Notes from the President

06 November 2018 khilton Notes from the President


Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

Instead of telling you what I think this month, I’ll just ask some questions to provoke some thought. If these questions look familiar, and you’ve been asking them for a while, it might be because I asked similar questions in this newsletter about eleven years ago. Don’t just read the questions, actually think about your answers.
Are you controlling your business, or is your business controlling you?
Do you control the expenses in your business by operating from a budget, or do you operate by the “seat of your pants”?
Do you have processes in place (and documented) for internal job functions, or do you assume everyone knows what they are supposed to be doing?
You know that everyone in your organization has certain responsibilities. Have they been clearly communicated, and do the people in your organization know they have these responsibilities?
Do you know the true cost of items that you produce or buy for resale, including indirect costs?
Do you know your most profitable items and those items that are not so profitable and maybe should be discontinued?
Do you know your businesses key financial ratios, what they mean, and where the danger levels are?
Do you analyze the return on new asset purchases before the purchase is made?
If you think you have good answers to all of these questions, good for you. I challenge you to continually ask these questions throughout the year, and improve operations through better management. At Red Wing Software, we evaluate our position and try to answer these questions regularly. We fear that once we think we know all the answers, we stop improving.

Customers in the News

04 October 2018 StephanieE Customers in the News

Lyndell Dairy featured in Dairy Star magazine

West Ridge LLC, of Bellingham, Minnesota, was featured in the July 14, 2018 issue of Dairy Star magazine. In the story entitled, “Sand Bedding, Activity Monitors, 3x Milking Make More Milk for West Ridge,” the Barthel family describes the steps that led to success in dairy farming.

Customers to hold Seminars World Dairy

Check out the lineup of World Dairy Expo seminars, in the September 12th issue of Progressive Dairyman. Three Red Wing Software customers are scheduled to hold seminars at the event. All of these seminars are being held at the Mendota 2 meeting room of the Alliant Energy Center’s Exhibition Hall.

Homestead Dairy, LLC

Large-scale robots: Is it worth the hype? Wednesday, October 3, 11:00am.

Blue Star Dairy

Virtual Tour – Highlights: 2,600 milking/family-run/multi-state farm. Wednesday, October 3, noon.

VanderMade Dairy

Virtual Tour – Highlights: 2,180 milking/cow comfort and longevity. Wednesday, October 3, 2:00pm.

Red Wing Software - Notes from the President Ken Hilton

04 October 2018 khilton Notes from the President


Ken Hilton - President Red Wing Software

One of Red Wing Software’s core values is to have fun. As an example, while I’m writing this, I hear a chorus of voices singing Happy Birthday in someone’s office. Don’t get me wrong, everyone takes their respective job seriously and wants to live up to our Vision – “Creating the Best Management Software Experience.” But, occasionally, a bean bag tournament will break out.

When you work with the best people and have great customers, then get them together, as we recently did at a classroom training in our Minnesota office, it’s hard not to enjoy the experience. On several occasions over the three-day training, attendees would ask, “Can I meet (fill in the blank)? I talk to them all the time and would like to put a face to the name.” We’d get them together, and then I’d hear the customer say, “I’m the person that always calls and bugs you about …”. Of course, the answer from our staff is always, “You’re not bugging me; that’s my job and we’re here to help. We would much rather you call and get help than struggle and get frustrated. We like to hear from you.”

Our team really does enjoy doing their jobs. During one of the breaks, a customer wanted to discuss something they were struggling with in the software, and had a suggestion for a new feature. Within about two minutes we had a small team assembled to hear what the issues were and find ways to help. Believe me when I say, “These team members didn’t drop what they were doing just because I asked them to - they truly wanted to know what we could do to improve the customer experience.”

Join us in having fun, and help us have fun by letting us help you.

Behind the Scenes - August 2018

10 September 2018 roxie-thoner Behind the Scenes
• Connie’s (Technical Writer) daughter, Jenna, was accepted into South Dakota State University for the Fall of 2019. She will be majoring in Human Development Family Science and hopes to compete on the SDSU dance team nationally.
• Katrina (Administrative Assistant) enjoyed a wonderful family vacation in Sand Lake, WI.
• Mike (Quality Assurance Manager), his wife (Kathryn), and daughter (Kadence) vacationed to Boston, MA - shown here by the USS Constitution.
• Ryan and Cori’s (Graphic Designer – QA Analyst) son had a little mishap on the monkey bars which got him a trip to the OR to have a bone aligned.
• Jada’s (Technical Support Specialist) son, Lane, won the AMA Youth Hillclimb Racer of the Year award in Monson, MA bringing home a trophy as tall as him. Pictured here with dad, Josh.
• Ashley’s (Technical Support Specialist) daughter, Paytin, at Campo Wapo is famous. They took her picture from last year and made posters to put around the camp. One proud mom.

Virtual Classroom - September 2018

06 September 2018 roxie-thoner

The online Virtual Classroom provides you with in-depth information and explanations that allow you to learn more about CenterPoint from any location where you can access the internet (high-speed internet connection recommended). The Virtual Classroom offers the following live training sessions (the live sessions will also be recorded and sent to you so you can refer to the information afterwards.)

Inventory Setup & Processing for CenterPoint Accounting
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
9:30 am – 11:30 am CDT
Price: $59.00

CenterPoint Time Clock for CenterPoint Payroll
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm CDT
Price: $39.00

Click here to register for these sessions.

The Virtual Classroom offers pre-recorded training sessions as well as live training sessions. This gives you the flexibility to access the training at any point after the original live session was offered. The pre-recorded sessions can be purchased with 30-day access and can be viewed as many times as you like during the 30 days.

You can view and purchase pre-recorded sessions from our web site at www.redwingsoftware.com.

• If logged into the web site, go to the My Member Account page (from the Welcome menu, select My Account Home), select the Training tab, and then select the Recorded tab.
Or
• Select Menu > Virtual Classroom Training (under ‘Services’ on the right-hand side of the menu), and then select the Recorded tab.
Or
• Select the Training button on the Main web site page, select Virtual Classroom, and then select the Recorded tab.