98
Starter for ten
Merlin Business Software celebrates its 34th birthday this year. David Wilson, marketing manager at Chatsworth
Computers, explains how this experience allows it to provide business solutions suited to the fastener and fixing
sector, by outlining the ten most relevant features of Merlin Business Software.
Fast order processing operations making a decision to buy new software that
Top of the shop. If it can’t cope with the all the features that you will have seen
flow of customers enquiries there’s no point demonstrated in Merlin are available
moving on to point two. Not only does Mer- regardless of the size of the your business.
lin help staff serve customers quickly and This means that Merlin customers with a
accurately, it does so ensuring that the 4-user system can compete in the same
correct customer special pricing is applied marketplace as other Merlin customers with
and that the customer’s special requirements 256 or more users. If this is still not
are adhered to. Instant access to customer enough, rest assured that Merlin has
purchase history is presented throughout, as been accredited by IBM no less,
well as identifying items the customer may having been benchmarked on
have forgotten to order this time. Merlin will IBM blade servers at 2,000
prompt when special offers are available and users.
will suggest linked items to boost sales
values. Everything from quotes & estimates Integrated Proof of Delivery (POD) give your
through to instant invoicing is available imaging transport manager
(including Purchase Card and Credit Card An increasingly common ‘hot-potato’. Merlin’s Delivery /
payments) from a single interface. Scenario: A customer disputes payment of an Route planner and do
With a little mentoring, existing Merlin invoice and insists on a POD; is it a genuine away with a wall Drag-&-
users confirm that on average their staff request or a ‘try-on’? What is the level of Drop planning (and re-planning
successfully prompt for an extra line on every disruption to your daily work either way? if required) makes this essential task a
order or increase the value of the order using Wouldn’t you just like to have this on-screen breeze, in fact you don’t need to start picking
‘linked item’ prompts and ‘up-sell’ using in a couple of mouse-clicks? Better still – and assembling the orders until the route is
quantity break prompts. have it on his desk by fax or e-mail in a agreed, making for a single consolidated pick
couple of further clicks? Merlin’s POD from the yard and stores.
Scalability solutions are so easy to handle that even the
Whatever system you buy, you’ve always delivery driver can scan in their batch of Buying group ready
got to be thinking ahead, particularly where delivery notes on their return from a run; the Merlin has been ‘buying group ready’ for
your company’s future is concerned. This is same can be said for the trade counter many years, ensuring the correct invoice
why you have to have total confidence when manager with his collection notes. goes to the right buying group for payment,
regardless of the supplier in question. Taking
Delivery / Route this a stage further, Merlin’s Electronic Data
planning Interchange (EDI) capabilities allow the
In this whole process to be achieved without a
unforgiving piece of paper ever being printed – good for
economic the environment – better for the company’s
climate coffers.
companies
simply can’t Supplier price books
entertain their Customers don’t tend to want to hang
drivers burning around while you look up a product that isn’t
fuel in stock. That’s why Merlin allows your staff
unnecessarily to have practically limitless amounts of
simply because product information available to them at the
of poor prior touch of a button. You name it (technical
planning of notes, product notes, dimensions, COSHH
their routes. sheets, etc.) – Merlin can retrieve it instantly.
Far easier to Given the known association with the
UIforwardUIforwardUIforward
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