You Need It When???

Back in the day, computer applications were used to almost exclusively to complete transactional business processes. Data was entered in batches -- it could be days after the actual transaction. It didn’t take long for organizations to realize that the transaction-based data they acquired held significant value – and the sooner they had access to the data (and the information it provided) the better! Data to Info Graphic

Our need for immediate access to useful information continues to grow – and the speed at which we can respond is a key component in our continued success. PowerShift supports business processes in real time. Enter a sales order and see it in the customer’s order backlog. Confirm a shipment and you see it immediately – with the packing list printed as the confirmation occurs. You can opt to let the system blast an email to advise your customer of the shipment at the same time.

You can give your customers 24/7 access to their orders and shipments via the e-business interface. Customers log in on with secure access via an internet browser session. They can see recent sales quotes, orders and shipments -- and link to the carrier’s website to track the shipment. As soon as an order is confirmed, customer-level web access shows the shipment, what was on it and how it shipped.

The benefits of real-time processing aren’t limited to sales and shipping. Labor data collection provides visibility of who is working on what – great information for your supervisors! A few days after implementing PowerShift labor data collection, a production manager was reviewing work center activities and noticed a person going from setup to direct labor and then back to setup on the same operation. On investigation, it turned out a tool broke and had to be replaced. The operator was amazed that the production manager knew what was happening as it was happening!

In the old days, you had a choice of a few canned reports or you had to code a program to get the information you wanted. Not so anymore! Each PowerShift report and inquiry gives you options to sort data, group it by attribute, include subtotals and even select ranges of data based on key information fields. Take a look at the Sales Order Listing (OL) program. You can sort on ten different attributes and select data on based on twelve attributes.

Beyond sorting and selecting, you have a number of program configuration settings to determine what data is on the report and how much detail is reported. Report options are saved by user; and the “My Reports” menu enables you to save a single report with different sets of options. Using OL as an example, you might provide different views (e.g., backlog by item, by customer and by scheduled ship date) depending on job function.

Reports that recap the day’s activities are best generated after the close of business. That’s where the PowerShift Job Scheduler comes in. Maybe you need to see the backlog report first thing every day? Schedule it to run and be emailed so it’s waiting in your inbox when you arrive each morning. Information can be displayed, be printed, emailed or output to a spreadsheet.

Timely information is a business imperative for organizations of all sizes. PowerShift provides information when you need it and presents it the way you need it presented.