Monday, August 30, 2004

2 Releases A Year

It looks more and more like we'll be back onto a two release a year schedule for the Horizon trucking software, down from our original goal of quarterly releases. This is a good thing because it will give us more opportunity to put more meaningful features into each release and also get an opportunity to talk with you about it more.
 
But there are some real good business reasons for this as well:
 
1. No one wants to update at year-end. A few years ago, we put out an update that required changes to existing reports right around Christmas time. The result? Our support team wanted to kill me! Customers were trying to get their year-ends completed in the face of a new release. As a result, Dale White, leader of MTI Support, issued an edict: no more releases after December. This is something we may have forgotten when coming up with our quarterly release cycle.
 
2. We want to have more test sites. With our April release, we introduced some major new changes to the way Horizon processes data. We tried it at a few customer sites and were very happy with the results. But as customers have installed it, we noticed some other differences at different customer sites. Horizon, by nature, is a customizable product, so we want to ensure that when we test it, it's tested as often as possible in as many different ways as possible. This means our testing cycle will be extended.
 
3. We want more feedback. As new features are added in, we want to hear back from you more. Our expanded Customer forums are a great way to do this. Come to the forums and tell us what you like, what you don't like and anything else you want to say. Customer forums are your opportunity to have a direct link to the people who are making the software work so come on board. We're also expanding our seminars to give you more and better training.
 
As a result, here's what to expect in the next release this fall. It's been slimmed down from our first list but it includes some great features we're sure you'll love:
 
1. Effective Surcharges. Many of you already use it but now Effective Surcharges has been added into our core product so be sure to take advantage of them. What does it mean? It means you can have percentage or mileage surcharges that change based on the date.
 
2. Vehicle Maintenance Links to ACCPAC Pro Series. VME now links directly to ACCPAC Pro Inventory just like it does with Vision Point. VME has rapidly become a fairly benefit to companies who manage their maintenance. Don't have it? Attend a seminar at http://mtihorizon1.webex.com!
 
3. Expert Fuel Interface. We've expanded our integration with Expert Fuel so the integration is virtually seamless within Horizon and Circle of Service.
 
4. Lots of other stuff. There have been a number of updates to existing services including fast archiving, better mobile message handling, and custom report handling.
 
There's always a lot of other tools available and although we were slow over the summer, we'll be featuring a number of products in our seminar spotlights so be sure to look for more newsletters and sign-up when you can.
 
 

posted by Andrew MacNeill @ 8:48 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Using Form Validation to Keep Your Operating Costs Lower

I had a conversation the other day regarding a fine for over $10,000 because drivers were driving with improper insurance and tractors/ trailers did not have permits for specific licenses. While the immediate solution might be that the Horizon trucking software should prevent this right off the bat, we specifically don't because not every company uses the expiration fields for the same purposes.
 
However, with Form Validation and the Customizer, you can do a few things to assist your dispatchers in this regard:
 
1. Highlight drivers / carriers with pending expirations.
This is a first step measure. It relies on your dispatchers to notice that a driver has a highlight that indicates a pending expiration date and then acting on it. It works well in smaller offices where everyone is aware of what is going on. To do this, view the demonstration right here: http://www.mtihorizon.com/show/drivercheck
 
 
2. Create a Validation Rule.
The next step is to PREVENT your dispatchers from being able to assign a driver, carrier, tractor or trailer that is about to expire in either permits or something else. This is a fairly drastic step and you should ensure all your data has been filled in before taking it. If not everyone in your company is aware of this, it may frustrate them when they try to do something that they think they should be able to do , when in fact, you don't.
 
There is a trick with creating a validation rule though on dates. If your rule simply says LKUP("DRIVER","DRIVERNO",cdriver1,"LICEXPDATE") < DATE( ), the system will include Empty dates in that condition.
 
So it might be useful to ALSO create an additional rule for empty dates in your Driver Master file to ensure your dispatchers fill in the necessary fields.
 
Suggestion: Set up the Validation Rule but mark it as a WARNING instead of a rule. The dispatchers will still be notified but at least they can move on from it and it won't hold them up.

posted by Andrew MacNeill @ 11:12 AM 0 comments