May 29, 2007   Volume 6 - Issue 1

TDCI.com | MAC-PAC | Training | TDCI Contacts   

In this issue:
»   News and Announcements
»  Perspectives 2007 - TDCI Customer Forum
»   Enhancement Update
»   Tip of the Month

News & Announcements

Welcome Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. to the MAC-PAC XE User Community - TDCI to Provide Global Operations Support
TDCI would like to welcome Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. (Vishay) as the newest member of the MAC-PAC XE user community. Vishay has recently acquired manufacturing facilities that use MAC-PAC XE and have elected to license MAC-PAC XE from TDCI and continue to use it to manage those facilities.

Vishay will utilize MAC-PAC XE at seven power control systems manufacturing plants located in North America, Europe, Japan, India, and China.   More>>

Draper Expanding BuyDesign Deployment to New Product Lines and Adding MAC-PAC XE Configuration Capabilities
Draper Inc. is expanding their use of BuyDesign to the company’s window shade product line. Draper currently uses BuyDesign for the company’s audio visual equipment product line.

All Draper window shades are custom made to fit specific window sizes and applications, with many different models and fabric options, as well as either manual or motorized operation. So as part of the BuyDesign expansion, Draper will implement BuyDesign Configurator and BuyDesign Configurator for MAC-PAC XE to provide intuitive Windows-based product configuration capabilities for customer service representatives when entering orders for window shade product.   More>>

Recent Creative Foam Experience: A Nice Example of the Value of MAC-PAC XE Communications and Resources
Most companies that use MAC-PAC XE clearly understand the value of TDCI’s primary maintenance and support services, but sometimes it’s the communication that takes place among members of the MAC-PAC XE community that really brings that value out.   More>>

Insights Finance and Sales Reporting Now Available!
Finance and sales reporting packs are now available for Insights for MAC-PAC XE™ (Insights). Insights is part of a MAC-PAC modernization initiative that brings major advancements in reporting and information retrieval capabilities to your MAC-PAC XE system. Utilizing a combination of IBM i-Series and Microsoft SQL Server and Reporting technologies, along with new application components delivered and supported by TDCI, Insights provides a powerful, user-extensible MAC-PAC XE information access framework.    Read full announcement >>

Insights Analytics Inventory Datamart Now Available!
In addition to new reporting packs, a new Insights Analytics datamart is also now available within the Insights for MAC-PAC XE framework. Inventory Analytics provides the information you need to optimize your cash investment in inventory, while maintaining levels that allow you to meet your customer and supplier demands. With Insights Inventory Analytics, you can have the information to:

• Optimize inventory levels
• Understand and improve inventory turns
• Spot trends in inventory balances
• Consolidate and analyze inventory transactions
• Find excess, obsolete, and slow moving inventory

Meet Vertical Solutions Inc. (VSI) - TDCI’s New MAC-PAC XE Partner for Field Service & Warranty Tracking Solutions
Vertical Solutions, Inc. (VSI) is TDCI’s newest MAC-PAC XE solution partner, offering a modular field service and warranty tracking solution called PowerHelp. VSI specializes in providing advanced technology and business solutions for all levels of service management environments.

If you missed the May 16th webinar to introduce VSI’s PowerHelp solution to MAC-PAC XE users, visit www.PowerHelpCRM.com to learn more. Or contact Shelley Horn at 614-781-2325 x119 to talk about how PowerHelp can help address your field service needs.

Eggers Industries Selects BuyDesign
Eggers Industries, a leading manufacturer of premium quality architectural wood doors, door frames, architectural plywood, and components, has selected TDCI’s BuyDesign® software to provide their dealers, distributors, and internal sales representatives with advanced product configuration, visualization, quoting, and ordering capabilities. Eggers will implement BuyDesign Channel Sales as an online application accessed by dealers and distributors via the web. The BuyDesign Configurator will also be integrated with Eggers’ existing ERP system (Frontier from Friedman Corporation) to provide consistent configuration capabilities across all sales and customer service processes using a single repository of product data.   See the full press release >>

Plan Now to Attend Perspectives 2007 – The TDCI Customer Forum

New Location, New Date, Same Valuable MAC-PAC XE Learning, Sharing and Networking Opportunities!

Mark your calendar now and make plans to attend the Perspectives 2007 TDCI Customer Forum at the Columbus Marriott Northwest Hotel, September 16-19.

As a MAC-PAC XE or BuyDesign user, this may be the single most valuable event you can attend in 2007. The TDCI Customer Forum is the one place you can stimulate new ideas to help your company improve customer responsiveness, productivity, and competitiveness. All of this while using the enterprise software solutions you ALREADY HAVE.

• Learn new ways to leverage MAC-PAC XE and BuyDesign capabilities for improved sales, manufacturing and financial performance.
• Learn about new MAC-PAC XE, BuyDesign, and third party solutions.
• Find out what innovative things other companies are doing with MAC-PAC XE, BuyDesign, and third party solutions to address competitive challenges and create new opportunities.

Great New Hotel

This year’s conference is in a great new hotel in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, Ohio. The Columbus Marriott Northwest consistently ranks among the nation's best Marriott Hotels for guest satisfaction.

All guest rooms include high-speed Internet access at no charge to TDCI User Forum attendees. Best of all, the special TDCI rate is just $142.00 per night.

Convenient New Date

We moved this year’s conference date to mid-September; a date many TDCI customers said would be more convenient than late August.

New Sunday Classes

On Sunday from 1-5 PM, TDCI will offer two free training classes open to anyone attending or not attending Perspectives 2007:

• MAC-PAC XE: Building and Publishing Reports, Alerts, and KPIs with Insights. A hands-on training session for anyone who wants to more fully utilize the wealth of information in MAC-PAC XE.
• BuyDesign: Architecting Rules & Constraints for Optimum Performance and Ease of Maintenance. Valuable tips and techniques for anyone responsible for developing BuyDesign Configurator product models.

Seating is limited, so register early for these special free classes!

Same Value-Packed Agenda

With the theme of ‘Making a Difference’, the User Advisory Board (UAB) and TDCI are currently building an agenda that will help you make a difference in how well your company operates, responds and competes. As always, this year’s conference will include:

• Product direction updates
• User roundtables
• Panel discussions
• User presentations
• ‘How-to’ tutorials

Enhancement and PTF Update

New MAC-PAC XE PTFs Available

Many new MAC-PAC XE core application PTFs have been completed in the last few months. Problems resolved are:

L1CF (PO) - Reversal of PO receipt quality control transaction aborts when location has been purged.

L1CG (AA) - Comments not being printed on shop paperwork for alternate operations.

L1CE (PO) - Bar coded PO receipt transaction is attempting to send message to JOBNAME instead of message queue.

L1BV (PO) - PO receipt improper handling of error condition when record in IC130M cannot be accessed.

L1BW (IA) - IA130E uses shop floor transactions from before MO creation to calculate as-incurred variances.

L1CA (IC) - Manufacturing order receipt (IC130E) displays incorrect error message.

L1BX (OP) - Duplicate order file records are not deleted when sales order line is canceled.

L1BY (IC- Critical) – Program IC120E IS changes plant field in IC140M on batch transaction for "transfer" part.

Full descriptions of these and other MAC-PAC XE enhancements and PTFs are available for download at www.tdci.com/macpac. Click ‘Support Login' at the top of the screen, then click either ‘Enhancements' or ‘Software Fixes' after logging in.

More enhancements and PTFs are always in the works, so check the MAC-PAC XE web site again soon!

MAC-PAC XE Online Support is available 24x7 to companies that are currently active on the TDCI MAC-PAC XE Maintenance & Support Service. 

Tip of the Month

Each MAC-PAC Tip of the Month is a selected Expert Reference Note (ERN) from the MAC-PAC ‘Helpful Hints' database in the MAC-PAC website. You can get the full text of this note or search the database by logging in to Support, then selecting ‘Helpful Hints' at www.tdci.com/macpac.

Q:   Getting "Direct Shipment" and "Remote Sourced" Sales Orders mixed up?

A:    Both are Sales Orders that are Sourced from a Vendor or a Remote Site.

Remoted Sourced or Direct Ship involves creating a tie between a Sales Order Line and a Purchase Order Line (this is accomplished using a Purchase Order Requisition).

Purchase Orders can be automatically generated.

There are 2 Types of Remote Sourced Order:

1. Direct Shipments from the vendor to the end customer.
2. Remotely Sourced - shipped into the warehouse, and the warehouse subsequently ships out to the end customer.

1. Utilizes Direct Ship Processing.
2. Vendor (Remote Site) will ship the goods directly to the end customer and bypass the warehouse.

1. Doesn't ultilize Direct Ship Processing.
2. Vendor (Remote Site) ships the goods to the warehouse and the warehouse ships the goods to the end customer.

1. If both the customer & vendor allow default direct ship processing and inventory is unavailable, the shipment type will default to 'D' (direct ship).
2. If either the customer or the vendor do not allow default direct ship processing, the shipment type will default to 'W' (warehouse ship). However, if either of these values prohibits direct shipments, direct ship processing may still be performed by overriding the default value on the order line and initiating the process manually.

Search Helpful Hint # SROL-4D3KDG on the MAC-PAC Web Site for full text of this tip.

Tell us your wish!

Now you can easily submit any idea you have for any MAC-PAC XE component to TDCI development. Just send an e-mail describing your idea to the appropriate e-mail address for the product you wish to see enhanced. TDCI will acknowledge receipt of your input, review it, and take it into consideration in future planning. Please be as specific as possible when describing your request – the clearer your request, the easier it will be for us to consider.

e-mail addresses for MAC-PAC XE products are as follows:
> Core MAC-PAC XE applications: macpacwish@tdci.com
> BuyDesign: buydesignwish@tdci.com
> TDCI Integration Server: iswish@tdci.com