Disclaimer – The information collected above reflects only what could be verified by viewing websites from each company on the date collected. Please let us know if there are any inaccuracies.

Steven Slater made creative use of an emergency slide

Steven Slater, the Jet Blue Flight attendant,  found an evacuation slide to be a handy exit from a heated discussion with a contentious passenger.

Whether you agree or disagree with his actions, he brought attention to the issue of passenger behavior on commercial flights in a dramatic and entertaining way.  And he made creative use of an emergency slide.

JetBlue may be needing a replacement.

If you ever need a part in a hurry (for any reason – even ones that don’t make national news!) you can find it quickly, chat live with the seller (voice or text) and have it on its way.

Need an emergency slide? Find it in the Live Marketplace and chat live with the seller. Click to enlarge

If you have a preferred vendor list, you may be working harder than you need to.

Typically, when you need a part, do you go to each individual vendor website (or even more time-consuming – consult their catalog or call on the phone) until you find the part you need?  Only to find out that the part is out of stock and you have to start over?

Don’t do that anymore!

When you’re part of the RHOBI network, you can easily manage your preferred vendors by creating a “group” that includes all of the vendors on your list.  This is easy to do and you only need to do it once.  Steve or any one of the sales guys can walk you through the process if  you’d like.  Then, whenever you’re looking for a part or component,  just open the group you created, type in the part number, and the system will show you every item that is currently IN STOCK (since RHOBI is a “live marketplace” environment, it only shows inventory updated from the vendor’s records in nearly real-time.)

If you’d like, you can click on the company name for more information, or click on a person that is online for a live text or voice chat to get your questions answered.  Much less paperwork, leaving voice mail, or hoping your email didn’t disappear into a black hole.

Oh, and if you add or remove a preferred vendor from the list, just add or remove them from the group you made in the Live Marketplace and you’re good to go.

Your part is on its way, you know you got the best price available from any of your preferred vendors, the paperwork is done in record time, and even if it’s a Monday and raining, life is pretty good.

And for the first 200 businesses to respond, RHOBI is offering the Live Marketplace beta at a reduced cost, or possibly even free if you qualify.  Call  479-242-3622 or write sales@rhobi.com to get your questions answered, and to get started today.  You may have just had your last preferred-vendor-list-inspired headache!

We are building a team of Beta Test companies (up to 200 Total) that are interested in helping us test the Live MarketPlace and develop future functionality of our program.

• Unlimited users per location (the more the better!)
• Unlimited inventory line items / Upload and Market your inventory of parts and service
• Unlimited search’s by part number, partial part number or description
• Full functionality of the Live MarketPlace Desktop application for searching for products and communication with your contacts, customers and vendors.
• Full functionality of Advantage (our online inventory management / order processing system)
• Multiple inventories for public and non-public use (even by A/C tail number or Reg. number)
• Your companies profile for marketing and communication with your customers and vendors
• Your companies banner and link to your website on every desktop application
• Ability to add Live Audio / Instant Messaging to your company website
• Your own personal profile for communication with your contacts, customers and vendors.
• Communicate with contacts, customers and vendors via;

Live Audio chat (Reduce phone calls, eliminate toll charges)

Instant messaging

Email

Direct Messaging

• Upload, Manage and communicate with your Outlook contacts on the desktop application
• Upload, Manage and communicate with your LinkedIn contacts on the desktop application
• Market your company on Wall Posts (Twitter like functionality)
• View and comment on your contacts messages (Facebook like functionality)
• Join and start your own groups for discussions (LinkedIn like functionality)
• Secure Log in (https) using 256 bit encryption, same level as most online banking

All we require from our beta test companies are the following;

• Keep your Inventory up to date if uploading, (system will delete it after 30 days).
• Join the LMP Beta Test Group and Post your comments and suggestions
• Have 2 or more users registered on the system, (more the better)
• You and your registered users must keep the desktop application logged in and running so customers can contact you instantly about your product and services.
• Post comments to your company and personal walls for marketing purposes
• Work with us to develop and add new functionality that would benefit everyone

Click to watch what the Marketplace can do for your company!

OPTIONS

(We currently offer you 3 options, please choose which one would best fit your budget)

Option 1.
Join our beta test team for Free. Receive full functionality and abide by the guidelines above. Once beta testing is over, (approx. 1 year or more) your price if you decide to stay onboard would be $1,995 a year per facility with unlimited users for the Live MarketPlace. If after beta testing is over, you decide not to stay on, keep the desktop application and use it for free to search and communicate with your contacts.
Option 2.
Join our beta test team for $480 a year per location with unlimited users, abide by the guidelines as spelled out above. Your price is frozen as long as you stay current on the system.
Option 3.
Neither options 1 or 2. Decide to wait and not join our beta test team. Pay full regular price of $3960 per location and up to 5 users, once you do come onboard you also have to pay for advertising your company banner.

Referral Program:
2nd Year Free! If you help us add 10 of your customers or vendors to the LMP, your second year is FREE. (Your membership fee would start after your 2nd year) Ask us about more details.

Call Steve Edwards at 479-242-3622 and sales@rhobi.com.  We can help you set up your company and your users, import your inventory, and get started selling!

We look forward to hearing from you!

Screen shot of Desktop Application from 7/12/2010

Many business owners feel a little weird about buying “Cloud Based” software, or software that they don’t install on their own servers and manage themselves.

Owning something that you can’t put your hands on feels a bit strange.

Companies that sell software know this – putting CDs of data in a large, mostly empty box, together with a manual that you won’t read.

All of this is unnecessary for the software- you could just as easily download it over the internet, and in fact usually do download a new version as soon as you install it. And the online help documents are usually more up-to-date and usable than the  manual.

But the box is important for the consumer to feel like he’s getting something for his money.

Cloud computing or subscription software (like RHOBI) sometimes has that same problem. It can be hard to explain to customers that the value is not in an object you can put your hands on, but in what you can do with it.

It seems that consumers are catching on:

The global market for enterprise cloud-based services will grow from $12.1 billion in 2010 to $35.6 billion in 2015 (see Figure 1). The year-on-year growth rate will be 43% in 2011, but will decrease to 13% over the next five years. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) will account for 70% of revenue in 2010, while 30% will be related to infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS). This revenue split will change over the next five years, as IaaS’s share increases to 40%.

Figure 1: Enterprise cloud-based service revenue by sales channel, worldwide, 2015 [Source: Analysys Mason, 2010]

From http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/12/cloud-computing-growth-entrepreneurs-technology-informationweeksmb.html

The values of cloud software or SAAS are many:

• You don’t need massive servers in the basement to buy massive computer power.
• You don’t need an IT staff to take care of the massive servers in the basement.
• Service and training are generally better than “resident” software
• The economies of scale allow very small companies to purchase licenses and use very sophisticated software that would otherwise be financially out of reach.

RHOBI’s inventory management and business management systems are a great fit for aviation small businesses (and medium and large businesses as well!)

We’d be happy to talk with you about your inventory management needs. Call Steve Edwards at 479-242-3622 and sales@rhobi.com for a free, no-pressure discussion about how RHOBI can help with your current situation.

Social Networking is becoming the way to do business today and unfortunately this takes and investment of your time, therefore there is a value attached to it.

Generating leads, establishing new contacts and business relations helps you see an ROI of your investment, but what if you could have all the functionality of the different social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn), your multiple contact lists (Outlook, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn) and your inventory management & order processing system, all in one place at one time, right on your desktop.

No need to go to 3 or more web sites. No more paying for multiple locator services. No need to keep up with contacts at different web sites. We have developed the first Global Live MarketPlace that allows you to do all these things at once, plus, reduce the amount of phone calls you make. Our desktop application allows you to search for needed product and services, choose who you want to talk to, and then with a click of a button, actually have live audio chat with them. If they are busy, you can send an IM, or email as well.

Best part is, our yearly membership fee gives you unlimited users per facility, plus we automatically tie you to every company within your industry. From there you can actually customize your list for your approved vendor/customer list. Only deal with the companies you want to deal with and you choose who actually gets a return of your inventory data base.

Interested yet? We offer any company a FREE trial to see for yourself how much time and money you could be saving, so contact me, Steve Edwards (steve@rhobi.com). It only takes a few minutes to set you up and you are off and running.

The newest version of the RHOBI Live Marketplace allows buyers to chat online live with vendors, in the RHOBI Marketplace or on the vendor’s own website.

July 8, 2010 – RHOBI has released  v 4.0.16 of their Live Marketplace software.  This new desktop application has a built in web browser that allows any member to add a “Start Live Chat” button to their own registered web site.

This new feature gives the aviation component buyers and sellers the ability to click an icon on their desktop application as many times as they want to open multiple chat windows. We will be adding a favorites folder to the browser for access to your favorite sites. Called the NEW “Live Social Supply Chain Network,” the Live Marketplace allows aviation component buyers and sellers to search and find components quickly and conveniently by keyword or part number, and now they also have the ability to communicate instantly via live audio, IM, or send emails right from your desktop.

Companies that join the Live MarketPlace can add the Start Live Chat button on the Contact Us page of their own web site.  Anyone using the new desktop application has the ability to talk to an actual person instead of sending emails.

This is an important development for aviation component companies since the current economic environment requires them to be more efficient.  The RHOBI system streamlines the process, eliminates confusion, and eliminates the need for separate phone calls, purchase orders and other administrative tasks in buying and selling parts.

About RHOBI.

RHOBI, or Reinventing How Online Businesses Integrate, is a 100% web based social supply chain network. RHOBI Advantage was founded originally in 2007 under the product name PartMotion and was publically debuted at the 2009 Aviation MRO show in Grapevine, Texas. RHOBI services provide a complete integrated solution for business professionals to build their contacts, maintain their supply chain, operate their company, and market their saleable goods.

How often does it happen that you’re looking at something on a web page and have a question. Rather than clicking a bunch of links or using a “search” feature, wouldn’t you like to actually, just . . . talk to someone?

Well, now you can. In the Live Marketplace, you can choose from instant messaging, direct messaging (similar to email) or even Live Chat.  If the seller is online, you’ll be able to have a real conversation on your computer and get your questions answered.

Want to try it?  Go to www.RHOBI.com.

You can see components available in the Live Marketplace, or use the search feature to look for what you need by keyword or by part number.  No software is needed, and there’s no charge.

Want to list your inventory in the Live Marketplace?

Contact the appropriate salesperson for a low-key, no-pressure conversation and demo.

Bill Dunlap (Aviation Sales) email: bill@rhobi.com Phone: 479-242-3623

Tammy Brown (VP, Helicopter Sales) email: tbrown@rhobi.com Phone: 903-876-5448

John Hoyos (VP, Latin America Sales) email: latinamericasales@rhobi.com
Phone: 479-595-0455

We love the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS™, especially his “Top Ten” lists, so we made our own.

Top Ten Reasons NOT to try the RHOBI Live Marketplace:

(Drumroll, please. . . )

Number Ten – If we sell to new customers, our old customers might feel like we’re cheating on them. . .

Number Nine – Who needs new customers, anyway? Customers just create more work. . .

Number Eight – We’d have to think up new time-consuming tasks (besides duplicate data entry) to keep our employees out of trouble.

Number Seven – If we sell more stuff we have to pay more taxes. And we don’t like paying taxes.

Number Six – If we stop printing catalogs, what would our customers line their birdcages with?

Number Five – Our inventory looks much bigger and more impressive if it’s out-of-date.

Number Four – We’re ignoring the Internet in the hopes that it will go away.

Number Three – Selling on the web would be unsportsmanlike to our less sophisticated competitors.

Number Two – If we can manage our inventory and transactions from anywhere, how will we know our employees are not on the golf course?

And our favorite,

Number One – If we sell all our stuff, we’ll just have to buy or build more!

Cue music!

If none of the above apply to you, you’re welcome to try the RHOBI marketplace in your business risk free.

We’d be happy to talk with you about your inventory management needs. Call Bill Dunlap at 1-479-242-3623 or email Bill@RHOBI.com for a free, no-pressure discussion about how RHOBI can help with your current situation.

John Hoyos heads RHOBI’s Latin American Sales Division.

John started working with in sales with Data Access, providing solutions for European and Latin American companies.

“Whatever companies need, I know where to get the parts for them.” he says.

RHOBI now provides dedicated service to aviation companies in Latin America -Including great companies like these:

In his spare time, John enjoys watching movies. His favorites are war movies, including Avatar.  He also enjoys relaxing on a ranch in Colombia.