Masterpack Notepad

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SYSTEM NOTEPAD

MODULE: SALES

REFERENCE: NOTEPAD.DOC

AUTHOR: ANGUSLAING

REVIEWER: DAN JARZIN

DOCUMENT VERSION: 1.0

PRODUCT RELEASE: 6.0


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Copyright 1997, Masterpack International, Inc.

This document is copyright of Masterpack International, Inc. No part of thisdocument 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 ina database or retrieval system, for any purpose.

While every precaution has been taken to insure the accuracy of theinformation contained in this document, Masterpack International accepts noresponsibility for inadvertent errors or omissions. The information containedin 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 DOCUMENTIS COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL.

NOT TO BE DISTRIBUTED TOANY PERSON OR ORGANISATION

OUTSIDE MASTERPACK INTERNATIONAL.


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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 UPEXAMPLES..........................................................................................9SET UP ISSUESAND REPERCUSSIONS........................................................................10

STRENGTHS...........................................................................................12

ISSUES......................................................................................................13

POTENTIAL ENHANCEMENTS....................................................................................13

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

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


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s 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.

s 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.

s 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 contacts company can also be viewed if

desired.

Critical Business Benefit

s 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.

s Continuity in dealings. The communications made with

representatives of other companies are made with

knowledge of what has been communicated before.

OVERVIEW PAGE 2


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s 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

customers query before making the call.

s Continuity in dealings. The communications made with

representatives of other companies are made with

knowledge of what has been communicated before.

s Efficiency and productivity. The use of the notepad assists

in preventing different individuals from duplicating tasks.

s Sensitivity with customers. Issues raised in the service

and Receivables modules can be visible to telemarketingoperators. 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.

s Less reliance on particular individuals. Given detailed

recording of communication other people can more easily

pick up for absent employees.

OVERVIEW PAGE 3


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Business Process Flow

BUSINESSPROCESS PAGE 4

B U S I N E S S

Start Transaction

View Notepad.

ModifyTransaction based

on contents ofnotepad .

Complete

Change Notepad

View Other Notes

Operator UpdatesNotepad

-End of Process

View Related

Automatic NoteGenerated

Operator SendsNote To OtherUsers Via Mail


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Business Process Narrative

Start Transaction

s

From within a module Masterpack will load the currentcustomer 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

s If Notes exist against the entity the transaction or enquiryis being made on then the system will display the word

Notes on the screen. This alerts the operator to view the

notepad.

View Notepad

s 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

s 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

s 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 customers 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

s 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

s Based on the contents of the notepad the operator may

decide to change his intended course of action

Complete Transaction

s

If the transaction is completed an automatic note can begenerated.

Automatic Note Generated

s 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

s 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.

s SB+ Email can also be used to mail the note to other

users at the time of making the note.

Review Notes

s It may be desirable to periodically review notes of aparticular 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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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

Controls generation of AutoNotes

Utilities > Setup > Notepad >Control

Convert Old Notepads Utilities > Setup > Notepad >Old Notepads.

The old notepads in releasesprior to 5.6 must be convertedusing this option.

Operator Setup Utilities > Setup > CompanyControl > Operator Control

Attaches an access profile to theoperator

Receivables Master Receivables > Maintenance >

Master > More

Auto notes. This controls thequantity of auto notes generatedfor the customer. Higher thenumber, the more notes theyget.

SET UP PAGE 8

S E T U


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Key Set Up examples

CONDITIONS

AFFECTING

CHOICE

SELECTION

/SET

-UP

OPTION

OVERALL: Define who will beviewing what , with whatprivileges before you startmapping type and topic defaultsand security.

Setup can be controlled to a userat a topic level. The nature ofthis set up will control the easewith which users will haveaccess to their notes.

Everyone Requires the samenotepad access [See notepadaccess, and operator setup]

Assign all operators to theSystem Profile (number 1) inOperator maintenance.

Use existing Types deliveredwith the system.

Types are generally related to amodule (it is possible to have

more than one type within amodule). Eg AR type when usedis linked to the AR.MASTER file

Some operators are privileged tosee notes that others may notaccess.

Setup a new topic for theprivileged notes.

Copy the system profile to a newprofile - done at TCL.

Change the system profile toexclude the view of theprivileged note topic.

Assign the privileged operatorsto the new profile in operatormaintenance.

Different operators require afundamentally different view ofthe notepad.

Setup a range of access profilesfor each functional group. Assigneach operator to the relevantgroup in operator maintenance

Some customers do not requireauto notes. A number of autonotes processes have beenestablished.

Set the auto notes flag to 0 inCustomer Master. Eg a customerwho has 50 dispatches per daywould clutter the note pad if

auto notes were turned on fordispatches.

Some transactions should notgenerate auto notes.

Remove the note type and topicfrom that transaction type innotepad control. A dishonouredcheck should create an autonote or promises to paytransactions should too.

SET UP PAGE 9


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Set Up Issues and Repercussions

SETUP ISSUE REPERCUSSIONSNotepad input focus andnotepad viewing focus are setup differently for an operator.

When the operator makes a noteit will not be immediately visibleto them. In access set up theirviewing focus may be differentto their entry default eg mayenter a credit topic note butmay not initially view it.

Many different note types Relevant notes may not beimmediately visible. Will only beseen when related notes areviewed.

Few Note Types Will have to use topics todifferentiate notes.

Notepad focus varies acrossmodules

Notes viewed from differentmodules will initially showdifferent notes.

Be aware of number of purgedays

Number of days to purge thenote is set up on the topicfunction.

Tipss For full and unexpurgated technical documentation refer to

the masterpack help item SYHELP NOTE.TECH

s 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.

s 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.

s The standard setup for notepad control is held in a record

$$$$ in SY.NOTE.CONTROL.

s If your company code is missing these defaults then this

record can be used as a template.

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s Setting up new note types is not something which can be

done without careful consideration and understanding of the

internal workings of Masterpack.

s Setting up note topics can be very straightforward.

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s Common access method and function across the system.

s Readily accessible, particularly in GUI using the note

button.

s Multi level security.

s Alerts the user to existing notes

s Can be configured to suit different company cultures.

s Intuitively directs the user to the relevant part of the

notepad.

s Application has many potential uses.

STRENGTHS PAGE 12

S T R E N G T H


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Potential Enhancements

s Setup requires careful consideration. Too easy to set up the

notepad so people will hate it.

s The parameters shipped with the system are inconsistent.

E.g. notepad topics listed in the control screen (auto paydefaults) are not actually defined as topics.

s 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 dont initially see.

s 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.)

s 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.

s The notepad may intuitively add notes in a way which is at

odds with what the user intended.

s 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.

ISSUES PAGE 13

I S S U E


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Implementation or Functional Considerations

None noted.

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U N I T E D K I N G D O M

A N D E U R O P E

Zafire Ltd

10 Manor Park

Banbury

Oxon

OX16 3TB

England

Telephone: (01295) 701 810

Fax: (01295) 701 819

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