Tri-Ed adds business tools

WOODBURY, N.Y.--Tri-Ed in July announced the addition of HindSite Software, a business management system designed for the small contractor or dealer, to its portfolio. It is the first piece of a new Business Solutions category that will be populated by similar products that will help Tri-Ed customers run their businesses efficiently as they look to sell and install security systems. “It’s still in its early stages,” said Keith Daum, a project manager at Tri-Ed tasked with heading the new Business Solutions category, “but there is definitely a commitment there. We want to provide not only the products and services geared toward security, but also we want them to come to us for products and solutions that help them be better business people as well.” Senior vice president James Rothstein noted, “since we became an independent entity three years ago, one of the missions we had was to really diversify the business. We were intrusion when we bought it, and we wanted to diversify across categories, go beyond the basics and see about how we could make more value for the dealer.” HindSite was attractive because of its simple approach, Rothstein said, and Daum said it will especially help dealers manage inventory and ordering more efficiently. It runs on a mobile application, so techs can take it into the field, and when it syncs with the back office, everything from scheduling and routing to contact management and vehicle history can be consolidated. HindSite is also a certified QuickBooks Gold developer, so dealers can create a paperless integration from first call to billing and review. This new category initiative jibes with in-person business training Tri-Ed has begun offering in the last year, and Rothstein said to look for Tri-Ed to being leveraging the Web much more for webinars and online courses. “Especially when companies are challenged on the top line,” he said, “very often they’re technology focused, but they’re not necessarily well versed in how to sell it. We think a real focus on sales and marketing, both locally in the branches and online, can help their business.”