The new eBay plugin for Data Exchange adds a new import which retrieves orders from eBay and imports them as a sales order into Sage 200.

The eBay sales order import connects to your eBay account and imports completed orders into Sage 200. A user token must be entered to enable Data Exchange to connect to the selected eBay account. The production token is used for importing orders from the live eBay account and the Sandbox token is used for testing purposes within an eBay Sandbox account.

The import orders date selector specifies the last date orders should be imported from and automatically updates this to the current date every time the import runs. Each order imported into Sage will then have the eBay order ID stored against it and will not be exported from eBay again.

An export location must be specified for the Sales order import file which is created by this plugin. If this is the same as the standard sales order import location, then the file will be picked up automatically and imported directly into Sage 200. Alternatively, the created sales order files can be exported to a separate location to allow amendments to be made before being imported.

Data Exchange for Sage 200 is used in over 150 Sage 200 sites around the UK and Ireland.

To see Data Exchange in action book an online demo with our Sage Channel Manager Allan James on allan.james@eurekasolutions.co.uk or join our Eureka Addons Online forum for the latest news and views of our addons!!!

The latest version of Sage CRM has been designed to support busy, growing businesses who want to increase internal collaboration, sales team productivity and drive business wide efficiency.

Empowering  the sales, marketing and customer service staff to take a more social and collaborative approach to engaging with customers and colleagues, Sage CRM 7.2 enables better business conversations, concerning opportunities, leads and support cases.

New Features include:

• Enhanced Mobile Suite.
  Includes 2 new mobile apps for the iPhone and Windows 8, with mobile deployment possible on iPhone and Android smartphone and tablet devices.

• New Social capabilities.
  Integrates with key social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to give users real time insight into customer and prospect behaviour.

• Employee Collaboration, Powered by Yammer
  Employees can collaborate and share information across multiple departments in order to provide greater visibility and insight for all.

• Smarter Reporting.
  Sage CRM now features faster, more secure customised reporting with new graphic charts, interactive graphs and report cloning facilities.

Why Sage CRM?

Sage CRM 7.2 offers its users seamless real time access to information across different platforms. This enables employees to engage better with colleagues and customers, increasing productivity both internally and externally. By increasing collaboration amongst staff, we are able to maximise the flow of critical customer and business information being shared which could lead to better, faster decision making.

If you would like more information on what Sage CRM 7.2 could do for your business, please contact Alan Miles at alan.miles@eurekasolutions.co.uk or call our office on 01355 581 960.

Choose from the list below and get your favourite addon added to the Free Starter Pack for Sage 200!

• MMS118 Multiple Stock Transfer
  Transfer multiple items at the same time with the Sage 200 Stock transfer utility.

• MMS169 Check Purchase Invoice Reference
  Sage 200 Purchase Ledger Utility that checks a Purchase Invoice reference for previous use.

• MMS321 SOP Deallocate All
  SOP Deallocate all allows you to quickly unallocate all the items on the sales order form.

• MMS322 Clear Disconnected Logins
  An additional button on the disconnected log-ins screen in Sage 200 that clears all disconnected log-ins automatically.

• MMS332 Customer Bank Details
  Allows bank details to be stored against the customer account.

Vote now and have your say!!

The Starter Pack for Sage 200 contains a collection of 10 (soon to be 11) of our most popular addons for Sage 200 – absolutely free of charge!!

Download the Starter Pack for Sage 200 here.

Built from customer requests these Sage 200 addons enhance existing Sage 200 processes, adding value by saving time and simplifying processes.

Eureka Solutions is a Sage Business Partner and the UK’s leading Sage Developer.  Please contact us on 01355 581 960 and one of our consultants will be happy to discuss your requirements.

For more information on NetSuite’s cloud platform please call 01355 581 960 or email enquiries@eurekasolutions.co.uk

The problems faced by high street retailers have been well documented in recent weeks with brands such as Comet, Jessops and HMV some well-known examples. The much anticipated Christmas peak failed to materialise with the Office for National Statistics reporting that high street sales were broadly flat compared to previous years. The same report suggests that this was in stark contrast to online sales which grew by 15.5% in December.

Retailers are faced with a battle on two fronts with the need to offer a superior service to customers, while at the same time cut costs. Consumers are more demanding than ever and expect a better, cheaper, faster and more personalised experience. Couple this with a struggling economy and it’s easy to see why the high street is finding things tough.

Multichannel

Consumers are demanding a multichannel experience and this is highlighted in a report by Synthetix which found that 91% of customers expect to receive consistent information over multiple contact channels. There is no doubt that the marketplace is tougher than it has been for years, yet strong growth in the online sector suggests that businesses who succeed in delivering the multichannel experience their customers demand can excel.

The ability to interact with brands in-store, on their website and through social channels for example, needs to be coupled with the ability to purchase in the way that suits them, e.g. on a mobile device, on eBay or by ‘Click and Collect’.

Mobile

Mobile is becoming an increasingly important channel for online retailers to introduce into the mix. A recent survey found that 24% of UK consumers used a mobile device for Christmas shopping and this is an area in which many retailers are investing. Those that don’t run the risk of missing out on sales and alienating customers by delivering an inconsistent multichannel experience. A responsive or altered version of your website for mobile devices is therefore essential. As a customer would you purchase from a website that wasn’t scaled to fit your smartphone?

Integration

It goes without saying that system and process integration will improve efficiency within the business as all employees will have access to up to date information when they need it and rekeying of data into multiple systems will be eliminated. Improved efficiency will ultimately lead to reduced costs.

As well as improving efficiency, integration across the ever-growing list of channels is a must to ensure the consistent and high level of service that customers now demand. For example retailers should have a single source of inventory that all their sales channels integrate with. It would be a customer experience disaster if a product is out of stock online but they can purchase it in store.

This ‘single view’ is also necessary for managing customer service. Whether it is via email, live chat, Twitter etc., customer service staff need to have a single view of the ‘truth’ to enable them to efficiently handle any customer service queries, which will ultimately lead to brand loyalty.

Therefore, although the retail environment is becoming increasingly more competitive the evidence suggests that organisations that effectively offer an integrated multichannel service can thrive and grow.

I recently wrote a blog on BuzinessZone about the business benefits of mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. In it I mention the increased productivity that mobile devices can offer as well as the power of having access to information at all times, wherever you are.

I came across this short but great video from Sage which has some good facts and figures backing this blog up and also outlines some benefits realised by customers through the mobile capabilities of Sage CRM.

Cloud Conversations

‘A system that runs an entire business, rather than just a department.’
Titled the ‘next big thing’, Zach Nelson President and Chief Executive of NetSuite emphasized that Cloud computing was all about changing the way people think and work by experiencing what  you do at home at work.

Times are changing, service companies are becoming more like software companies – users want every single touch point with them anywhere, i.e. I can order ‘one item’ from John Lewis online quickly and easily but at work I can’t order the 1000s of items which I would normally order from your suppliers in the same way. ‘The internet and the cloud have essentially made the world ‘on’ all the time. Nobody in business or leisure is ever out of contact anymore via email, social media and mobile phone. Systems have to enable businesses to be the same – too many businesses are much more paper based than their staff are in their personal lives.

‘Every company should be Cloud focused’ states Nelson
John Deer Tractors are now gathering data and sending this back for analysis. The data is so valuable that  it has actually become more useful than the tractors themselves
Users want that “apple like experience” at work, whether that be tracking a sales opportunity to managing the most complex service and renewal processes or keeping track of your ecommerce site, users want to have access to their business anytime, anywhere. Apple knows who you are at every single touch point without having any kind of human interaction. This kind of technology is not available with traditional technology systems. A cloud structure makes complex tasks more straightforward when approaching system changes, process changes. Technology is evolving and companies who do not embrace the Cloud will see their revenue shrink.

Towards the end of his presentation Zach was asked, as he is every year, to make IT predictions for the year ahead:

• Without the burden of IT maintenance service companies would become more like software companies in terms of the multi-channel touch points they harness.
• Companies are more likely to embrace a multichannel service model
• NetSuite will offer an ‘apple like experience’.
• Traditional application vendors who don’t move quickly to the cloud will suffer

The Cloud, Marketing and the Social Business

‘Chief Marketing Officers are spending more on IT than the IT department themselves’.
Analyse the effectiveness of the marketing department – accountability – there must be some form of digital identification to show where leads are coming from. By analysing all areas we are able to justify marketing’s existence. Find out what you want to achieve from social media then measure collaborations by analysing what opportunities were gained or lost – adjust strategies for future growth

Keep your business engaged across the entire organisation – ‘A business must be social internally to be social externally.’ By following what our customers do socially, we are able to get vital intelligence into their behaviour and habits. Be creative and build on what you already know by interacting with both your customers and employees – target and engage all touch points and focus on areas that work best for you. This may be across departments, geographies, content and business apps.
Mobile/Social interactions are the future, with Cloud being the enabler.

Consumers are shifting from software to information based business model – the needs of a business as well as the requirements of IT must be met in order to ensure regulatory compliance, operational efficiency and overall revenue growth.

The Cloud, Your Data, the Law and Security

When a business considers whether a Cloud solution is right for their business there is certain things they need to know:

• How is the data managed and moved around the organisation?
• Can you control the location of where your data is held?(It is legal for cloud providers to transfer data outside of the UK/EU)
• What type of Cloud is your data held in?
• Nationality of your Cloud Provider? Is there a reseller involved?
• Where is the backup server? And can we also have our data on premise?

The Data Protection Act states that the Cloud provider is not responsible for the customer’s data: the customer is. On the 25th January 2012 the European Commission proposed a comprehensive reform of the EU’s 1995 Data Protection rules to strengthen online privacy rights and boost Europe’s Digital economy.

Technological progress and globalisation have profoundly changed the way our data is collected, assessed and used – most big brands would not risk their reputation by having badly managed/controlled databases and there are very strict regulations that need to be adhered to.

The Cloud is happening.

Business users and leaders of today and of the future will need to embrace the Cloud in order to stay competitive. Cloud technologies are faster to deploy, require minimal technical know to manage and cost less than on premise technologies. This lets business users focus on what’s most important: growing their business. The approach to the cloud should be the same as everything else, know who you’re dealing with, know how they operate and know who is responsible for what.

Over 12,000 organisations rely on NetSuite to manage their businesses, and we will be joined by one – Edinburgh based 2Pure UK, who will provide insight into their use of NetSuite, and how it has helped support their rapid growth.

I hope you are able to join us for what promises to be an excellent networking opportunity.

To hear Paul speak for the first time to Scottish businesses register today. Find out more about the event here.

Paul Auffermann is Managing Director, EMEA at NetSuite. Paul joined NetSuite in 2008 and has vast experience in the IT industry having worked for a range of software companies including IBM.

View Paul’s LinkedIn profile.

At the start of each financial year, the sales team are required to calculate forecasts per customer, per stock item of sales they intend to make per period. This data is then used for KPI reporting, analysis of budget/actual figures and for forecasting stock requirements. Figures can then be stored against a customer record within Sage 200, with the information accessible through the report designer – allowing them to produce reports more readily.

Currently the client carries out all stock forecasting within an Excel spread sheet, which is very time consuming and can be open to errors. They required the ability to automate the process of forecasting, allowing the system to provide a suggestion of orders, whilst still allowing users to overwrite the figures and generate orders quickly from within Sage 200.

In order to meet these requirements we amended their Sage 200 system using the Sage business objects to create a system that was fully integrated to their current Sage 200 system.  The Sage 200 New Customer, Amend Customer and Account Enquiry screens were amended to contain an additional tab that allowed for a user to populate the estimated future sales forecasts.CSV import routines were set up to update data within Sage 200 enabling a user to automatically create financial year, customer item code combinations and therefore estimating future sales forecasts. By creating a new menu item called ‘Stock Forecasting and Purchasing in Sage 200, users were able to present purchasing recommendations based upon their stock forecasting levels.

For more information about our Eureka addons or  bespoke developments please contact our head office on 01355 581 960.

Eureka Solutions are delighted to be exhibiting and presenting at the Scottish Business Exhibition on the 15th and 16th November at the SECC. The exhibition, created for mid-market and large SME’s, exhibits services and products your business needs to be more competitive, more efficient, more innovative and more profitable!

Find us at stand B19 where we will be showcasing solutions such as QlikView, Netsuite and Sage, as well as our Eureka Addons!

To add to the excitement Alistair Livingstone, MD, Eureka Solutions will be hosting two seminars, one on each day (Thursday 11.15am and Friday 10.30am). The presentation - Business Discovery: The Next Generation of Business Intelligence will be an overview of QlikView and the world of Business Discovery.

Other Keynote speakers include:

• Sir Brian Souter – Founder & CEO of Stagecoach PLC a global transport empire

• Jim McColl OBE – Probably Scotland’s best known businessman

• Donald Macdonald – Hotel entrepreneur – founder of Macdonald Hotels

Free to all who attend this two day event is definitely not one to miss!

For more information please contact our head office on 01355 581 960.