I started working with Retail Pro 8 in 2004 doing integrations and plugins. I soon joined Retail Dimensions, Inc. full time and expanded my skills to work with Retail Pro 9 by attending the first classes on integrating with the new product line. I became a key developer at RDi on these applications and worked with many retailers over the years with quite a variety of business needs. It didn't take long to learn that no retail enterprise runs their operation quite like any other. From shipping and fulfillment, external CRMs, a plethora of loyalty programs, new types of payment systems, and remote workers, there's always a new API or file format or platform interface to work with. There's noone that can say they've seen it all--but the ability to enthusiastically learn new technology is crucial. Here is a sample of the types of retail integrations I've built for Retail Pro versions 8 & 9 over the years:
- Inventory export to SmartEtailing for bike shops
- Custom coupon handling and item discounts for a set of farm stores
- Sales data export for analysis and reporting to a third party
- Email server with custom plugin for sending receipts to motorcycle customers
- Custom Purchase Order, Slip, and Voucher integrations
- Membership import and lookup to link a donor program with Retail Pro
- Payment processor for Chinese tourists in Canada
In addition to the breadth of experience, I support applications I've written (and sometimes that others have written) for literally decades. I keep old code and old development systems around just in case someone needs an update. Recently, that came in handy as several applications that had been running smoothly sending files to a remote system via SFTP suddenly needed an update because the technology standards had changed. But whenever practical, I upgrade systems to keep them running and relevant. Keeping up with all of this is a challenge. But it's what I do. It's my passion.