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SAP Business One Customer Newsletter

I am pleased to announce that the winners of the prize draw are:
1. Pat Al-Farhan, Fisco Fasteners
2. Vicki Salih, Sahara
3. Chris Speer, Upgrade Options

In addition you helped to raise over £100 for Children with Leukaemia, so thank you very much. 
Sapphire as an organisation continues to grow and the team is expanding in numbers accordingly. Additions to the team include Johnson Paily, SAP Business One Support Consultant and Tanveer Waseem, SAP Business One Support Consultant. 

I am always keen find out what you think of the Sapphire newsletter, as well as any feedback you may have on Sapphire’s service to you as a whole, so please email me your thoughts at ian.caswell@sapphiresystems.co.uk.

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Tony Martin  - Client Service Director

Some of you may not yet be aware that SAP Business One 2007 has now been formally released by Sapphire. Although the latest version has been available from SAP for some time, Sapphire put it through its own rigorous testing procedure before releasing to our clients. If you are interested in learning more about this new release or would like to discuss upgrading, please talk to your account manager who will be delighted to help you.   We are always looking to improve the service that we give you and with that in mind we recently added a new member of staff to the SAP Business One support team. As usual we recruited an experienced Business One, consultant, this time directly from another Business One reseller. So please say a big hello to Tanveer Waseem the next time you find him on the end of the phone. You may remember that in the last Sapphire SAP Business One newsletter I wrote about the support feedback service we now offer. In essence, this gives you the opportunity to let us know how you feel your support calls were handled. I thought I would share the statistical results so far with you. As you can see they are encouraging and mostly positive. Of course anything under 100 percent in any category means that there is room for improvement so I view the figures as “good but could do better.”

We at Sapphire are aware that we don’t have a monopoly in the world of SAP Business One and that you are perfectly entitled to take your business else where if we don’t come up to scratch. If you do feel that our service has dropped below the level that you expect, please feel free to contact me. Of course if you would like me to pass on some praise to any of my colleagues I would be more than happy to do that as well.

Because of the nature of the work Sapphire does, we often handle client data, some of which may be of a confidential nature. Much of this data is supplied to Sapphire via email and indeed is often moved internally through our email system. However, what the use of email does is open up the opportunity for human error. For example, it would not be impossible for a member of your staff to accidently pick the wrong email address and send something that is confidential to the wrong person. Changing the way we interact with our clients, potentially via an FTP site or through the use of a shared area such as MS SharePoint could make things more secure but may well carry overheads and therefore we would not introduce them without consultation.

We are interested in finding out if this is of concern for any of our clients and would appreciate your feedback on this issue.  Please let me have your thoughts at tony.martin@sapphiresystems.co.uk or on 020 7648 2000.       

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Extend the capabilities of SAP Business One using iBOLT SE from Magic Software

iBOLT™ is an easy-to-use and cost-effective, GUI-based business integration suite. iBOLT Special Edition (SE) for SAP® Business One extends SAP’s software development kit, while providing all required interfaces for SAP Business One.
 

Using an intuitive, wizard-based interface with SAP Business One, you can respond to a wide range of business process automation requirements that cannot be satisfied with the stand-alone ERP package.
 

With Magic Software’s iBOLT SE you can:

• Automate manual communication with your trade partners

• Consolidate chart of accounts 

• Synchronise your company's data across multiple site

• Connect your e-commerce sites to SAP Business One

• Handle service requests via the Web

• Allow customers to submit orders via the Web

• Facilitate EDI transactions

• Automatically log your incoming emails

• Share data across systems and combine business processes
   

Sapphire are holding a FREE breakfast seminar to all of our SAP Business One customers at our City of London offices on 19th November 2008 between 9.30 – 12am. Learn how iBOLT SE, Magic Software’s SOA Integration Suite for SAP Business One, can enhance the capabilities of your SAP solution and see a live demonstration of Magic’s New Intercompany Template for SAP Business One.

For more information please call me on 020 7648 2000 or email me directly at jenna.roberts@sapphiresystems.co.uk 

Full details of this seminar including a full agenda will be available on our web-site shortly: http://www.sapphiresystems.com/training_events/event_enrol/iBolt_SE_Seminar.htm
 

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As you may know Sapphire offer a number of training options including public training courses, private training courses and on site workshops.
 

We are currently offering the following SAP Business One Courses:

	SAP Business One	Duration	Centres	Description
	Accounting for New Starters	1 Day	LDN / MCR / IOM	view course
	Accounting & HR	2 Days	LDN / MCR / IOM	view course
	Logistics	3 Days	LDN / MCR / IOM	view course
	User Queries	2 Days	LDN / MCR / IOM	view course
	System Administration	1 Day	LDN / MCR / IOM	view course
	Vision XL Reporting	1 Day	LDN / MCR / IOM	view course

The cost per delegate per course is £345 + VAT including lunch and course notes

We will be publishing our full course details shortly. In the mean time, if you would like any further information at all, please do not hesitate to call our training advisor Sharon Steven on 020 7648 2000 or email training@sapphiresystems.co.uk
 

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Sapphire will be holding a PROACTIS breakfast briefing at our City of London offices on 6th November 2008 so if you would like to find out more and see a live demonstration of this easy to use solution then please call on 020 7648 2000 or email me directly at jenna.roberts@sapphiresystems.co.uk

Alternatively you can find a full agenda and enrol at: http://www.sapphiresystems.com/training_events/event_enrol/proactis.htm
 

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For all you football enthusiasts you may be interested to know that Sapphire holds an executive box at White Hart lane, the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club since 1899.
The box, which boasts an idyllic situation on the lower level of the stadium, directly aligned with the half way line, can hold up to 8 guests who can expect to enjoy luxuries such as their own bar and TV, private dining facilities, free car parking and their own waiter or waitress to cater to their every need! On entrance to the grounds guests are met by their host and escorted to the private executive lounge where they can enjoy an array of beverages after which they will be taken to the box where food and refreshments will be served. All of this teamed with the thrill of watching a premiership football match and the atmosphere at the stadium, im sure you’ll agree it’s an experience of a life time. We also hold 2 season tickets which allow entrance into the executive lounge and then seats in the stadium for those of you who prefer to get more involved in the crowds!

For more information please speak with your Account Manager.

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Leading UK ports operator selects spend control solution from Sapphire Systems
Peel Ports to implement a 1000 user Proactis Spend Control solution

LONDON, UK – 06 August 2008. Sapphire today announced that it is to supply and implement a 1000 user Proactis Spend Control System to the Peel Ports Group.

Peel Ports, a division of the Peel Holdings group, is the second largest ports group in the U.K. handling over 60 million tonnes per annum. It operates the ports of Liverpool, Medway, Clyde, Heysham and the Manchester Ship Canal, providing a broad range of port facilities and services to shippers and cargo owners. It also has various Shipping and Overseas operations. It employs 2115 staff across the group and has an annual turnover of £450m.

Graham Wilmott, Head of Shared Financial Services, at Peel Ports, said “Over the years a number of business acquisitions have resulted in Peel Ports operating several disparate purchasing and stores systems. This has meant a lot of rekeying and duplication of data, which over time has became a significant issue for us. It has also become increasingly difficult to get meaningful and timely cost control information. We needed to implement a group-wide procurement system to overcome these problems and help us to streamline the whole purchasing process right across the business”.
 

Following a formal evaluation process Peel Ports selected PROACTIS from Sapphire Systems. Graham explained “Our brief was to find a system that our business users would find easy to use. We cited amazon.com as an example of the simplicity we were looking for from the system we wanted. It had to be easy to use and it had to deliver clear business benefit. It also had to integrate with our SunSystems financial management system – and we felt that PROACTIS ticked these and other important boxes.”
 

In selecting to work with Sapphire Systems, Graham said “Sapphire’s pre-sales team really went that extra mile to ensure that our business could thoroughly review the benefits of PROACTIS – we had several demonstrations and, to validate our requirements fully, we asked Sapphire to prove a number of key business scenarios to us by way of user workshops. Sapphire put in a lot of personal time to ensure that we were totally happy with system”.
 

Peel Ports expects the new PROACTIS system to start rolling out across the business towards the end of the year. Graham explained “The real work begins now and there will be challenging times ahead in re-designing existing processes and changing current behaviors in order to maximise the benefits of the PROACTIS system. We are looking forward to Sapphire sharing their previous experiences to help us with this.” Graham added “When the system is fully live we hope to realise such benefits as enhanced visibility over spend and clearly mandated processes that will help to manage and regulate our purchasing procedures. We look forward to PROACTIS being able to provide a simple clearly defined procurement process for all our business users and a one stop shop for all our purchasing needs.”
 

David Singh, Sapphire’s Sales & Marketing Director concluded “We are delighted to be welcoming Peel Ports to Sapphire’s growing PROACTIS customer community. PROACTIS will provide Peel Ports with real cost savings. By having one business wide procurement system, Peel Ports will not only be able to procure more efficiently but they will have full visibility over their cost pipeline too which, in the current economic climate, is vital for any business big or small”.
 

About Peel Ports
Peel Ports is a division of the Peel Group - one of the leading property and transport companies in the UK, with assets valued at over £4.5bn. It is the second largest ports group in the UK provides a range of port facilities at the Mersey Docks & Harbour Company, Clydeport, the Manchester Ship Canal and Medway Ports.

www.peel.co.uk/peelholdings/peelports/ports.html 

 

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The NAS had been using a manual procurement system and the management team wanted the system to be automated to gain better control over the process and introduce standard procedures. They were also looking to automate accruals to get advance warning of committed expenditure – and more importantly, to flag extreme expenditure.
 

Ken Ewen, Finance Systems Manager at the NAS set about identifying a suitable solution. Following a review of the solutions available on the market, the management team shortlisted just two solutions, one of which was Proactis.
 

The decision was made to implement Proactis Spend Control as, Ken explains, “Proactis is much more flexible and user-friendly than the other product that we looked at, and has a better look and feel to it. On a practical side, Proactis integrates with our document management system, which was a requirement, and is flexible enough to cope with all of NAS’s processes – which the other solution we shortlisted could not.”
 

Commenting on the features of Proactis that made it the right fit for NAS Ken says “Proactis has a very user-friendly interface. As part of the decision process we conducted end-user testing with a 3 day workshop. Both our users and the management team preferred Proactis to other solution reviewed; there was a high level of buy-in from the people who would be using the solution as they all liked the look of the interface and the ability to customise their own portal.”
 

Now that Proactis Spend Control is implemented at the NAS and has been in use for some time, Ken tells us “Our Proactis solution more than meets our expectations. We are benefiting from tighter control as the accruals provide advance warning on overspend. ”
 

A total of 300 licensed users access Proactis across 30 NAS sites, with an average of 60 users in the system at any one time. Proactis is used to manage an indirect spend of over £8m, and is used to procure items ranging from groceries for houses and schools through to furniture, equipment and even agency staff. “We use it for most of our purchasing” says Ken. The solution has also been integrated with the NAS’s SunSystems financial management solution and document management system, so that staff can view invoices.
 

On the day to day use of the solution Ken says “Proactis is very intuitive - so much so that formal training is rarely required for new users. Training is by means of a manual and from colleagues – thereby reducing training costs and ensuring productivity from an early stage.”
 

To other organisations assessing their procurement systems, and indeed any business solutions, Ken advises “Review your requirements, determine your specification and make sure you test thoroughly; due diligence is very important. I would also recommend the involvement of end-users, and indeed all stakeholders, in the decision process as to have them on board will help to facilitate a smooth transition to the new system.”

Ken concludes “I would have no hesitation in recommending Proactis Spend Control to others, largely due to the control that it affords management over spending. We have chosen to work with Sapphire as they offer a personalised service and they are able to support both our Proactis and SunSystems solutions with highly experienced consultants and a Support Desk that is second to none.”

http://www.nas.org.uk/
 

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As clients and consumers pressure companies on environmental issues businesses are looking outwards and attempting to force their supply chains to follow suit. Mark Dye, FSNs contributing editor, reports.

One way or another we're all being coaxed into going 'green' as consumers by taking every opportunity to reduce our carbon footprints and the like. Now, while such efforts being made are to be applauded and can only be a good thing, it got me thinking about whether or not businesses would continue to care about this and the 'greening' of their supply chains if we slip into a recession?

I guess the answer to this is both 'yes' and 'no'. While some, notably the public facing companies, are duly making the necessary changes to both internal and external processes to move with this line of thinking, others will merely pay 'lip service' to the idea until they are either forced by regulation or a lack of clients. Companies also hate tinkering with their supply lines out of a very real fear of over-complicating things and 'burning' money in the process. After all, spending on going green is a great way to go out of business.

That said, it's happening everywhere in its different forms: Sun, Fujitsu and Microsoft have all recently spent millions to make their data centres more green and efficient, while Tesco is reducing its carbon footprint by building new stores with turfed roofs, wind turbines and solar panels. Every little helps…

Why? Clients and consumers alike are demanding change. It's also widely accepted now that those companies making the effort to be green enjoy both higher customer satisfaction, higher revenue per employee and - of course – greater profits.

"When you're engaged with clients they actually now require you to set out your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) sustainability agenda and expect you to have a policy around that and have a track record in this," explains Nigel Issa, associate partner and private sector supply chain team leader, at Atos Consulting. "HSBC, for instance, have just stuck the biggest solar panels in the world on the top of their building. So, what you'll start to see is sustainable energy sources to power their resources."

"All the suppliers we speak to have embarked on 'green' campaigns because of the pressure from customers," confirms Barry Matthews, head of ITO practice at Alsbridge. And following a period of publicity without any real substance behind it, or what Matthews refers to as 'greenwash', he believes that things have gathered pace over the past 12 months.

"Now companies are demanding it from their suppliers through things like sustainability, how they run their data centres and what type of renewable energy they use," he says. "Typically on an ongoing basis there will be service levels within contracts which will measure the percentage improvements over time for the percentage of power used."

"Cutting down on power utilisation, making greater use of existing assets and extending their life and so on all make both financial and green sense," adds Clive Longbottom, service director, Business Process Analysis, at Quocirca.

It's not easy though and partnerships can often represent the way forward. Take that of ProcServe, a provider of procurement and marketplace connectivity solutions, and Green 2020, a specialist environmental software consultancy.

ProcServe is using Green 2020 to provide expertise in the development of environmental policy, environmental management systems, carbon management systems, real-time energy monitoring and carbon foot print calculation, and performance certification at both organisation and product level as it edges towards a greener future. With a particular expertise in CO2 emissions reduction in procurement and the supply chain, Green 2020 will also help ProcServe measure and improve the environmental performance both of its buyers and suppliers.

Indeed, it even appears boards are prepared to pay for those who are environmentally friendly, with 43 percent of IT leaders stating a willingness to pay a premium for goods and services from sustainable suppliers, according to a recent report. The Cisco Sustainable Business Practice Study found that three-quarters stated they are willing to pay a premium of up to 10 percent, with the remaining quarter willing to pay between 10 and 50 per cent for this.

Thirty percent of businesses also anticipate budgets for technologies aimed at improving sustainable business practice to go up over the next year, with a quarter predicting this could rise by as much as 25 percent. The report also found that organisations are looking to increase the impact of a range of initiatives to support sustainable efforts, some of which form the base of any sustainability policy. These included recycling (85 per cent), the use of low-energy lighting (60 per cent) and things like the use of digital video communications, web 2.0 and instant messaging tools.

"Most companies still think that travel and heating are their largest source of greenhouse gases," adds David Symons, Director of Corporate Services at WSP Environmental. "But for most, it's actually in the goods they buy and from their products once they've been sold. Understanding where the biggest impacts are helps companies take the most effective action – and usually this isn't telling executives to fly less."

"The key question to ask is 'what is the real cost of my supply chain?'" says Alastair Clifford-Jones, CEO , UK , ABeam Consulting. He reasons that financial directors will have to rethink their whole supply chain to include this green currency, tallying up costs in both financial and environmental terms and adjusting the company's operations accordingly. "Currently, rising fuel prices are sending transport costs through the roof, and there's no sign that that trend is going to stop or reverse any time soon," he adds. "Could the assembly and distribution of products be brought closer to consumers in an effort to bring down transport costs?"

As we've heard, much of this involves upfront investment, and supply chain professionals themselves are worried, with nearly half citing cost as a barrier to implementing any green initiative, according to research from Infor. In fact, of the 100 supply chain professionals within UK companies that were polled, two thirds believe their environmental initiatives should be subsidised by the government. Interestingly, 67 per cent say they are more likely to offshore parts of their supply chain compared with two years ago.

Yet while corporations have been examining internal processes for their sustainability and environmental efficiency standards, says Matthews, they need to realise that if they are outsourcing their green approach should extend to their suppliers as well. "Outsourcing IT shouldn't absolve the client organisation from its environmental ethics," he adds. "Businesses are realising that in this day and age, it is not enough to pass on responsibility for their IT operations – out of sight does not mean out of mind."

"As the momentum around green grows, companies with a green supply chain will gain a competitive advantage as consumers and the Government demand for credentials for environmental sustainability," adds Clifford-Jones. "Those companies that are able to prove that they are green will thrive – and those that refuse to recognise green as the new international currency will be left behind."
 

www.FSN.co.uk

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How to transfer the balance of a payment directly onto the Payment Means screen without having to manually type it:

OBJECTIVE
You wish to transfer the balance of a payment directly onto the Payment Means screen without having to manually type it.

PROBLEM
When creating incoming and outgoing payments, it can be time consuming to have to manually type in the total of the payment you wish to create.

ANALYSIS
Make use of the keyboard shortcuts shipped with Business One.

SOLUTION

1. Open the Payments Screen

Banking » Incoming/Outgoing Payments » Select invoices to be paid » Press the Payment Means Button

    

2. Press the Payment Means Button

3. Left click the Total Field

4. Press ctrl + tab on your keyboard and the balance will be transferred.

APPLIES
All current versions of Business One

How to apply Shortcuts within SAP Business One:

OBJECTIVE
To more easily access windows within SAP Business One you can apply shortcuts to specific windows.

SOLUTION
SAP Business One allows you to use short keys for different windows. This saves time to a great extent. Here is how to set up short key function.

Open the Customise Screen
Tools» User Shortcuts » Customise

Here the short keys can be set up on different modules and to the corresponding windows. So each time you need to press that short key to bring the desired screen.

APPLIES
All current versions of Business One

How to display totals for column in query generator:

OBJECTIVE
You wish to display totals for columns in query generator

SOLUTION
When you run a query through query generator on say jdt1 where you have some total columns that you quickly want to add up, or something like you run a query on some invoices and you want to quickly see the doctotal of these invoices you can easily do this by simply putting your cursor on the field name that you want to see the total for, then hold in ctrl and single left mouse click. You will then see the total appear at the bottom of that column.

APPLIES
All current versions of Business One
 

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