Archive for June, 2010

Barcode Scanning in Dynamics GP Great Plains Notes

This small publication is for existing Microsoft Dynamics GP, formerly known as Great Plains Dynamics, customers with unique Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Transportation, Warehouse Management automation requirements, where  out-of-shelf Dynamics GP barcoding add-ons do not fit without further modification.  We name our approaches “Solutions”, where we have proven existing codes, ready for tuning in your SCM environment.  We are also happy to optimize your procurement and inventory tracking processes, where you already have barcode scanners and barcode servers deployed and you need the integration to Dynamics GP.  Article might look too technical, it is intended for IT people and programmers in your company:

1. Barcode integration points.  This is often where you have some disappointment in existing Dynamics GP Barcode Custom modules – there are too many places in Great Plains Dynamics, where Barcode integration is possible, virtually you can automate with barcode scanning every place, where GP user enter something from the keyboard.  Obviously the most popular integrations for barcoding are SOP Invoice and Order Allocation, Purchase Receipts, Inventory Count, Point Of Sale Invoice Inventory Item Line Entering.  However if you have light manufacturing, you may need barcoding in Bill of Materials processing.

2. Barcode Labels printing.  Sometimes this process is unique and you can have Barcode Labels with some lot or serial numbering specifics (here you may create new inventory items upon the receiving of the merchandise or assign new lot or serial numbers to new arriving), usually upon POP Purchase Receipt line is received in full.  Label printing could be done directly in Dynamics GP ReportWriter, but for better results you could deploy more flexible tools, such as Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) or Crystal Reports  SSRS in our opinion is the tool of the future as some software developers are resisting to deploy it due to the fact that it is completely web based in its interface, however this tool comes free with SQL Server and does the same job as more traditional reporting tool – Crystal Reports for example

3. Real Time versus Batch integration mode.  If you do not deploy Barcode scanning servers, you should restrict to Batch mode integration, meaning that you will scan all your documents and the you will arrive to the office and upload the whole batch.  If you need realtime integration, consider Barcode Scanning Server deployment, where your scanner could communicate with the server and the server will push each transaction in real time

4. Accounting puzzles.  You may have questions on how to account Merchandise Consignment (you do not want to take these items on your Assets Balance)

5. How to get help.  Please feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

Dynamics GP Barcode and Warehouse Management Solutions Notes

Companies, involved in consignment, warehouse and supply chain management, often have unique business processes and special requirements to their ERP and MRP systems.  In these scenarios, it is easier to redeploy and retune existing codes to fit unique requirements (we name our ready for deployment codes Solutions), versus the attempt to customize out-of-shelf WMS and Barcoding Great Plains Add-on.  In this small publication we would like to share with you existing code base, so you could decide if the “Solutions” approach is feasible in your case:

1. Order Taking for your Wholesale or Retail customers.  It is often useful to know customer historical items ordered as well as historical price per item.  This helps in instant repetitive order or Sales Invoice entry and emailing to the customer.  We recognize the need for price levels, catalogs, promotion campaigns, however historical relations with your important customers might be crucial for your cash flow.  History pop-up screen, associated with new customer invoice allows you to select historically sold items and if required use historical price as is or with moderate mark up

2. Orders fulfillment and delivery.  In Great Plains Sales Order Processing you may decide to do inventory fulfillment on demand per batch.  This process might be in line with specific truck loading with barcode automation and scheduled for delivery to the customer’ warehouse.  We offer Routine Management functionality for Consignments and Regular distribution channels.  Special codes are available for food distribution and restaurant supply networks.  For food supply companies we also offer catch weight functionality for variable weight packed items: cheese head, meat and seafood, for example.  System can print Loading Report, Route Pull Sheet, Route Delivery Sheet report.

3. Order Fulfillment via Barcode Scanners.  Here you can use barcode scanner batch mode (no real-time connection to Dynamics GP).  Then you upload scanned documents to Great Plains Sales Order Processing orders or invoices unfulfilled batches to initiate inventory fulfillment process

4. Manual Fulfillment.  We also offer redesigned SOP fulfillment window to automate variable weight items, where in addition to regular unit of measures, such as Case, Roll, or Bag you can add its weight in Libras or Kilograms (for those of you who sells huge loads of oil, minerals, wood and forestry products, we can change kilograms to tons or barrels)

5. Reporting.  If you are purchasing or selling your items internationally, we offer you Crystal Reports with Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese (we have native mentioned language consultants in staff), Japanese, Arabic, or any other two bytes or Unicode based language.  Reports could be turned to Bill of Lading, Picking Ticked, Packing Slip, Invoice Factura

6. Barcode Label Printout for a Purchase Order.  After a PO is entered in Dynamics GP, the Barcode Label Printout function allows printing all expected labels and generating the appropriate lot numbers.  Later, when the physical items arrive at the warehouse, the labels can be immediately applied to the cases. This greatly expedites the receiving process. Furthermore, since lot numbers were specifically associated with item numbers, when a lot number is scanned, the system can identify immediately the item number and the weight associated to that lot.  If the vendor short ships a PO, any unused lot numbers are simply discarded if their receipt is not acknowledged either through the scanner or the Purchase Order Mass Receiving program in the GP Warehouse Utility

7. Barcode Label Reprints.  Any damaged or lost labels can be reprinted by this utility. Barcodes can be reprinted for one whole Purchase Order or for an individual Lot Number

8. Purchase Order Mass Receiving.  Instead of scanning each lot received, this utility allows mass-receiving all or part of the lots. This saves a great amount of time during the receiving process, since it bypasses the scanning of the received lots.

9. Other options are available, we are trying to comply article format, so feel free to call us: 1-866-528-0577, help@albaspectrum.com

WaspLabeler – Barcode Label Software

www.waspbarcode.co.uk – Wasp Barcode Technologies is the leader in the barcode software industry. WaspLabeler barcode software is the best selling barcode label software.

Is the use by date on a barcode if not what information is put on them?

with a normal barcode scanner what product info am i able to retrieve?

The evolution of cellular phone numbers

Cell phone popularity is exponentially increasing. The main reason for this demand in cellular phone industry is merely for easy communication. Because of this reason, the cellular phone numbers is also increasing to very long digits.

The development of the cell phones and technology in the past decade along with social and cultural processes as well as sharp decrease in prices contributed to their phenomenon success. And because of this success that cell phone companies had the problem of cellular phone numbers.

Another main reason for the increase in cell phone demand that caused the long digit cellular phone numbers is the integration of so many different functionalities and technologies into the cell phones.

Cell phone as a scanner, a copier, a fax and a printer into a single compact space saving multifunctional machine.

The current generation of G-2.5 technology as well as the very near future G-3 units that are starting to emerge right now will carry in it so many functions which are mind blowing.  

In the near future, these cellular phone numbers may be made up of more than twenty to thirty digits!

When the new cell phones are introduced to the market, the demand would increase exponentially along with the supply, therefore violating the law of supply and demand (as demand increases supply decreases).
The cell phones in the future going to be a multimedia center, a mobile office, a navigation device GPS (Global Positioning system), a computer with fast Internet access, a text messenger, a high resolution camera and video, a watch, a calculator, a PDA, an MP3 music player, TV and a Wallet!

In the Philippines, their cell phone can also be used as wallet. They can send money to anyone as long as they have the service provider. These “cell phone money” can also be converted to their usual currency in some outlets.

Also it has been used as a tool for joining contests and raffles and voting for their favorite contestants in some reality shows.
In Israel they used the cell phone to send SMS message and approval for one dollar donation payment for needy children. I guess that in the future it will be a legitimate tool for voting in Elections!

In Slovakia, people are using mobile phones to remotely switch on the heat before they return home.

In Norway, 1.5 million people can confirm their tax returns using cell phone short text messaging services.

In Britain, it is now commonplace for wireless technology to allow companies to remotely access meters or gather diagnostic information. Construction workers on-site can use cell phones to send pictures to contractors off-site. Combined with the individual use of cell phones—to make appointments, locate a friend, check voicemail messages, or simply to check in at work—cell phones offer people an unknown level of convenience.

With these increasing uses of cell phone, it is really not surprising if one day we will have difficulty in memorizing our own cellular number. Yes, because our own cellular phone number would be as long as barcodes of certain products. It will be a difficult task in entering a friends number in our phone because of its length.

Maybe there will also be a time when it will be not anymore cellular phone numbers, instead cellular companies might use alphanumeric combinations!

I have a product, I have the barcode, what do I need to approach merchants to carry my product in their store?

Merchants need the product, barcode, and is it true they also need a tax return??? Im confused as to what I need to prepare when I start taking my product into the stores.
Also, does the size of a barcode matter? Do the scanners pick up any size?
Any suggestions on how to approach merchants into carrying my product? Do I just walk in and ask to speak to the manager? I’m new to this and I dont know the procedure on doing this. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Credit Cards ? Card Revealed With Own Pin Pad ? Continued

The leading credit card company Visa’s developing PIN pad credit card will be being tested very soon and the results at the end of the trial will determine whether or not it is mass produced for other banks to start giving out to customers who would benefit from it. The card would be most beneficial for those who do a lot of shopping online and who are concerned that their details are vulnerable. However, as mentioned in the first part of this article, Visa is also developing some other very exciting technologies at the moment. Visa’s near-field communication (NFC) technology will allow people to organise their payments through their mobile phone and also to pay for items with it by waving the device over a scanner. This technology may be new and innovative here in the UK, however, this technological knowledge has been being widely used for a while now over in Japan and it is even possible for people to see an item in a magazine that they would like and by simply waving their NFC capable mobile phone over a barcode next to the item, they can purchase it there and then. As well as this, the phones over in Japan are also capable of watching TV on the go, buying train tickets and informing the police that a crime has been committed via a buzzer on the phone that is automatically connected to the police station. All of these features and more are protected by a fingerprint recognition scanner that protects all of your personal information stored on the phone. Hopefully all of this technology will be available in the UK soon but meanwhile we’ll continue using our very impressive 3G enabled iPhones which surprisingly haven’t been as popular over in Japan, perhaps it’s something to do with the fact that they are currently developing their 5G phones after finding 4G could do better. However, Visa is making significant progress with the NFC technology and this isn’t all. The Verified by Visa online purchasing process has been proving very popular as the number of transactions made using the system has increased in Europe by 104 per cent over the last two years. The reason for this could be that the user feels secure in the knowledge that they have not been diverted to a phishing site and that the details from their credit cards have not been stolen, as the site remains visually with them at all times. The system also has a feature that informs the customer how long the process has taken and how long it should last, meaning that the procedure is a lot clearer and more efficient. This should mean that fewer transactions are abandoned and that customers find it a lot smoother. When deciding on which credit card you should go with, it is important that you compare a few different ones in order to make sure you are getting one that is most beneficial to your needs. One way of doing this is by searching different cards on the internet and in order to find exactly what you are looking for, try a variety of search terms, for example; ‘credit cards UK’.

Many people have found that the payment system Verified by Visa is a lot more secure and feel safer using their credit cards through it when shopping online. To make sure that you get he right card for you, it is important that you compare different cards on the internet, one way of doing this is by using a variety of search terms, such as; ‘credit cards UK ’ in order to find the one that will be most beneficial to you.

Stock Control Software and Inventory Control Systems

www.waspbarcode.co.uk Wasp Barcode has a complete line of stock control software and inventory tracking solutions, designed for businesses of all sizes.

Microsoft Dynamics Gp Inventory Management And Barcoding

Great Plains Dynamics got its new name Microsoft Dynamics GP with the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics family of Corporate ERP products.  If you are looking for Inventory, Warehouse Management, Logistics, Distribution solutions for Dynamics GP, based on Barcode scanning technology, we would like to offer this small publication.  Our approach is extending existing Great Plains ERP and MRP functionality with Barcode integration extensions, where Barcode scanner client application works out of the same database as Dynamics GP user workstation – Great Plains company database and master records and transactions are retrieved and created the same manner as if they are retrieved or created directly by Dynamics GP user:

1. Inventory Transfers and Physical Counts.  Barcode scanner sends scanned item numbers and quantities directly to inventory transaction header and lines tables, creating inventory transfer document or inventory cycle count transaction.  We send records directly to GP tables and this technology has long tradition – we have multiple products, where these codes are reused: integration with Microsoft RMS, where transfers from one RMS site to another are replicated with similar transfers between GP Inventory sites.  As optional functionality we support lot numbers, based on original GP lot numbering functionality

2. Elements of Classical Warehouse Management System.  There are large WMS vendors on ERP software market, having standalone WM systems with reasonable integration to popular ERP, MRP and accounting platforms, including Dynamics GP.  In our case we believe that it is feasible to extend profound Great Plains logistics modules logic to cover WMS functionality.  Classical Warehouse Management System has at least three elements: Inventory Transfer and Cycle Count (described in paragraph #1), second element is Purchase Receipts (merchandise receipts, replenishment), where warehouse worker scans arrived merchandise and WMS typically transforms it into Dynamics GP Purchase Receipt document.  And the third element is Order Fulfillment (Order Allocation).  In Great Plains WMS order fulfillment works in SOP module Sales Order or Invoice, where you disable automatic line allocation and use separate allocation process (via Barcode scanner batch or real time scanned info upload)

3. Elements of Supply Chain Management (also referred as SCM in abbreviation).  In Great Plains you have such great modules as Purchase Configurator (extension to Purchase Order Processing module).  We also recommend Truck Routing module, allowing you to optimize merchandize delivery routes, useful in Consignment scenarios (fast food outlets, auto spare parts for example)

4. Interoperability with eCommerce for Dynamics GP.  Why we are coupling eCommerce with WMS and Inventory Management?  Well, just imagine large ecommerce wholesaler or retailer, where it is very lucrative to provide ecommerce shopping cart order execution via barcode scanner based automation in your Warehouse Management System.  If this is your wish list, please visit our pavilion on Convergence 2010 in Atlanta.  If you missed this tradeshow, please order demo via our office

5. How to get further help?  Please call us 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918 or email us help@albaspectrum.com

6. Support options.  Alba Spectrum supports it WMS, Barcoding, E-Commerce, SCM, Inventory Management add-ons locally in Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta (for SAP Business One).  However, most of our customers are supported remotely and installation was done via onsite visits.  International clients are welcome from UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Arabic speaking countries (including countries with Arabic alphabet based languages: Dari in Afghanistan, Farsi in Iran), Latin America (please note that Dynamics GP is not localized for Brazil – we recommend SAP Business One for Brazilian customers, where we also have WMS module available in Brazilian Portuguese).  Dynamics GP is in phase out mode for such countries as Poland, Russia, Germany, France, Spain.  We still see reasonable number of Polish enterprises, deploying Great Plains in Polish as their Corporate ERP – we are happy to go onsite to Warsaw and Polish regions for our WMS and Inventory management system implementation.  We are trying the best on the international Corporate ERP market, our consultants speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Latvian, Ukrainian, Filipino

Documentation and e-Learning (Part 6): Delivering Courses to Cell Phones

Do you want (or need) to deliver courses or documentation directly to your customers’ cell-phone screens? And would you like to do it without making drastic changes to your LMS? Well, you can start right now, with an easy technique that allows learners to receive courseware and support documents anywhere… through their phones.

The technique uses something called “QR (Quick Response) Codes.” You’ll see these quirky square “bar codes” everywhere in Japan and some European countries… on magazine pages, advertisements, coupons, store windows, product packages, billboards, taxis, busses, and even caps, scarves, T-shirts, and tattoos. The Japanese have even covered whole skyscrapers with them. Then when someone points their cell-phone camera at one of these codes (wherever it is) and “scans” or photographs it, their hand-held device launches the web URL, displays the text, calls the number, or shows the Short Message Service (SMS) message that was “linked” to the code.

Many e-Learning Applications

The ways that QR Codes can be used in e-Learning, blended training, and even product documentation are limited only by your imagination. They could, for example:

•    Bring mobile-phone learners directly to your training portal, to enroll in and take online courses.
•    Enable cell-phone users to view assignments, reference/reading lists, and other training-support materials in subways, busses, taxis, or anywhere… without using PCs.
•    Allow classroom attendees to call up building maps, class schedules, and other useful information from QR Codes posted throughout the facility or campus.
•    Permit students in training rooms without PCs to access extra information and resources through their phones.
•    Allow students taking physical training (like fire-fighting and police drills) to receive information on their phones that’s pertinent to where they are and what they are doing at the time.
•    ”Tag” objects in physical training settings, so that students can view usage/safety guidelines and instructional videos about them.
•    Build online training catalogs with both web links (for PC users) and corresponding QR Codes (for mobile users).
•    Let students at training PCs display extra information and resources on their phones, through QR Codes in printed class materials, course screens, Adobe Flash movies, PowerPoint slides, and PDFs.
•    Send students’ cell phones to Google Earth destinations that are pertinent to course material.
•    Take online or class students to assessment pages that run presentations and ask questions about them.
•    Collect course/lesson feedback through SMS messages.
•    Make e-Learning materials accessible to people who don’t have computers or can’t use them (but who can use cell phones).
•    Allow users to view product documentation “in the field”… without using a PC.

A simple four-step process is all that’s needed to pull this off in your e-Learning projects:

•    Create the QR-Codes you’ll need using a free web service.
•    Tell your mobile learners how to get free QR Code reader software into their cell phones.
•    Put your QR-Codes in your training sites, online course pages, and support materials.
•    Tell your mobile learners how to scan the codes.
Here’s more about each of these steps:
Create Codes
You can create QR Codes for your e-Learning screens and materials through many online  generators, including:
•    Adobe AIR
•    I-Nigma
•    Kaywa
•    Snappr.net
For example, to use Kaywa’s generator:
1.    Open  Kaywa’s code generator page.
2.    Select URL, Text, Phone Number, or SMS in the Content type area.
3.    Enter the URL or other content that the QR Code will actually launch in the Content area (http:// is already included… and necessary… for URL content).
4.    Select the Size (M or L is usually fine).
5.    Click Generate!
6.    Right-click the QR Code that appears, save it, and then put it in any Word document, spreadsheet, Adobe Photoshop image, Microsoft PowerPoint slide, online HTML course page, class handout, and so on.
7.    Cell phone users can then launch the encoded content by photographing or scanning the image.
Snappr.net is another interesting generator. After you create your free account, you can link QR Codes to URLs images, polling/voting applications, and music files. Also of interest for e-Learning programs is their:
•    MMS, which supports users whose cell phones don’t have available QR Code readers. They can capture a QR Code with their phone’s camera, email the image to Snappr@Sannpr.net, receive a link back to the content hosted on Snappr.net, and then use their phone’s web browser to launch the link.
•    Geo-targeting controls, which can trigger alternative content based on user location.
So you will also want to tell your mobile learners how easy it is to photograph/scan these codes, wherever they see them during their training.
Load Code Readers
Cell-phone and iPhone users can go to Several Web sites to determine if free QR Code reader software is available for their device. And if so, they can usually download it directly into their device. (In out tests, the “Messenger” scanner  in many BlackBerry devices also launched web content from QR Codes.)

Here are just a few sites for finding a reader:

•    Barcode
•    I-Nigma
•    Kaywa
•    Quickmark

Once a reader is activated in the user’s phone, it’s easy to read the codes. Depending on the phone and reader software, the user simply takes a snapshot of the QR Code or scans the phone’s camera across it. The linked content then appears on the phone’s screen.

You can tell your mobile learners about these QR-Code reader sites through emails, ticklers, and your online training portal.
Try it Yourself!
If you’d like to see how all this works, load a QR Code reader into your own cell phone or iPhone. (If you use a BlackBerry, it may already have one.) Then search the web for “QR Code” and scan or shoot some of the samples you’ll find. See where they take you.
Factors to Consider

While QR Codes are easy to set up and use, here are some points to keep in mind:

•    Phones without cameras can’t be used.

•    Mobile devices may soon be able to scan and interpret ordinary text through their cameras. This could make QR Codes unnecessary. But even if this occurs, QR Codes are less tedious to enter than URLs. And they are fun to use! This will always appeal to some, which may be why the BlackBerry includes its own QR-compatible reader… to enhance its youth appeal.

•    Traditional website designs often require too much scrolling, panning, expanding, and squinting for easy navigation on mobile screens. It takes a powerful device with a big display to ease the strain. So some page redesign on your end could help.

Or you could contact someone like Brand Attention (http://www.brandattention.mobi/mobile.php), who redesigns web pages for easier display on mobile screens. When their own page opens, notice how its content and navigation controls run down the left side of the screen in a narrow, mobile-readable band. We viewed it on several phones at SyberWorks, and this technique worked well.

So think about making similar mobile-friendly duplicates of your existing e-Learning pages. Then, convert the page URLs to QR Codes, and learners who scan them will go directly to these pages through their phones.

•    Depending on your target users, your LSM may or may not need to be altered to handle QR codes. Most existing LMS web sites CAN be navigated by cell-phone browsers, though this usually requires a bit of scrolling. If this isn’t a particular problem in your application, then QR Codes can bring users to your existing LMS and pages without major modification. For instance, a retail store where I once worked suffered from an all-too-common training weakness. Training PCs locked behind back-room doors described products that were out on the sales floors. This did not permit real-world reinforcement through touching and testing the products themselves. This training would have become immediately more effective if the LMS just let employees log into the training system through their cell phones. Employees could then walk around the store, scan codes beside products, and view descriptions, usage instructions, sales pointers, and demos during their training sessions. All this material would come from the existing training-page URLs… but it would now reach cell-phone screens through QR Codes throughout the store. (Regular shoppers’ phones would not deliver this data, if it is delivered as part of the password-protected training session.)

But if you really want to give mobile users the easiest possible access to your LMS and course materials, you probably WILL need to redesign your e-Learning pages for mobile use. Your own in-house experts (or firms like Brand Attention, mentioned above) can do that… though it will require both need and commitment! For example, let’s say that you need to train customer reps to repair PCs, cars, or other consumer products. Like the above retail store, you could run them through a battery of online pages in some remote training room… and let them try to practice from notes and memory out in the shop floor. Or, you could redesign your LMS functions and layouts for easy access in the shop floor where practice units are located. Then, students can begin training by scanning a QR Code that calls up the login screen, and then view demo videos on their phones through QR Codes for each procedural step.