"None of us is as smart as all of us" ~Ken Blanchard, The One Minute Manager

After the two difficult years we’ve all been through, I am so pleased to be able to end my tenure as TUG Chair by celebrating the year of the comeback. I started my term just a few weeks after we all went into lockdown in response to a global pandemic, the likes of which we’d never seen in our lifetimes. I got a first-hand view of how our industry stepped up, our organization shifted gears, and our TUG community held together to help each other weather the storm.

My biggest takeaway from TUG CONNECTS 2021 was how powerfully TheUserGroup.org delivers knowledge, networks, and value to member companies. We serve distributors by going wide , with a global community of practice where members share their ideas and solutions every day. We help member companies stay strong by going deep , with tailored educational content for every part of the business—from IT to finance, from the warehouse to the executive suite. We’ve made good use of online channels to build a year-round conversation —where a 10-day, all-digital conference is one important gathering point for a community that never stops meeting, discussing, sharing, and learning. That’s why I’m so excited that registration for TUG Connects 2021 is still open. Yes, you read that right. The conference is in the rear-view mirror, but the knowledge and education we all gathered to share are still relevant. If you’ve already registered for the conference, you still have access to all the keynote speeches and educational sessions that made TUG Connects a milestone experience for everyone who attended. If you still haven’t signed up, it isn’t too late—the conference is still one of the best sources of distribution industry education on the planet, and the library is live online until October 31. Register today for TUG Connects 2021 and choose from more than 280 recorded sessions until October 31. Conference highlights include: Keynote addresses by Infor CEO Kevin Samuelson and senior executives Doug Bellin, Dan DuFault, Nancy Mettenberger, Eric Ryerson, Kelly Squizzero, and Catherine Henn; Industry expert sessions by economist Conor Lokar, inventory management expert Grant Howard, operations and logistics wizard Andrew Weith, and tech advisor James Spellos; Over 250 Focus sessions on an array of topical issues, from eCommerce best practices and warehouse operations to when and whether to return to the office. So many of us are looking forward to meeting up in person at TUG CONNECTS 2022. But there’s a lot to love about digital formats—we saw a big surge in registrations this year, with companies realizing they could assign many more staff to pick the sessions they needed to attend without disrupting their workdays. That means the best choice of digital or face-to-face formats is all of the above, 365 days per year. The learning, information sharing, and collaboration to solve problems all happen wherever TUG members gather—in an online forum, or at a live event next year where we’ll be able to see each other and catch up on two years of crisis, persistence, and resilience. The numbers tell the story about our online webinar series, TUG Connects 365. In the 12 months leading up to the conference, we hosted a mind-boggling 87 sessions for a total of 3,989 live participants. Those webinar recordings also drew a total of 5,754 views, nearly double the number who attended in real-time. And of course, our TUG Member Forum is still the cornerstone of our digital presence, the place where the principle of users helping users runs wide and deep every day. The Forum has 20 active Networking Groups spanning every key technology and business function. So far this year, we’ve hosted 600 unique discussions that have generated more than 1,500 posts. By supporting your participation in TUG, your company has already taken the first essential step to keeping up with a permanently disrupted business environment. Your next assignment is to make sure you get the most out of your TUG membership and to encourage your colleagues in every other part of the business to do the same. Member companies can register an unlimited number of their employees on the TUG Community Forum at no additional charge. We hear again and again that joining TUG, attending webinars and conference sessions, and participating in the Member Forum is like having an incredibly versatile, knowledgeable consultant on call 24/7/365. (And by the way, whoever heard of a consultant who can answer any question within minutes and never sends an invoice?) If you haven’t registered for TUG CONNECTS 2021, sign up today , and get ready for an intensive learning experience that will help you build for success.

When I look at the sudden changes we’ve all been through over the last year, the shifts and adaptations we’ve put in place in our businesses and day-to-day lives, two things are crystal clear. We’ve all been better at meeting a huge, unprecedented challenge because of the ideas, information, and encouragement we’ve taken away from our TUG community. And that experience makes it very clear that TUG’s biggest strength is the size and breadth of that community. That’s why my top priority as Chairman of TheUserGroup.org is to take every opportunity to expand our membership. We’re going to continue reaching out to companies that haven’t yet joined to help them understand what they’re missing. And we’ll be aiming deep as well as wide, making sure the distributors that are already a part of the TUG family are maximizing the value they take away. When I first encountered TUG over 20 years ago, one of the first things I heard was that it’s all about users helping users . It’s the place to go with a question about your Infor software or a challenge with a business process, knowing you’re bound to find a friend or colleague who’s already had to confront and solve the same issue. That only works because TUG has a critical mass of distribution professionals who are committed to sharing their knowledge, supporting each other’s success, and helping each other develop new skills to advance their companies and careers. As we expand our membership, this rich community just keeps getting stronger. The pandemic has opened up a whole new set of strategies to continue building our professional network. Nothing will ever replace our beloved annual conference, TUG Connects. There’s nothing like the face-to-face conversations, eye contact, and handshakes when distributors get to meet in person. But the need to enhance the value that TUG provides became evident. TUG Connects 365 , the new cornerstone of our virtual platform, was born and opened up a whole new set of opportunities for the dozens of colleagues in our companies who can gain from the TUG community but haven’t had the opportunity to attend the conference. Together with the Online Forum, TUG lives and breathes 365 days every year. We have come full circle since March 2020, and our TUG CONNECTS 2021 conference is back, completely virtual. Over the last year, TUG Connects 365 has taught us a lot about how to be successful in this format, and we are ready to bring the same content-rich conference that we are all accustomed to. With Network Meetings, Education Sessions, Case Studies, Product Demonstrations, Roundtables, and Keynote Speakers, the reach this year will dig deep into every distributor’s organization, from our Executive Teams all the way to our End Users. Over 250 sessions to choose from, all without the travel, from the comfort of your own chair. This is the reason TUG is offering the opportunity for a Full Company-Wide Registration at a cost less than the typical in-person conference. Live interactive sessions will span over 10 days from May 10-21, for less than 3 hours per day. All sessions will be available post-conference for 90 days to those that register. We’ve already spent the last several years broadening and deepening the mix of content at TUG Connects, with sessions on human resources, finance, executive leadership, and more. Those early efforts put us in a great position to keep the community together and even extend our reach when the pandemic hit. Once this pandemic is finally in the rear-view mirror, I look forward to us all shaking hands again. But for now, the virtual platform is the only way we can stay together while we’re apart, and we’ve been working incredibly hard to build a premium virtual experience with the same content and networking opportunities you need and expect. Don’t miss out on this tremendous learning opportunity for you and your entire company!

You know TUG has a lot going on when I have to combine two blockbuster announcements in one ' Note From the Chair.'