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Thursday, December 25, 2008

Enjoy the Warehouse Christmas Carol

It was the night before Christmas, when all through the warehouse,
Not a forklift was stirring, not even a mouse;

There were no stockings hung, only safety signs that read,
Pedestrians beware, or you could end up dead;

As I looked around I noticed, the inventory was not nestled where it was supposed to be,
The warehouse was out of space and all the world could see;

The supervisor in his ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down and told me, the consultant, “he was sick of this crap;”

Inaccurate inventory, not enough space,
Constant employee turnover, a pile of returns,
He took a deep breath, and then put his hands on his face;

How did we get here, he asked, what are we doing wrong,
How will we catch up with receiving, I thought to myself,
“This is the same tired song;”

Next comes the dreams of a Warehouse Management System, to save us next year,
But it never comes, because a lack of ROI is what the executives fear;

I tell him the lack of ROI is not because of the software,
But because few organizations address their problems,
Before implementing a solution that big,
They merely end up putting clean clothes on dirty kid;

He says, nothing ever changes and wonders if we will be able to keep our sanity,
How many more customers will we lose and blame on the economy;

What will we do when the customer on the phone asks, “Are you sure you have that in stock,”
Smile like always and say, “Can you hold while I check my receiving dock;”

Just then the CEO enters and asks how is it going,
The supervisor smiles and says, “Its going, as you can see its going;”

The CEO then tells of a simpler time when customers weren’t so demanding,
When inventory levels were low and all he thought about was expanding;

Well expand we have done, with a warehouse bursting at the seams,
But is the warehouse too small he asks, or do I need to speak with the Purchasing team;

The supervisor responds no I think we will be okay,
We just need to catch up on the receiving that came in the other day;

Well we definitely need to get those receivers entered so we can close out this year,
So do what you can, to make it disappear;

As he began to stroll away, down the aisle, he stepped over numerous piles of inventory,
He then turned and said, “Merry Christmas you two,” and that is the end of Warehouse Christmas story.

And I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy (Prosperous) New Year.

Rene’ Jones is founder of Total Logistics Solutions, Inc., a national logistics and supply chain consulting organization that focuses on improving your warehouse operations. Rene’ is the author of the acclaimed book, “This Place Sucks (What your warehouse employees think about your company and how to change their perceptions!)” and the book “WMS 101 (Selecting, Implementing and Maintaining a Warehouse Management System”. To learn how TLS can help your organization send an email to info@logisticsociety.com or visit the company’s website http://www.logisticsociety.com/ or give them a call (888) 807-0958.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Activant Introduces its Next Generation of Business Analytics

Activant Solutions Inc. users know the power that Activant's business analysis tool gives them to help make smarter decisions about their operations. Now Activant has introduced its next generation of business analytics -- Activant Business Analyzer -- to give distributors an even greater advantage.

The Activant Business Analyzer solution includes features and functionality that provide distributors with greater insight into their businesses. For starters, it's faster -- queries return results quicker and databases are more compact and take less time to build. It's also easier to customize: distributors can produce charts and tables for specific users and roles, and users can also produce their own custom reports.

"I am particularly pleased with the ability to customize a number of different queries into a very flexible layout of multiple reports that reflect valuable information across different departments in our company," said Rodger Hurt, president of Southern Marketing Affiliates, headquartered in Jonesboro, AR. "In previous generations of executive information systems from Activant, you were limited to a single report on the screen. With the Activant Business Analyzer product, you can have multiple tabs that can be built and modified to show information based on how you want to see it. The graphs and charting functionality is much improved."

In addition to allowing the viewing of multiple reports at the same time, the Activant Business Analyzer solution also lets users set up flags that warn them when performance indicators are weak or headed south. And it's far easier to get important information into the hands of those who need it with this new package.

"You can email reports directly from the application," said Hurt. "You can launch an Excel file with ease that retains nice formatting. Reports can also be set to run on a variety of different scheduling options and then distributed automatically to the people in your company that need the data.

"The ability to create multiple scheduled distributions of varying reports is going to be great as we develop our business further."

The Activant Business Analyzer solution comes packed with other useful features, such as:

* Ability to view data based on calendar or fiscal year
* Security protection to keep users out of unauthorized areas
* Drag-and-drop design tool that creates queries faster
* And many more

To find out more, visit distribution.activant.com, email distribution@activant.com, or call 1-800-776-7438, press 1.

About Activant Solutions Inc.

Activant Solutions Inc. ("Activant") is a leading technology provider of business management solutions serving retail and wholesale distribution businesses in three primary vertical markets: hardlines and lumber; wholesale distribution; and the automotive parts aftermarket. Founded in 1972, Activant provides customers with tailored proprietary software, professional services, content, supply chain connectivity, and analytics. More than 30,000 customer locations use an Activant solution to manage their day-to-day operations. Activant has operations throughout the United States and Canada , Ireland and the United Kingdom .

For more information, please visit distribution.activant.com.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Activant Prophet 21 Offers Functionality for Petroleum Distributors

Activant®, the leading software and services provider for wholesale distributors, announces the addition of functionality to Prophet 21® specific to petroleum distributors.

"Petroleum distributors have unique needs due to the variable nature of supply and demand for our products," said Bob Crouch, CFO of PetroLiance, LLC. "Activant’s product development teams have spent the time to understand our requirements and build them into Prophet 21’s functionality, and they are committed to continuous improvement of these features for the long run."

Special Functionality for Petroleum Distributors

Activant Prophet 21 contains the key functionality important to the success of petroleum distributors, including:

* Integration with suppliers – including ExxonMobil, Shell Oil, and Valvoline
* Integration with routing systems- including Geocom, Centeron Dispatch Compass Integration/E-tank
* Support for delivery scheduler routines
* Extensive reporting, including gallons display and loan processing
* Hazmat Tracking
* PetroVend Cardlock integration
* Integration to Axxis
* Support for drum deposits
* And much more

To find out more, visit distribution.activant.com, email distribution@activant.com, or call 1-800-776-7438, press 1.

About Activant Solutions Inc.

Activant Solutions Inc. ("Activant") is a leading technology provider of business management solutions serving retail and wholesale distribution businesses in three primary vertical markets: hardlines and lumber; wholesale distribution; and the automotive parts aftermarket. Founded in 1972, Activant provides customers with tailored proprietary software, professional services, content, supply chain connectivity, and analytics. More than 30,000 customer locations use an Activant solution to manage their day-to-day operations. Activant has operations throughout the United States and Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

For more information, please visit distribution.activant.com.

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