At eZCom Software, our people are what make the difference. To help our community better get to know the team, we’ll be profiling an eZCom Software team member each quarter. These spotlights will highlight a little bit about what they do, how they got here and what matters to them beyond EDI. To kick off 2024, we have Stas Nazarenko, who was recently promoted to a supervisor role on our support team and is the go-to resource for our Lingo Ship Application feature.
Stas, thanks for taking the time to chat with the eZCom content team. Let’s start by you telling us a little bit about your role.
I’m the lead on for the Lingo Ship Application feature within our EDI platform, Lingo. My work consists of installations and configurations within Lingo and managing new potential projects. Anything related to the Shipping Application goes through me before it goes to our development team. Tactically, that looks like this: A retailer (trading partner) sends us an email informing our customers that there is a change to their shipping process. I dig into it to see if it’s possible to satisfy that change within Lingo. Then I bring in the development team. We work together to either build the feature that satisfies the change or we update the settings within Lingo.
For the uninitiated, what does the Shipping Application do for our customers?
First, it’s quick. What could take four to five minutes to create one parcel now takes seconds with Lingo. It’s convenient and reduces errors. If a customer of ours doesn’t have the Lingo Ship Application, they have to create a shipping document which takes a number of steps. They’d have to input packing information, double checking shipping information, including tracking numbers. Then, they’d have to make sure it’s all placed in the correct area of a document. And that all has to be handled through the shipper’s website like ups.com or fedex.com. There is a lot of room for error. But with the Lingo Ship Application, everything happens automatically. Lingo Ship Application easily saves our clients six to 10 hours a week.
Learn more about the Lingo Ship Application.
What do you like most about your work with eZcom?
That's a very complex question! There are a lot of moving parts in my day. I can say the work is never the same! After 10 years with eZcom, I have seen so many challenges. No two days are ever the same. It's like solving a lot of puzzles and who doesn't like puzzles?! I have always been passionate about finding innovative solutions to challenging problems.
Is there a favorite project you’ve worked on here at eZCom?
I'd have to go with the UPS/FedEx Shipping API solution that helps our customers that ship via UPS and/or FedEx (Pre-Paid) accounts that are required to meet retailer's service levels and capabilities. For those that aren't too familiar with Shipping API, it's an application program interface that allows two web applications to communicate flawlessly. It is aimed to simplify the shipping process and provide vendors with some cool time-saving options and convenience.
The combined label story is interesting too. A customer of ours had a big huge business with, at the time, one of the top home retailers in the country. One of the biggest things for this retailer was that brands (i.e., our customers) were able to use a hybrid label that included the GS1-128 label and the shipping label. Without this combined label, the customer would have to print two separate labels. That sounds like a small inconvenience, but at scale, it’s a real challenge. So we offered a really nice solution in the combined label. It had barcodes matching the shipping label and the GS1-128 label. Customers loved that feature. This specific customer wanted to see if combined labels were an option for another one of their trading partners. At the time, the homegoods retailer was the only trading partner facilitating combined labels. So we reached out to a few retailers, and a handful of them said they’d be willing to entertain the idea. One of those trading partners was Veteran Canteen. They asked for a mockup and we ultimately developed a combined label for another trading partner without that being a requirement. Veteran Canteen loved it.
What are some lessons you’ve learned that you would want to tell your younger self?
Good question! Be curious and learn new things. Discover and explore. Don’t limit yourself to what you already know. You never know what you might find out or how it might help you in the future.
Good advice. Changing gears, if you could have any superpower, what would it be?
Now we're talking! Teleportation. There are so many historical sights around the world that tell the tale of humanity, our evolution, our history and our beginnings. I would love to see them all.
What's one thing people don't know about you that they would be surprised to find out?
I get excited about global currency market trading. After a long day of work, some play chess or watch TV. I enjoy identifying Forex chart patterns. I know, it's not your typical after-work activity, but there's something strangely satisfying in trying to forecast the next day’s market movement. I trade a bit with real money but mostly I like to challenge myself and see if my predictions are right.
