Masterpack Notepad

SYSTEM NOTEPAD

MODULE:

SALES

REFERENCE:

NOTEPAD.DOC

AUTHOR:

ANGUS

REVIEWER:

DAN JARZIN

DOCUMENT VERSION:

1.0

PRODUCT RELEASE:

6.0

LAING

Copyright © 1997, Masterpack International, Inc. This document is copyright of Masterpack International, Inc. No part of this document may be copied, reproduced, translated, converted, recorded, adapted or transmitted or otherwise dealt with in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, including by way of storage or retrieval in a database or retrieval system, for any purpose. While every precaution has been taken to insure the accuracy of the information contained in this document, Masterpack International accepts no responsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions. The information contained in this document is subject to change without notice. Masterpack is a registered trademark of Masterpack International. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

THE CONTENT OF THIS DOCUMENT IS COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL. NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED TO ANY PERSON OR ORGANISATION OUTSIDE MASTERPACK INTERNATIONAL.

C O N T E N T S

PAGE OVERVIEW....................................................................................................1 BUSINESS CONCEPT..............................................................................................1 DEFINITIONS......................................................................................................1 BUSINESS FUNCTION.............................................................................................2 TYPICAL BUSINESS CONDITIONS.................................................................................2 CRITICAL BUSINESS BENEFIT....................................................................................2

BUSINESS PROCESS.........................................................................................4 BUSINESS PROCESS FLOW......................................................................................4 BUSINESS PROCESS NARRATIVE.................................................................................5

SETUP........................................................................................................8 SET UP REQUIREMENTS.........................................................................................8 KEY SET UP

EXAMPLES..........................................................................................9

SET UP ISSUES

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REPERCUSSIONS........................................................................10

STRENGTHS...........................................................................................12 ISSUES......................................................................................................13 POTENTIAL ENHANCEMENTS....................................................................................13 IMPLEMENTATION

OR

FUNCTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS..........................................................14

CONTACTS.............................................................................................15

OVERVIE W

Business Concept Making a note against an entity in masterpack provides a structure in which to hold and retrieve unstructured information. The notepad presents different views of itself depending on the operator who is viewing the notepad and the situation in Masterpack where they are viewing it from. The concept is that the notepad is able to intuitively present notes which are of relevance to the user at the time of viewing. Additionally groups of users may be barred from viewing notes of a sensitive nature.

Definitions ■

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OVERVIEW

Note - A comment relating to an entity in Masterpack’s data structure. Made by a single operator at a point in time. Notepad - A collection of notes relating to an entity in Masterpack’s data structure. Entity - Any transaction or master file is considered an entity. Eg notes applicable to a sales order or to a customer master file. Notepad Focus - The type of notes a user is initially presented with when the notepad is invoked. Notepad Access - The types of notes a user is allowed to view, amend , insert and delete. Note Types - These serve to group notes from a common source within Masterpack. The note type defines how the note is linked to Masterpack’s data structure. For example any AR (accounts receivable) note is related to a customer master record. (see set up issues for more information). Note Topics - Note Topics serve as filters to allow the operator to view a selection of entries from the notepad which are of a subject matter relevant to the business function being performed. Related Notes - A related note is a note which is of a different type to those being viewed but can be linked to the notes being viewed through Masterpack’s data structures.

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Auto Note - A note generated by the Masterpack system as a result of making a transaction. No additional user input is required.

Business Function The notepad is used whenever it is advantageous to have a record of business processes in a narrative form.

Typical Business Conditions The notepad can be used to hold notes against any data entity in Masterpack. Any unstructured data which provides additional information of value to the business is best collected and viewed via the notepad. ■

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Notes collected against a customer. These may document receipts made, service calls placed and completed, marketing information sent, statements faxed, reminder letters sent, cheques dishonoured and goods despatched. These could be viewed before any contact is made with the customer. The notepad would be set up so the notes presented to each user would be of a topic which are of relevance to the business function being performed. Notes collected against a contact. It is also likely that an individual representative of a customer, prospect or supplier has called in or is being called during a masterpack session. In this case the notes against the contact can be viewed. More general, related notes against the contact’s company can also be viewed if desired.

Critical Business Benefit ■

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OVERVIEW

Business visibility in narrative form. Most of the structured data in Masterpack does not provide an easy to follow story. By using the notepad it is possible to gather together the story from different parts of the system in an easily understood narrative. Continuity in dealings. The communications made with representatives of other companies are made with knowledge of what has been communicated before.

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OVERVIEW

Better Customer Service. The notepad allows each contact to become richer. Consider the following. A customer service representative noted a question a customer contact had about how to use a particular product. Before a telemarketing representative makes their weekly call he views the notepad. He could then find the answer to the customer’s query before making the call. Continuity in dealings. The communications made with representatives of other companies are made with knowledge of what has been communicated before. Efficiency and productivity. The use of the notepad assists in preventing different individuals from duplicating tasks. Sensitivity with customers. Issues raised in the service and Receivables modules can be visible to telemarketing operators. Thus when attempting to gain more business the sales operators will have a better picture of any service calls or payment issues outstanding. When attempting to gain more business the sales operators will have a better picture of the existing state of the business relationship. Less reliance on particular individuals. Given detailed recording of communication other people can more easily pick up for absent employees.

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BUSINESS PROCESS

Business Process Flow

Start Transaction Change Notepad Focus View Other Notes View Notepad.

Modify Transaction based on contents of notepad .

Complete Transaction

View Related Notes

Automatic Note Generated

Operator Updates Notepad Operator Sends Note To Other Users Via Mail

-End of Process -

BUSINESS

PROCESS

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Business Process Narrative Start Transaction ■

From within a module Masterpack will load the current customer or vendor into a “current area” (this can be manually set using the Current option). When accessing the Notepad the current information is used to direct the focus of the Notepad. So, from within an customer inquiry the current customer notes will default.

Check Notepad Alert ■

If Notes exist against the entity the transaction or enquiry is being made on then the system will display the word ‘Notes’ on the screen. This alerts the operator to view the notepad.

View Notepad ■

This is invoked from the NOTE function or “/NOTE”. The notepad appears. It initially displays notes which are of a type and topics defined in the set up for the operator. The window can be scrolled to view older notes. During set up users have a notepad focus defined. This determines the type and topics initially viewed when accessing the notepad. This can vary from module to module. The combination of notepad focus and current record is used to select the notes displayed.

Change Notepad Focus ■

BUSINESS

PROCESS

If too many notes are displayed the operator may wish to focus in on particular notes. This can be done from the SELECT process within the notepad. The operator can use the select process to filter the notes displayed. For example a salesman may wish to view credit control notes at one time and marketing notes at another time. This can be achieved by changing the topic. The user can also filter notes based on the user who made the note the reference (transaction number) and the date the note was

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made. The notepad can also be searched for particular text.

View Master / Transaction Details ■

Whilst reading the notepad the masterpack master record and transaction enquiries which relate to the note may be viewed to gain more information. For example a salesman reading notes about his customer’s credit problems may wish to check their current credit settings from the Receivables master record. They may also want to check if the transaction is still on hold.

View Related Notes ■

If related notes are available the system lists the related types along the bottom of the notepad screen. These notes can then be selected via the others function and viewed as above. Eg Service notes can be related to AR type notes ie view notes made against service calls and related notes on the customer master file.

Modify Approach ■

Based on the contents of the notepad the operator may decide to change his intended course of action

Complete Transaction ■

If the transaction is completed an automatic note can be generated.

Automatic Note Generated ■

BUSINESS

PROCESS

Certain transaction types can be configured in notepad set up to automatically generate a note. For example a note can be generated when an order is placed noting the value of the order.

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Operator Updates Notepad ■

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Whilst making the transaction or after completing it the operator may add further information to the notepad. A new note may be added, or the existing automatically or manually generated previous notes may be amended. Subject to security notes can be amended, inserted or deleted - see function keys within the notepad. SB+ Email can also be used to mail the note to other users at the time of making the note.

Review Notes ■

BUSINESS

PROCESS

It may be desirable to periodically review notes of a particular topic. For example all service notes of type customer complaint may be reviewed on a weekly basis by the managing director. This is available from the system utilities report ‘Operator Notepad Listing’

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SETU P Set Up Requirements

SETUP

MENU SELECTION

Note Types

Utilities > Setup > Notepad > Note Types

Note Topics

Utilities > Setup > Notepad > Topics

Notepad Access And Focus

Utilities > Setup > Notepad > Access

Notepad Control

Utilities > Setup > Notepad > Control

Controls generation of Auto Notes Convert Old Notepads

Utilities > Setup > Notepad > Old Notepads. The old notepads in releases prior to 5.6 must be converted using this option.

Operator Setup

Utilities > Setup > Company Control > Operator Control Attaches an access profile to the operator

Receivables Master

Receivables > Maintenance > Master > More Auto notes. This controls the quantity of auto notes generated for the customer. Higher the number, the more notes they get.

SET UP

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Key Set Up examples

CONDITIONS AFFECTING CHOICE

SELECTION/SET-UP OPTION

OVERALL: Define who will be viewing what , with what privileges before you start mapping type and topic defaults and security.

Setup can be controlled to a user at a topic level. The nature of this set up will control the ease with which users will have access to their notes.

Everyone Requires the same notepad access [See notepad access, and operator setup]

Assign all operators to the ‘System Profile’ (number 1) in Operator maintenance.

Use existing Types delivered with the system.

Types are generally related to a module (it is possible to have more than one type within a module). Eg AR type when used is linked to the AR.MASTER file … …

Some operators are privileged to see notes that others may not access.

Setup a new topic for the privileged notes. Copy the system profile to a new profile - done at TCL. Change the system profile to exclude the view of the privileged note topic. Assign the privileged operators to the new profile in operator maintenance.

Different operators require a fundamentally different view of the notepad.

Setup a range of access profiles for each functional group. Assign each operator to the relevant group in operator maintenance

Some customers do not require auto notes. A number of auto notes processes have been established.

Set the auto notes flag to 0 in Customer Master. Eg a customer who has 50 dispatches per day would clutter the note pad if auto notes were turned on for dispatches.

Some transactions should not generate auto notes.

Remove the note type and topic from that transaction type in notepad control. A dishonoured check should create an auto note or promises to pay transactions should too.

SET UP

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Set Up Issues and Repercussions

SETUP ISSUE

REPERCUSSIONS

Notepad input focus and notepad viewing focus are set up differently for an operator.

When the operator makes a note it will not be immediately visible to them. In access set up their viewing focus may be different to their entry default eg may enter a “credit” topic note but may not initially view it.

Many different note types

Relevant notes may not be immediately visible. Will only be seen when related notes are viewed.

Few Note Types

Will have to use topics to differentiate notes.

Notepad focus varies across modules

Notes viewed from different modules will initially show different notes.

Be aware of number of purge days

Number of days to purge the note is set up on the topic function.

Tips ■

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SET UP

For full and unexpurgated technical documentation refer to the masterpack help item SYHELP NOTE.TECH Only the processes listed in the control function have the ability to generate auto notes. If it is required to generate auto notes from other processes then additional programming is necessary. Similarly, if the existing auto notes are required to show different information then the existing program used to generate the note must be changed. For example it may be desired to note the product line or products purchased when an order is placed as well as the order value. The standard setup for notepad control is held in a record $$$$ in SY.NOTE.CONTROL. If your company code is missing these defaults then this record can be used as a template.

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SET UP

Setting up new note types is not something which can be done without careful consideration and understanding of the internal workings of Masterpack. Setting up note topics can be very straightforward.

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STRENGTH S

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Readily accessible, particularly in GUI using the note button.

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Multi level security.

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Alerts the user to existing notes

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Can be configured to suit different company cultures.

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STRENGTHS

Common access method and function across the system.

Intuitively directs the user to the relevant part of the notepad. Application has many potential uses.

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ISSUE S

Potential Enhancements ■

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ISSUES

Setup requires careful consideration. Too easy to set up the notepad so people will hate it. The parameters shipped with the system are inconsistent. E.g. notepad topics listed in the control screen (auto pay defaults) are not actually defined as topics. If setup is done incorrectly the notepad can be frustrating to use. For example you may be set up to add notes of a type you don’t initially see. In some cases function keys / action bars are used to add notes of the correct type, such as in AR transaction enquiry. Some cases do not have a NOTE function key. (GUI has note button.) In AR inquiry using the note button will generate an AR type note. Using the transaction note function key will generate an ART type note (transaction note down to allocated trx level). Confusing. The notepad may intuitively add notes in a way which is at odds with what the user intended. The standard templates supplied with Masterpack are inadequate. There should be access templates which are aligned to user functions. These could then be easily applied to different operators.

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Implementation or Functional Considerations None noted.

ISSUES

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CONTACT S

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(01295) 701 810

Fax:

(01295) 701 819

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