Key Ops Dispatch
May 2004
Vol. 4, No. 2
Included in this issue:
1 Pre-Release Version 7 Shipped to Volunteers
2 ECi Plans Regional User's Meetings for
2004
3 How to Activate and Use PSN Monitor
4 AutoComm User Guide Updated for Graphical Software
5 Deleting Temp Files on Your DDMS Windows Server
6 Posting Deposits on Furniture Orders
7 Cataloging Reports for Machine Sales and Service
8 ECi PSN Upgrades Supplies Network PSN
Service
9 Tell Us What You Think: We Welcome Your Feedback
1 Pre-Release Version 7 Shipped to Volunteers
DDMS is pleased to announce that we have shipped the pre-release edition of the Version 7 software. Following our standard release procedures, the pre-release edition was shipped to the first 100 volunteers. These volunteers consist of our current Beta customers, the Executive Advisory Committee, the is.group Beta Testers and other DDMS customers.
With the Version 7 release, dealers will be able to use the new Graphical Low-Stock and General Ledger applications. In addition there are major new enhancements for the furniture dealers. For more information on features that are new in Version 7, see the Version 7 Documentation page.
Utilizing feedback from the initial group of 100 customers, we’ll put the finishing touches on Version 7. The General Release version is due to be shipped approximately a month from now. The process of shipping copies to all DDMS dealers normally requires about 10–12 weeks.
2 ECi Plans Regional User's Meetings for 2004
Dealer response to the last two national ECi Users Conferences was overwhelmingly positive. Many longtime DDMS customers called them the best national meetings ever. However, many customers also asked that we bring back the regional users meetings we offered in the past.
Because regional meetings are held at locations around the country, they are more accessible to dealers and their employees. And our regional users meetings have always been more training-intensive, offering an exceptional opportunity to learn how to better utilize your DDMS business systems software.
In response to requests for more convenient, intensive training, we will host regional meetings this year in the following cities:
• South Central Regional Users Meeting: Fort Worth,
TX – June 11-12, 2004
• East Coast Regional Users Meeting: Philadelphia, PA
– September 17-18, 2004
• West Coast Regional Users Meeting: Las Vegas, NV –
November 5-6, 2004
As in the past, these meetings will include something for everyone - overviews and discussions for upper management, intensive training for employees on the most recent software version, and an advance look at the future of your DDMS software and other technology advances from ECi .
Special Expanded Southwest Meeting
The Southwest Regional Users Meeting will be held at the DDMS Fort Worth headquarters. This enables us to offer an expanded lineup of classes on the newly released Version 7 software, including hands-on Report Writer training and software labs. Classes planned for this meeting are:
2 full days of Contract Furniture classes
Report Writer (hands-on)
Software Lab (hands-on)
DDMS (graphical) Overview
DDMS (graphical) for KeyOps
DDMS Overview
DDMS Order Entry
DDMS Purchasing
DDMS A/R
DDMS A/P
Electronic Invoicing
Exporting from DDMS
General Ledger
G/L Reports, including financials
Inventory Control
Parameters
Auto Short-buy
Route Trak Pro™
O/PUS®
AutoComm™
Approval Link™
Dealer Station®
System Settings
Meeting Information and Registration
Information about the South Central Regional Users Meeting is now online.
This Web site is your resource for comprehensive meeting information, including:
- General Information: Dates, times, location - all the details and important information about the meeting.
- Meeting Schedule: The complete meeting agenda and schedules for all of the individual sessions.
- Session Descriptions: Detailed descriptions of all of the meeting sessions.
- Registration Form: Online registration for the meeting is not yet available. However, you can download a printable registration form that you can use to register via fax or mail. We will notify you via e-mail when online registration becomes available.
- Hotel Information: Everything you need to know to reserve your rooms for the conference.
While there is a charge to attend the meetings, ECi will be subsidizing a substantial portion of the cost in order to make this training even more accessible for our customers. The registration fee for each of the regional users meetings is only $175 per person.
In order to provide an optimal learning environment, individual class sizes will be limited. Register now to reserve your place!
We look forward to seeing you at one or more of these events!
3 How to Activate and Use PSN Monitor
What is PSN Monitor? The PSN Monitor is an administrative
tool that enables you to monitor and review PSN transactions
utilizing your ECi e-commerce system (Dealer Station®
DDMS Edition, is.D-Force, etc.). You can see at a glance the
number of successful transactions, as well as those that were
incomplete or failed. The PSN Totals page gives you an overview
of all your transactions: Internet purchases, stock checks,
price checks, and acknowledgments. Reports can be broken down
by transaction type or vendor and limited to the current date,
or show all transactions for the month-to-date. The PSN Transactions
page shows details about each transaction, including items
on the P/O.
Since the PSN Monitor is a Web-based application, it is not
included in your software update; it must be set up on the
servers in our hosting center. All ECi PSN customers
can use our new online form to request
setup of the PSN Monitor.
- If you already have an ECi Web storefront such as Dealer Station® DDMS Edition, the PSN Monitor will be activated, and a PSN Monitor button will appear on your Dealer Station Admin page.
- If you are using ECi PSN services but do not currently have an ECi Web storefront, we will set up a PSN Monitor site for you. This site will enable you to monitor your PSN transactions, but will have no e-commerce capabilities. (If an integrated Web storefront is included in your product package and you would like to begin using it you will still need to set up an e-commerce Web site as described in Setting Up Your E-Commerce Web Site.)
- If you are not yet using the ECi PSN services, you can learn more about it and sign up on The ECi PSN page.
To learn how to use PSN Monitor, see Chapter 16: PSN Monitor starting on page 104 in the Setting Up Dealer Station Admin Pages documentation.
4 AutoComm User Guide Updated for Graphical Software
With AutoComm, you can send emails and faxes from the Order Entry, Purchase Order Entry, and Accounts Receivable applications, as well as from the (&) AutoComm screen.
We have updated the documentation to include instructions for accessing the email and fax features of your graphical software.
To learn how to use AutoComm, see Installing & Using AutoComm. Learn how to set up AutoComm in either UNIX or Windows, and how to configure it to work with Symantec™ WinFax Pro. This document was revised in April 2004 with updated instructions for faxing and emailing documents using the Faxing application in both graphical and text-based software, as well as new information on emailing and faxing invoices from the Order Entry application, purchase orders from the purchasing application, and customer statements from the A/R reports screen.
For online help and other documentation related to AutoComm, see the E-Commerce FAQs page and the Miscellaneous Documentation page
5 Deleting Temp Files on Your DDMS Windows Server
Customers who use DDMS™ will occasionally experience a Microsoft® Windows error that reads, “Cannot create program workspace temp files” This error occurs when there are too many temp files in the Environment Variable temp directory.
To learn how to locate this directory and remove the files using a command prompt, see File #252: Deleting Temp Files on Your DDMS Windows Server.
6 Posting Deposits on Furniture Orders
A common misconception is that posting a deposit does the same thing as using a pay code of prepay. However, there are important differences between these two types of advance payments and the way they are handled by the system.
Prepays are only intended to accept advance payment for commercial or retail backorders, where delivery and invoicing is typically a matter of days. A prepay amount is credited to the customer’s A/R account and charged to a credit card if that form of payment was used. Prepays are not designed for use when the order style is furniture.
The A/R Deposits feature was designed to accept advance payment for furniture orders, which typically take six to eight weeks to deliver. (Deposits may be accepted for retail or commercial orders, but this is not common.) The DDMS system treats a deposit as a liability. Your customer is putting money down, but no merchandise has changed hands, so the deposit is an amount that you owe until the order is delivered and invoiced. A deposit debits cash and credits the liability account. The amount of the deposit only becomes an asset when you invoice the ticket. A special invoice format, FD, prints the deposit credit on the furniture invoice. Then, the system applies the deposit to the full amount of the invoice, and credits the customer’s A/R account. The offsetting liability activity makes deposits easier to account for on month-end reports.
To learn how to post deposits and print deposit invoices, see Posting Deposits on Furniture Orders.
7 Cataloging Reports for Machine Sales and Service
If you catalog your serialized report selectors, it can make it easier for you to run frequently used machine sales and service reports.
To learn how to manually catalog a serialized selector using the (EZ5) Serialized Standard Reports screen, see Chapter 26: Cataloging Serialized Reports of the Serialized Setup Manual.
To learn how to view and print using the (EZZ) Serial Selectors screen, see Chapter 136:Printing Reports in (EZZ) of the Serialized Reference Manual.
See related reference material on the Machine Service / Serialized Documentation page.
8 ECi PSN Upgrades Supplies Network PSN Service
As we informed you in an ECi Update mass email on April 8, 2004, we have published a series of frequently asked questions about enhancements to the DMI Supplies Network PSN service:
- Have Supplies Network Drop-Ship Orders Been Corrected?
- Have You Lengthened The Time Limit for Supplies Network PSN Transmissions?
- How Have Printed Acknowledgments Changed?
- Can I Re-Request Supplies Network Acknowledgments?
- Why Do Supplies Network P/O Transmissions Take Longer?
- Which Products Does Supplies Network Offer Fulfillment For?
- Why Is Supplies Network’s PSN Set Up Differently Than Other Wholesalers?
- How Do I Set Up Automated Short-Buy (ASB) With Supplies Network?
- How Do I Set Up Stock and Price Checks With Supplies Network?
- How Do I Get DMI/Supplies Network Pricing Files?
- What Else Is Coming Up?
To view the answers to these frequently asked questions, see the Supplies Network PSN service FAQs.
For related information, see the PSN Documentation page.
To sign up for PSN, see the ECi PSN page.
9 Tell Us What You Think: We Welcome 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.
Can you think of anything we can do to make ECi Technical Support customer service even better? Please send any comments or suggestions to keyops@eci2.com
If you have feedback or corrections to report for documentation, please use our online documentation feedback form. 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 on the Contact Support form. 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.
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