Computer Technology Support

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM is now approaching the phase of being mature product and the CRM solution you may consider for large publicly traded company. Our view point considers the fact of multiple platforms and systems coexistence and balancing: UNIX, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Java, .Net, PC, AS/400, RS6000, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes Domino, etc. This increases the cost of maintenance, but decreases the risk of being trapped to one vendor/solution. So far we’ve seen successful implementations of Microsoft CRM in the following industries: Distribution, Logistics, Non-Profit, Chemicals, Pharmaceutical, Placement/Recruiting, Medicare/Hospitals, Retail, Wholesale, Education, Beverages, Services, Defense, Aerospace, Oil & Gas.

• In-house Implementation. This is non-expected paradox. Multiple clients, especially large companies, do it themselves. The reason is – Microsoft CRM utilizes all spectrum Microsoft Technologies: Exchange, Active Directory, .Net, Full-text search, etc. Microsoft oriented IT people understand it and like to be involved. So, you should consider self-implementation first.

• Integration. Microsoft CRM has relatively simple business logic and sits in Microsoft SQL Server, which enables customization and integration with third party systems and databases. If you have Microsoft Great Plains – you can use MBS CRM-GP integration tool, based on BizTalk. If you have UNIX-based ERP/Accounting, you can deploy MS SQL linked server to bridge MS CRM and ERP. The same would work for Oracle ERP – Oracle Financials. Navision has third party integration tool and the one from Microsoft is on the way to be released. Axapta is also candidate for the integration.

• Customization. Microsoft CRM SDK describes majority of MS CRM objects and classes and enable VB.Net or C#.Net developer to build-in custom .Net application for Microsoft CRM existing screens. And this is actually the way of the integration – you realize integration in the custom .Net application.

• Messaging. Microsoft CRM uses MS CRM-Exchange connector in its standard functionality. However if you have IBM Lotus Domino email server – you can deploy MS CRM-Lotus connector, developed and supported by Alba Spectrum Technologies.

• Data Conversion. You should use Scribe for initial data migration. However you need some programming work if you plan on bringing advanced data (email attachments from Siebel, for example)

• External consultants. You should consider customization and integration initial design as candidates for outsourcing. Then, when coding is done and implemented – you may switch to your internal developers to support custom pieces.

• Nation-wide support. Microsoft CRM is very innovative from the support side. It means that Microsoft CRM partners tend to go to the nation-wide and international market to sell, implement and support the application. Being web application – Microsoft CRM could be accessed, customized and modified from anywhere.

• Internationalization. Microsoft Business Solutions promotes MS CRM worldwide and has local versions of the product

You can always have us help you, give us a call: 1-630-961-5918 or 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is consultant and CTO in Alba Spectrum Technologies ( albaspectrum.com albaspectrum.com ) – Microsoft Business Solutions partner, serving clients in Illinois, New York, California, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, Minnesota, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Russia. He is Microsoft Great Plains certified master, Great Plains Dexterity, Microsoft CRM SDK C#.Net, Crystal Repots developer. You can reach Andrew: mailto:akarasev@albaspectrum.com akarasev@albaspectrum.com

You run your own business. Do you have a system when it comes to billing? If not, then you could be losing money. Downloadable billing software is a great option when you are looking for something that will make your billing tasks easier. Are you not sure you need to buy downloadable billing software?

There are a lot of benefits for using downloadable billing software for your business. The first is that it will help your business run smoother. When you need to type and print every invoice by hand, this wastes time, especially if you have a lot of work to do.

Downloadable billing software can also help eliminate paper waste by making your business more electronic. Printing extra copies of your business transactions is not necessary, as long as you constantly back up all your customer files. If you only have your files in one location, if something happens, it can spell disaster. Possible ways to back up your files include having an extra hard drive, putting all on a DVD or CD, and putting the information on more than one computer.

Another benefit is that downloadable billing software can do more than just take care of accounting tasks. The extra features are nice, especially if they save you money. Some let you print out labels and create reports and other business documents. You can also have the software automatically generate statements on a specified time period, which is nice if the service you perform for the customer is ongoing, such as a long-term contract project.

Downloadable billing software makes running your business a lot easier. It helps automate your business, keep track of billing and accounting, and generate automated statements. Once you find the software that is best for your business, it will make your business run a lot smoother.

i-BillingSoftware.com Billing Software provides detailed information on Billing Software, VoIP Billing Software, Chiropractic Billing Software, Free Billing Software and more. Billing Software is affiliated with emedicalbillingsoftware.com HIPAA Complaint Medical Billing Software.

We have a lot of funny ways to describe when jobs must be delivered. Hot jobs, very hot, rush jobs, priority, top priority, must haves. Some delivery dates look like “Oct 22 must have”. The most popular term however must be ASAP. How vague is that? It looks like you might be doing the right thing but not necessarily knowing what the right thing is. Seasoned planning pros know you can never be late with an ASAP job!

ASAP - so do you spell it out as A-S-A-P or consider it to be one word like assap. Does it mean make this priority over everything else for the same date or something else? Anybody can say asap. Lets put the accent on the first syllable - that makes you sound really knowledgeable and important - or does it? You can sound very smart and know nothing at all. At the end of the day its mostly a great way of sounding as if you are doing the right thing without knowing what the right thing is!!

Any order that’s in a factory production planning and scheduling system without a delivery date we know is a hidden time bomb ready to explode at any moment. Customers are told when they are chasing this type of job that it didn’t have a specific date so why are they chasing it - leads to unhappy customers? of course it does and the worst thing of all is that nobody wins at this game. When a customer calls and says “where is my job” if its an ASAP job then the scheduler says “it didn’t have a date mate” and this leads to customer dissatisfaction.

Delivery on time is a very serious business.

Every job is required at a specific time…… The board of directors must have their reports. A mining company must have a wheel bearing for a hundred tonne truck refurbished on time. The warehouse must have stock replenishment for plumbing fittings so it can service its customers. Our CEO takes off at 10 am and needs the paperwork on time. Will we miss the truck that takes our product to the port for a specific containerised shipment. Will we miss the courier that was told to get here at a specific time.

We can get really specific with deliveries from the date required to both the time and date required. So as you can see in these examples we are precise, but lets get really accurate and get down to partial deliveries - and the management of partial quantities, stock draw offs and times and dates.

Every job on the planning white board in the production planning system needs a delivery date.

Customers have their businesses to plan that may hinge upon our products and services. Non performance in this area can have a chain reaction and cost downstream businesses serious cash. A large proportion of customers who change suppliers cite poor delivery performance as their reason for doing so. Many companies do not have adequate planning and scheduling systems, whiteboards or software. They do not know what the capacity of their plant is and instruct their sales people to get every order they can. Sales accept every
request for delivery date the customers wants. This gives the production staff no choice but to accept and under management pressure try to keep everyone satisfied.

You cannot get “a quart in to a pint pot” so somewhere upon the line something breaks.

A culture of “so what” develops as production staff know they can never succeed as long as management makes promises they can’t deliver upon. Worse than this is that the management tells the sales force to get every job they can and for production to manufacture every job they get from sales.

The Business Case

Scheduling solutions whether manual planning boards or sophisticated software provide the tools to manufacturing planning professionals to get the job done. The factory has its capacity quantified and customers are given accurate delivery dates. Scheduling solutions empower factory staff to achieve on the basis of knowledge and are not given unrealistic targets.

However the business case is always based on an overall view of the enterprise and if communication between departments or computer systems is not working effectively then the business case just will not stack up.

Justification of the implementation of a comprehensive scheduling tool can be in the Customer Service area alone.

Visibility is given to customer service and sales but with manufacturing feeding back accurate information that can be made visible across the whole enterprise. Money can be made, money can be saved, investments in factory assets can be made and modeled on the back of accurate information from the scheduling tools available.

So this is the business case - operational success in implementing these systems in the manufacturing area leads to broad benefits across the whole enterprise leading to customer satisfaction and and most importantly customer retention.

Keyvak provides a fantastic software tool for those of you not yet geared up for an Advanced Scheduling Software system with the immense resource required from your business for successful implementation. Take a look at a product like The Planner, essentially an out-of-the-box scheduler thats easy and fast to install and use. It has the look and feel of an electronic whiteboard so fits in to the culture of your business fast.

Keyvak Pty Ltd
keyvak.com keyvak.com
1st August 2006