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Apex Roadmap

Apex Roadmap. Session Objective. The Apex Roadmap will provide an overview of the new features offered in Apex Version 5 and outline the direction of the Apex product for the near future.

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Apex Roadmap

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  1. Apex Roadmap

  2. Session Objective The Apex Roadmap will provide an overview of the new features offered in Apex Version 5 and outline the direction of the Apex product for the near future. The infrastructure requirements of the Apex product line will also be discussed including OS, database and Crystal Reports versions supported, as well as deployment strategies and new integration capabilities. This session is geared toward Executives, Managers, and Administrators responsible for the long term planning of your bulk materials operations. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  3. Agenda Roadmap Overview Allen Bryant Customer Support / Professional Services Robert Thompson Apex 5 Customer Case Studies Russ Weston / Kyle Fisher Break 11:20 – 11:30 Apex 5 Customer Case Studies Kyle Fisher / Russ Weston Apex 6 Sneak Peak - Customer Case Studies Kyle Fisher / Russ Weston BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  4. Apex Roadmap The 10,000 Foot View BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  5. Apex Release Lifecycle 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2009 Apex Ver 2 Apex Ver 3 Apex Ver 4 Apex Ver 5 Apex Ver 6 Current Shipping Version - Eligible for all maintenance and support services. Software changes may include new features and bug fixes. Full Support - Eligible for all maintenance and support services including software changes for reported bugs. Limited Support- Maintenance and support services limited to diagnostic related support services for problem resolution that do not require software changes. End of Life – No longer eligible for any maintenance and support services. Active maintenance contracts still eligible for software version upgrade. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  6. OS and Database Platforms Apex 3 and Pervasive Database BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  7. OS and Database Platforms Apex 4 Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 Windows Server 2003 or Higher MS SQL Server 2005, 2008R2, 2012 Apex 5 Windows 7 Windows 8 Support ~ Q1 2013 Windows Server 2008 Windows Server 2012 Support ~ Q1 2013 MS SQL Server 2008R2, 2012 BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  8. Report Engine Crystal Reports & Apex 5 Print Engine completely rewritten in Apex 5 with an emphasis on Performance! New Print Service available to centrally manage many distributed printers. Crystal Reports 2011 Report Designer Backwards compatible to Crystal 2008 Changed from ODBC to Native SQL client connection Utility to convert legacy custom reports BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  9. Deployment Scenarios Centralized Office database in central location LAN Users or Citrix/Terminal Server Remote scale operations can be run over Citrix/Terminal Server if infra-structure is appropriate Distributed Systems Stand alone local database for plant site Data replicated to/from a central location Operations are not WAN dependent BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  10. Apex Development BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  11. Apex Development Agile Methodology Customer Collaboration Develop in Small Increments Adapt to Changing Requirements Integrated Testing Apex Releases Nightly Build/Test Monthly Release (Typical) on Current Version Patches Available to Support as Completed Favor Phased Development Releases BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  12. Apex Development Customer Driven Development Additional Signaling/Mapping Vendors Support Cartage Enhancements Kiosk Functionality Extensions Automation for Split Weight / Split Load Loader In-cab Ticketing Strategic Development Integration Command Alkon Platforms ERP Technology Partners Mobile Device Integration Internationalization / Localization BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  13. Apex Goes International Australia Columbia Chile Liberia Romania Qatar BLK-001 Apex Roadmap

  14. JWS DivisionCustomer SupportProfessional ServicesApex

    Robert Thompson rthompson@commandalkon.com 913-638-1993
  15. Contacting Apex Support By phone 800-624-1872 option 2 then 6 (24/7) 913-384-0880 option 1 (7:00 a – 6:00 p Central) By email apexsupport@commandalkon.com BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  16. Apex Support Staff Manager – Support Department Robert Thompson / rthompson@commandalkon.com Supervisor – Phone Support Susan Whetstone / swhetstone@commandalkon.com Project Managers Matt Fox / mfox@commandalkon.com Dan Hughes / dhughes@commandalkon.com Rick Knabe / rknabe@commandalkon.com Kristy Thompson / kthompson@commandalkon.com Staff (20) 8.7 years experience BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  17. Contacting Support JWS support / 7:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Central Please avoid holding for more than 5 minutes. Our goal is to contact you within 1 hour. Leaving messages. Company name Phone # Who is calling? Short description of problem Open case # Avoid emails directly to support staff. Avoid leaving messages in staff voice mail boxes. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  18. Contacting Support JWS support – 24/7 800-624-1872 option 2 then 6 Leave your message Company name Phone # Who is calling? Short description of problem Open case # Call will be returned BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  19. Cases Handled 7,200 + cases handled past year 67% closed the same day >96% closed within a week Average wait time = 2:44 Average abandon time = 3:19 BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  20. GoToAssist – Remote Access What is GoToAssist? (GTA) 2004-12 Support Remote Service Sessions need to be scheduled or initiated by JWS Support. 7,000+ sessions last year Average duration – 156 minutes Comments, feedback and ratings 1,400+ rated 97% positive 3% neutral Average 5 negative ratings per year BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  21. Call Escalation Project Managers Matt Fox / mfox@commandalkon.com Dan Hughes / dhughes@commandalkon.com Rick Knabe / rknabe@commandalkon.com Kristy Thompson / kthompson@commandalkon.com Susan Whetstone – Supervisor swhetstone@commandalkon.com Robert Thompson – Manager rthompson@commandalkon.com Apex Roadmap - Support
  22. Scheduling Service On-site and remote service Robert Thompson Remote service Robert Thompson & Susan Whetstone After hours service Robert Thompson & Susan Whetstone Apex Roadmap - Support
  23. International Support 24/7 toll free numbers English & Spanish Malaysia U.K. Apex Roadmap - Support
  24. Upgrading Apex Pervasive no longer sold or supported. Operating system issues. We are adding staff so schedule soon! Test upgrade and test labs. Remote or on-site upgrades. Upgrade now! Apex Roadmap - Support
  25. Russ Weston BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  26. Customer Case #1 - Globex Apex 5 – Globex Needed ERP Integration (SAP) Timely data migration between systems Data mappings between ERP and Apex Eastern European language support Romanian (Pilot) Hank Scorpio BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  27. Timely Data Migration How to move the data between North America and Romania? Data validity problems Network reliability problems Network performance problems BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  28. Data Replication Service BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  29. Data Replication Service Configuration Replication configuration is simple and straight forward… Error Thresholds Emails Process Monitor BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  30. Data mappings How to map all the SAP fields that don’t exist in Apex or are different data type or are too small? Some Examples CMR Number CIF Number VAT Number Incoterm Description SAP Item Number Port of Exit Original Vendor Packing Slip Data might be modified when in Apex Changes need to be sent back into ERP (SAP) BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  31. User Classes Could try to use User Classes Fields that move from Customer to Sales Order to Ticketing BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  32. User Types Apex 5 added more User Types BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  33. Worked and Not Worked Just didn’t meet all their needs, nor would it be flexible enough to meet unknown future needs. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  34. UDF (User Defined Fields) User Defined Fields are treated by Apex as storage fields - no business logic or validation is performed on these fields. To Add – Run a SQL script against the Apex database/table. The field names must have an ‘UDF’ prefix. Example of 1 field in the Slordnam tableIF  NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.objects WHERE object_id IN (SELECT object_id FROM sys.columns WHERE name = 'UDFFieldname') AND name = ‘SLORDNAM')BEGIN    ALTER TABLE dbo.SlordnamADD UDFFieldNameint NOT NULL CONSTRAINT Slordnam_UDFFieldName_ConstraintDEFAULT 0END BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  35. UDF (User Defined Fields) SQL scripts must be placed in a specific directory. C:\CAI\JWS\Apex\DBEmpty\Scripts Database upgrades will not delete the ‘UDF’ columns. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  36. UDF (User Defined Fields) Design your screen BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  37. UDF (User Defined Fields) Design your template for the Ticketing Screen BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  38. Ticketing Problem Apex has 25 pre-defined scale types Different Scale Vendors than in North America Configurable Scale Types BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  39. Language Support Apex has hundreds of screens Globex needed Scale screen with several supporting master data screens (Customer, Orders, Tax, etc.) BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  40. Translation Process Created small Translation projects BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  41. Translated Screens BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  42. What’s next More Countries and Languages Czech Republic Slovakia Hungary … BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  43. Summary Apex 5 – Globex Needed Timely data migration between systems Data Replication Data mappings between ERP and Apex User Defined Fields Eastern European language support Translation Projects (with more languages to come) BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  44. Kyle Fisher BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  45. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Mr. Slate wanted to reduce costs by reducing overhead and improve efficiency of their sales, dispatch, and ticketing operations. Hurdles and goals: Distributed environment Reduce duplication of roles Streamline processes Accurate vehicle scheduling BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  46. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Keys to the solution: Distributed Dispatch Sales enhancements Dispatching improvements Use COMMANDtrack to improve vehicle scheduling Reduce weighmaster responsibilities BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  47. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Reduce overhead using Data Replication Central sales, dispatch, and vehicle management Remote check in/out and ticketing BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  48. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Improve sales productivity with new features Fax and email Attach documents Export to Excel Value Change System Navigator Mass Data Change Destinations Wizards BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  49. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Value Change System When a user changes a field on a sales document, that change update other fields to specific values. Template system Combine with Screen Designer Configured by system administrator An Example When the user sets the credit type to “Cash”, the value change system will set the order to “pending” and set that approval is required. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  50. Slate Rock and Gravel Company The Navigator Customizable Sorting, filtering, grouping Export to Excel, PDF, CSV, HTML, etc. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  51. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Mass Data Change Change hundreds of records at once… BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  52. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Destinations Multiple delivery addresses for an order Can be geocoded Can be dispatched Can be ticketed BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  53. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Wizard Improvements Create Destination from Current Order Create Dispatch from Current Order Can directly open new document BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  54. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Improved dispatch order management Multi-date dispatch Calculate quantity and loads by available vehicles Can be updated from parent sales order Restrict to vehicle group or vehicle type group BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  55. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Improve vehicle management through COMMANDtrack BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  56. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Apex Dispatching and COMMANDtrack in action BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  57. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Improved vehicle events Can trigger specific events from COMMANDtrack Can edit event history Can export event history to excel or 3rd parties BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  58. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Vehicle Assignments Trucks Available Vehicle assignments Vehicle events BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  59. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Extended Load Stack BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  60. Slate Rock and Gravel Company Mr. Slate wanted to reduce overhead and improve efficiency of their sales, dispatching, and ticketing operations. Accomplished by Central Dispatch with Remote Ticketing Streamlined order entry Streamlined dispatch management Streamlined vehicle management Streamlined ticket entry BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  61. 10 Minute Break BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  62. System Architecture System Architecture and Management Data Replication and Distributed Dispatch Models Print Service System Configuration Divisional Hierarchies Security Auditing BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  63. System Architecture Data Replication Reliably transfer data from one location to another Transform data Protect data Filter data Error notification Dispatch Import Service BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  64. System Architecture BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  65. System Architecture Central Dispatch with Remote Ticketing Central sales and dispatching Remote ticketing Data Replication with Dispatch Import Service Pros: Simplified system Singular responsibilities Centralized management Minimal network, no Citrix Cons: Network connectivity required BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  66. System Architecture BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  67. System Management - Printing Print Service Simplify printer management Great for Citrix! Improve printing performance Supports all aspects of Apex printing and imaging Supports multiple languages and cultures Recommended for any multiple computer network BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  68. System Management – Configuration System Configuration Centralized Company -> Station Hierarchy Can be replicated BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  69. System Management - Security New divisional hierarchies for master data Divisions Regions Operating Groups Territories New security enhancements Restrict customers and orders by region Selective override of user group settings on a per user basis BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  70. System Management - Security Improved auditing for centralized systems Added support for UTC times for auditing and versioning Now can view audit history BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  71. System Management More details in breakout sessions on Apex Connectivity Crystal Reports Apex Dispatch and Truck Tracking Apex Security and Administration BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  72. Customer Case #4 – Rich Corporation Sales needs a fixed price Sales needs to schedule price changes Sales needs to project revenue Sales needs easier Zone Pricing Ability to Pay Multiple Carriers from 1 Transaction Load each vehicle to its legal maximum Posting to Database staging tables Enhance Invoicing BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  73. Delivered Price Sales needed a fixed priced to quote the customer BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  74. Price Changers Sales needs to schedule price changes Freight Freight Price List Zone Price List Orders BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  75. Pricing By Date Sales needed to project revenue Price History Future Prices Future Prices Price History BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  76. Pricing By Date BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  77. Advanced Zone Pricing Easier Zone Pricing Matrix of Complex Freight Rules Includes billing rates, pay rates, and minimums BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  78. Additional Carrier Pay Ability to Pay Multiple Carriers from 1 Transaction Pay rail freight Pay unloading Pay trucking BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  79. Additional Carrier Pay BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  80. State Weights and Tare Rules Load each vehicle to its legal maximum BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  81. State Weights and Tare Rules Unlimited Truck Types “Ship From” state “Ship To” state Vehicle type Federal highway Overload permit BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  82. Posting to database staging tables Ability to send posting detail to ERP via intermediate SQL data tables. Alternative to legacy ASCII file import/export. Posting is user defined SQL statement, providing flexibility for data field selection and transformation. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  83. Multi-Ticket Edit BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  84. New Invoice Break Options BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  85. Options to Suppress Invoice Printing BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  86. Credit/Rebill Wizard Enhancements Now, include multiple invoices in a Credit/Rebill run BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  87. Credit/Rebill Wizard Enhancements New C/R ticket editor to change many tickets at once BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  88. Credit/Rebill Wizard Enhancements Summary of all tickets changed BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  89. Credit/Rebill Wizard Enhancements Now, postpone Credit/Rebill printing and posting BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  90. Credit/Rebill Wizard Enhancements When you’ve completed all your C/R work, print and post all. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  91. Rich Corporation Numerous Pricing Enhancements Numerous Invoicing Enhancements More Back Office Enhancements to come BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  92. Vandelay Industries Art wants to be able to Accurately track vehicles Pay based on distance Minimize driver downtime Minimize driver interaction with dispatchers and weighmasters Hurdles and goals: Want tracking, but not Trimble Want mapping, but not Trimble Streamline process for drivers Fix short scale problem BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  93. Vandelay Industries Keys to the solution: Enhance signaling and mapping Enhance freight pricing via Freight Price Lists Enhance Vehicle Mass Management Short scale support Split load support Advance Shipment Notification BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  94. Vandelay Industries Enhanced vehicle signaling Support COMMANDfleet 3rd Party Standard Simultaneous support for multiple signaling systems Custom driver messages at ticketing Custom driver messages when changing location Message multiple vehicles at once BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  95. Vandelay Industries Enhanced mapping New Command Alkon standard Locate vehicle or group of vehicles Geocode plants, quotes, orders, destinations, and dispatch orders Source Location BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  96. Vandelay Industries Calculation of drive time and distance from plants to jobs Saves to sales documents Inherited by dispatches, tickets BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  97. Vandelay Industries Dynamic relocation of job site based on vehicle unloading Updates dispatches, in-transit tickets, and vehicles BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  98. Vandelay Industries Freight Price Lists Pay per distance, per unit, per load, or percent Pay per distance can be setup with intervals Inherit from other freight price lists Apply based on product group, freight mode, rate type, freight unit, and carrier type BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  99. Vandelay Industries Vehicle Mass Management Create unique configurations for vehicles and trailers Assign default configuration in vehicle screen Assign specific configuration in ticketing BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  100. Vandelay Industries Short scale support (Split weight) Attended or unattended Based on length of vehicle + trailers vs. scale length Weight 1 Weight 2 BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  101. Vandelay Industries Automate split loads Print two tickets Weight 1 Print Ticket 1 Weight 2 Print Ticket 2 BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  102. Vandelay Industries Advance Shipment Notification Notify COMMANDbatch system when product is ticketed Automatically update inventory Adding support for notifying Apex system BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  103. Vandelay Industries Inventory Products Assign inventory product to a saleable product BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  104. Vandelay Industries Art wants to be able to accurately track their vehicles and pay them accurately on a per mile or a time basis. They also want to streamline process by minimizing required driver interaction with dispatchers and weighmasters. Accomplished by: Vehicle signaling and mapping improvements Simplified freight pricing via Freight Price Lists Simplified vehicle handling via Vehicle Configuration Speed up ticketing with split weight and split load support BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  105. Customer Case #6 - Virtucon Ticket from within a Loader Edit the tickets Total Price Improve Split Product Ticket Deliver documents electronically Additional Language Needs Douglas (“Dougie”) Powers BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  106. Wireless Loader BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  107. Wireless Loader BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  108. Ticket from Loader BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  109. Edit Tickets Total Price Scenario – Customer calls makes an order for $300 and will have a check at the job site. Problem – Getting the exact weight/amount nearly impossible. Solution – Ticketing allows the Total Price to be editedso that the exact amount can be collected at time of delivery. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  110. Improve Split-Product Ticket Definition - A split product ticket is one where the truck is loaded with two products destined for the same customer – one product in the truck or first trailer and a second product in the next trailer. Since both products are for one customer, it’s desirable to create one ticket with both products. Apex currently handles a “split product” load by creating two tickets. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  111. Improve Split-Product Ticket Apex will improve the method of creating one ticket with two products, each with a separate weight. The ticket screen will be modified to allow the user to enter the first product, then record the weight for the first product, then enter the second product and record the weight for the second product, and finally print the ticket that includes both products. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  112. Document Delivery BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  113. More Languages Additional Languages Finnish Estonian Russian BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  114. BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
  115. Please Complete Your Evaluation Be sure to circle the session you are evaluating on the back of your card Bulk (Track Name) BLK-001 (session code) Apex Roadmap (session title) All breakout session materials can be accessed at:www.commandalkon.com/cc2012/update/index.htm Thank You! BLK-001 Apex Roadmap
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