Tuesday, September 30. 2008
What Is Software As A Service? Software as a Service (SaaS) can be defined as software that is deployed as a hosted service and can be accessed via the Internet. SaaS is often associated with Application Service Providers ASP's. ASP's began providing services in the late 1990's. SaaS applications offer centralization using a single-instance, multi-tenant architecture. Today's SaaS offers feature-rich applicaitons comparable to on-site applications. SaaS applications are offered either directly by the solution vendor or by an aggregator who bundles several SaaS applicatons from different vendors. The SaaS model provides an ASP the means to deliver and support applications faster and less expensively translating to better customer service at competitive prices. All of Ubiquia's products are deliverd as software as a service. Should I Be Worried About Speed And Connectivity? Internet connectivity has come a long way. In fact cable and DSL connectivity in American homes is pervasive. Internet connectivity has become as dependable as cable TV, telephone service, or electricity service. Properly engineered web applications are served at blazing speeds. If you've selected the right service provider you'll enjoy speedy and readily available business applications without worry similar to any other utility delivered to your business or home. Should I Be Concerned With Security? Of course you should be concerned with security. Install anti-virus software on your PC to prevent viruses, hacks, and other malicious attacks on your PC from unscrupulous websites and email. Regardless of your use of the Internet this is good practice. When deciding on Internet based software choose a reliable source with references. Ensure their site deploys SSL security. Ask the provider for their privacy and security statements. Limit your exposure to personal and private data. At Ubiquia, we weigh these issues very heavily to provide business-class software at blazing speeds both cost effectively and safely.
Wednesday, September 24. 2008
Cycle Counting is arguably the most important part of inventory management. We've aimed to provide the simplest yet most powerful cycle counting system available. Zenventory's cycle counting system can be as simple or as sophisticated as you like. Zenventory provides system wide counting frequencies, individual item frequencies, the assignment of leakage risks and a host of powerful banding solutions to apply to every item. At it's most basic level, simply determine how often you would like to count inventory and Zenventory maintains when items were last counted. This provides easy visibility of warehouse locations and inventory that need to be counted based on last count date. However, Zenventory has powerful built in technology to recommend items that should be counted more frequently based on leakage risk, item value, volume, turnover, and accuracy. Certain inventory may be especially prone to breakage, pilferage, or spoilage. Defining these items as high risk items in Zenventory means that these items can be earmarked for more frequent counting. Additional power can be harnessed using Zenventory's powerful cycle counting banding system. Simply define system-wide global criteria for determing count frequency by allowing Zenventory to monitor item value, volume, turnover, and inventory accuracy. Zenventory uses this criteria to rank when items should be counted. Here are a few examples where Zenventory's Banding criteria may be useful: 1. Your warehouse is used to store very high value items. High value items are especially prone to pilferage and should be counted more frequently. Zenventory allows you to define cycle count bands based on item value, then automatically recommends when these items should be counted. 2. Inventory is picked in high volumes or frequently moved. Not counting these items frequently can cause inaccuracies in your stock reporting. By harnessing the volume bands in the system, Zenventory can help maintain accuracy by recommending that these titems be counted more frequently. 3. The turnover band in Zenventory analyzes a combination of volume and value to determine when stock should be counted. This band utilizes the total cost associated with item volume of shipments. 4. Finally, there is the cycle count accuracy band. This band checks the accuracy of previous cycle counts for an item. If this accuracy falls within the thresholds prescribed by your definition, then Zenventory can recommend that the cycle count frequency be changed. So if item counts are consistently inaccurate,
Zenventory can elevate the cycle counting frequency.
Setting up cycle counting in Zenventory is simple, yet powerful. Harnessing the true power of Zenventory's cycle counting logic will help you maintain a high level of accuracy in your warehouse.
Continue reading "Zenventory Cycle Counting Part 1"
Monday, September 22. 2008
At Ubiquia, we've deployed both our software applications and technical support through the revolutionary SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE model. A customer can chat with a support technician directly on our mobile devices when in need of assistance. This means that going mobile does not necessarily mean cutting your life line. Our technical support representatives can easily provide remote support on both desktop and mobile computers. In fact if allowed, our support representatives can remotely control your mobile computer to assist and train. We're the first in the industry to do this. That is real time assistance, not waiting on some voice automated system for the next available associate. Remote support means lower overall cost for the customer. The days of sending a field repair tech out to your site and charging $100 per hour plus mileage are the days of old. SERVICE NOW is what we strive for at Ubiquia.
Sunday, September 21. 2008
 October 2008 brings exciting news as SQBX will then support the Motorola MC70 Mobile Computer. This rugged handheld combines the power of a cell phone, PDA, scanner, and imager. SQBX users can receive and deliver packages and submit them to SQBX using either LAN,WAN, or mobile broadband. Capability for mobile printing will follow soon after the launch of Motorola MC70 support.
This device provides everything your mobile task workers need to achieve a new level of enterprise productivity — whether they are in the warehouse or on the delivery route.
Friday, September 19. 2008
In today's high paced business environment speed and accuracy matter. That is why Ubiquia teamed up with Panasonic to take our applications mobile through the use of the new U-1 TOUGHBOOK UMPC (ultra mobile PC). By eliminating redundant business processes like recording data from a package manually then re-keying it into a spread sheet, an organization can quickly impact worker productivity through mobile computing.
The Panasonic TOUGHBOOK U-1 UMPC combines the ruggedness to stand up to harsh conditions that may exist in your industrial environment along with the feature rich functionality of a full blown laptop.
A powerful solution for an ultra-mobile PC, the U1 comes with the Windows Vista operating system (Windows XP available), a solid state drive, 1GB of memory and the Intel™ Atom™ Processor Z520. In addition, the Panasonic Tougbook U1 is ultra-rugged, four-foot-drop approved and provides a sealed, all-weather design. The CF-U1 also features integrated Wi-Fi; USB and SD card slots; backlit QWERTY keyboard and a 5.6" WSVGA sunlight-viewable touchscreen. Integrated features:- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- Integrated Magnetic Strip Reader
- Integrated Camera (2 Megapixel)
- Integrated GPS
- Integrated Bar-code reader (1D & 2D)
Take the device outside the walls of your facility by conecting to the Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T broadband networks. This gives you the capability to get real time info on or offsite. Why wait to see what is going on within your organization? Through the use of mobile computing you will enable your staff to help provide the visibility required to drive your business. The Panasonic TOUGHBOOK U-1 coupled with powerful Ubiquia solutions will take your organization to the next level.
Thursday, September 18. 2008
Inventory Optimization begins with quality expedited data flow to ensure up to the minute inventory visibility between business units. Managing inventory in the supply chain is vital to customer service, cash flow, and avoiding over stocks and stock outs. There are several basic inventory best practices to optimize and reduce the cost of inventory management. Optimization can be achieved through investing in a inventory management solutions designed to provide the right tools for the task at hand. The solution must be affordable and most importantly easy. Inventory Optimization products such as Zenventory.com can provide quick system integration and global visibility enabling the user to easily manage an order through the entire life cycle. When researching an inventory management solution there are several key factors that are essential: - Affordability -- The product cannot limit your organization to a certain amount of server space OR prevent additional users access due to high software license cost
- Integration -- Seamlessly integrate with your current and future financial software package (QuickBooks or a proprietary legacy system). Meaning, that as the company evolves, the solutions is to be scalable and integrate with basic financial software or a robust ERP. Don't choose a solution that will cost you more in the long run.
- Mobility -- The best solutions are going to enable your inventory operations to go mobile. This will reduce data delays due to manual entry at a desktop computer.
- Optimization --An inventory optimization product is to develop and drive continuous improvement in your overall inventory management operations. Purchasing, Receiving, Inventory Management, and Fulfillment can all be driven by superior tools that ensure these tasks are functionally and efficiently accomplished.
Zenventory.com provides an affordable solution with free system enhancement and limitless users and server space. This web based software is scalable to meet all of your needs and more. Choose software that was developed by industry experts who understand the demands of today rather than the out of touch software packages of yesterday.
Thursday, September 18. 2008
One common mistake that small businesses often make is to concentrate efforts on sales management while forgetting to implement a purchasing and vendor management program. A great purchase order management system will help contain costs and make an organization more profitable.
For example we recently worked with a company that created an unbelievable web presence allowing 97% of its customer accounts to place web orders. Orders were tightly integrated with their accounting system allowing invoices to be quickly printed and mailed. Sounds good right? From a sales stand point this does sound great. However this company sourced its products from multiple suppliers. Depending on how inventory is allocated to an order, profit may not be maximized. Inventory should be allocated to orders to ensure maximum profitability. Simply picking orders without consideration of the purchase cost is very risky. Worse, how does this business know they're paying exactly the cost agreed and getting the quantity it actually ordered when receiving inventory from its suppliers? Money simply disappears if a business does not receive inventory against an approved purchase. Zenventory provides extensive purchasing and vendor management. Zenventory can manage costs and lead times for each item against multiple vendors. When items are received, they are checked off against the purchase order so that vendor bills can be verified against what was actually received. In addition, Zenventory can assure the most profitable product is allocated to a customer's order. Since lead times are better managed, minimal inventory can be maintained in the warehouse limiting the amount of capital tied up in the warehouse.
Wednesday, September 17. 2008
Sure the carrier let's you know that your organization received your package, but what happened to it after that? For large organizations it's often difficult to track the package internally. This is especially difficult when packages are not related to internal purchase orders. For example, resorts receive guest's property. Conference centers receive conference attendee shipments. Financial organizations receive financial checks. If packages and property is not tracked internally the onus is on the receiver to prove receipt and delivery. The process of quickly logging in packages error free has been tedious and inaccurate due to the lack of technology in place. Automating the basic tasks of manually logging in a package and in many cases re-entering the data into a spread sheet can take many unnecessary man hours.
Package tracking systems exist such as SQBX.com that can quickly and accurately scan a barcode. This system accurately captures a tracking number, enabling the organization to begin to create a trail of the location of the package at any given time. SQBX quickly reports the delivery status of the package as well (received, stored, or delivered). SQBX captures photos of any damaged packages received. Finally SQBX captures an electronic signature at the point of delivery so proof of delivery is easily accessible. In addition to reducing labor, SQBX provides global visibility of a package's whereabouts and its delivery status . This provides an organization with the ability to reduce inquiries and expedite any research needed by their staff. Web based applications and mobile devices can take the system on the road with the organization. No longer are they bound to the walls in which the desk top resides. It is important for any multi-departmental, floor or building organization to keep close tabs on their incoming critical and sensitive matter. An inbound tracking system is no longer a luxury. It is quickly becoming a must have.
Tuesday, September 16. 2008
We're pleased to announce the long awaited release of the Zenventory inventory management system. Zenventory is deployed as a web-based solution as software-as-a-service. This means that your investment in technology is minimized while retaining extensive functionality. Zenventory can handle multiple warehouses, thousands of SKUs, and includes purchase order management, order fulfillment, pack verification, cycle counting, and many more features commonly found in applications costing significantly more.
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