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<\/a><\/p>\nBEI Services<\/h2>\n
What\u2019s new?<\/em><\/p>\n BEI Services has been finishing the development of API programming interfaces for ECi\u2019s OMD, Lacrosse, and e-automate software with the intent of making data extraction from those programs more convenient. \u201cThis will allow us to grab the data whenever we need it from the client so we can relieve their IT staff from the job of sending it to us, as well as change time frames and how frequently we collect data,\u201d explains BEI Services Founder and President Wes McArtor. \u201cThe client still controls whether or not we have access, but this gives us the option to poll their systems on a regular basis.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this year BEI Services completed their integrated user interface for the Overstock Parts Network (OPN). BEI\u2019s Advanced Inventory Management (AIM) product offers dealers a quick view and understanding of their inventory, and allows them to better identify their aged and obsolete parts inventory. \u201cWe\u2019re finding that this is a huge problem in the parts department where dealers have 25, 30 or 40 percent of their inventory that hasn\u2019t been touched in two years or more,\u201d reports McArtor.<\/p>\n BEI Services is also creating accountability tools that will help management gain better control over the service side of the dealership. \u201cMany dealers have more parts in inventory than they need because somebody is ordering more than necessary or isn\u2019t analyzing whether anybody will ever use that part,\u201d states McArtor. \u201cSo they cling to it even after they no longer have the equipment in the field that can use it. The tools we\u2019re building will help the parts manager be accountable by asking, \u2018Your usage dictates you only need one, but you\u2019re buying five? Why is that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Why do dealers choose BEI Services?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThe key for every dealer is to continue to stretch their margins and service efficiencies,\u201d responds McArtor. \u201cAs efficient as every dealer thinks they are, without our data they really don\u2019t know. If the goal is to increase margins, one way to do that is to decrease the amount of money you\u2019re spending on inventory and how much obsolescence you\u2019re writing off.\u201d<\/p>\n AIM and OPN are two compelling reasons why dealers choose BEI, and once the API\u2019s are completed, McArtor feels that this will bring more value to dealers. \u201cBecause their parts department typically isn\u2019t run by someone with a lot of logistics experience, we can be a big asset. Once we get their inventory issues straightened out, we can start talking to these dealers about our mainline products,\u201d says McArtor. \u201cOnce that happens we\u2019ll be buying more inventory, which will increase the opportunity for them to save money buying from the Overstock Parts Network.\u201d<\/p>\n What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe have a worksheet where we show them,\u201d says McArtor. \u201cThere are only two ways they\u2019re going to make more money in service\u2014reducing labor and parts expenses. That\u2019s it. If I want more money or profit in service, I\u2019ve got to cut my labor or parts expense, so the first calculation we show them is how efficiently they\u2019re utilizing their labor. We can make them more efficient by either reducing head count or allowing the growth of their revenue base without adding head count. Second, we\u2019ll come back with our Advanced Inventory Management Process and ask them how effectively they are managing their inventory. If technicians are using too many parts, that\u2019s a problem. We can point that out, and then show them how we can reduce the tech\u2019s parts usage via our technician incentive program (which by the way has been reducing parts usage on average 10% or more), and their parts expense by buying from Overstock Parts Network and eliminating obsolescence.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s new at ECi?<\/em><\/p>\n This year ECi released an updated version of e-automate, V 8.5. \u201cIn addition we\u2019ve had updated releases of e-info, and our Remote Tech, and Remote Service Manager products as well as a number of new partnership integrations,\u201d reports Brad Sorenson, Director of Development, Division of Service Technology at ECi. \u201cThe bulk of what\u2019s new in V 8.5 is driven by requests from our user\u2019s groups. Features such as multiple contract overage cycles as well as functional features such as new direction field level security in some of our core modules, allow them to control that data at field level.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the next few months there will be another release of Remote Tech, which includes initial support for offline capabilities. \u201cFor techs that are out in the field and can\u2019t be consistently online this gives them the ability to manage their current call,\u201d states Sorenson. \u201cWe\u2019re excited about that and also have another release of e-automate that we\u2019re planning for this year along with a new product offering later this year that\u2019s focused on customer-centric service solutions as opposed to equipment-centric solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n Sorenson explains that this shift is necessary because the market is shifting and ECi\u2019s customers\u2019 needs are shifting towards more of a Managed Services type of offering to compensate for agreements and contracts with customers to provide certain services for the customer, not necessarily servicing a certain piece of equipment. \u201cOf course it encompasses equipment but a broader array of services as well,\u201d states Sorenson.<\/p>\n Why do dealers choose ECi\u2019s e-automate?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNumerous reasons,\u201d says Laryssa Alexander, President, Division of Service Technology for ECi. \u201cWe have 18 years of industry specific experience and proven products, and that puts us in the position of being a market leader. We not only have a strong core product, it\u2019s also important we\u2019re surrounded by other critical core solutions like remote service, e-commerce, and a customer service portal, analytic tools, and CRM solutions. All of those allow our dealers to have a well rounded offering for their customers.<\/p>\n We\u2019re part of ECi Software Solutions, which is a strong, profitable, stable company that continues to support our initiatives and drives strategic investments into our division. We\u2019re going to be here for years to come, supporting our customers, delivering solutions that will not only help them now but will help them transition in so many markets such as what Brad mentioned earlier, by offering more customer-centric services, which is some of the solutions we\u2019ll be delivering. When you look at all of that, that\u2019s what sets us apart from others\u2014experience, stability, and knowing we\u2019re going to be here in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cDepending on what people are looking for and what they\u2019re currently using and where the dealership is coming from, ROI can be incredible,\u201d emphasizes Alexander. \u201cAs hard as it is to imagine, we still have dealerships that are running on spreadsheets. They\u2019re using multiple software packages, one for accounting, one for service, one for contracts; all that means is there\u2019s redundant data entry, there\u2019s a higher probability of inaccurate information, and not having the ability to do the analysis because everything is so fragmented. By having one completely integrated system it allows them to do the same things with great efficiency [and bring] real-time visibility into their business. Even though it\u2019s hard to set a value on the ROI, there can easily be a full-time employee or more that can now be repurposed for more revenue-generating opportunities. I always think that the bigger question for them is whether or not you can afford not to have a solution like e-automate in today\u2019s competitive environment.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s new at FMAudit?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cA reconstruction to our Central User Interface with a modern look and feel featuring increased user functionality and simplicity,\u201d responds Kevin Tetu, VP of Strategic Opportunities and Partner Alliances for ECi. \u201cAlong the same lines we are revamping our Adaptive Supply Management (ASM) module to include alerting based on estimated days remaining and have enabled automated supply order entry into ERP systems via ECi\u2019s ESN technology. FMAudit is bridging the gap between MPS and MDS by offering our dealers a new strategic alliance with ROI Print Manager for the industry\u2019s first automated overlap of user and device data.\u201d<\/p>\n Why dealers choose FMAudit?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBeing part of the ECi umbrella is valuable and significant for FMAudit and our customers,\u201d notes Tetu. \u201cThe relationship provides us the unique opportunity to offer priority access to integrations and releases with sister products. We are able to offer unprecedented bi-directional integrations with ERP systems and offer flexible hosting options to accommodate existing and new relationships. FMAudit has a strong architectural platform and reliable engine resulting in limited device failure rates which allows us to continue building on our already strong OEM relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBecause of our low upfront fees and optional hosting infrastructures, in terms of hardware and Internet bandwidth, FMAudit is about one fifth the cost of other solutions in the industry and our customers can expect an eight-month ROI,\u201d concludes Tetu.<\/p>\n What\u2019s new at MWAi?<\/em><\/p>\n The key words when it comes to what\u2019s new at MWAi are SAP and FORZA.<\/p>\n \u201cAcross the 20-year history of MWAi, the mission was to increase efficiency and profitability to the dealer in a very competitive industry. We focused on the service organization and how to help the dealer be more efficient with service calls, first call effectiveness, maximizing the amount of service calls, etc.\u201d says Gavin Williams, executive vice president. \u201cWhen we introduced SAP as an alternative choice, we quickly identified the opportunities that were presented because of stifled or limited technologies that in one form or another dated back 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams explains that many dealers typically have anywhere from 15-35 disparate systems plugged into their central business system. \u201cThere is no central consolidation of information,\u201d he notes. \u201cIf your data is not consolidated, then how do you know what needs to be addressed? How do you know in real time if a device or contract is profitable? It\u2019s about the management of the big data. SAP is what brings that ability to the dealers because, instead of having a separate CRM program, a separate meter collection program, and a separate service program, all of that information is rolled into their central FORZA platform that handles all those areas of business. Dealers who go on FORZA with SAP can consolidate all of their systems into one.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams adds, \u201cSAP, FORZA, and MWAi deliver to the dealer a centralized point of data that is open source and can be used internally or externally to drive revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n Why do dealers choose MWAi?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cBecause of where they see their business in the future; are they looking to get into managed services, are they looking to expand their managed print, are they tired of the limitations in their infrastructure?\u201d says Williams. \u201cSAP is the most installed ERP in the world with millions of users. This benefits our industry by providing the single most used analytic engine driving the best companies in the world. In today\u2019s world auditing is not only necessary, it is required. It is important to have a GAAP-approved accounting system that follows normal accounting principles that dealers can stand on because SAP is the most accepted ERP in business today. This is the first platform for the industry with sales, marketing, service, HR, warehouse, AP, AR and contracts built into the dealer\u2019s platform. Sales can now see what service is doing and what the billing is doing. It increases retention of existing customers and gives dealers never before seen tools [for processes] that they had to do manually, which is now automated within the SAP platform.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams explains that MWAi introduced SAP because it provided the best framework for what the company wanted to accomplish. \u201cIt was the only ERP that was open source, open architecture that had solutions for best practices not just in our industry but in all areas of the business. It\u2019s not just about billing copies. It\u2019s also about all the components around that\u2014connected service, connected sales, the entire organization is connected. Mobility for everybody is important in today\u2019s business, not just service, but sales and everyone. It truly is by definition an ERP. Wikipedia ERP, and compare what you have today, to what MWAi FORZA delivers.\u201d<\/p>\n What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s two parts to ROI, hard costs and soft costs,\u201d explains Williams. \u201cThe hard costs are straightforward; we add up what every one of the dealer\u2019s disparate systems costs and provide them with a straight cost comparison. Then you have the soft costs. How many people does it take to make a sale, deliver a sale, and manage a contract? If you\u2019re doing a leasing deal in a legacy environment, typically you have to input the same information into many different systems and the leasing company. With the leasing integration you have automation all the way from credit approval through reconciliation. All of these processes are tied into the soft costs and add up quickly. How long and how much did it cost to close your quarter, your month, your year, etc.? How much did it cost you for that yearly outsourced accounting that you have to go in and look at because you don\u2019t have a GAAP-approved system?\u201d<\/p>\n Williams concludes, \u201cEvery dealer is different but when you add up all the costs and really dive into what the current infrastructure costs, MWAi FORZA provides the fastest ROI I have personally ever seen of solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s new at PrintFleet?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOur focus is on continuously improving the performance and manageability of our products, making them at once easier to deploy and use and increasingly valuable in helping our customers drive competitiveness and profit improvement through data-driven solutions,\u201d states David Morrow, CCO. \u201cOur development roadmap is driven by ease of use, data comprehensiveness and quality, end-to-end system performance and reliability, and our products\u2019 overall utility in support of business-critical solutions such as assessment, billing, supplies fulfillment and service management.<\/p>\n \u201cIn keeping with this we have recently made or are in the process of launching significant improvements to our data collection agent, our user interface, our core enterprise application and our suite of Web services.\u201d<\/p>\n He identifies some notable initiatives:<\/p>\n Data Roll-up:<\/strong> This enhancement dramatically reduces the amount of system data needed to sort through at any given time. This means that data can be stored and retrieved more efficiently and easily since the data is a fraction of the size, without compromising the usefulness of the information. The data will be rolled up midnight to midnight UTC. This ensures consistency regardless of the time zone of the user or the device reporting data.<\/p>\n Next Generation DCA:<\/strong> The benefits of a new DCA to customers will be significant, including:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Web Services:<\/strong> PrintFleet Optimizer (PFO) has been built on a foundation which includes \u2018RESTful\u2019 Application Programming Interface (API), which enables external programs to access data without having to use its UI to do so. By empowering multiple third party integrations PrintFleet is enabling choice for all of the dealers\/resellers to choose who they wish to work with for supplies fulfillment, billing, service, and other unique options, such as PrintReleaf.<\/p>\n Why do dealers choose PrintFleet?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cSee all of the above,\u201d responds Morrow, \u201cplus our move to SaaS and subscription pricing models, which have reduced the cost of entry into a PrintFleet-based MPS program, our deep engineering relationships with the OEMs and our global reach.\u201d<\/p>\n What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cMany analysts as well as some of our competitors quote ROI for successful MPS programs,\u201d says Morrow. \u201cWe think that a 30 percent or more reduction in a dealer\u2019s cost base is definitely achievable with the right tools, the right supply chain relationships, and the appropriate focus on true data-driven automation of core business processes. That adds up to a healthy ROI. When you add in win rate improvements through enhanced competitiveness in the market, ROI is further enhanced.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s new at Print Audit?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cFacilities Manager V3 was released February 5th, 2014,\u201d says Rob Thiessen, vice president of sales. \u201cWith this release we incorporated new alerting options which were designed to improve and enhance the automation of supplies and service tracking and delivery.\u201d<\/p>\n The latest version of Print Audit\u2019s Managed Print Services tool has a new alerting system designed to help MPS providers eliminate meaningless alerts and increase the efficiency of their service and supply management programs. Facilities Manager remotely collects meter reads, automates supplies fulfillment, and reports service information for managing fleets of printers, copiers, and MFPs.<\/p>\n The new alerting system is in response to complaints from dealers about receiving too many raw, often irrelevant alerts from the printers and MFPs. To eliminate this, Facilities Manager V3 Smart Alerts allow dealers to customize the way that alerts are triggered and cleared through the use of filters.<\/p>\n In addition, Print Audit has released an update for the Print Audit Facilities Manager Web portal. Facilities Manager 3.1.0R includes fixes for issues found in previous releases of the software as well as new reporting and alerting enhancements. The latest version offers several toner change detection enhancements, including the ability to detect if a toner cartridge has been changed based on the toner serial number for devices that provide it. The latest release also allows users to view the toner level and device life count before a cartridge was changed in order to track if cartridges are being replaced too soon.<\/p>\n Why do dealers choose Print Audit?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPrint Audit has the number one MPS Software in the industry according to Buyers Laboratory,\u201d states Thiessen. \u201cPrint Audit also has tools that enable office equipment dealers to do more than just track and manage printers. Print Audit has user management capabilities that the other companies don’t. The combination of both device monitoring tools and user management capabilities is crucial to understanding and managing a customer\u2019s print in general, i.e. printers don’t print, people print!\u201d<\/p>\n What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect?<\/em><\/p>\n Thiessen points out that the ROI for using Print Audit’s systems comes from several sources, including:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t underestimate ROI,\u201d emphasizes Thiessen. \u201c[Our solution] allows you to be proactive, which helps uncover opportunities more quickly and blocks out competition. It\u2019s to prevent another dealer from taking advantage of the knowledge that you didn\u2019t know there are five printers out of toner within your customer\u2019s environment and saying to the manager that normally deals with you, \u2018We\u2019ve got some remanufactured cartridges we can give to you real cheap and give them to you now.\u2019 These are the things you want to avoid because you want to know when your customers are out of ink before they do or when their printer is down before they do. Being proactive gives you an edge over competition and allows you to uncover opportunity. You can\u2019t place a number on it, but that is significant for all kinds of companies whose sole revenues are coming from services and supplies delivered to that customer.\u201d<\/p>\n Another source of ROI is the automating of processes. \u201cThese systems eliminate the need for your customer to take any steps whatsoever in managing their printer fleet,\u201d emphasizes Thiessen. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to send service reps on site to diagnose an issue. You can diagnose prior to going on site and equip them with all the parts, eliminating a second trip to a site with parts. That\u2019s another way that these solutions create efficiencies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It almost seems anachronistic to use the term automation in this century; however, automated data collection tools have made a significant difference in the way dealers provide service and track service performance. Admittedly, this task has been automated for some time now, but with the emergence of the cloud and new services such as MPS and Managed IT, automated data collection has become increasingly important to a dealer\u2019s service operations, and by extension, sales. Let\u2019s take a look at a group of solutions providers who specialize in various forms of data collection, focusing on what\u2019s new in terms of new solutions or enhancements to existing solutions; why dealers choose their solution over others on the market; and what kind of return on investment dealers who implement their solution can expect. BEI Services What\u2019s new? BEI Services has been finishing the development of API programming interfaces for ECi\u2019s OMD, Lacrosse, and e-automate software with the intent of making data extraction from those programs more convenient. \u201cThis will allow us to grab the data whenever we need it from the client so we can relieve their IT staff from the job of sending it to us, as well as change time frames and how frequently we collect data,\u201d explains BEI Services Founder and President Wes McArtor. \u201cThe client still controls whether or not we have access, but this gives us the option to poll their systems on a regular basis.\u201d Earlier this year BEI Services completed their integrated user interface for the Overstock Parts Network (OPN). BEI\u2019s Advanced Inventory Management (AIM) product offers dealers a quick view and understanding of their inventory, and allows them to better identify their aged and obsolete parts inventory. \u201cWe\u2019re finding that this is a huge problem in the parts department where dealers have 25, 30 or 40 percent of their inventory that hasn\u2019t been touched in two years or more,\u201d reports McArtor. BEI Services is also creating accountability tools that will help management gain better control over the service side of the dealership. \u201cMany dealers have more parts in inventory than they need because somebody is ordering more than necessary or isn\u2019t analyzing whether anybody will ever use that part,\u201d states McArtor. \u201cSo they cling to it even after they no longer have the equipment in the field that can use it. The tools we\u2019re building will help the parts manager be accountable by asking, \u2018Your usage dictates you only need one, but you\u2019re buying five? Why is that?\u2019\u201d Why do dealers choose BEI Services? \u201cThe key for every dealer is to continue to stretch their margins and service efficiencies,\u201d responds McArtor. \u201cAs efficient as every dealer thinks they are, without our data they really don\u2019t know. If the goal is to increase margins, one way to do that is to decrease the amount of money you\u2019re spending on inventory and how much obsolescence you\u2019re writing off.\u201d AIM and OPN are two compelling reasons why dealers choose BEI, and once the API\u2019s are completed, McArtor feels that this will bring more value to dealers. \u201cBecause their parts department typically isn\u2019t run by someone with a lot of logistics experience, we can be a big asset. Once we get their inventory issues straightened out, we can start talking to these dealers about our mainline products,\u201d says McArtor. \u201cOnce that happens we\u2019ll be buying more inventory, which will increase the opportunity for them to save money buying from the Overstock Parts Network.\u201d What kind of return on investment can dealers who implement your solution expect? \u201cWe have a worksheet where we show them,\u201d says McArtor. \u201cThere are only two ways they\u2019re going to make more money in service\u2014reducing labor and parts expenses. That\u2019s it. If I want more money or profit in service, I\u2019ve got to cut my labor or parts expense, so the first calculation we show them is how efficiently they\u2019re utilizing their labor. We can make them more efficient by either reducing head count or allowing the growth of their revenue base without adding head count. Second, we\u2019ll come back with our Advanced Inventory Management Process and ask them how effectively they are managing their inventory. If technicians are using too many parts, that\u2019s a problem. We can point that out, and then show them how we can reduce the tech\u2019s parts usage via our technician incentive program (which by the way has been reducing parts usage on average 10% or more), and their parts expense by buying from Overstock Parts Network and eliminating obsolescence.\u201d ECi Software Solutions What\u2019s new at ECi? This year ECi released an updated version of e-automate, V 8.5. \u201cIn addition we\u2019ve had updated releases of e-info, and our Remote Tech, and Remote Service Manager products as well as a number of new partnership integrations,\u201d reports Brad Sorenson, Director of Development, Division of Service Technology at ECi. \u201cThe bulk of what\u2019s new in V 8.5 is driven by requests from our user\u2019s groups. Features such as multiple contract overage cycles as well as functional features such as new direction field level security in some of our core modules, allow them to control that data at field level.\u201d Over the next few months there will be another release of Remote Tech, which includes initial support for offline capabilities. \u201cFor techs that are out in the field and can\u2019t be consistently online this gives them the ability to manage their current call,\u201d states Sorenson. \u201cWe\u2019re excited about that and also have another release of e-automate that we\u2019re planning for this year along with a new product offering later this year that\u2019s focused on customer-centric service solutions as opposed to equipment-centric solutions.\u201d Sorenson explains that this shift is necessary because the market is shifting and ECi\u2019s customers\u2019 needs are shifting towards more of a Managed Services type of offering to compensate for agreements and contracts with customers to provide certain services for the customer, not necessarily servicing a certain piece of equipment. \u201cOf course it encompasses equipment but a broader array of services as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1649,1641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7341"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7546,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7341\/revisions\/7546"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}ECi Software Solutions<\/h2>\n
ECi FMAudit<\/h2>\n
MWAi<\/h2>\n
PrintFleet<\/h2>\n
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Print Audit<\/h2>\n
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