Miesięczne archiwum: styczeń 2016

i-systems release – version 4.0 Black Adder

This year’s next release is already available: it is the first eCommerce system upgrade marked with 4. The number alteration was caused by two factors: a complete change of the administration panel design and the creation of a shop with the Git version control system.
Beginning with version 4.0, every subsequent version is going to have a unique name serving purely informative and identification purposes. The most significant changes in Black Adder are as follows:

Creating a new administration panel design

The administration panel for our customers required renewal. The design and frontend team was entrusted with a task of creating a new panel which would have a simple layout, be functional and comply with i-systems identification spirit. After an analysis of requirements, the design team created project UI, i.e. basic colors, typography, logos, icons and other graphic elements connected with the panel.

UI

The next works concerned the implementation of the new panel. The result is a modern interface with perfected details which puts emphasis on easy handling of the eCommerce system.

Nowy-design1

Adding a call center module

i-systems integrates eCommerce with other sale environments because this is what the market and the customers require. Thus, a call center module has appeared in release 4.0 Black Adder. It is an expanded, advanced module combined with information about customers, products, orders, returns and stocks. It allows for conducting telemarketing from the browser.

Moduł-call-center1

Moreover, the call center module is integrated with the B2B module, a calendar and a flow diagram. The latter enables the user to create a conversation scenario for a given campaign; such a scenario is very useful to people making the conversation and can be created and edited independently in each campaign.

Scenariusz-rozmowy

The call center consultants see conversation stages and click appropriate buttons depending on the course of the conversation, thus making it proceed according to the previously defined scenario.

During the conversation, the consultants can also view the information about the products and their stocks as well as plan subsequent conversations since the module is linked with the calendar. If a given date and time selected by the user is already booked in his/her calendar, the module suggests the next free date and time every 15 minutes.

The call center employee can use the module to check a customer’s purchase history, open a new order form, write a remark in the form, place a marking which shows if an order was generated during the task as well as set the date and time of the next contact.

The module can also record the task time from the moment of opening to saving by the employee as well as verify the list of tasks with an appropriate mode in order to include them on the list of automatic calls at a given number on a specified date and time.

Improvement of basket UX with special consideration for displaying promotional prices and product discounts

We are aware of the importance of the basket in the entire purchase process, so we continuously introduce small corrections which increase its effectiveness. Release 4.0 Black Adder has an improved price display which takes into account additional discounts and rebates. Owing to this change, the basket view is more transparent.

eCommerce solutions in B2B – receivable management

Receivable management is a process aimed mainly at the prevention of outstanding receivables from appearing. Effective receivable management combines activities which include prevention, monitoring and debt recovery. These are precisely the tasks of the ARMS module, which has proved itself useful not only in B2B systems. It improves the company’s financial liquidity and reduces the costs related to handling receivables. The work of the whole team responsible for company finance is streamlined as well.

Work and architecture

ARMS means Account Receivable Management System. It is an original module which monitors receivables and allows for quick reactions. The ARMS solution offers defining tasks at the user’s will. Every task has its own condition (e.g. the number of days past the payment deadline) and operation (e.g. sending a notification by e-mail). In the above example, if a contractor delays in payment by one week, an e-mail message with a reminder will automatically be sent to it. The number of days, notification form, message content and other variables may be freely edited.

schemat_en

The simplified diagram shows the ARMS module work process. The module starts working every day at a specified time. Then, it verifies the payment in relation to the customer’s reliability status. If the payment fulfills task conditions (e.g. no payment within one week of the invoice issue date), the module undertakes the next (previously defined) operations. All activities are recorded in the form of a log register. The main panel of the ARMS module shows a detailed history of operations and their results. Sample tasks in the ARMS module include:
– sending the customer an e-mail message with thanks on the day of issuing the document (invoice or order),
– adding a task for an employee to the calendar making him/her contact the customer three days past the payment deadline,
– automatic blockade of the contactor’s possibility of placing orders after missing specified deadlines,
– sending the customer an e-mail reminder two days before the payment deadline.

Customer segmentation according to the reliability status

Task defining can also be combined with the reliability status ascribed to a given customer. System settings offer three contractor reliability statuses: green, yellow and red, and any number of tasks can be defined for each of them. A sample list of tasks for the most reliable (green) customer may be limited just to an e-mail reminder of an unpaid invoice two days past the payment deadline. Yellow customers (those with a medium reliability status) may be additionally informed by phone one day before the payment deadline. The customer reliability status is not ascribed permanently: upon seeing that a yellow customer submits payments reliably and on time, we can transfer it to the green group.

The receivable management ARMS module proves itself useful in every sale type because its functions are not limited to debt recovery: it also places emphasis on preventive monitoring of payments. The possibility of combining it with other modules and solutions makes it a guarantee of maintaining the financial liquidity in the entire company.