Executive Spotlight on Jim Ringland, IT Director, Langeveld Bulb Company

The days of working with a single shipping carrier are gone. In today’s world, many businesses work with two, three—even four—package delivery services.

Just ask Jim Ringland of Langeveld Bulb Company. Several years ago, Ringland, IT director at Langeveld, worked to develop functionality that allowed employees to manage UPS shipments right from his MFG/PRO system. At that time, UPS was Langevelds’ sole shipping carrier. As shipping costs started to skyrocket, the company decided the time was right to start negotiating with different carriers.

Because these package services’ systems were not integrated with Langeveld’s MFG/PRO ERP system, employees would have had to process shipment information manually—wasting time and money, and increasing the opportunity for errors.

“We couldn’t afford the inefficiencies of a carrier-provided solution, so we needed something that would allow us to manage DHL, FedEx, and UPS shipments right from within our system,” Ringland says.

But, he wanted to ensure that the integration was seamless and that his users could manage FedEx and DHL shipments the same way they handled UPS shipments. He also wanted to make sure that any new screens mirrored those that already existed in the MFG/PRO system—and that the business logic was compatible with what was already in their system.

Read more about Shipping Seamlessly with MFG/PRO

Here at PICS, we work hard to develop products and services that will help you build your business. And we think that it’s important to tell you how you can use these products and services to your advantage.

You may have noticed that we are now reaching out to you—through this newsletter and other avenues—to introduce you to some of our newest offerings and how companies like yours, are taking advantage of them. In 2007 we will be conducting free Webinars highlighting a PICS product or service. These Webinars are produced by the PICS Sales Team and are conducted by either a senior PICS Consultant or Developer and will include an online, actual demonstration of the software product. The first Webinar was a huge success with many of our customers throughout North America attending. You can read more about these Webinars including the schedule on page 6 of this Newsletter.

We hope that you will take advantage of these Webinars and join us for an upcoming session.

I welcome your feedback on our new initiatives. We are always looking for new ways to keep you informed with what is available and to help you take advantage of new technology. We want to make sure that our contacts with you bring value and are worth your time.

Read more of the Founder's Messages

e-Tailer Works with PICS to Complete Weight and Zone Based Shipping

As president and owner of Ultra-RC, a bustling company dedicated to manufacturing and selling radio-controlled aircraft, Jim Eble’s time is extremely limited. And he must play a very active, hands-on role at work.

Ultra-RC is an Internet/Web-based business with only a few employees. It prides itself on maintaining an excellent reputation for providing individualized, attentive, one-stop customer service. As such, Eble doesn’t have much time to devote to peripheral projects. “I have to enlist outside professionals to help with certain things that would take my time away from my business,” Eble says. And that is why he called the PICS Internet Division.

Eble started working with PICS well before he made the transition from a bricks to clicks company, but the relationship intensified when he asked them to help him charter a Web presence. “We started with a simple Web site which quickly changed to a large e-commerce site,” he says. Within a year, the “simple” site featured more than 10,000 products. “We’ve had almost no downtime,” he says. “PICS products and services are always state of the art. We’ve gone through several enhancements
and updates, and implementation has always been easy.”

Read more about Enlisting Help

PICS Integrates MFG/PRO with FormTrap, Saving Client Time and Money in Shipping Process

Whether it is a U.S. Customs form, an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) or a certificate of compliance, many of the products a manufacturer ships today require some type of special documentation. And it can be difficult for even the most experienced warehouse worker to know what paperwork must be included with which packages.

Mike Boyle, Interpower Corporation's Manufacturing & Shipping Manager, realized this when he had to unexpectedly work in the company’s warehouse one day. “Because the information wasn’t in our business system, it took me awhile to figure out what paperwork went with what.” Interpower is an Iowa based manufacturer of power system components for electrical and electronic equipment. Boyle continues, “We didn’t store the forms in a central area. Our employees had to walk all over the place to get them.”

Even worse, Boyle says, the company’s forms were handwritten, and were often copies of copies. “We needed something that projected a more professional image,” he says.

Boyle knew he had to find an alternative, as more than
30 percent of Interpower’s products require special documentation. He contacted PICS for help.

Read more about Getting It Right The First Time

PICS Developer Helps Customers Improve Shipping Processes

Most business people would like to know how to ship less expensively, in less time, and with fewer errors and keystrokes. But few people can offer advice on how to successfully accomplish this task.

That is why people like Gary Pasky, PICS Development Manager, can offer so much value. With more than 15 years’ MFG/PRO software experience—more than a decade of which has been focused on PICS clients—Pasky, a gifted programmer, knows the system inside out. He has worked with more than 120 PICS customers on more than 300 projects, many of which were shipping-focused. His greatest talent, however, may be the ability to ask the right questions to get to the heart of his customers’ issues.

“When I start a project, I spend a lot of time working with the PICS business analyst to learn how things really work in the customer's shipping areas,” says Pasky. “And then we discuss how they’d like things to work.” During the discovery process, Pasky asks dozens of questions: How do employees enter orders? How do they pick products? What happens right before something is packed and loaded onto a truck?

Read more about The Heart of The Issue

Attend One of PICS’ Webinars to Learn How You Will Benefit

Want to investigate more of PICS’ offerings before you invest, but lacking the time you need to really research features and benefits? Do you want to learn how you can put something to work for your business, but need to see the solution in action before you invest?

If you answered ‘yes’ then plan on attending one of the PICS upcoming Webinars. The hour-long Webinars are specifically developed to show you how PICS solutions can benefit your business. Experts will be on hand to demonstrate—in a live Web environment—how you can leverage the unique functionality within PICS solutions to streamline processes, improve customer service, and increase sales.

“PICS has developed our Webinar series to keep our customers informed of our latest offerings and to show them how they can take advantage of new technology” says Rich Rosenthal, PICS President.

Why attend?

· Keep abreast of the latest technology available for your business
· Understand what PICS offerings are available to your company
· Learn how you can maximize PICS technology and expertise to your advantage

Read more about PICS's Webinars