Here were some of our top takeaways:

New logo. New era.

The show kicked off with a keynote address by John Case, Acumatica CEO, where he introduced a refreshed logo to indicate the innovations coming in this “new era.”

“We believe the new mark better reflects our market momentum and our forward-looking approach and represents an evolution of who we are as a Community — moving forward together, with clarity and purpose,” said Case.

Focus on sustainability

A key theme at this year’s event was sustainability which was highlighted during the annual Hackathon—an event for developers, marketers and anyone else who’d like to join, hosted the day before Acumatica Summit starts. This year’s theme focused on sustainability and how to meet the UN 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Representing SPS, Acumatica MVP Patrick Chen was on the winning team (aptly named Sustainable Shippers). They built a solution to minimize the number of packages needed for shipping, reducing overall waste.

Blurring the lines in retail

Another theme dealing with emerging trends in retail highlighted the idea that the lines are blurring in retail. It’s no longer just about shipping wholesale B2B or just shipping eCommerce. Almost everyone is expanding or reinventing their business to ship directly to the consumer or to expand their overall presence.

A few of the other emerging trends include:

• Competitive market – The market is becoming even more competitive as companies move into new sales channels (e.g., large distributors/suppliers going direct-to-consumer).
• Demanding customers – Consumers want more flexible delivery and payment methods.
• Complex operations – The fulfillment process is gaining complexity as the market is changing and lines are blurring.
• Profit margins – The pressure on profit margins is driven by competition and the cost of fulfilling orders across channels.
• Workforce constraints – The labor market has also become increasingly competitive.

At SPS, we’ve also seen the retail world become more and more complex over the last few years. Consumers want to buy items where they want to buy them, when they want to buy them and at the best price possible. At face value that seems simple enough, but acquiring and maintaining the systems and processes to pull it off can be incredibly complex.

Awards

SPS is honored to have won ISV Partner of the Year: Distribution. In addition, we’re thrilled to be part of the President’s Club for another year! These awards attest to the ongoing success of our partnership with Acumatica.

We’d be remiss if we didn’t also recognize some of our amazing partners who also won awards at the conference, including:  Algorithm Inc., ASWi, Blytheco, Crestwood Associates, Net at Work, NexTec Group, SWK Technologies, Inc, and WM Synergy LLC.

We look forward to seeing everyone next year!

Interested in learning more about full-service EDI for Acumatica? Visit our Acumatica page for more details.

It’s no surprise that young girls often associate math and science with boys, as only 24% of women make up the STEM workforce. Events like “Think Like a Programmer” are helping to break down those barriers.

“Think Like a Programmer” is a full-day event for Girl Scouts ranging from grade K-3. This event provides young minds to take part in practical exercises to help them understand the fundamentals of programming, jumpstart their coding skills, and continue their dedication to STEM opportunities.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. STEM begins during childhood education and stays dynamic throughout college and beyond. This curriculum focuses on converging math and science with hands-on experiences to apply “real world” knowledge in the classroom and prepare them for success in the future.

Since 2019, SPS Commerce has partnered with Girl Scouts River Valleys twice a year to bring this event to our local community. The girls will use their recently developed knowledge and skills from this event to earn their “Think Like a Programmer Award Badge.”

“Events like this give young girls confidence in their abilities and an interest in technology, at a critical age of development. We can get these girls excited about programming early enough to make a difference as they get older and think about careers. If we want more women in computer science, we need to get them hooked when they are young. This event helps build the future we want to see,” says Amy Patton, VP of Technology at SPS.

March 2020  Event

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, SPS hosted “Think Like a Programmer with SPS Commerce.” More than 30 Girl Scouts, their troop leaders and, SPS employees came together at SPS headquarter, eager to learn how a programmer really does think.

The Girl Scouts collaborated directly with the SPS Women in Tech team to witness first-hand how their learnings would help them develop the necessary skills for prospective future careers.

“As a girl, experiences like this led to my own future as a programmer; it was wonderful to be part of exposing that same possibility to so many more young women for the future of all women in technology,” Charlotte Countryman, SPS Women in Tech member, reflects on her own path to becoming a programmer.

The Women in Tech group consists of more than 60 employees in the Minneapolis office that continuously live out the SPS company value “Give Back.” Similar to their work with Girl Scouts River Valleys and other local organizations, the Women in Tech team is one of many groups at SPS that provide opportunities similar to “Think Like a Programmer with SPS Commerce” throughout the year.

Thank you to all those that made this event such a success!

As a company, SPS Commerce is dedicated to giving back to our local communities and encourage volunteerism and philanthropy among our employees. If you would like to learn more about what SPS Commerce does, visit this page.