Opinions Wanted POS phobias

Create a Post
MnSue

MnSue

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 18, 2005
Posts
2,210
Loc
Minneapolis, MN
Business
Framing Solutions MN
While not trying to point fingers at anyone, I am seeking to understand POS phobias.

Most framers have computers in their lives, do web searches, etc. but these same people/framers - experienced or rookies - have a strong adversion to the proficiency offered by being computerized.

I am even more puzzled by mutiple staff shops who are still writting orders by hand, and who can spend 3-6 hours a week lin added labor time just to place weekly orders...just for one example.

Having personally used 3 different framing software programs, I have learned so many benefits from having "a POS system" vs hand writting.

Maybe response to this thread can help overcome some of these phobias (for those that read this thread but don't use a POS software).

What reasons are "valid", and yet how can those objections be answered?
 
In my case, it wasn't a phobia....just never getting around to it. I installed it in April (of 2006, I think) and never set it up until the last week of the year because I wanted to start January with it in place.

We had a home grown program in place that worked very well so I wasn't pushed. I can't imagine in this day and age, writing tickets by hand.
 
I guess I just don't enough about the inner workings of it to commit. I have read about the need to update supplier files...where do those come from? If it comes from the software vendor, how does it know how much xyz company charges me for moulding, etc.

Handwriting the ticket is what I had been taught and is all I really know. And is using POS like using a calculator....when you have something to add it up for you do you remember how to go back and add, if you have to?

One of my suppliers told me once that if they had to use a manual mat cutter for anything, they would have several people standing around scratching their heads because all they know is CMC.

I also would not really know which POS to pick from. Everyone has an opinion about what the best one is. Is IF best if you have a Wizard? IS LS best if you use "this or that" vendor?
 
acrompton said:
I guess I just don't enough about the inner workings of it to commit. I have read about the need to update supplier files...where do those come from? If it comes from the software vendor, how does it know how much xyz company charges me for moulding, etc.
Click to expand...


The suppliers provide all the info and all you have to do is down load the updates
 
acrompton said:
I guess I just don't enough about the inner workings of it to commit. I have read about the need to update supplier files...where do those come from? If it comes from the software vendor, how does it know how much xyz company charges me for moulding, etc.
Click to expand...

Angela:

Suppliers send periodic update files to the POS vendors. Those update files contain the latest pricing information (prices raised xyz %, or even lowered - yes it happens! - for all their mouldings and mats).

Also they send lists containing all their discontinued mats and mouldings. That alone will save you tons of headaches (having to call customers days later to ask them to come in and choose a different mat or frame is bad enough!!

Your POS looks at the new prices, multiples it by your markup and voila, your new prices are in your system.
 
The way EZ Framer works is that they e-mail you your updates regularly. You simply click on the link and download it. If your design table computer happens not to be connected to the internet, you can save the download on a memory stick and simply download from that.

In our case (because of being in the boonies) we only have dial-up available, so I forward the updates to my husband who downloads them at work for me.

It took me a long time to decide to use a POS because I only wanted one that would look and work just exactly like my handwritten ticket... Uh, they don't make one like that.

But, after trying out several demos, I found that EZ Framer worked best for my purposes. I still have a few things that I wish it would do that it doesn't, but then, neither does any of the other POS do that particular thing.

As for the costs - it's one of those things that you will soon say, "it's among the best money I spend!"
 
Paul N said:
Angela:

Suppliers send periodic update files to the POS vendors. Those update files contain the latest pricing information (prices raised xyz %, or even lowered - yes it happens! - for all their mouldings and mats).

Also they send lists containing all their discontinued mats and mouldings. That alone will save you tons of headaches (having to call customers days later to ask them to come in and choose a different mat or frame is bad enough!!

Your POS looks at the new prices, multiples it by your markup and voila, your new prices are in your system.
Click to expand...

Do you load in the moulding samples you have "on the wall" or do you get prices for everything?

Also, we don't really directly deal with the moulding vendors, we have a local supplier. Would that still work, or do you have to be a direct client of the vendor to get their file?
 
B. Newman said:
It took me a long time to decide to use a POS because I only wanted one that would look and work just exactly like my handwritten ticket... Uh, they don't make one like that.

But, after trying out several demos, I found that EZ Framer worked best for my purposes. I still have a few things that I wish it would do that it doesn't, but then, neither does any of the other POS do that particular thing.
Click to expand...

Now, invariably someone will say that one should design their own - and many folks have, and they work just fine for them... however, it is worth every penny (and every compromise) to use an existing POS just for the updates.

If I did nothing but price my frames from the POS, it would still be worth it just to know when a frame is discontinued BEFORE the customer leaves.

And like Paul N said, YOU set your markups - the supplier only sends their price - just like looking in a catalog. It would be like getting an updated catalog every month from every vendor you have.


Boy! You gotta type quick!

Angelia, you get every vendor, and no you don't have to already be a customer to get them.

As for your local supplier, if they have "in-house" mouldings, they may also be available as an update. You'd be surprised at the number of "local" suppliers that come with the updates. And, if your POS company doesn't offer that particular vendor, you can ask of they could be added. I did that with 2 companies that I use - and now they are a part of the EZ Framer vendor list.
 
They pretty much carry every supplier even the tiny ones, all you do when figuring a order is type in the moulding number and size, then poof it's magically done. It also allows you to adjust your pricing if the mark up is not what you want.

You can visit the web sites on line and check them out. Lifersaver, frameready ect..
 
acrompton said:
Do you load in the moulding samples you have "on the wall" or do you get prices for everything?

Also, we don't really directly deal with the moulding vendors, we have a local supplier. Would that still work, or do you have to be a direct client of the vendor to get their file?
Click to expand...

You get everything (it won't hurt). Your local supplier sends some data, other data comes from direct vendors who send it to the POS people.

It is so much easier than you think. The whole process takes 2 minutes, every week or so.
 
For the doubters...

acrompton said:
...One of my suppliers told me once that if they had to use a manual mat cutter for anything, they would have several people standing around scratching their heads because all they know is CMC....
Click to expand...

Angela,

You'd find those same people standing around wondering what to do next, if we asked them to harness and saddle up a horse.....but that is NOT a weakness, it is simply time moving forward. And when it comes to business changes, it becomes more important.

Granted, I totally respect people who value old traditional skills: spelling correctly, being able to count change back, recognizing personal space, etc. - these thinks are important too, but please do NOT let it handicap your business and it's ability to move ahead and become even more profitable.

...I also would not really know which POS to pick from. Everyone has an opinion about what the best one is. Is IF best if you have a Wizard? IS LS best if you use "this or that" vendor?
Click to expand...

I'm going to wave the SpecialtySoft banner, and Mike Labbe will tout the unique features of LifeSaver, while Jim Miller is going to tell us how great the customer service is from Frame Ready
 ....many will feel most comfortable in their experienced environment - If you went with any of them, it would be better than not going having a POS system in place. Go to the Decor Atlanta Show in September or the PFM show in January and let the vendors show you the differences that make each unique.

Like those that have posted, and those that will post following me, 99.9% of the folks that have embraced POS software, would never go back.

Regards,

John
 
This was a very timely thread

Brenda and I were just discussing whether or not we needed POS this morning. Being that things are slow right now, I don't feel like it is a "right have to, right now" thing. (Wizard IF mailer got us talking about it....their deal lasts until end of June).

We may weigh shopping them up at Atlanta....a demo can be a great seller. I also will likely do research ahead of time.

I have also considered writing my own. It's just being able to spend the time...let me say....constructively, that I have had trouble with. And I know writing my own won't get the downloads...I suppose.

Thanks for all the constructive info....and for the thread.
 
Downloading moulding & matting updates...

acrompton said:
Do you load in the moulding samples you have "on the wall" or do you get prices for everything?

Also, we don't really directly deal with the moulding vendors, we have a local supplier. Would that still work, or do you have to be a direct client of the vendor to get their file?
Click to expand...

Angela,

Each of the major POS vendors does it a "little" different, but also very similar.

With SpecialtySoft we get a weekly email telling us which vendors (Manufacturers & Distibutors) have supplied them with new updates. That could mean additions, deletions or simply corrections/changes. If we do not recognize any of our suppliers on the list, we ignore that email. If you of our suppliers is listed, then we might download the update.

When downloading, we indeed taking the entire industry info and downloading it to our PC. The next step is to upload "Our selected vendors" into our database.

Your "local supplier" would probably work, if they use the vendor ID numbers and price similar to the vendor. Here's a current list of suppliers as taken from the SpecialtySoft website....


Vendor Update Date Last Updated Age In Days
A Street Frames 05-Oct-2007 242
ABC Moulding 07-Mar-2008 88
Adhisa USA, Inc. 29-Feb-2008 95

********************************

Designer Moulding Company 07-Mar-2008 88
Diana International 28-Feb-2003 1922
Direct Moulding 14-Mar-2008 81

********************************

Wichita Frameworks 21-Mar-2008 74
Williamson Company 21-Mar-2008 74
Wilson Picture Frames 24-Sep-2004 1348
Yale Picture Frame and Moulding 04-Mar-2005 1187
York Framing Supplies 31-Mar-2006 795
Zinsel Company, Inc. 14-Nov-2003 1663
​

Above is just a sampling of the complete list - Give me the name of your supplier, and let's see if they participate.

John
 
I have to say a POS system is the best $ I've spent. I used to spend hours writing and re-writing orders, transfering mouldings and sizes by hand............A lot of mess-ups. I have a bit of dislyexia and transpose #'s often! :D

One thing I have noticed is customers are less likely to HAGGLE over prices if the computer says its a certain price!:D

Just my opinion! :)
 
John Ranes II said:
Above is just a sampling of the complete list - Give me the name of your supplier, and let's see if they participate.

John
Click to expand...

Our local vendors are Framer's Supply in Louisville and Master's Frame Supply in Clarksville, IN. We also use Garrett's, Bob Victor and Inline directly. We have several moulding brands that we get thru the suppliers...
 
Why go the DIY route?

acrompton said:
...I have also considered writing my own. It's just being able to spend the time...let me say....constructively, that I have had trouble with. And I know writing my own won't get the downloads...I suppose...
Click to expand...

Indeed Angela, You would not get the downloaded updates....one of the strongest reasons to use a POS program. You can typically have price increases already in your system before the vendor starts charging you! :)

John
 
Here's some info

acrompton said:
Our local vendors are Framer's Supply in Louisville and Master's Frame Supply in Clarksville, IN. We also use Garrett's, Bob Victor and Inline directly.....
Click to expand...

According to the SpecialtySoft...
Framer's Supply - Kentucky had a price update on 21-Mar-2008.
Master's Frame Shop Supply had a price update on 07-Oct-2005 (Is this the same?).
Garrett Moulding 14-Mar-2008;
Bob Victor 23-May-2008 and
Inline Ovals 03-Nov-2006.

John
 
John Ranes II said:
According to the SpecialtySoft...
Framer's Supply - Kentucky had a price update on 21-Mar-2008.
Master's Frame Shop Supply had a price update on 07-Oct-2005 (Is this the same?).
Garrett Moulding 14-Mar-2008;
Bob Victor 23-May-2008 and
Inline Ovals 03-Nov-2006.

John
Click to expand...

It probably is the same....funny. I know they have had a price increase (Masters), but we have never gotten an updated catalog from them...I think that is the date on our out of date catalog!

Ok, that increases my comfort level. I am going to do some reconacence. :cool:
 
IMHO, even thinking of doing a DIY software package anywhere near the complexity of an already published program is foolish thinking.

These companies have:

professional programmers
a proven track record of being mostly debugged
have incorporated the input opinions of many other framers
are constantly being updated with new features and improvements
have the ability to offer you downloadable data files
have tech support for problems
etc


At a price of (EX: $1,200) and a shop rate of $60/ hour...... I doubt that you can get much of a program for 20 hours of work.
 
JFeig said:
IMHO, even thinking of doing a DIY software package anywhere near the complexity of an already published program is foolish thinking.

These companies have:

professional programmers
a proven track record of being mostly debugged
have incorporated the input opinions of many other framers
are constantly being updated with new features and improvements
have the ability to offer you downloadable data files
have tech support for problems
etc


At a price of (EX: $1,200) and a shop rate of $60/ hour...... I doubt that you can get much of a program for 20 hours of work.
Click to expand...

Ahhh...no doubt. However, for me it is the challenge. I have done professional programming when I was employed by a bank, creating databases that are still in use there as well as SQL admin, item processing imaging admin and internet banking administrator. I think I could, with the proper attention, create something, but I have to have the want to and I am not there presently. It's a prednisone induced ADD! ;)
 
Angela, if you really want the challenge of writing a POS program for the framing industry, based on your shop's methodology, you are probably in the wrong profession! But a job as a programmer with Frameready or Specialty Soft no doubt pays very well, and has good benefits too.
 
If you tele-commute.

I think it was Bob Carter, or John Ranes who pointed out to me that just because I have a computer, those I interface with "have a computer", but it's not so with frame shops. Less than 20% have computers "available to them".... that is they might have one at home, the library or internet cafe.

Hard to tell a customer.... "just a minute. I need to run down to the Internet cafe and process your order".

Once I heard that, as I made my rounds as a rep, I began to notice the over whelming majority that had no computer, or had a computer.... to do bookwork or games... not POS.
 
Been researching...

SpecialtySoft looks good. I like that it interfaces with QB. I don't find anything on the site about whether it is Vista compatible.

Lifesaver...not enough info on the site, although they don't seem to be Vista compatible.

FrameReady...lots and lots and lots of info. They don't seem to interface with QB.

IF Retail Mgmt...not Vista compatible. Not enough info on their site to make any reasonable decisions.

Must go to tradeshow, or get demos. Or visit friendly grumblers who want to show off their POS systems! ;)
 
Grab the demos and try em out :) That's the best way to evaluate which one is best for your shop and personality. All of the top 5 programs are very proven and capable. There is a link at the bottom of this message where you can neutrally compare all the vendors, and download their demos. You can also check out the Grumble Tech Poll Results at http://www.custompictureframing.com/poll_results.htm#tech

I'm using LS with Vista on two machines here, and the others with XP. Visualization systems, however, do not work with Vista. (the camera interface from Canon does not)

We download our vendor and program updates about twice per week, and there are almost always changes. With this program, it's a simple matter of clicking "UPDATE". It automatically knows which vendors you have configured, and grabs the changes for each within a few seconds. You'll have the option to print a list of discontinued items, so you can pull them off the wall.

We use QB but only enter the batch daily totals, not the individual framing orders(detail). This way it balances with the bank statement. These 3 deposits are entered daily, after being visually verified. (we don't have this as an automated process in our shop)

I can't IMAGINE keeping track of all these records on paper. It would be an unnecessary mountain of paperwork. If you aren't computerized, it's worthy of very serious consideration. It's so much quicker at the design counter, you'll have a searchable history to look back on in the future, a mailing list will be built, reports, etc. When you change out a mat, frame, size, etc -- the prices are instantly recalculated. Your paperwork will be neat and concise.

Good stuff! :)

Mike
 
acrompton said:
Been researching...
Lifesaver...not enough info on the site, although they don't seem to be Vista compatible.
Click to expand...

I have lifesaver and windows vista. I won't tell you its been a walk in the park....................but there is a lot of help out there if you need it! I know nothing about codes and stuff and "my peeps" Hah!! at lifesaver have helped me out numerous times! :thumbsup:

Come check out my POS whenever you are in Illinois!!!
 
My biggest POS phobia is being without mine, like I was for 2 whole days recently when the computer it was on crashed! :eek: Tomorrow, Gary needs to borrow the laptop I currently have it on so he can give talk to Rotary about his photography. I'm already freaking about what to do if someone wants to place an order while he's gone and it's only for an hour.

Before I took it over as my POS computer, it was the one he used to run his projector. I think we'll need to get a new laptop for that. I'm not giving this one back!
 
I get frustrated when people make "framing orders" for merchandise because they don't understand how the POS side of it works.

And what is with saving every single paper that the printer spits out? It is IN THE SYSTEM. PUT. IT. IN. THE. SHREDDER!!!!!!!!

Someone the other day created a new order for an old order because the old one had so many notes written on it. She wanted a clean piece of paper to write new notes on. So why she didn't just grab a scratch piece of paper? I have no idea. I just don't think we should be putting stuff in the system that isn't real or not properly charged with the intended charges or departments. Part of the usefulness of a good POS system is being able to print different reports. And if we are using it incorrectly that throws that feature out the window.
 
Standard POS Software requires changes to your business

For those of you who have built your business from scratch, you have probably developed business practices that are a "bit" non-standard, but they work for you.

If this is true for you, you are probably one of the people who do well with home-grown POS systems, for a while. You use a spreadsheet and build a system that covers all of the things that you do. The big downside to this approach is that you spend a LOT of time updating your prices manually. The upside to writing your own system is that you really understand your markups and your costs and you have real confidence in your results.

You might be one of the people who have so much experience and skill with numbers that you can run your business with manual systems only. If so, my hat is off to you. Enjoy it while you can.

I wrote my own POS system and am still using it while I make a careful transition to IF Retail Management. The continually changing prices from suppliers are forcing me to move to this POS system.

My biggest hurdle is that I am now having to adapt my business processes to match what the POS system does. It is a learning process and I am finding it hard to spare the time from framing to become proficient with IF Retail Management. I am bridging the gap by checking every order processed on the old POS system with prices generated by IF RM. When I find a conflict, I dig in and figure out what to do to get both systems tracking.

The bottom line is that a POS system must save time or it doesn't make sense. It has to pay for itself and you must be able to use a computer, have internet access, and be able to learn to use the POS in order to make this happen.

If your shop does not meet these qualifications, stick with pencil and paper or whatever else you are now using.

As a final test, if you are not using email at home and at work, I would say that your prospects for smoothly upgrading to a POS system are dim. Stick with what you know and concentrate on other aspects of your business.
 
MnSue said:
.

I am even more puzzled by mutiple staff shops who are still writting orders by hand, and who can spend 3-6 hours a week lin added labor time just to place weekly orders...just for one example.
Click to expand...


This may be because these shops are busy! I have had one person setting up Frame Ready since December. Any POS would be the same, I'm sure. She is on the computer whenever she gets the chance in between helping customers. I think we FINALLY have the prices as close to our current price list as they can be. It has not been easy, but we must protect our margins. Just about all 2000 samples are bar coded and we tweaked prices as recently as last weekend. We have complicated stuff like poster specials, and various other special prices on select items. It is endless, but we are just about there.

Now we have to train ourselves and all our staff. We have been entering the day's orders the next day when we have time, but there are so many odd things that come up, and so little time. Lisa has put it all in the system somewhere, but I personally am far from proficient. In fact, I am just learning, trying to enter two random orders a day when I am there, but I too am swamped.

The worst thing for a multiple staff shop to do would be to throw away the order forms and go to the POS before every employee can process an order faster than by hand. We have done a few with customers present, and I see them taking a lot more time, and this is not acceptable. We can't let the computer process get in the way of the relationship with the customer. So far we just have all our corporate orders going in as there is no customer hovering.

There is no phobia at my shop, it is just a matter of time to practice. And I don't care what anyone says, the set up is very time consuming. And yes, we are computer saavy, very much so, but two of our staff don't even type well.

And placing orders. Sue, are you talking about placing vendor orders once a week? We have a good system. Piece of cake.


Ask me in a year and I'll report back.
 
Maybe ours was an unusual situation, but EZ Framer actually helped me to set up the pricing. That really cut the time down!

One part of my business uses a written work order because there is no POS for such a type of business (that I've ever found anyway - and I studied demos of all the framing POS to see if there was a way to incorporate the types of things I needed to know.)

But, since all the sales (framing or otherwise) are entered into QB daily, I have all the reports I need to analyze the business by customer, type of customer, source of sale (yp, show demo, newsletter, etc.)

What I really wanted to get at though, was, when I wrote my employee handbook (100 years ago... more or less) one of the things I stated was: "Every order MUST be clear enough for ANYONE to follow - and even clear enough that it could be understood and followed 5 or 10 years from now!"

And with some of our customers, we've had to do just that! (Computers just make "retrieval" a little easier!):thumbsup:

I use our POS for framing, and an Excel form (with formulas) for our caning. Either way, the order is generated from the computer and the customer only knows that the invoice looks a little different (which is understandable.)
 
acrompton said:
We may weigh shopping them up at Atlanta....a demo can be a great seller. I also will likely do research ahead of time.
Click to expand...

Yes, do the research before you go to the show. Mike Labbe's comparison page is an excellent place to start:
http://www.getthepictureframing.com/gfaq/software.htm

Get the demos for the systems you like and give each of them a fair trial. That way, you can be prepared to make your decision at the show and take advantage of "show special" promotions.

acrompton said:
I have also considered writing my own. It's just being able to spend the time...let me say....constructively, that I have had trouble with. And I know writing my own won't get the downloads...I suppose.
Click to expand...

If you are a professional software developer, it might be a fun hobby for a few months, during those hours when you aren't framing. Otherwise, don't bother. First, even if you place little value on your time, the hours you spend writing your own might cost more than a packaged POS program. And would the result be as good?

All of the popular programs have been professionally developed and refined over a period of years. They provide reports and other features of value, most of which your homemade program would not include. The popular programs have been thoroughly de-bugged. The providers have established relationships with all of the major and most of the minor vendors, and provide their updates in conveniently downloadable formats. That alone could justify the decision to go with one of the popular programs.
 
Jim Miller said:
If you are a professional software developer, it might be a fun hobby for a few months, during those hours when you aren't framing. Otherwise, don't bother. First, even if you place little value on your time, the hours you spend writing your own might cost more than a packaged POS program. And would the result be as good?

All of the popular programs have been professionally developed and refined over a period of years. They provide reports and other features of value, most of which your homemade program would not include. The popular programs have been thoroughly de-bugged. The providers have established relationships with all of the major and most of the minor vendors, and provide their updates in conveniently downloadable formats. That alone could justify the decision to go with one of the popular programs.
Click to expand...

Oh, no doubt we will go with an already created POS system, in due time. I just added in all my old resume carp because I don't like to be called foolish!:D
 
Thank you all for your advice. We definitely have a lot to think about and some homework to do. I will be checking out the demos, so I can get all my questions asked and answered before we decide anything. (Also part of my old job, acquiring systems/software and evaluating to make purchasing decisions to the higher up ups)

That's all the fun part for me!

Thanks again!
 
Speaking as a fellow ex-programmer, I like FrameReady because it's built on top of an off-the-shelf database program (FileMaker Pro). This means that I could, in theory, build any report I want from the data files.

discontinued mats & mouldings
Having a POS is a great way to get those samples off the walls/mat cart before a customer even sees them. When we put a new sample on the wall, we mark the "Moulding Sample" box in the FrameReady record. When a new vendor update comes in, I just find all the mouldings that have the "Discontinued" and "Moulding Sample" boxes checked, and there's the list of samples I have to go pull off the walls. There is a similar process for the matboard samples.

tweaking prices and markups
In FrameReady you can do a bulk update of a selected group of records and then go back and tweak the exceptions one by one if necessary (like for poster/diploma specials, for example).
 
Natalya Murphy said:
S
discontinued mats & mouldings
Having a POS is a great way to get those samples off the walls/mat cart before a customer even sees them. When we put a new sample on the wall, we mark the "Moulding Sample" box in the FrameReady record. When a new vendor update comes in, I just find all the mouldings that have the "Discontinued" and "Moulding Sample" boxes checked, and there's the list of samples I have to go pull off the walls. There is a similar process for the matboard samples.
Click to expand...

You have time for this? This is the rep's job, IMHO!

Carry on...
 
I hear you!

But I've never had a computer in the shop and I have two modes.

1. Busy
2. Snowed under.

There are framers over here that have it all - POS with visualisation, but they aren't selling any museum glass; don't own a bag of starch powder or any sheets of Japanese kozo paper to make hinges from; a roll of melinex; 889 tape; wallbuddies - blah blah.

As there is no computer it follows that there is no website or CMC and if it all increased my workload the extra wages would/could write off the profit.

But I do know it's the way to go; not just about increasing workload, could reduce it whilst keeping sales at the same level; not knocking it, just dread the day I have to do the same to a computer that I have to do to myself now and agiain - punch the information in!

It won't happen unless I take on a geek or become more of one myself somehow; until then I'll be happy I'm busier than some with all the gear (and no idea?)
 
acrompton said:
Perhaps, like us, Natalya buys through a distributor?
Click to expand...

Then I get the distributor's rep in to the shop to pull the samples. We are in a large metropolitan area, so we get lots of rep visits. By this time, they know the drill at my shop.
 
Kirstie said:
You have time for this? This is the rep's job, IMHO!

Carry on...
Click to expand...

The reps come by every couple of months -- and yes, they take care of that when they're here. I just prefer not to wait until then, but pull the samples as soon as the price update and discontinued list comes in. And no, I don't do it -- my teenaged employees do.
 
Natalya Murphy said:
The reps come by every couple of months -- and yes, they take care of that when they're here. I just prefer not to wait until then, but pull the samples as soon as the price update and discontinued list comes in. And no, I don't do it -- my teenaged employees do.
Click to expand...


Just to add to Natalya's comment...when you do a product update in FrameReady, it automatically marks the discontinued items. If by chance, the sample hasn't been taken off the wall yet, it will show "discontinued" when you enter the item number on the work order. Two options available at that time. 1) choose another moulding or 2) make a quick call to the supplier to check on availabilty. Often, a moulding is discontinued but there is still some stock available.

Our reps are here often enough and pretty much stay on top of the sample wall. They usually anticipate discontinued items before the are published.
 
Create a Post
Back
Top