Key Ops Dispatch
July 2004
Vol. 4, No. 3
Included in this issue:
1 Dan Pritchard Named President of ECi
2 DDMS Ships Version 7 General Release
3 Tech Note: Prepare Journal Parameters for Graphical
G/L Conversion
4 ECi South Central Regional Meeting Attendance
Exceeds Expectations
5 Tech Note: ELF File Helps Troubleshoot Graphical
Problems
6 Tech Tip: Text-to-Graphical Screen Cross-Reference
Now in Print
7 Pens Etc. Catalog Now Available at No Charge
8 Tech Tip: Inventory Housekeeping
9 Tech Tip: Compressing Your Machine Service
Call Files
10 DS-DDMS 4.05 Enhances Order Approval, HTML-Enabled
Custom Text
11 ECi PSN Services Adds Trading Partner:
is.group
12 Tell Us What You Think: We Welcome Your Feedback
1 Dan Pritchard Named President of ECi
We are pleased to announce that Dan Pritchard, formerly Executive Vice President of ECi , has been named President of the company. The ECi Board of Directors made the appointment effective July 7, 2004.
"Dan has been with ECi for five years," said ECi Chairman Peter Barris, "and has been intricately involved with the company's operations. We are very excited to be able to appoint Dan to this expanded role and look forward to his leadership."
John Sidgmore had been Chairman of ECi since the company was established in 1999 and served as Chief Executive Officer for much of that time. Since Sidgmore's death in December 2003, ECi had been managed through an Office of the President structure, which included Pritchard, Barris, and EVP/CFO Don Clarke.
"The Office of the President has served us well since John's untimely passing," added Barris. "But it's now time to cement the management structure for the future. With that in mind, the Board of Directors has decided to appoint Dan Pritchard as President of the company."
"I am very excited about this opportunity and look forward to working even more closely with our great customers and our loyal employees," said Pritchard.
Pritchard has been with ECi since September 1999. During that time, he has been involved in all aspects of the company. He also managed acquisitions that significantly expanded ECi 's capabilities and revenues, including the acquisitions of DDMS®, Maytech, and UBC. In June 2001, Pritchard was named Executive Vice President, Business Development and Operations.
Prior to joining ECi , Pritchard spent five years with Siemens Business Services, Inc., most recently having held the position of Senior Vice President.
2 DDMS Ships Version 7 General Release
DDMS is pleased to announce that we began shipping the Version 7 general release on June 1, 2004.
The process of shipping copies to all DDMS dealers normally requires about 10–12 weeks. As a customer, you will automatically receive your software update and important installation instructions (see “Tech Note: Prepare Journal Parameters for Graphical G/L Conversion” below).
With the Version 7 release, you 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.
For a detailed list of the software changes in each version,
see Program Updates.
Prior to loading your software update, always check Release
Notes for important information you may need to know.
3 Tech Note: Prepare Journal Parameters for Graphical G/L Conversion
In Version 7, the new graphical General Ledger application requires a conversion of your accounts receivable, accounts payable, and purchasing journal files and your G/L files from previous years. The Version 7 software update automatically runs a journal file conversion program.
However, this automatic conversion can fail if your journal file names and volume serials are not properly set up in the A/R, A/P, and P/O journal parameter screens. You will not be able to access data from unconverted files.
To learn how to set up or correct your journal parameter screens, and if necessary run the conversion program, see Tech Note #253: How to Prepare Journal Parameters for Graphical General Ledger Conversion.
4 ECi South Central Regional Meeting Attendance Exceeds Expectations
Attendance exceeded expectations at our recent South Central DDMS Regional Users Meeting, held June 11-12, 2004, in Fort Worth, TX. More than 90 DDMS users attended the meeting, which offered software training and seminars designed to help dealers better utilize their ECi business system and e-commerce software.
“Our decision to hold regional meetings this year was a direct response to customer requests,” said ECi Training Manager Stacy Heemsbergen, “so we are especially gratified by the exceptionally high turnout for this meeting.”
Customer response was so strong that many classes began filling up shortly after the beginning of registration. “When we told customers that some classes had already filled to the point where there would be standing-room only, they still chose to attend,” Heemsbergen said. “That shows how valuable they find this type of practical system training.”
Dyan Condry, co-owner of Sundance Office Supply in Broken Arrow, OK, brought home several insights. “Some of our employees use graphical, and some use the ‘old way,’” Condry said. “With the old way, it’s not easy to get a good look at customer buying history without escaping out of order entry. With graphical, you can move easily back and forth between windows. You can look through a customer’s invoices at what they’re buying and what they’re not buying, and ask, ‘Who are you buying your toner from?’ It helps my employees to be not just order takers, but to really sell!”
“The first session answered a question that paid for our trip here! We had a problem with sales people not wanting to set people up on contracts,” said Michelle Whitenton, Vendor Development manager at Whittington Office Products in Tupelo, MS. “At the meeting, they taught us how to turn laundry lists into contracts, and then they told us we could do it from Sales History. So now we can take a customer’s history and turn it into a contract to help save time with customer service.”
In fact, many attendees found the training to be even more
valuable than they anticipated.
“What we learned in the first few classes more than
paid for our trip to Fort Worth! ” commented Margaret
Gilliland, Vice President of Offisource, Inc. in Jackson,
Mississippi. “We gained new insight into e-commerce
using Dealer Station, and the labs were the perfect one-on-one
to get our questions answered and to try new software. I highly
recommend attending the next users meeting. You won't be disappointed!”
If you were unable to attend this meeting, don’t worry. You’ll find the same blend of industry insights, technical know-how, and hands-on lab practice at our remaining 2004 Regional User’s Meetings:
- East Coast Regional Users Meeting: Philadelphia, PA – October 22–23, 2004
- West Coast Regional Users Meeting: Las Vegas, NV – November 5-6, 2004
Complete information about the East Coast Regional Users Meeting — including session descriptions, online registration, transportation, and accommodations — is available at under Training Events on the DDMS East Coast Regional Users Meeting Information page.
We are finalizing the class schedule for the West Coast Regional Users Meeting and will notify you via e-mail when this information becomes available.
If you have other questions regarding the regional meetings, please e-mail regionals@eci2.com or call (800) 959-3367 x3252.
5 Tech Note: ELF File Helps Troubleshoot Graphical Problems
When you use DDMS™ graphical software, the system writes time-stamped information about errors, warnings, and processes taking place to a log file called ensite.elf. If you discover a problem while using DDMS, you can optimize the level of error logging so that the information in this file can help your support technician isolate the cause and resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Whenever you need to report a problem in our graphical software to ECi Technical Support, you can help us resolve your problem faster by taking these actions:
- Making sure the affected system logs all ELF messages.
- Clearing the log file to help pinpoint relevant messages.
- Re-creating the error you’re experiencing.
- Sending a copy of the ensite.elf file to Support.
After your problem is resolved, you can set up custom logging options to save disk space.
For detailed instructions, see Tech Note #256: ElfView.exe Helps Troubleshoot Graphical Problems.
6 Tech Tip: Text-to-Graphical Screen Cross-Reference Now in Print
In September 2003, we published Cross Reference of Text-Based Screen Name To Graphical Window, a Web page designed to help you find the right graphical software window when all you have is a set of keystrokes or a text-based screen name. We have just published a printer-friendly copy of this cross-reference in DDMS: A Guided Tour.
The cross reference was originally a Web page designed to help you find the right graphical software window when all you have is a set of keystrokes or a text-based screen name.
Many of our older FAQ files may refer only to the (E) Inventory Master screen – or simply the (E) screen, which performs the same function as the Item window in the Ensite family of products. Or, the FAQ file may refer to two keystrokes such as the (AT) Tax Districts Tables, which in graphical software is located in the View menu of the Customer window. Or you may be referred to a report, such as the (SR) Standard P/O Reports. For each text-based screen name, we list the screen title, and directions to the equivalent graphical software window.
Here’s how it works: Find the text-based screen name from the alphabetical list. In the same row, we list the screen title, and abbreviated directions to the equivalent graphical software window, using icons, menus, and tabs as needed. If there is more than one way to get to a particular window, the cross reference lists the most commonly used method.
To view or download the cross reference, go to Cross Reference of Text-Based Screen Name To Graphical Window.
7 Pens Etc. Catalog Now Available at No Charge
The complete item catalog for wholesaler Pens Etc. is now available to DDMS customers at no charge. The catalog is available for download from O/PUS® Business Products Information Resources (BPIR™) via the O/PUS PSN service. BPIR provides DDMS customers with access to item catalogs and pricing files that are not included on the OPdb® Multi-Vendor Catalog, including files for regional wholesalers, buying groups, and specialty vendors.
The Pens Etc. catalog has been available through BPIR for several years. However, in the past there was an additional charge to download the file. To better support its customers and provide more independent dealers with access to its product offerings, Pens Etc. has chosen to underwrite all costs associated with distributing its data. DDMS customers with BPIR access (included with most product packages) can download this file without additional cost.
For more information, see Supplemental Vendor Information.
8 Tech Tip: Inventory Housekeeping
An important step in maintaining your inventory database is removing deleted items. If you set the parameter “Set Wholesaler to DELETED if indicated by Wholesaler” to Y when loading OPdb® updates, any items deleted by your vendors will be marked in your inventory database. Many dealers retain these deleted items in their database for at least one quarter, usually because they have on-hand inventory or the vendor still has a limited quantity available for order. However, these deleted items should be removed from your database once they are no longer useful.
Removing deleted items will result in faster searches, backups, restoration, and re-indexing. Fewer item numbers also means less confusion for your order-takers and fewer chances for errors to occur.
To learn how to remove items marked as deleted, see Inventory Housekeeping.
This file has been updated to reflect changes in recent software releases.
9 Tech Tip: Compressing Your Machine Service Call Files
If you are a dealer who sells and services serialized office machines or other equipment, you should compress your call files on a regular basis. If you log and close more than 25 calls a day, you may want to compress your call files weekly. If your call volume is less than that, DDMS recommends compressing calls monthly.
As you log machine service calls and complete old ones, the files containing these calls become fragmented. This means that the files are split into a number of pieces, with each piece in a different place on your hard disk.
You can compress your call files in the (EZP) Call Monitor screen. Compression improves system performance by:
- Making the files contiguous — the pieces are reunited, occupying a single area on your hard disk.
- Rebuilding the indexes that the system uses to sort the calls.
To learn how to compress your calls, see “Chapter 142: Compressing Calls” in the DDMS Serialized Reference Manual.
10 DS-DDMS 4.05 Enhances Order Approval, HTML-Enabled Custom Text
ECi released Version 4.05 of Dealer Station® DDMS Edition on May 15, 2004. Version 4.05 offers a number of enhancements designed to help you compete in the e-commerce marketplace, including the following:
- Mass Change User Catalogs. Instead of specifying users' catalogs individually, you can now specify user catalogs for groups of users, or for all the users in your database.
- Order Approval Reasons. Order approvers now receive specific information about why an order requires approval. Suppose a user who requires approval for non-contract items places an order for 100 different items, only two of which are not on the contract. The notification sent to the approver will indicate that the user submitted an order for non-contract items, and list the two items in question.
- HTML in "Add to Cart" Text. In the Site Text admin page, you will now be able to format the "Add to Cart" text with HTML instead of plain text. This gives you the opportunity to apply special formatting to the message.
- HTML in Checkout Page Header. In the Checkout Preferences admin page, you will now be able to format the message at the top of the checkout page with HTML instead of plain text. With this feature you can include a promotional message just before the end user submits the order.
- Editable Text for Shipping & Handling. If you use Shipping Management, there is a charge that is labeled "Shipping & Handling Charges" after the subtotal on the checkout page. Some dealers prefer to use this line strictly for under-minimum order charges or other fees. In the Checkout Preferences admin page, you will now be able to specify the label text for this charge.
To learn more about these enhancements, see “What's New in Dealer Station DDMS Edition 4.05” and the updated "Dealer Station Admin Manual" on the Dealer Station Documentation page.
11 ECi PSN Services Adds Trading Partner: is.group
ECi has released a new PSN (Private Supply Network) service for is.group. This service will enable is.group members who use DDMS to transmit purchase orders and receive acknowledgements from the new is.group Distribution Centers (ISDCs) via the Internet.
The is.group PSN service requires the Version 7 General Release software, which includes the is.group PSN programs. In addition, new fields have been added to the inventory database to identify ISDC stocked and non-stocked items. These fields will enable you to limit your low-stocks to stocked or non-stocked items, automating the process of purchasing stock from the ISDC. You will also be able to specify whether to use the manufacturer’s cost for an item in order entry or on customer contracts.
The third quarter is.ezTrade edition of the O/PUS OPdb® catalog update takes advantage of these inventory database enhancements. To learn how to load and purchase is.group items, including using the new is.ezTrade parameters and the new graphical low-stock purchasing features, see Loading & Purchasing is.group Items.
To learn how to add is.group as one of your PSN vendors, see Signing Up for the is.group PSN Service.
To learn how to set up appropriate parameters for your is.group PSN account, see Setting Up and Using the is.group PSN.
12 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 even better? Please send any comments or suggestions to keyops@eci2.com.
If you have feedback or corrections to report for documentation, please use the 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.
Key Ops Dispatch, an e-mail newsletter, comes free of charge to all DDMS customers. To unsubscribe, change your e-mail address, or add additional recipients to this subscription, please include your company name, account number, and phone number for validation purposes in an e-mail request to emailchg@eci2.com.
For other ECi contact information, please see the Contact Us Web page.