Dell lap top computer

New and updated hardware and software for wholesalers and brewers

Microanalytics Truckstops Routing System Microanalytics of Arlington, VA, reports that Version 2.4 of the Truckstops Routing System and Scheduling system has now been released. According to the company, the new version features expanded directions options and a new add-on tool, making the software more user-friendly and efficient.

The vendor reports that users of the Truckstops/PC*Miler interface can now select which routes to display in the driving directions. Additionally, an increased number of stops in a Truckstops-generated route can be displayed in a PC*Miler map, the company says.

Microanalytics says that Miller Distributing of Fort Worth in Fort Worth., TX, recently began using Truckstops. "We save around $50,000 annually as a direct result of Truckstops," says John Coy, vice president of finance at MFW. "More compact routes means we can spend more time in the trade merchandising and less time behind the wheel."

Prior to using Truckstops, Miller Fort Worth used a manual routing system to handle its 23 pre-sale delivery routes, 2 bulk routes, 3 tel-sell routes, 7 driver-sell routes and 4 draft routes. "Truckstops is a falrly straightforward and intuitive program," Coy says. 'Special code capabilities allow me to prioritize grocery stores with their various time windows--and they all want deliver before noon."

Truckstops is now available for Windows 95/98/NT, Microanalytics reports. The company notes that the program can be used "dynamically" for scheduling vehicles on routes that change daily, or strategically, for planning and update fixed delivery routes.

Micro Vane Stands the Test of Time

"It's been said that the truest test of quality is a product's longevity," says Bob Pursel, vice president of marketing for Micro Vane, Inc. of Kalamazoo, MI. "Having been around since 1983, the dBEV Route Accounting System (developed by Micro Vane) has done more than simply 'stand the test of time'."

Since opening its doors, Micro Vane, Inc., has sold more than 1060 dBEV systems to date--giving them three times the market share of any other beverage software company, Bob Pursel says.

"A high level of customer involvement, in addition to close contact with the breweries on an ongoing basis, are key to our ability to enhance and expand our product line to offer wholesalers the best possible software solutions in a timely manner," says company president Brad Fonger. "While no one can predict with absolute certainty what impact the Year 2000 will have on his business, Micro Vane received a significant number of requests from wholesalers wanting to make the transition from their current software system to dBEV prior to year-end 1999. We accommodated this high volume of requests by providing on-site and remote automated data conversion services to move the existing information from a variety of software vendors, operating systems, and hardware platforms to dBEV running on either a single PC, or a network using Novell and Windows NT."

According to Brad Fonger, Micro Vane is currently developing a Windows-based version of its popular dBEV System. They have already released several Windows-based programs that work hand-in-hand with dBEV including the Management Reporting Module (MRM), the Account Information Module (AIM) and the Profit Reporting Module (PRM).

"We understand that information stored in dBEV needs to be easily retrieved, consolidated, shared, and overall managed," says Larry Glass, v.p. of sales. "For more than a few wholesalers, this process seemed to be getting harder, more costly, and confusing until we developed our Windows-based programs. MRM, AIM, and PRM provide on-demand access to your data and allow you to easily disseminate that information throughout a business so the wholesalership can better manage its operation. With a few clicks of the mouse button, owners and managers can review dally and historical sales information, calculate total facings distribution and determine which customers and products are high volume but low profit."

Vice president of marketing Bob Pursel notes that many large and small wholesalers are adding laptops. He says these units are needed to help wholesalers achieve a higher level of sales performance and comply with brewery contract mandates for tracking detailed information about each of their retail accounts. "With the price of laptops dropping, while their power and expandability rise, the decision to go with laptops is becoming easier to cost justify," Bob says. "In addition to providing pre-salesmen with an efficient order-taking tool, the laptop's portability provides numerous other benefits, including the capability to make onsite sales presentations to a retailer plus gather valuable marketing information. You can easily track the price-to-consumer shelf space allocation and much more, for your own and competitive products."

National product manager Bob Blaauw notes that, "If efficiency is your number one objective, getting you there is ours. In addition to lap-top software, we offer Norand SDM (sales, delivery and merchandising) hand-helds for driver-sell and pre-sell operations. We realize that everyone has different needs--from basic pre-sell order taking to automating the delivery process, to performing retail surveys--so we offer a family of hand-held options. You decide which solution, or combination of solutions is best for your business."

According to Bob Pursel, integrating the dBEV system with Beverage Suppliers' Communication programs is easily accomplished through the use of Micro Vane's interface modules. Interfaces are available for Anheuser-Busch, Axces, CocaCola, Coors, Gallo, and Miller. Software is also available for customers looking to implement EFT and EDT projects.

"We've earned a reputation for providing the industry's fastest support response time," says Bob Pursel. "A toll-free hotline provides immediate access to a team of dedicated support professionals who can provide answers to a multitude of questions ranging from day-to-day operations to recovering from the unexpected. Each team member is committed to making sure that every customer receives the level of support they have come to expect and deserve."

National Datacomputer markets Survey Pro

National Datacomputer reports that its Survey Pro is a suite of software products specifically designed for automated merchandising and competitive data collection. It is made up of two components--Survey Manager and Survey Rider.

"Survey Manager is a Windows-based PC application that allows an administrator to create customized questionnaires for use in the field by a hand-held user," says T. Patrick Kearney of National Datacomputer. "It's an easy-to-use, feature-rich application that provides the ultimate in flexibility, allowing the administrator many options in the creation of custom and standard surveys. Additionally, Survey Manager allows for the transfer of collected data to MS Access."

Kearney says that the second component of Survey Pro is Survey Rider, which runs on NDI's Datacomputers. "Survey Rider displays standard surveys and custom questionnaires prepared by your marketing administrator for the collection of key merchandising and competitive information," he says. "Survey Rider prompts the user to enter data via easy menu picks, and supports hierarchical look-up for accurate product identification."

System requirements for Survey Pro are dedicated PC running Windows 95 with MS Access or equivalent, In existing NDI installations, the dedicated Survey Pro PC communicate with the dedicated NDI Smart Route Communications Server PC. In stand-alone applications, the dedicated Survey Pro PC is supplemented with an NDI Network System and the appropriate number of NDI Datacomputers.

Going Wireless with DCI

"Going Wireless?" asks Cyrus Shamloo of Data Consultants, Inc. "No, we're not talking about buying a cell phone...most of you have one anyway. Although similar to a cell phone's wireless voice transmission, wireless DATA transmission anywhere, anytime is one of the hottest technologies going. An ever increasing number of companies are investigating this approach for order taking and real-time access to information such as stock status and general customer data traditionally stored on a host system back at the corporate office."

Cyrus reports that Data Consultants introduced a successful integration of currently available hardware, software and service technologies to produce a "live" wireless network at the last NBWA. There a mobile computer (the new Vadem Clio C-1032, shown on previous page) was able to connect "real-time" to the Routeman beverage distribution host on a Dell fileserver through the internet with a Sierra Airphone modem. The host computer was also running Citrix MetaFrame that provides a thin-client/server solution, Mr. Shamloo says, and the Clio was running the MetaFrame client.