20 replies to this topic

[davinci]

Do any of you use any kind of order management software? We already use Quickbooks for accounting and invoicing but with incrasing number of custom orders, our old paper and file method of managing the order flow no longer works. We are a supplier and I am looking for a software solution that can make our communications with clients and order flow easier and seamless. Any recommendation are appreciated.

Mehran Mikail,

Da Vinci Imports

[tmertz]

TradeNet uses DistributorCentral to process over 80,000 orders each year. Distributors can enter their own orders, proof orders online, see order balances due, and make payments online.

Both Supplier Customer Service reps and Distributors can see correspondence and notes on orders. This eliminates the uncertainty on who said what when.

Proofs and final artwork are stored with the order for reorders.

Best of all the order management is included at no extra charge with the other DistributorCentral services.

File export to QuickBooks is currently available. Full QuickBooks integration should be implemented by end of the year.

Inventory components can be setup for products so that Inventory requirement reports can be run.

[hddesigns]

I pm'd you about something I was getting written.

[gfinelogo]

I started using ASI Computer systems 2 years ago and since then have noticed that many suppliers use it as well.
It is the third system Ive tried and is the most user friendly and thorough of the lot.

[GlennG]

I couldn't find anything so I decided to get one built. Am in the process of that now. Will let you know how it goes.

[Chris Miller]

We're back in this boat too. Problem is, we don't just want order management. We want full CRM (Customer Relationship Management) + accounting + order management. After all, tracking sales from LEAD to invoice is the goal, right?

We've tried cloud services like zoho and salesforce. No good for the industry. We've also tried xtuple and aACE by Agis - same problems. The industry solutions are incomplete, provide poor reporting, and are not reliable enough to be used for accounting, order management, and crm and who want's to manage data across several different apps?

What a mess. Someone could come along and make millions with the right piece of software.

[hddesigns]

disregard this post... accidentally pressed enter to post!

[hddesigns]

There are some that do this, but they are really pricy. I just had to forget about doing this and started writing my own. Mine does not have the accounting part because each of our locations takes care of their finances through quickbooks, but there is a lack of technology in this industry. My software is going to be the easiest and most effective management. It is geared toward screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products, but can be customized. Its all done online and it really focuses on managing and putting all the pieces together i.e. making sure art is there, who the supplier is, what color the items are, color print etc. The best part about my system is that I can assign logins for customers, and they will be able to view the status of their job and if I choose, they can submit a work orders to me. It is much more in depth, and there are different levels of login rights. The best part is that art is never lost, the work order is never lost, and everything becomes paperless.

I think the problem with many of the apps today is that they get so complicated and there is so much to them. Personally, I have found that there is no avoiding having to cross each app. For instance, when mine is complete, we will still need quickbooks, distributor central, and sage. To me, there will never be something that comes around that will solve all these needs EFFECTIVELY and at a reasonable cost, not to even mention in a way that everyone can easily learn.

[pweisberg]

I love DC! It took me some time to learn but now I feel like a Ph.d. I would agree that putting a front-end on it so it would support some type of CRM would be very helpful. Perhaps Tom and gang can get to that soon?

[royster13]

They are working on improving DC all the time....I hear some changes to the front will be coming very soon...

[jimknecht]

I think the problem with many of the apps today is that they get so complicated and there is so much to them.

IMO, that is because our industry is so large & diverse. You are not only selling every printed item know but also dealing with every decoration method know.

That is why I see DC as too complicated. They have to write a system that accounts for all these different products & decorations. They have to be able to deal with every supplier in the industry & every distributor. The other extreme would be a system such as ours. Ours is custom written just for what we do & has all sorts of safeguards built in. Easy to do when you can focus just on one business.

I'm positive any system written for an industry as diverse as ours will always be complicated.

[GlennG]

Agree it will be complicated, but the user interface doesn't need to be an information overload. We're in the middle of making a custom built system, with the focus being on user friendliness. I'm convinced all systems to this point have been built by IT people telling our industry how we should operate.

I had a demonstration a month ago for a system and when I asked about certain features, they told me I don't need them. Yes I have no idea what I need to run my own company. And then they told me the system was $20k!

[jimknecht]

I'm convinced all systems to this point have been built by IT people telling our industry how we should operate.

Hard to imagine that is true with DC... since the are owned & used by TradeNet.

However, I know where you are coming from. Years ago when were were designing our system, I explained what I wanted & needed to the software developer. The initial system did everything I asked, but the logic behind it made no sense & it was very hard to use. It took a long time, but we finally were able to explain how it needed to look & feel.

[Chris Miller]

Hard to imagine that is true with DC... since the are owned & used by TradeNet.

Actually that still is sort of the same situation - even with DC. Keep in mind that DC just recently went from being an order management system for one single supplier to a solution for thousands of distributors. A lot had to be changed so that it would even work for distributors.

Luckily they have reached out to some distributors for feedback over the years, and they have implemented some of the things that have been suggested. It still has a long way to go though. My biggest issue with DC is that it's not all that intuitive. So while it might be able to do a lot of things, it can be downright time consuming and counterproductive because of HOW it does those things. Throw in the fact that you still need a separate accounting system, CRM system, and some way to tie those two together - and you realize why so many of us are still looking for something decent.

Maybe some day we'll see the perfect solution. It's going to have to handle everything from lead to invoice though.

[tmertz]

With regard to CRM capabilities within DC if anyone would wish to email me suggestions and ideas I would appreciate that. Please email them in a Word document to tmertz@tradenetpublishing.com. Please include your contact info in the Word document so that I can get back to you with questions.

DC will offer full synchronization with QuickBooks by the end of the year. Intuit just introduced a new tool which we are aggressively looking at.

We are looking at several email solutions to incorporate email marketing within DC. If anyone has any experience in that arena please email me directly.

With regard to complexity most humans view things that they are unfamiliar with as more complex than those that they are familiar with. What we are hearing from those that have taken the time to familiarize themselves with DC is that it is easier than most of the other solutions in our industry. Of course we are always open to suggestions on how to improve.

[Christina]

Hi,

We at a.w.s. provide end to end art & order management services to our suppliers. There is not doubt that processing orders consumes investments and management.
Our offshore team connects with your order management systems to accurately enter all orders within 12 hours or less, and save upto 50% on costs. We process 1M+ orders a year.

Follow the link to inquire:
http://www.artworkservicesusa.com/Supplier/Business-Services/Index.aspx#backoffice

[agreenspan]

Hi,

I've spent the past several years developing an integrated accounting and order management system. I'd be interested to get feedback from members here if anyone is interested in doing some beta testing. There would be no charge of course--it's just been a while since I was involved in the industry and I'm not sure if much has changed.

Feel free to e-mail me at aarong at thinkcomputer.com if you're interested.

Aaron

[GlennG]

Our order management system as almost complete. We have been using it since November and are just fixing and adding as we need. I'm really happy with it and I'll save the cost of the system in the first year of operation with reduced wages.

I still have heaps I want to add to it, but with the data sharing that it allows, support staff can handle more jobs per day, as they will spend less time on generating, following up and updating sales staff on their orders.

Currently all it does is generate the client order, email it to the client. Generate the PO based on that order (with multiple suppliers, items, etc) email the PO and artwork and then generate reports for all suppliers, clients and staff. Every time an email is sent, the system automatically updates that item status to the next phase of the job. So when I generate the PO, it shows the PO has been raised. When I email the PO, it shows it being sent, etc.

Where we've save even more time is the PO entry screen, most of our suppliers supply their price lists a very basic format. We've made the system so you don't have to retype anything, just click a button and it's added to the PO.

[gfinelogo]

I looked at them all. Tried Essent, thought the price mattered and it was way less than ASI Computer Systems.
Never got the hang of Essent and finally bit the bullet and went with ASI, which is the most user friendly of any system I looked at. Best investment I have ever made for my business.
Been a 100% satisfied customer for 3 years now. Not only is the system the best overall in my opinion but the customer service/support is readily available to fix any and all problems that have popped up.......

[pweisberg]

I've got DC somewhat manually cross-talking now to Zoho CRM but to do it right, need to write an API. Anybody know anyone looking to help me write an API between DC and Zoho, pleae let me know. Thanks, Pete