Key Ops Dispatch
August 2003
Vol. 3, No. 5
Don’t forget: the early bird savings deadline for ECi Direction 2003 Users Conference registrations has been extended to midnight tonight, August 15th.
Then, on August 16th, 2003, we will release a new version of Dealer Station® DDMS Edition with improvements to administrative reports and parameters, and enhancements to your commercial Web site’s flow.
We’re also reporting Service 800 results so that you can compare our progress on important elements against our August 2002 baseline data, and against other software industry benchmarks.
In Web Site Highlights, take a look at the enhanced searchability of the DDMS Web Site (www.DDMS.com) and the furniture project automation features of DDMS™ O/F and eNsite X™ O/F.
We’d like to remind customers who use Symantec™ pcAnywhere, which allows support technicians access to troubleshoot DDMS systems, that the login password is something they should change regularly to protect from security risks. We also have a new Tech Note to help out personnel in purchasing (“How do I Make my Laser Printer Print Bar Codes?”). Tech Tips cover topics related to other articles in this issue.
Included in this issue:
Events
1 Early Registration Savings Extended Through Friday,
Aug. 15!
2 Conference Hotel Room Availability Notice
3 Updates to Dealer Station® DDMS Edition Coming
August 16
4 Customer Service Reports Service 800 Results
Web Site Highlights
5 New and Improved DDMS Web Site Search
6 A Closer Look At Office Furniture Automation
7 Still Waiting for Dial Up? ECi PSN’s
a Windows 2000 Whiz
Technical Resources
8 Changing Your pcAnywhere User Password
9 How do I Make my Laser Printer Print Bar Codes?
10 Did You Know? Tech Tips
1 Early Registration Savings Extended Through Friday, Aug. 15!
We are pleased to announce that registrations for the ECi Direction 2003 Users Conference have already exceeded last year's total. Well over 350 customers have already taken advantage of the early bird discounts, with additional registrations still coming in.
You can still take advantage of early bird discounts if you register by midnight Friday, August 15, 2003. For online registration and complete details, visit http://www.ecisolutions.com/conference. Questions? Call us toll-free (866) 757-4944 or e-mail conference@eci2.com.
2 Conference Hotel Room Availability Notice
We have new information regarding hotel room availability for the upcoming ECi Direction 2003 Users Conference. As you probably know, our entire room block at The Fairmont Dallas hotel has been reserved. In fact, at this time, the entire hotel is reserved and there are no rooms available.
We are pleased to announce that we have secured additional rooms at an alternate hotel. This hotel is comparable to The Fairmont and is located nearby. The hotel has also agreed to honor the special discounted conference rate of $128 per night offered by the Fairmont.
There is also the possibility that additional rooms will become available at the Fairmont during the next couple of weeks.
During the next few days, we will be contacting conference attendees on The Fairmont's waiting list and giving them the option of securing rooms at the alternate hotel or remaining on The Fairmont waiting list to see if additional rooms become available at The Fairmont. Depending on your choice, you will be contacted by either The Fairmont or the alternate hotel to confirm your room reservation.
If you have not already done so, be sure to contact The Fairmont and add your name to their waiting list. We will be using this list to keep track of attendees who need assistance in finding a room.
If you are on the already on the waiting list, and have not been contacted by either DDMS, The Fairmont, or the alternate hotel by Friday, August 22, 2003, please send an e-mail to conference@eci2.com alerting us to this fact.
Finally, remember that you can still take advantage of the extended early bird discounts if you register for the conference by midnight Friday, August 15, 2003.
For complete conference information and online registration, visit
www.ecisolutions.com/conference.
If you have questions, or need assistance registering, please email
conference@eci2.com or
call (866) 757-4944 and leave a message. A conference representative
will return your call as quickly as possible.
We look forward to seeing you in Dallas this September!
3 Updates to Dealer Station® DDMS Edition Coming August 16
Dealer Station DDMS Edition Version 3.08 offers a number of enhancements designed to help you compete in the e-commerce marketplace, including the following:
• Enhanced Mass Email Selectors. We are improving your ability to target specific customers with mass emails. You can select active accounts or inactive accounts. You can also display selected users and delete individual recipients from the list (to avoid sending duplicate messages to the same person, for example).
• Exportable User Contact Information. Your User/Usage Reports page will now let you export a comma-separated value (.CSV) file of user information such as email address, phone, extension, user name, account number, and default department. You can use the .CSV file format to import contact data into most spreadsheet, database, email, and customer contact management software.
• User-Level Parameters for Promotional Items and Coupons. Before, when you activated marketing tools such as promotional items and coupons, they were available to all users on your site. Two new parameters, “Promo Items Y/N” and “Coupons Y/N”, let you choose which accounts can take advantage of these discounts.
• User-Level Parameter for Email Confirmation. We've added a new Email Confirmation parameter in the User Accounts admin page, “Send email confirmation to this user? Y/N” If you enable this setting for a user, that customer can change the email address where they wish to receive order confirmations on the Update My Info page of your ecommerce site. If your customers change email providers, for example, they can make the change themselves.
• Return Requests. End-users can now send requests for returns directly to you. You must set up parameters in the admin web site and DDMS system that determine the type of return a customer can receive.
"What's New In Dealer Station® DDMS Edition 3.08" describes all the new enhancements, and explains where to find documentation on how to use them.
You'll find the What’s New document, along with the updated documentation, "Setting Up Dealer Station DDMS Edition Admin Pages" and "Using Dealer Station DDMS Edition" documentation on our Web site at http://www.DDMS.com/support/doc/dealerstationdoc.htm.
4 Customer Service Reports Service 800 Results
Because customer feedback is so critical to determine the direction we take on customer service initiatives, we have partnered with a third-party customer satisfaction survey company, Service 800, Inc. since August 2002.
The Customer Service Mission is to be the recognized leader in customer satisfaction supported by the most responsive, knowledgeable technical staff in the industry. Service 800 callers ask our customers about ECi 's service, technicians, and expertise. Service 800 provides composite results on a regular basis, and we are delighted to report excellent progress.
Service 800 provides a rating on five elements of service on a
scale of one to five, where one is very dissatisfied and five is
very satisfied. The following is a summary of our ratings for each
element of service in June 2003:
• Response Time — 4.3
• Technical Ability — 4.4
• Kept Informed — 4.4
• Completeness — 4.3
• Fix Time — 4.3
• Overall — 4.3
For comparison, our August 2002 baseline results are as follows:
• Response Time — 3.9
• Technical Ability — 4.3
• Kept Informed — 4.1
• Completeness — 4.2
• Fix Time — 4.0
• Overall — 4.0
Service 800 compares our survey results with that of other software
companies of similar size that use the Service 800 program. Overall,
we have done well! As of June 2003, all our ratings either meet
or exceed the industry benchmarks. Here are the Industry Benchmarks
for June 2003:
• Response Time — 4.3 (we rated 4.3)
• Technical Ability — 4.4 (we rated 4.4)
• Kept Informed — 4.4 (we rated 4.4)
• Completeness — 4.2 (we rated 4.3)
• Fix Time — 4.1 (we rated 4.3)
• Overall — 4.2 (we rated 4.3)
Even though we are pleased to have met or exceeded the benchmarks in a competitive software industry, we are always shooting ever higher, and making positive changes every day to make sure we serve you better.
We want to give a big thanks to all of you who have participated, and who will participate in the future. We have deliberately condensed the survey to as few questions as possible to minimize the impact on your busy schedule. Your answers to each question provide an objective look at our current performance and help direct future improvements to the service we provide to you, the dealer.
5 New and Improved DDMS Web Site Search
To better serve our customers, we have greatly expanded the search capabilities on our Web site. Now you can access the complete documentation for our business system software, and the hundreds of FAQs and articles published online - all from one search box.
Finding DDMS information has never been easier. Go to www.DDMS.com, and you can search through everything we publish, including:
• Complete documentation for all DDMS products
• Complete documentation for Dealer Station® DDMS Edition
• FAQs: hundreds of articles answering the most common support
questions
• Complete O/PUS® information
• Key facts on products that help you compete: ECi PSN
Services, RouteTrak™, Customer Item Subs, and others
• Past issues of Key Ops, Distributed Data, and the DDMS Project
Report
• Program Updates, which includes every software change since
the general release of version 5
• Virtual Classroom information and schedules
• Online tutorials on creating custom reports, order entry,
and other topics
• And much more.
Get your questions answered at www.DDMS.com!
6 A Closer Look at Office Furniture Automation
ECi 's DDMS O/F and eNsite X O/F software packages by DDMS offer tools to automate all aspects of your furniture operation—from accounting to project management, from order entry to specifier integration. With an eNsite system from DDMS, you will never have to re-key or duplicate data.
DDMS O/F offers powerful features to manage and automate all phases of your operation, including:
• Project Management: Track and manage every component of a furniture project, from the initial order to delivery and installation. Easily create custom analysis reports with exactly the information you need.
• Specifier integration: Seamlessly import quotes or orders from your specifier program directly into your eNsite system.
• Automated purchasing: Create purchase orders automatically online or enter them manually, and transmit purchase orders electronically and receive acknowledgements via proprietary EDI, Order Messenger®, Kiosk Order Manager (Herman Miller only), or ECi PSN (Internet-based Private Supply Network).
eNsite X O/F has all of the features of DDMS O/F, plus additional features specifically designed for progressive dealers:
• Job costing: Keep detailed information on all of the costs and labor hours related to a project. Specify the labor rates and categories, and track the time and costs for each individual associated with a project.
• Project Overview: Track essential information for each project: key personnel, subcontractors, primary fabrics and finishes, CAD/specification system, project managers, designers, dates for design and client review, and more.
• Work Orders: Create a punchlist for a project and monitor its progress. Create repair and replacement orders for the punchlist, dispatch calls, track labor and costs.
• Terms and Conditions: Create documents that detail the terms and conditions of a sale, and attach these documents to orders. Track information about who signed the terms and when they were signed.
Our furniture systems are so comprehensive that we've only scratched the surface here. To find out more or try an online demo, see Complete Automation for the Office Furniture Dealer
7 Still Waiting for Dial Up? PSN is a Windows 2000 Whiz
If your DDMS server is on the Microsoft® Windows 2000 operating system and a broadband Internet connection (DSL or better), you can take advantage of PSN services’ features:
• Internet Purchasing: transmit purchase orders and receive acknowledgments faster and more efficiently.
• Online Stock Check: check stock levels with supported wholesalers
in real-time, viewing the wholesalers’ inventory positions
from within the DDMS order entry application.
• Online Price Check: instantly verify the most current wholesaler
cost for an item in real time (and adjust selling prices accordingly)
before placing items on an order.
• O/PUS® PSN Downloads: check availability and download item catalogs and pricing files from the O/PUS Business Products Information Resource (BPIR) over the Internet in one easy step.
To learn how to sign up for PSN, see the ECi PSN Registration page.
8 Changing Your pcAnywhere User Password
Do you use Symantec™ pcAnywhere to allow DDMS Support techs to connect to your DDMS system? Did you know that you can change the login password without knowing what the original password was?
For security reasons, it’s important to change the login passwords in pcAnywhere on a regular basis.
For detailed instructions, see Tech Note # 231: Setting Up and Using Symantec pcAnywhere
9 How do I Make my Laser Printer Print Bar Codes?
More dealers are implementing bar codes on forms such as tickets, invoices and manifests to enhance operational automation. But bar codes require custom formats in DDMS and certain font software on your printer.
To learn how to enable your laser printer to print bar codes, see Tech Note #241: How do I Make my Laser Printer Print Bar Codes?
10 Did You Know? Tech Tips
10A Windows Screen Shots
In Windows, if you want to take a picture of a graphical software screen to show Support exactly what the screen looks like, make sure the desired screen is active, or is the one in front of everything else on your monitor. Then, you can hold the Alt key down and press the Print Screen (or PrScrn) key, which is located on your keyboard beside the function keys and above the Insert key. Then, you can right-click in a new email or document, select Paste, and send the message to Support. We receive the image as a bitmap.
10B TBL Client Text Copies
If you want to capture a picture of a text-based screen, most terminal emulator software will allow you to select the text and copy it. For example, in the TBL Client window, you can drag the mouse cursor diagonally across the screen to select the entire text and press ENTER. You can also right-click the title bar, point to Edit, and click Select All, and press ENTER to copy the text to the system clipboard. Right-click in a new email or document, select Paste, and send it to Support. If you want it to look exactly like it does on your screen, you should format the text using a monospace font like Courier.
10C DDMS Telnet Text Copies
If you want to capture a picture of a parameter, report, or other DDMS Telnet screen from graphical software, drag the mouse cursor diagonally across the screen to select the entire text. Then, click Edit on the menu bar and select Copy (or, right-click anywhere on the selected text and select Copy). Right-click in a new email or document, select Paste, and send it to Support. Again, if you want it to look exactly like it does on your screen, you should format the text using a monospace font like Courier.
10D Sample Furniture Operational and Project Management Reports
Our office furniture automation software features several useful reports. Examples include pick tickets, pro forma tickets, acknowledgements, delivery and install tickets, dealer quotes/proposals, invoices, purchase order, order status, outstanding projects, and completed project analysis. See the sample reports document, Sample Reports for DDMS Furniture Edition.
10E Printing Standard Reports on Laser Printers
The (L1L) screen allows you to print some classic standard reports
to laser printers. In this screen, you can set up each of your laser
printers to compress reports to 17 CPI (characters per inch) then
automatically reset back to 10 CPI. You can set up as many as 32
laser printers. When setting up your laser printer, select the HP4
printer emulation. When setting up TBL Configuration, you must set
the emulation field to LP. The following reports can be printed
using this new feature:
• United and SP Richards acknowledgments
• Automated Short-Buy (ASB) Exceptions report
• ASB P/O report
• ASB Call Code Test
• (TR) [E] Pick File Report
• (TR) [I] Exception Report
• (TR) [H] Stock Receipts Report
• (TR) [F] Daily Invoice Register
• (TR) [K] Gateway Credit Cards Report
• (W) [B] Select G/L Levels and or Detail Reports
• (OR) [B] Accounts Receivable Trial Balance Report
• (QR) [A] Print A/P Batch Report
• (QR) [B] Accounts Payable Trial Balance Report
• (QR) [C] Print A/P Reports
• (QR) [F] Print Check File Report
• (QR) [Z] Print A/P G/L Summary Report
Tell Us What You Think: Online Forms For Your Feedback
We are always open to your ideas for continual improvement, and we want to make it as easy as possible for you to communicate those ideas.
If you have feedback or corrections to report for documentation, please use our new online documentation feedback form at http://www.DDMS.com/support/doc_feedback.htm. Of course, you can also send a simple email to docfeedback@eci2.com, but using the online form will help us find exactly what needs to be fixed.
To submit Support requests, please enter detailed information about your problem at http://www.DDMS.com/support/supportcall.htm. The online form provides your Support tech with information regarding your issue, which is helpful before returning your call. You can also call us at 800-366-4778 or email us at ddmssupport@ecisolutions.com.
Can you think of anything we can do to make Customer Service even better? Please send any comments or suggestions to keyops@eci2.com
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