August 9, 1999

Volume 1, Issue 1

 
This is our first foray into the world of newsletters. This is an idea I have been toying with for quite some time and now seemed like a good time to start.  Periodically, I would write a very dry letter to all of you and fax or mail it and hope that it gets read.  I think a regular (when I get to it) newsletter would accomplish the same purpose, but hopefully it would be a little easier to read.  Recently, things have been changing so quickly, that I often feel as if we aren’t getting the word out often enough.  We are service orientated and this is one more way for us to keep you up to date on what we are doing.
We’ve Moved
At the beginning of July, we had to move our offices to another larger location.  We had been in the same location for over 10 years, but it was time to move on.  We are now completely moved in, but still getting settled.  Our goal was to be able to move the business without any major interruption in service to our ShopOrder Plus+ customers.  If you weren't aware that we had moved, then I guess we were successful.  Our street address has changed, but our PO Box address, phone & fax numbers and e-mail addresses have all remained unchanged.
Service Pack 3 Released
Service Pack 3 of ShopOrder Plus+ was released on August 4th 1999.  We had originally planned to release this version at the beginning of July, but we kept adding new features throughout the first part of July.  I finally had to put a halt to the development to get this version in your hands.  It has been in Beta testing for over six weeks and the feedback has been positive.  A few of the new features will include:

  • Printing to many different printers through the network

  • Ability to put customers on a credit hold

  • Detailed customer information display screen in Order Entry

  • Production labels for Slats Only, Tracks Only & Valances Only

  • Product level commissions

  • Ability to set taxes at the item level

  • …and much, much more

This update is available for download from our web site.  Please visit our web site after August 4th to download this latest version.   There will be a link from our Home page and instructions are included.
See you on the Web??
As many of you have already realized, we have expanded our use of the web for communicating with our customers and for transferring information back and forwards.  We strongly recommend getting an e-mail address if you don't have one and forwarding that address to us.  For non-major releases and updates to ShopOrder Plus+ we will only be sending that information out via the internet.  We also now have the ability to allow you to securely upload your data files directly to the web where we can download them to our system.  This eliminates the need to save data files to a disk and e-mail or mail them to us.
Changes to Support Program and Policies
We are in the process of modifying our current maintenance agreement support policies.  The specific changes are detailed in a separate document either included with this mailing or sent separately.  Please review this important document for a detailed list of the changes.  These changes will not affect a majority of our current customers, but they will allow us to continue to provide the level of service you have come to expect from us.  With the addition of a new staff member, Lou Baker, we will now be able to also offer general PC Service, not relating to ShopOrder Plus+ as an expanded, but separate service.
The wave of the Future-Bar-coding
With the release of Service Pack 3, we have also added a new product.  ShopOrder Plus+’s Bar-coding Module.  This module was developed in conjunction with LTL International, and is currently available for their latest Head Rail machine.  This new module of ShopOrder Plus+ will generate bar-code head rail labels on any standard laser printer and the bar-code labels can then be read by LTL’s  Computerized Head Rail Machine.  This new process will eliminate mistakes and further expedite the production process.  For more information on these new products, contact Mike Christopher with LTL International at 1-800-533-3371.
Price Grid Updating
We have just shipped via e-mail the latest price grids for Hunter Douglas and Skandia, Comfortex (or should I say Comfort-Douglas?) and Graber.  We would like to thank our friends at the various major manufacturers who have helped our mutual customers by helping us to keep current with the price changes in the industry.  Specifically, I would like to thank our friends at M&B, Comfortex and Skandia.  As most of the industry knows, getting pricing information in a timely manner is often next to impossible and we would appreciate any assistance or suggestions you could provide to assist us in this process.  In the mean time, we will continue to work to get this information to you as quickly as possible.