THE HISTORY OF THE SYTELINE USER NETWORK

The User Network began as the "Syman" User Group in 1988 and met for the first time in Columbus, OH. Symix Computer Systems (then MMS International) hosted the first "Get Acquainted" event at their office in September of 1988. The group's first meeting set about organizing officers and committees to focus on enhancements for different areas of the "Syman" product. "Syman Says" the one and only user's newsletter published under this name was issued in February 1989. The second national meeting in May 1989 still under the name "Syman" set out to create bylaws and six regions for the group, membership at that time was well under 100 companies, but the future looked promising. The first three years the group met in Columbus, OH and the main focus was on putting together "wish lists" or enhancement requests for the product. By 1990 the name had changed from "Syman" to "Symix", and in July 1991 the first issue of the User Menu was published. This was the first serious attempt at communicating nationwide and networking users.

In 1991, Symix began a new trend by hosting the national user conference outside of Columbus, OH, the first being in September in Tucson, AZ. The national conference each year became the forum for the annual regional and national business meetings. As a result, the new conference format grew in popularity, attendance increased each year and the bylaws have been continually tweaked throughout the years to meet growth needs. The year 1991 was also the first year the advisory board met throughout the year as a unit and as a result communication to Symix and users was greatly enhanced. A great amount of time was spent in 1992 and 1993 identifying Symix users and encouraging them to participate in local groups and join the national organization.

In 1994 the South region started an annual event they had their first regional meeting in San Antonio, TX about half a year from the national conference. The meeting was designed to be a "mini" conference featuring presentations by Symix employees, business partners, consultants and users. The cost to attend was relatively inexpensive and the location was central to the region and local groups within the region. Soon the idea caught on and each of the regions now hosts a regional meeting sometime during each year. The membership of the Symix User Group has grown from 170 to well over 750 company members. Each issue of the User Menu, published quarterly, has improved not only in content, but also in layout and design. In 1997 the number of international users, primarily in Canada, had increased to warrant their own region and director representation on the board.

Providing benefit to the member companies through a variety of tools, some tangible and some intangible, has always been the priority of the group. In recent years, considerable time and money has been spent on developing an efficient and working web page for the group. This was the best way for users all around the globe to network, post questions, locate other users and board member, post events, join the group and now, read the User Menu. So into the next millennium the Symix User Group continues its quest "to provide an environment for Symix User Group members to maximize their investment of Symix software through the cooperative exchange of ideas among members and with Symix."

The history of this group is ever changing, in November of 2000, Symix Systems, Inc. stockholders and board of directors voted to change the name of the company to Frontstep. The brand name "SYMIX" for software was also discontinued in the early part of 2001. As a result, the user group was encouraged to consider a name change in alliance with the discontinued use of the name SYMIX and the company name Symix. In October of 2001 it was put to the membership of the user group for a vote on whether to change the name, and if passed, a vote on what the new name would be. As of October 15, 2001 this organization is now known as the Frontstep User Network.

In 2002, MAPICS acquires Frontstep, and the group is now known as the “International MAPICS User Group” or “iMUG”. MAPICS continues to own the Syteline product until 2006 where Infor acquires MAPICS and Syteline software.

The Syteline User Network is born from “iMUG” after the Infor acquisition and continues with this name as of today. SUN continues to be a strong force with the Syteline user base, holding National Conferences every year, and working with Infor to discuss issues with the Syteline product over SQL and Progress platforms.

Symix User Group Past Presidents:

1988 - Scott Rice, Colorifics
1989 - Mike Varley, Memtron Technologies
1990 - Tony Ochoa, Venchures Packaging
1991 - Bill Foot, SB Foot Tanning
1992 - 94 - Tracy Bauman, Johnson Controls
1995 - 98 - Lynn Faber, Varco Drilling Systems
1999 - 2001 - Bruce Carter, R.P. Adams Co.

Frontstep User Network Past Presidents:

2001 - 2002 - Bruce Carter, R.P. Adams Co.

International MAPICS User Group Past Presidents:

2002 - 2003 - Bruce Carter, R.P. Adams Co.
2003 – 2006 – John Crish, Combi Packaging Co.

Syteline User Network (associated with Infor) Past Presidents:

2006 – 2007 – John Crish, Combi Packaging Co.
2007 – 2008 – Kathy Benedict, Combi Packaging Co.
2008 – 2009 – Steve Mayher, CresCor, Inc.
2009 – present – Darren Kennedy, Rimex Supply