The Stiel Report

Groupon acquires Breadcrumb

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:45:56 +0000

Groupon has acquired Breadcrumb, which builds affordable and intuitive mobile POS products for restaurants and the hospitality sector. Founder Seth Harris boasts more than 12 years of hospitality management experience.

Breadcrumb’s mobile hospitality point of sale system uses wireless, off-the shelf touch devices such as the iPad and cloud computing to deliver its POS services. Breadcrumb works with traditional POS printers and cash drawers, with all data automatically synced in real-time within the Breadcrumb Cloud Server.

Breadcrumb will continue to serve new and existing clients and will offer their product to existing merchant partners. Groupon merchant partners that use Breadcrumb’s point of sale system will be able to significantly improve the process of redeeming a Groupon, according to the company.

Alimentation Couche-Tard extends offer to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Statoil Fuel & Retail

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:26:44 +0000

CSP Daily News reports that Alimentation Couche-Tard has extended –for the second time– its voluntary offer to June 8, 2012, to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Statoil Fuel & Retail. Last week, Couche-Tard extended the original deadline from May 21 until May 29, and said that it was "disappointed" by shareholder response to the $2.68 billion bid, announced on April 18. Alimentation Couche-Tard operates the Circle K brand convenience stores in the U.S.

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U.S. Talent Shortages Persist in Skilled Trades, Engineers and IT Staff

Editor — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:21:26 +0000

Nearly Half of U.S. Employers Struggling to Fill Mission-Critical Positions

ManpowerGroup released the results of its seventh-annual Talent Shortage Survey, revealing 49 percent of U.S. employers are experiencing difficulty filling mission-critical positions within their organizations. Although slightly lower than the 52 percent of employers struggling in 2011, a significant percentage of total U.S. employers continue to face hiring challenges despite continued high unemployment. U.S. employers are struggling to find available talent more than their global counterparts, where 34 percent of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions.

According to the more than 1,300 U.S. employers surveyed, the positions that are most difficult to fill include Skilled Trades, Engineers and IT Staff, all of which have appeared on the U.S. list multiple times since the survey began in 2006. The survey also highlights the most common reasons employers say they are having trouble filling jobs, including lack of available applicants, applicants looking for more pay and lack of experience.

“Based on the many conversations we have with employers every day, ManpowerGroup recognizes the ongoing challenge business leaders face when looking for the right talent,” said Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup president of the Americas. “This skills mismatch has major ramifications on employment and business success in the U.S and around the globe. Wise corporate leaders are doing something about it, and we increasingly see that they’re developing workforce strategies and partnerships with local educational institutions to train their next generation of workers.”

In the United States, the top 10 hardest jobs to fill in 2012 include:

1. Skilled Trades
2. Engineers
3. IT Staff
4. Sales Representatives
5. Accounting & Finance Staff
6. Drivers
7. Mechanics
8. Nurses
9. Machinists/Machine Operators
10. Teachers

Break the Crisis and Complacency Cycle

ManpowerGroup’s 2012 Talent Shortage Survey shows the world continues to struggle with the talent mismatch. At the same time, a substantial proportion of employers indicate unfilled positions are expected to have little or no impact on key constituents, such as customers and investors. This proportion has grown considerably worldwide from 36 percent in 2011 to 56 percent in 2012.

Summary of Global Results

ManpowerGroup surveyed nearly 40,000 employers across 41 countries and territories as part of its annual Talent Shortage Survey. Globally, 34 percent of employers say they are having difficulty filling positions, the three most challenging of which are Skilled Trades, Engineers and Sales Representatives. The reasons most often cited are lack of available applicants and lack of technical skills. Among the 41 countries and territories surveyed, employers are having the most difficulty finding the right people to fill jobs in Japan (81 percent), Brazil (71 percent) and Bulgaria (51 percent).

Full results of ManpowerGroup’s seventh annual Talent Shortage Survey and the Fresh Perspectives Paper, “Break the Crisis and Complacency Cycle: Get Ahead of the Global Talent Shortage”, can be found at http://www.manpowergroup.us/talent-shortage.

Intuit GoPayment GPS Feature Calculates Sales Tax for Mobile Merchants

Editor — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:25:23 +0000

Intuit has added a geolocation feature to its GoPayment mobile card reader to help mobile merchants calculate the correct sales tax to be collected (and paid) based on where a payment is being accepted. <<…>>

Thank You to Our Military and Veterans on Memorial Day!

Editor — Mon, 28 May 2012 18:28:07 +0000

As we observe this holiday, we would like to take the opportunity to reflect on the true meaning of Memorial Day by honoring all the valiant men and women who have defended their country.

Our way of life and the freedoms we enjoy here in America are a result of their sacrifices.

Enjoy today and remember the sacrifices made by others on this Memorial Day. God bless America.

Should bosses drop F-bombs?

Editor — Sat, 26 May 2012 03:08:22 +0000

It’s no longer unheard of for leaders to use language that would strip paint in a bid to demonstrate their passion and commitment. Former Yahoo and Autodesk chief Carol Bartz was notoriously profane in her internal communications, and a younger generation of CEOs is using similarly salty language in daily interactions with workers. "Companies increasingly prefer authentic leaders," Jeffrey Cohn says. "Using colorful language can play to your advantage — as long as you also demonstrate empathy and good business judgment."

Read more in today’s The Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304840904577422683764866606.html

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Citibank NA ends credit card program with Jet Airways (India) Ltd

Editor — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:27:33 +0000

Citibank NA has ended its 13-year credit card program with Jet Airways (India) Ltd, India’s largest airline by passengers carried. Instead, it has announced it launched its own “airline agnostic” card to tap the growing number of air travelers across the country. “The decision was based on market estimates that said fragmentation in the airline industry kept customers from flying with a single airline,” said Anand Selvakesari, country business manager, global consumer group, Citibank India.

Monitoring key vendor relationships to mitigate risks

Editor — Wed, 23 May 2012 22:05:58 +0000

The importance of key vendor relationships requires that retailers and banks monitor their vendor’s business activities and environment as closely as their own, says consultant Brad Keller. "Vendor risk management practices have not kept pace with changes in the vendor-risk environment and do not effectively account for changes in how our vendors operate."

Brad writes, “According to Ernst & Young’s recently released study on supplier risk management , 73% of the companies surveyed rely on individuals in their business units to identify that a vendor has subcontracted some or all of the services they provide. Acquiring information on subcontracting is not part of their vendor-assessment process. In addition, over one-third of the companies that are notified that services have been subcontracted take no action to assess either the subcontractor or the subcontracting process.”

Google honors the legacy of Bob Moog – learn to play here

Editor — Wed, 23 May 2012 14:33:42 +0000

Robert Arthur Moog, known as Bob Moog among friends, was an American best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer. A Google doodle today honors the legacy of Bob Moog, considered by most as the grandfather of electronic music.

I remember his instruments best under the fingers of legendary rock keyboard player Keith Emerson, of the band “Emerson, Lake and Palmer.”

The Bob Moog Foundation’s resident synth expert, Marc Doty, has created a “how-to” video to help those of us not familiar with all the capabilities of a synthesizer get full use of the “Goog”. Check out Marc Doty’s How-To Video () and get started making your own composition! Read more: http://www.moogfoundation.org/

Born: May 23, 1934, New York City

Died: August 21, 2005, Asheville

Education: Queens College, City University of New York (1957)

Apple pre-paid iPhone based on the 3GS model

Editor — Tue, 22 May 2012 20:00:14 +0000

Apple Is getting ready to release their new pre-paid iPhone based on the 3GS model operating as a private-label MVNO. Opening up prepaid will create a massive new market opportunity for Apple in a market that is underserved by smart-phone manufacturers.

Apple has already signed an agreement with a major global distributor and retailers who will drive ways to penetrate the new pre-paid iPhone into domestic and developing markets. The new prepaid iPhone will be priced (at the wholesale level) in the $200 to $250 range, down considerably from the current average wholesale of $375.