> Posted October 2008
We would like to congratulate Holt and Bugbee on their successful go live of Agility earlier this month.
It’s time for use to start planning for next year and we would like your input on what webinars to offer. Think about some areas of Agility that you would like to better understand or become more efficient in and drop us an email at DmsiLumberSeminars@dmsi.com . From this we will review the top requests and start planning the webinars.
Stop by and see us at the NAWLA Traders Market Nov 7-8.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments, or contributions for the Hardwood LOB Bulletin Blog, please email us at DMSiLumberSeminars@dmsi.com.
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> Posted September 2008
Thanks to everyone for the great input on the Pricing webinar last month. The feedback was great!The Agility v3.1.2 release is right around the corner and there are some great Mods that will help our LOB. Look for Splitting Bundles from Mobile picking and some enhancements to the Suggest PO screen.Also, look for an upcoming webinar demo on mobile picking and receiving.
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> Posted August 2008
Allocate Header Level Charges/Costs to Detail Lines
In Agility v3.1.1, you can now define header level customer charges and order costs that are allocated to the shipment detail level at invoicing. For charges/costs that affect gross margins, this modification allows you to determine and easily review the impact of header level customer charges and order costs on detail level gross margins for commission and sales reporting purposes. This enhancement is especially useful to lumber operations and can be performed by weight, load, dollars, and UOM.
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> Posted July 2008
With today’s “Green Environmental Standards”, some of DMSi’s customers are having to provide reports detailing purchases of this product. One solution to this is to use the keyword string on the item record, and using Cyberquery filter these out by using the “contains” relational operator. An example of this is below.where uppercase(item:keyword_string) contains "EPP" and sales_fact:activity_date>=01.01.08
and sales_fact:summary_flag="C"
list/domain="sales_fact"/nodetails
sorted by sales_fact:customer_key
sales_fact:item_key
end of sales_fact:item_key{customer_dim:shipto_name
item_dim:item
total[sales_fact:value_at_sell]
total[sales_fact:units]}
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> Posted June 2008
Import Process to Improve Hardwood Business Processes
In the upcoming Agility 3.11, users will have the ability to add, update, and delete items through an import process. This will improve the ease of creating new and updating existing items. Also, shortly after the release, look for a standard file layout and a Query on the query exchange to match the standard file layout.
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> Posted May 2008
Hardwood Lumber LOB to Host Webinar in July
In early July, we will be hosting a webinar on the Streamlined Picking & Shipping Functionality available in Agility v3.1.0 and specifically how Lumber Distributors can use this enhancement. Topics covered include: 2-step picking best practices, new functionality highlights, and setup consideration discussions. The webinar is designed to help you get the most out of the new order processing functionality.
DMSi Attends Industry Roundtable Discussing Fuel Economization
Fuel economization was a big topic at a Industry Roundtable recently attended by DMSi Software. As an increasingly significant cost, distributors have addressed the fuel issue using various means. Some of their methods include:
 Upgrading equipment for fuel efficiency
Implementing routing/logistics software to optimize loads and minimize route fuel requirements (start/stop, etc.)
Using GPS capabilities to monitor and control speed, start/stop, and idling time
Hedging on fuel with futures or stored fuel
Collaboration with customers to schedule/re-schedule deliveries to facilitate maximum truck loads and/or consolidate runs/routes
Building fuel cost increases into price- Companies who deliver directly to job sites had little or no resistance to increased drop/delivery charges. Those who sell to retail dealers seem to have the best luck building fuel related charges into product prices, rather than having a separate delivery charge/surcharge.
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> Posted April 2008
Nominal Length Mod Helps Agility Hardwood Users Improve Inventory Tracking
In order to save hardwood customers time and money, DMSi has added a nominal dimension mod. Since customers using Hardwood item types do not want to look at all the “decimal value” dimensions of the material in a unit of lumber, this mod helps them to view the material in a bundle as one common width and length. For example, a unit may have material that is 7.25’, 7.75’, and 8.25’ in length. The customer considers this an 8’ unit. The 8’ value is what is referred to as a nominal length. The actual dimensions are used to determine the footage values of the inventory in the bundle, but beyond this size, the material is viewed as what is called a “nominal dimension”.
This mod will add the ability to enter an actual tally for a HW-BF item when material is being received as well as specify the nominal length the material will be stored under once added into inventory. Throughout the system, the material will be displayed in the nominal length just as a HW-BF item is today, if that is how it is specified at the time of receiving. The actual dimensions will be stored in a separate table and will be used for displaying separately and reporting.
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> Posted March 2008
Within v310 of Agility, many changes and modifications have been completed to simplify the two step picking process. The picking and shipping screens have been streamlined, consolidated and enhanced to include additional functionality for both 1 step and 2 step picking. This includes the ability to specify multiple routes when creating pick or shipment records. With this modification, users experience increased efficiency and easy navigation through the picking and shipping functions when processing sales orders. To review these changes in detail, you can access the v310 Release Notes via the DMSI web site (www.dmsi.com). After you have reviewed, you can also request the release update.
Make sure to stay tuned to our upcoming Spring Webinar on the Two Step Picking Process. This webinar will go over, in detail, the modifications for two step picking. This will be a great time to see the changes in action and to get any questions/concerns addressed by your DMSI Support Team!
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