Softengine News Vol. 7

Newsletter Vol. 7 - Introduction

Softengine News is dedicated to keeping you up to date with the latest information regarding SAP Business One systems, Softengine solutions and Best Business Practices.

What’s New?

Spotlight on Product & Service – Upgrade to SAP Business One 2007

Upgrading to SAP Business One 2007 is the most cost-effective option for customers to access the latest features in SAP Business One and benefit from maintenance, while also taking advantage of complementary SAP services.

New features and high performance

More streamlined business processes
- Faster Results; Redesigned internal reconciliation

New, built-in support for local best practices
- Optimized Accounting & Financials; New multiple accounting open periods and status, 1099 ready

Improved usability and higher system performance
- Context-sensitive help at the field level, mainly for fields that are not self explanatory or obvious; Completely redesigned online help with more user-friendly interface
- Streamlined BOM Handling in Pick & Pack
- Optimized and reduced system memory consumption… (50MB down to 5MB per app)
- Rapid Form Data Entry (100 lines)… 20% faster
- Adding long documents (100/300 lines)… 20%-50% better

Crystal Reports integration and report design software
- XL Reporter is now completely integrated into SAP Business One (no longer an add-on)
- You get an instant view of your entire business with a single, intuitive reporting tool.

Avoid maintenance risks and ensure that your investments are safe

Mainstream maintenance for SAP Business One 2005 A (incl. SAP Business One 2005 A SP01) will end on July 31, 2009
Mainstream maintenance for SAP Business One 2005 B ends on December 31, 2009
All previous SAP Business One versions are already out of maintenance
Upgrading to 2007 and staying on maintenance provides you access to the latest patches, support packs and new versions, as well as to legal compliancy updates and improved support for legal compliancy, and more.

Complementary data services from SAP: Inventory Valuation Checkup Service

SAP is offering a free "inventory valuation checkup" utility to help identify whether a customer has any legacy inventory-transaction value discrepancies and if so, how to recalculate and adjust for them; Softengine technicians will use it as part of the Upgrade Process.
In addition, the upgrade process will help customers to accurately align all historical reconciliation records.

A Fast and Well-tested Upgrade Process

Based on the experiences of hundreds of customers who have already upgraded to SAP Business One 2007, the process can often be completed in about a week, including training on the new features.
The Softengine Upgrade Process provides our clients with a standard and documented upgrade methodology.
Upgrade Phases:
- Upgrade Preparation
- Technical Upgrade Process
- Testing, Troubleshooting and Training
- Go-Live with SAP Business One 2007

Call or email Barry Lederman for additional details and pricing: 818.704.7000 – blederman@softengineusa.com

Are You a Best-Run Business?

READY ACCESS TO REAL-TIME DATA HELPS SMALL BUSINESSES THRIVE - ENABLING FAST RESPONSE TO CHANGING CONDITIONS

To thrive in today’s global economy, small businesses must incorporate some of the advantages formerly available only to larger firms. The most important of these advantages is anytime-anywhere access to real-time business data. With current data at their fingertips, company managers can view, analyze, and manage day-to-day business processes and respond quickly to ever-changing

customer demands and market conditions. Data visibility leads to greater efficiency, better-informed decisions, and improved responsiveness. Responsiveness, in turn, leads to satisfied customers and business partners, new and unexpected opportunities, and increased sales and market share. By improving their data visibility and responding quickly to change, small businesses gain a significant competitive advantage. Today there is new and affordable technology that enables small businesses to access current data from any location, respond quickly to change, and thrive in a volatile business environment. A good example of this technology is the SAP® Business One application.

The term “data visibility” refers to your ability to see real-time business data that comes from multiple departments or locations. The data you access gives you an overview of your company’s operations and provides insight into conditions, relationships, and trends that are not otherwise apparent. As a result, data visibility enables fast and effective decision making, as shown in these two scenarios:

You receive a huge order.

This is every small manufacturer’s dream. Viewed in isolation, the order is a cause for celebration; but viewed in context, it presents challenges. For example, it requires that you find the financing needed to purchase raw materials and that you notify your operations team to ramp up production.

You experience a spike in service calls or returns.

This not-so-good scenario presents a different set of challenges. The spike may indicate a production problem, which requires that you notify the manufacturing team. If a recall is necessary, you must also notify distributors and confirm that your returns processes are in order.

Advantage of a Consistent Customer View

Many companies – yours may be one – have multiple records for a single customer. One record may reside in sales, another in accounting, perhaps a third in customer service. That means multiple sets of data must be reconciled to obtain a single, consistent view of each customer. But multiple sets of data can lead to errors or inconsistencies, which can degrade customer service. In addition, maintaining multiple systems is expensive. With an integrated and accurate view of your customers and business processes, you can deploy your limited resources effectively to maximize profit potential and minimize inefficiencies.

We invite you to visit the details on our new website at http://www.softengineusa.com