UDS Green Industry Software, Inc. Newsletter
November 7, 2003
Notice: UDS is continuing work on ActiveApplications™ Version 7. We have also completed some of the requests discussed at the user conference.
Topics in this newsletter:
On line customer order capabilities
Version 7 new features
Travel Schedule
Much More…
FREE WEB PAGE
Sign up NOW for your free web page. If you are a nursery or greenhouse visit www.idoplants.com for a look at the type of web site we are starting to build. If you are a landscape company we suggest that you submit your request of www.idolandscape.com instead. We want the sites oriented to your needs.
Provide pictures of your previous landscape jobs and tell your future customers about the project. Your page(s) can be a simple reference to an existing web site or a more complex version like the one you see pictured. It will be your web page. We hope you use it to display pictures of your landscape jobs or plant material. You will need to provide us the wording and pictures. We will add as much artistic flair as we are capable (not much) to create a site that is you.
This is the first time we are offering this service and have no way of judging the demand. If we run into technical difficulties we will make adjustments to the plan. We are able to offer this free because our new T-1 line if finally up and currently seems to be working properly.
Our intention is to provide more services that will make your company more efficient in the use of ActiveApplications. We will be adding more features to the sites in the future if you take advantage of the service. Some of the additional sites we have reserved may be activated as needed. On line order entry and confirmation is just one of the functions we will add. We are thinking about purchase order submission and estimate submission, too
Get onto the site now and start making your presence known. There is a form to complete for your content on www.idoplants.com or www.idolandscape.com or you can simply email to support@udsgis.com the information needed.
Most of all have fun with the sites.
Rack tracking is finished and will soon be available to version 6.5 users. It should be released with ActiveApplications version 7 to all customers.
This program allows the recording of cart or rack numbers onto order lines through a Load Ship Confirmation program. The shipping load report has been modified to print bar codes. This will allow quick return processing. Click http://www.udsgis.com/cart_assignment_process.htm to see the rack assignment process outline.
When the truck returns and the racks are unloaded they can be scanned for fast recording of the rack return. The rack receipts program will update the lines on the order or invoices to reflect the rack return. The order lines are updated by the Rack receipt program. Click http://www.udsgis.com/cart_retrun_check_in.htm to see an example of the rack return process.
These two pages on the www.udsgis.com web site illustrate the kind of applications that are being added to Version 7 right now. Do you have suggestions that you have not promoted to us? It is past time to get them in. Look on the www.activeapplications.com web site for suggestion forms.
We are building into new programs as they are written and adding to old programs as they are revised modular programming concepts. These concepts include the ability to incorporate scanning tools into a business process. Frequently the scanner makes the implementation of a program possible where it would be too cumbersome without a one.
If we can ease the implementation or reduce the work involved in a business process we will incorporate it into the program. An example of that is the Rack or Cart tracking application defined above and described on the www.udsgis.com web site.
Study the applications outlined in Rack Tracking and Point of Sale to learn about the Flic. Order your Flic when you implement your tracking application.
Point of sale has been changed to work with the Flic bar code reader. It works in a method very much like the Pocket PC import. An import button has been added to the POS program and a monitoring program has been created. The monitoring program can distinguish between multiple sales scanned in the same batch and allows the correction of incorrect input.
The monitoring program was necessary to make sure all scans were captured. Connection via serial port has proven to be easier to administer than by USB port. When a few more revisions are tested this program will be released to all user.
Most of us at UDS work in seclusion throughout the year. When we have a user conference it takes weeks of preparation then it seems like it is over almost as soon as it starts. We enjoyed ourselves even though it makes us tense to present to a group of users of our products. This group is the most critical and interested group that we face all year. I hope all attendees found it worthwhile and enjoyed it too. I enjoyed the drinks in the bar with an unnamed customer too. We hope all of those that missed it can find the time to attend the next one.
In the Old Days, small businesses often felt at a disadvantage compared to larger companies with more staff, equipment, and facilities. In the age of the Internet, however, a powerful presence is not dependent on any of these things. Small companies can achieve great things with comparatively little investment. The key is to suit up and dive into the world of the Internet economy. And the good news is that you don't have to start at the deep end of the pool - you can add Internet benefits to your business a little at a time with help from UDS.
Electronic commerce (e-commerce), sometimes called electronic business (e-business), is part of the vocabulary of all modern companies, regardless of size. With the right network foundation, you can offer your customers fast, secure, and reliable commerce with your company around the clock. You can reach as far as you can fulfill your business orders. This is all about UDS volunteering to start with you down that path.
If you have experienced ordering something online and it was a good site, chances are you were comfortable being able to work at your own pace and confident that the transaction went as intended. You will then have to also believe that the odds are good that your customers or prospective customers will want to do business with you on the Internet too. The best part of the on-line order you placed is that the company you bought from spent very little time or money to record the order. You did it for them. Taking an order by phone is expensive and less accurate.
Don’t wait till it’s an emergency situation and business has already eroded. Be the one with the well-beaten path to your Internet portal and with the needed experience already behind you; not the one trying to hack their way into it after the wave is almost upon them. UDS is offering to help you get started down the right path, TODAY. Adding this functionality to your business gradually will be easy and inexpensive.
Small-business owners can take their companies to new heights by harnessing the power of the Internet. No matter what size, specific endeavor, or competitive landscape, any company has the power to transform its business using the Internet. Once you have the right foundation in place, there's no limit to where you can take your business. Let’s get it started.