ACS will attend the Circulation Day that will take place on the 3rd and 4th of December, at L’Espace Pierre Cardin, 1 avenue Gabriel – 75008 Paris. Philippe van Mastrigt, Director of European Operations, will be glad to welcome you at place 32 and present the last features of the 2009R3 version to you. A general demo of Advantage will be performed at 12:15, on the 3rd of December

Find full program of this event on the web site of Les Ateliers de la Presse : http://www.ateliersdelapresse.com

Are you familiar with the Website Interface module?  Lots of clients are using it, but some aren’t!!  How can that be?  For all of us, here is a reminder of what this module can do for your organization.

The WEB module provides an application programming interface (API), allowing access to the Advantage application from your website(s).  Through this API, on-line, real-time interactions can be conducted in a secure manner between your Advantage production system and your website

Its comprehensive features include:

·         Online, real-time entry of orders, and access to subscription, order, and payment data.   Your customers can: view their accounts and order records as of this moment in time; check the status of their product orders; order or renew a subscription; change an address, or enter a payment.

·         Consistent application of policies, since your Web customers' transactions will be governed by the same policies as apply to any other transactions.  Examples include: address hygiene, order totaling, order discounting, tax calculation, upsell offers, premiums and order pricing (which may be driven by a promotion, a quantity discount, contract terms, etc.), returns policies, shipping method calculations, and credit limit checks.

·         A highly flexible user login and identification process, which allows you to specify what identification elements a user needs to supply in order to gain access to the database. This process includes the ability to require passwords, store password hints, and group users.

The API consists of a set of objects that apply the business rules you have set up in Advantage.  These objects -- called "capsules" -- are used in the regular Advantage modules.  These capsules can be invoked remotely via the Advantage Java or .NET API.

One of the major benefits of using the WEB module is the speed of deployment. 

·         Understanding the Database:  Instead of determining the tables to access and the fields within them, all you have to do is understand the API parameters that are passed.  The WEB module handles the rest.

·         Replicating Business Rules:  Instead of writing code to duplicate established policies, you can just call them.

·         Access to Established Updates:  Imagine the database update involved with entering an order that commits inventory.  The WEB module does this for you.  All you need to do is capture the parameters and pass them to the appropriate API.

Doesn’t that sound fantastic?  And here is a little secret that you get because you read all the way down to the end of this article.  While the capsules are primarily focused on supporting customer e-care (orders, address changes, payments, notes, etc. at your websites), there are many capsules that have been developed to support integration with other applications – such as a product production system, or campaign management system, or a content delivery system.  Set up a new title in your production system and before you can say The Publisher’s Advantage Computing System® it has been added at INVDAT.  Shazam!

Contact your ACS representative about how the Web module can work for you.

Mona has always had an aptitude for the technical and, at one time, she considered pursuing a graduate degree in MIS (Master of Information Systems).  This was right out of college as she started her first job, when the company implemented a CRM system and the project did not go smoothly.  Mona knew that there were better ways to run projects and she decided to go back to school and learn them.  She determined, however, that being a programmer wouldn’t provide her with enough interaction with people and so opted to earn an MBA with a focus on information systems. 

After completing her undergraduate degree, Mona worked as an Opportunity Development Representative for a financial software company.  This experience helped her to hone her sales skills, as developing and working sales leads was the main focus of the job. She moved to ACS after two years there. 

Nearing her tenth year with ACS, Mona has worn many hats here.  She started out as an implementation specialist under Greg Stout in 2000, and learned Advantage by performing QA testing and “pounding” on the software to see how it would respond.  Mona really enjoyed that exercise and quickly picked up a lot of Advantage knowledge.  This held her in good stead when she began working on implementation projects for Massachusetts Medical Society, Mary Ann Liebert, and others.  Although Mona enjoyed working on implementation projects, she was fascinated when she witnessed her first sales demonstration and thought she would function well in the sales arena.  However, from installations she moved to account management, working under Bob Thornton’s leadership on various accounts.  There, she did training—which she loves doing—and found out she had a flair for managing complex client accounts.  She took on Wolters Kluwer Health as a client and excelled at coordinating communication with--and services for--a multi-layered organization. 

Mona joined the sales team in 2007 after various members of the sales team witnessed several of Mona’s presentations and thought she would be a great addition.  Mona was loath to give up the investment in her relationship with Wolters Kluwer, however, and so she retained responsibility for managing that account.

“I love working with Mona!” says Maureen Connors, Vice President of Fulfillment at Wolters Kluwer Health.  “Her in-depth understanding of the ACS product line; combined with her detailed knowledge of the publishing industry, makes her our go-to person for assistance in implementing our strategy.  Mona is readily available to help whenever needed and a pleasure to work with.”

At ACS, Mona feels that she has the best of both worlds.  She likes the family atmosphere at ACS, and that it’s a small dynamic yet flexible company, where each person can make their mark.  However, she gets to work with clients at some of the largest publishing companies in the world.

Her boss, Dan Heffernan has this to say about her: “Mona is an expert at navigating her way through large organizations to reach key decision makers.  She employs her excellent communication skills and Advantage knowledge to create rapport and win the trust of our prospects and clients.  She is energetic, creative and great fun to have on the team.”

Mona enjoys working with the software and figuring out how to make it work best for each client.  Giving software presentations is another of her favorite things, although doing the detailed preparation that each one entails doesn’t rank quite as high on her list.  Meeting new clients, getting to know them and figuring out how best to communicate and work with them is another enjoyable aspect of Mona’s job.  She appreciates the fact that she has great confidence in the software she is representing and in the people she works with.  Her genuine enthusiasm makes it easier for her to communicate the benefits of Advantage.  “I couldn’t sell something I didn’t believe in,” says Mona.

Colleague Corey Mantel admires Mona’s poise:  “Mona is unflappable in demos; she always maintains her composure even when things go wrong.  She keeps her good humor, and she does a great job of seeing things from the point of view of her audience.”

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Mona attended nearby Eastern Michigan University, where she earned both her undergrad and graduate degrees.  She now lives in Birmingham with her husband, Amr, and they recently celebrated their first anniversary.  Together, they enjoy traveling and spending time with friends.  In her leisure time, Mona is a workout fanatic, with memberships at two gyms.  She is an avid “spinner” (stationary bicycling), and also enjoys dining out and photography.

Data… data… data… no matter how much you have, it might not be presented exactly as you need.  How can you present the necessary information from Advantage for your marketing team?  How do you provide executive dashboard information from the Advantage database?

The new Advantage Business Intelligence module was developed as the answer to these questions.  Sign up now for a FREE demo of BI later this month.   Corey Mantel will be presenting a demonstration of the Business Intelligence module at no charge – first on November 11^th and repeated November 19^th.

Attention system administrators: do we have a webinar for you! On Nov 18^th, Philippe Rowland will be giving a webinar on Advantage Config Management. This webinar will cover code rotation procedures, compiling from both the command line and GUI interfaces, the relationship between RPD’s, capsules, includes, views and screens, what’s in shared memory, and how to back out code that was compiled.

Register online at support.advantagecs.com/webinar or contact Doug Moore to reserve your spot!

Although it’s a rare occurrence, sometimes when you place an order, there will be a quantity in stock that is no longer there when the order finally posts via PRO205. In these cases, the shipped quantity on the order is set, but since the warehouse does not have enough stock to fulfill it, the PRO205 will not post the order. The PRO205.REPORT will give the error message “Not enough quantity available to fill this order.” The steps below illustrate how to force these order lines into backorder.

Forcing an order line to backorder

1. Route to MSTDAT/PRO.
2. Search for the order.
3. Use the CS function to change the order status from I to P.
4. Highlight the line in error and use the CQ function to change the shipped qty to 0.
5. Answer the popup box “Do you want to backorder the remaining quantity?” as follows:
   • If you wish to backorder the line, click YES
   • If you wish to force the item into Lost Sales, click NO
6. Use the CS function to change the order status back to I.

NOTE: Forcing a backorder is only to be done if the physical warehouse does not have stock on hand (in order for PRO205 to change the status to B and allow PRO360 to fill it when inventory is received in the warehouse). If the order did indeed ship from the physical warehouse and your quantities at INVDAT/WHS were just incorrect, you would need to do an Inventory Adjustment to correct the quantities to match what was in the physical warehouse and allow the order to post.

Here are some of the benefits you can experience by upgrading to new releases of Advantage regularly.

Enhanced Efficiency  

Regular upgrades bring new efficiencies to streamline workflow.   

Some recent examples:

·         New UI displays are more intuitive and easier to learn and train on.

·         MSTDAT/FST and INVDAT/FST allow scripting to speed entry of new items and updates to existing items.

·         The single Process Request Display is more intuitive and easier to use, allowing reports, processes, and jobstreams to be scheduled in one place at one time.

Revenue Opportunities Expanded

Regular upgrades provide enhancements to revenue generating modules.

Some recent examples:

·         Enhanced package capabilities allow for components to combine digital, print, 1-off and time-based

·         TEL module rewrite to Tele-Service – more focused call center customer service/ordering.

·         AMB module to set up, maintain, and provide billing capabilities for content access.

Compliance with Industry Standards  

Regular upgrades provide updates based on changes to industry standards. 

Some recent examples:

·         Credit Card compliance – masking and encryption

·         Additional credit card interfaces – Direct Debit, updated payment processors, on-line versus batch mode.

·         Item numbers expanded to 16 characters.

·         Support of ONIX standard.

·         Ringgold Institution ID’s.

Integrations of new technologies

Regular upgrades bring integrations of new technologies in the Operating System, Database, and Web areas.  ACS is always testing Advantage on new releases of Databases and Operating Systems.

Greater Options for Security

Regular upgrades bring enhanced user security and controls.

Some recent examples:

·         Improved user and group security options.

·         Optional login days and time by user.

ACS Training Opportunities

Regular upgrades mean end users will be using the revision of the software on which ACS conducts training classes.  This increases the effectiveness of the training provided and allows more training opportunities:  Webinars, User Group Meetings, Training Week, and on-site training.

Agility

Regular upgrades allow a publisher to be more agile.  Having the latest revision of the software installed allows all new features to be implemented.  As new opportunities surface, implementation times will be dramatically reduced with necessary feature sets already installed.

Contact your account manager or Paul DesRosiers if you are interested in planning your next upgrade. 

MOTOR Information Systems is the world’s premier supplier of automotive data.  In business since 1903, MOTOR has compiled a vast knowledge base - most of which is categorized by year, make, model, engine, VIN and AAIA vehicle classification. The company provides millions of data points to its customers, which include software and/or interactive developers who need automotive data to drive their end user applications, business owners who need parts and labor data for accurate repair estimating and technicians who need the most current automotive reference materials to diagnose and repair any vehicle that comes into their shop.

It’s no surprise that the methods of compiling and then distributing that data have changed drastically since the company’s origins more than 100 years ago. What once involved laborious manual efforts and large amounts of printed and bound pages, is now updated continuously and distributed electronically in an instant.

MOTOR came to Advantage in 2001, looking for more extensive web capability, better analysis and reports and greater system integration.  They went live on Advantage in 2002, and recently celebrated the successful launch of Crash Online—a database of information on specific car models, which is used by collision shops to estimate repair costs.  Previously, the data had been provided via quarterly print directories, which were costly to print and mail. Housing it online is much more efficient, and that is just the sort of application for which the Access Management and Billing (AMB) module of Advantage was created.

MOTOR purchased the Advantage AMB module to handle the authentication of customers and manage billing and accounts receivable for its database customers.  A large benefit of using AMB is its integration with the rest of the system. The previous method involved several disparate systems requiring manual updating. 

Along with the CRASH database, MOTOR also converted many other print products to their e-Tech platform, including such things as wiring diagrams, heavy truck repair information and technical service bulletins.

“Since bringing Advantage on board, our operation has come a long way.  Using Advantage has allowed MOTOR to integrate many parts of our business into a very interactive fulfillment system.” says Todd Ladson, MOTOR’s Director of Finance.  “Our team and the ACS people work together extremely well and we are pleased with the partnership, especially the relationship we developed with our Account Manager, Ken Darnell.”  

Senior Account Manager Ken Darnell has worked with MOTOR since their original implementation.  “The staff at MOTOR has made it a priority to get the best use they can out of every Advantage feature,” says Ken.  “Since their original implementation in 2001, they’ve added the Advertising Module in 2006, Royalty Module in 2008, and most recently, AMB in 2009. Each of these new modules went in smoothly and efficiently and filled a real need.  It’s been a pleasure working with Todd Ladson and his team.  They learn the system well and become extremely knowledgeable users.”

MOTOR’s Troy, Michigan headquarters, in the automotive capital of the world, employs more than 100 people.  MOTOR is owned by the Hearst Corporation.

The Boy Scouts of America will celebrate 100 years of Scouting in February 2010.  This year has been a busy one for the Scouts as they have planned events all across the country to commemorate the upcoming milestone.   They also recently went live on a new revision of Advantage, which involved a platform migration as well.

The upgrade project was an ambitious one, moving from Advantage 2003R1 to 2009R1 plus a migration from UNIX Oracle to Windows and SQL Server.  It went smoothly and was heralded as a great success by both ACS and the Boy Scouts.  The data port and upgrade scripts were completed in about 40 hours, which allowed the Boy Scouts to upgrade within a normal two-day weekend.

The benefits have been remarkable, including:

o   Using multi-queues, their Cycle Ends went from 6 hours to 1 ½ hours.

o   Much faster CIR210 postings

o   Cycle Ends and Distribution went from 22 hours down to a total of 6

 “The project was well organized and I was very impressed with how ACS handled the data migration from one database to another,” said Judy Bramlett, Customer Relations Manager at the Boy Scouts.  “The data migration and upgrade scripts were very efficient and allowed us to cutover with minimal down time.”

Judy went on to describe her opinion of the new release:  “I’m very impressed with the new revision of the software and from an end-user perspective, there are many benefits.  These include:

o   Better, more intuitive screens mean less end-user training.  Our end-users love the new Process Request display and all the list views.

o   Nightly posting runs much faster.

o   Postings, and distribution processes all run much faster – allowing me to spend less time monitoring the running of processes and more time managing our business.

Paul DesRosiers, the Director of Upgrade Projects, says: “This project was a great example of ACS and BSA working together to plan a large scale project and deliver on every front.  From planning to training, to setup, to execution, the project ran very well and achieved each and every objective.  ACS invests hundreds of hours of development work into each revision of the software.  This project immediately recognized the benefits of those efforts – from the new user interface, to the streamlined order entry, to the optimized posting and cycle end processes.”

On the ACS side, many other people were involved.   Mona Hidayet and Bob Thornton acted as account managers.  Philippe Rowland was the project manager and Martha Krieg the lead engineer.  Larry Kleber ran the upgrade scripts and Ray Zick worked on the data migration.

Congratulations, Boy Scouts, on a successful upgrade and Happy 100^th Birthday!

ACS will be one of the exhibitors at Publishing Expo at Olympia 2 in London February 24^th and 25^th, 2010.  Pub Expo is the key UK event dedicated to the publishing industry.   It combines a showcase of suppliers demonstrating exciting new products with a free education program incorporating seminars, workshops and demonstrations, all offering the latest up-to-date information.

It attracts thousands of publishing professionals involved in producing magazines, newspapers, brochures, newsletters, directories and catalogs - covering print, digital, electronic and online.  It offers the latest ideas, the contacts, the products, the services and solutions to enable publishing teams to compete effectively in their markets.

In 2010, Publishing Expo will again take place at Olympia February24th - 25th, and will feature more exhibitors, more seminars and workshops - and more visitors,  all coming to do business at what is the UK's only dedicated exhibition for magazine publishing professionals.

If you attend Pub Expo, please stop in at the Advantage booth: Stand A30.

www.publishingexpo.co.uk