Nolan, who has been with Amtech since 1990, has been promoted to President of Customer Engagement; Darren Artillio, with Amtech since 1994, has been promoted to President of Packaging; and Dominic Sambucci, with over 8 years of experience supporting Amtech’s customers as COO of sister company Futura, has been promoted to President of Operations and Support.

These moves position the company for the future and create additional bandwidth for growth. “I love the business and respect our role in it and expect to stay as involved as ever as I mentor our leadership team and ensure that we continue to be a strategic partner to the packaging industry,” remarked DeNicola.

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