Exploris Wish #6049 >> consolidate multiple stores on inventory control info

Hello Dane

I posted this on MS Excel help forum .... ...click here to see or reply ....

Is there an easy way to do this ? I have a 3 lists of part numbers - some vary on one or more of the lists ... how can I create a 'master list and show which part number is on which list. These lists need to be done regularly -

Thinking I could grab a copy of all parts from all lists -- and filter out duplicates - that gives me a 'complete' series of all numbers. Then I can use a function like VLookup ( I use a Match(Index)) I picked up years ago) to bring the data from each separate list over to the 'master list in the columns that represent which original list they came from.

Wow - that is a lot of work - is there an easier way ? Given this will be an ongoing job and the 3 lists just keep coming.

Any help offered is appreciated.



Do you see the HUGE problem --that Exploris gives me -- in J-Con in multi-store if any one store added the part --it got added to all stores. Not so in Exploris. How do I consolidate these lists into something that looks like this .....


HELP ?? leave a comment ... or e-mail info at dtauto dot ca or call me at 519-322-2558 ... Greg

Note - many jobbers DO NOT do this - but they loose a valuable tool in comparing what ONE store does against another store sales - we can often learn good lessons when we see one store outsell another.

PRS system works --IF we use it

How many use the PRS system - PRS = Product Resolution System. Our 3 stores had beta tested it some time ago but we got blocked from using it as the IT dept fumbles along in excuses why they can;t translate it into French --and as a result we get barred from using. It is a Cdn thing. The USA had it way before and still have it.

Well-- bitching enough we get it back ( for E-cat erorr anyways ) -- Talking with Dede Geary ( who handles re-orders for the 37 Warehouses in USA & Canada - she mentions to submit and Mike Deal gets ... and we have always found Mike to be excellent.

Click on the image - this one is Dorman window regulator - this whole line is exploding ... but at 8.9 and Non-Stocked it will go no where at CARQUEST. Notice the time line --we submit at 2:31 and it is solved and updated at 2:37 .... hey Mike - what kept you (smile).

In the 'good old days' we would submit thru Toronto and wait and wait and then have to re-send another e-mail and wait and wait --and 6 months goes by ... now we get this fixed in 6 minutes ...the number si still 6 -- but the time dimension has changed.

PRS works --if you use it.

Wish # 6048 - show IF the warehouse STOCKS the part

Talking with Dede Geary - she is not handling warehouse ordering. Sent her and Dane this request - in J-Con we had some crude way to at least KNOW when the warehouse didn't stock something ( in the F-9 screen in POS - had a N for non-stocking )

How about SOMETHING to flag if the part is stocked - and better yet - how about the actual re-order level being shown --on the image ( click to enlarge ) we could have the status flag and maybe even a reporting button to flag we wish the warehouse would stock this part -- the system should be that INTERACTIVE - right ?

REPLACED BY - what do you have in stock ?

Our stores have set this up to be reminded ( thank you google calendars !! ) every 3 months - we run a Inventory Count List --ALL parts ( takes 25 seconds to generate a list of approx 13,000 sku's ) that are STOCKED - by store

Then we sort out any part with OUT DESCRIPTION#2 and sort in total cost ON HAND ( we calculate that data ) and send to managers to handle -- this way we open up some $$ for up to date items.

Some concerns -- are OLDER items still showing in e-cat ??

If this tip helps -- fax me a $20 bill and a thank you note

Adding X line parts

Just a reminder to other stores - that you can add X line ( non-CARQUEST ) data to Exploris.

click here for links

Got a tough data set -- see how to remove junk from data

Not tracking CORES ?

We had two stores not set up properly - as a result we were not tracking core sales ...see image - this needs to be checked if the line has any cores. This was identified to our stores in March - but just getting around to posting it here now ... just in case

so - who's FAULT is it - on E-CAT ???

We have pushed our stores for YEARS to be smart enough to recognize e-cat errors - and this is not always easy -- how do you know when you should be seeing something you are NOT? That is probably one of the hardest issues to spot.

Anyways a supplier ( the president of a company ) wrote back .... Did you get a reply from Peter McNally on these items. It was not a (name withheld) issue.

Here is what I wrote back ....

I don't normally quibble over a word ... but e-cat is a shared ownership issue -- we are in a partnership! It is as much YOUR responsibility as it is MINE to see that all parties have done the job and the 'circle of information' is COMPLETE.

I have LONG been critical of suppliers who do NOT take a pro-active stance on e-cat ... get your staff to go thru the data as WE SEE IT --and help us spot the missing HOLES --it will gain BOTH YOu and I the extra sales to cost justify the exercise. Further -- TRAIN your sales staff to UNDERSTAND as much as you can fill their heads with how e-cat works.

Otherwise you will have to bring back paper cat's

I look forward to see how (name withheld) will help us fill in the holes.

WHO Really Understands Forecasting ?

I understand the fundamentals of forecasting - but we came across an interesting issue the other week. Working on CAL ( Cdn line for rebuilt calipers by Cardonne ) - everything looks OK but thanks to someone sharp at one of the stores - they noticed we were pulling one side but not the other in our returns. Typically both sides have similar movement codes.

Working with Randy M on the CARQUEST help desk - and he took the issue to WHI & Tier#2 - seems a bit fuzzy - but WHI seem to be saying that FIXED works better that Relative ( see image ) --we are testing out --when we changed our profile it did pick up MORE stock that should have been returned - we see if stores can tell me if it picked up everything.

We will pull data into excel and have a look - the forecast module only shows us what it wants - sometimes it is handy to see ALL data like you can in excel.

More info to follow - I am sure

DONE DEPOSITS - Done Wrong

We as a group of 3 stores really struggled with DONE DEPOSITS. I have to personally tank Bob Miller from Walker Rd Auto for being such a good friend and advocate for DONE DEPOSITS --and pushed us to make them work -- I have to tell you it is a HUGE effort to get all staff on side. There are some very complacent people -- where 'close is good enough' ... and pushing them out to do better is a huge effort.

Click here to see our issue with how a DONE DEPOSIT looks

Another issue for new stores --is once you get staff to sue DONE DEPOSITS -- you also have to TRAIN they same people to look for the part on RESERVE ALLOCATION. We are going thru older ORPHANED done deposits -where the customer came in and another staff member starts a NEW invoice and sells the part. Note --when you delete the now obsolete DONE DEPOSIT invoice --it will put that part BACK INTO STOCK .... so you may be chasing your tail on stock counts.

see this link for an idea on tracking stock adjustments
This above link is showing what can happen in stores - with the store manager getting an e-mail on all stock changes ( except for warehouse shortages/overages ) it is quite telling - especially when we match up to the statement at end of month.

The system is good -- but oh my --the training is so suspect at times. It really makes you stay on your toes to see what s happening.

Wish 6047 - update

Rhonda sent me a screen image for the same account - what we see when we apply payments -- yep --thatis what we are after on a aged a/r report --so how do we get it ???

EXPLORIS Wish #6047 - option on AR reports for unapplied credits

A small but helpful option -- have a optional check box in store set up to allow stores who want this -- to re-age UNAPPLIED PENDING CREDITS back to the AGING BUCKET where they belong.

In the example - that the $471 credit and re-apply top the OVER 90 bucket so the customer is in a Credit position.

Hey - if the office doesn't want to apply that credit until we know what the customers A/R open item person is doing - fine --but -- don;t make it hard on the staff who have to identify and change customer setting looking for the customers who need work on collecting OVERDUE A/R

This is call #1205841 now being reviewed by Randy Mikesell. This has been run past Walker Rd Auto ( Bob Miller ) and he is either being kind or sees the merit and has said he supports this. What is annoying is the help desk says that NO OTHER JOBBER has ever requested this. Do you support this OPTIONAL way to report overdue AR. Remember -we are asking for a check box --if you want it the OLD way - leave it un-checked -- but if you would rather have the unapplied credits re-set into their correct aging buckets you check the box -and you have data the way it helps you to best spot overdue accounts.

Cash Customers - and Identification

Who - from GPI
Who -from independent Jobbers
Who is an ardent supporter of the IDENTIFICATION of Cash Customers 'system' we have in Exploris????

In J-Con we had nothing
In Exploris we have the makings of a great system -- but I am afraid we are stuck on evolution-innovation for this system. The have some building blocks -- but little is connected ... we can spot data for customer returns ... but apart from that -=-we are missing the KEY ELEMENTS to help us GROW our cash customer business.

We can't pull out existing sales data by INDIVIDUAL cash customer
so that limits us from identifying the fast growing accounts for acknowledgement

We can't flag a INDIVIDUAL cash customer -
so we can't tag that customer with in-house specials

Well -- you get the idea....

Without a complete program --you are finding that many-most stores have STOPPED gathering INDIVIDUAL customer data. And - of course Exploris doesn't make it easy for store mgmt to audit who is successful and who has the excuses of time & effort and has stopped.

It does seem to me that this is a wonderful use for a UNIVERSAL REPORT WRITER - and the ability to GET the data out of Exploris that we put into the box.

IS this a dead issue ????? Does anyone care???? Where do we go from here ????

here is an earlier comment on the same issue --CLICK HERE -- is anyone listening ????

Helping other Jobbers understand the need for CUSTOM DATA

This is a tough issue --how do we make more CARQUEST Jobbers understand what they are missing by not having a customizable report generator. This can be called a UNIVERSAL Report Writer or brand names like Crystal Reports ... but it is all meaning the same.

In J-Con we had the opportunity for Inventory to have a customizable report writer in menu # 2-20. That did part of the job and once you got more experienced you could figure out ways to take additional reports and 'stitch' then together to get additional data. What would you do - well - once in Excel you can SORT until you blue in the face -- when you sort on various fields typically the problems 'bubble' to the top or the bottom of the report.

In EXPLORIS the reports are limited and to make more FIXED reports can be hard -as you might want something but your neighbor wants something just a bit different. So if you can pick the data and generate your own report - you have data you can work with.

The problem -- many CARQUEST jobbers have not learned how to use programs like Excel. So the minority of CARQUEST jobbers that do - are still that --a minority. Understanding Excel offers you a whole new world of opportunity to see what the data is trying to tell you.

The problem -- many CARQUEST jobbers are NOT telling the key people ( Mike Allen - VP Independent Sales mike.allen@(NOSPAM)gpi.com (800) 876-1291 x 3528 -- or Dane Hunter - head of Exploris development dane.hunter@(NOSPAM)gpi.com (800) 876-1291 x 3316 ---remove the (NOSPAM) to use.

The problem -- many jobbers don't talk to other jobbers about sharing idea's and how to run their stores better. You may be doing something GREAT in inventory control - and your other CARQUEST jobber 30 miles away may be doing GREAT on collecting overdue $$ - share idea's on how to BOTH together getting smarter and more INNOVATIVE. Why do so many jobbers not trust one another ??????

With a UNIVERSAL REPORT WRITER you could do some ( or all - over way more --since this won't be the definitive list )
-search for parts with qty on hand that are replaced by some other part
-search for cash customers who are spending more than $xxxx dollars a year --so you can move them to a better billing schedule and grow your sales with that person
-if multi-store put a inventory list for any line -where you can compare sales performance and see how the weak store can improve on a sku by sku basis ( a biggie in our stores that we really miss that we had in J-Con
-look for customers who are NOT buying lines - and see how you can solve that problem
-run lists and look for parts with obsolete alternative part links
-take any field in the inventory - and you can run a report with that field showing --so you can work with that data - at present there are many data fields that can not be seen on a report - how can you look for problems in that field if you can only go thru thousands one at a time on the display screen - a report with sorting would allow you to QUICKLY spot these.

Raleigh is looking for feedback on their next move -- please - if you do NOT express your view --we may NEVER get the tools we need to properly run our own computer system the way we think we need to. It is having that individual customization with a UNIVERSAL REPORT WRITER that allows us this missing piece of the puzzle.

Now - get out there and start the process - if you don;t know Excel ( or the equiv type spreadsheeting tools like the FREE www.openoffice.org ) - now is a good time to start.

AND -- please e-mail or call these guys -- EXPRESS YOURSELF .... Mike Allen - VP Independent Sales mike.allen@(NOSPAM)gpi.com (800) 876-1291 x 3528 -- or Dane Hunter - head of Exploris development dane.hunter@(NOSPAM)gpi.com (800) 876-1291 x 3316 ---remove the (NOSPAM) to use.

Thanks
Greg Henderson

Click Here to see an Earlier article on Universal Report Writer