Blog

In the May 2009 issue of Food Logistics magazine, Gary Nowacki, CEO of TraceGains, suggested, “There are technology solutions available to overcoming the high cost of perishable shrink and they must prioritize inventory and shipments based on FEFO: First Expired, First Out.”  The FEFO concept is based on the following core ideas:

1) Temperature control must be monitored.

2) Temperature varies greatly inside a storage room, container or truck.

3) Even slight temperature variation affects the remaining shelf life of produce and temperature exposure has a cumulative effect.

4) Identifying the temperature exposure of individual pallets or cases of produce allows prioritization on the basis of remaining shelf life, instead of simple transit and storage times.

Perishable shrink costs retailers a tremendous amount of money. Vulnerable items such as meat, dairy, fruit, vegetables, and flowers can expire prematurely due to incorrect temperature handling in the supply chain. Transportation and interim storage at the distribution center all affect the final quality of the saleable product. Consumers are quick to judge based on appearance and remember when a product does not meet their expectations.

To determine how different temperatures cumulatively affect the remaining life of the product, one must measure the exact temperature accumulations in small granularity within each area of the truck or storage facility in conjunction with shelf-life modeling. Solutions must automatically calculate expiration dates of perishables when received at the dock as well as document trip-level temperature data at item, carton or pallet for a more successful conflict and dispute resolution.

Assuring freshness for the entire refrigerated food supply chain requires much more than just a cold chain and cold storage solution.  A complete end-to-end temperature traceability is needed for all temperature-sensitive products as well as predicting the remaining shelf-life when products arrive.  Traceability programs must be converted from a cost-center to a profit center by using appropriate data collection devices to tie logistical information with temperature data collected at regular intervals throughout transportation and storage on the item, carton or pallet level across any part of the supply chain.

TraceGains, Inc. (www.TraceGains.com) was founded in 1998 with a 100% focus on Positively Assured Traceability™. The company has a patented delivery system—14 patents granted and growing—and also is an authorized Issuer of United States Department of Agriculture Process Verification Program (PVP) Label.

By providing real-time, bi-directional Positively Assured Traceability for food, beverage, and CPG supply chains, TraceGains reduces risks to the corporation and its executives, who may become personally liable in case of a recall, if unable to comply with the FDA’s 24-hour traceability requirement.

TraceGains is not just about reducing risk; these unique technology solutions help companies turn disparate data into actionable business and value chain intelligence; it turns traceability from a cost center into a profit center. TraceGains customers typically experience a better than 300% return on investment (ROI), and an average profitability increase between 3-5%. Independent, peer-reviewed university studies confirm these findings.

Only TraceGains provides bi-directional unit-level (item, carton, pallet) Positively Assured Traceability to consolidate multiple legacy data sources and reduce corporate recall risk, while simultaneously providing the tools to boost profitability and cost-effectively improve operational excellence.

TraceGains Inc.

www.tracegains.com

Marc Simony, Director of Marketing

traceability@tracegains.com

(303)682-9898

Source by Thomas Cutler

So many people are getting all worked up and excited over the new Windows Vista. As expected, most new users are interested to know what is new with Vista and what makes it better to use than previous editions. Will it be easier to use? Will there be better safety and security features? Will technical and management aspects be given fair attention? It may not be possible to completely detail all of Vista’s new or improved features. Among its many notable features are the following:

Windows Shell

The appearance of the operating system is the first marketing strategy to use on non-technical individuals. Many home users understandably get attracted with basic aesthetic features and easy to use functions. In operating systems, the appearance and ease of use can best be associated with the shell which presents the user interface. With Windows, their shell is Explorer. In Windows Vista, the shell is associated with Aero.

The translucent glass look of Aero alone is an image of elegance and lends an added illusion of depth. Users also have the choice to use the appearance of previous Windows versions. Aside from a change in look, Vista also addresses aspects in organization, filtering and storing. The “Stacks” function for example will allow users to filter files or group files according to user criteria.

Multimedia Applications

Movie, photo and music enthusiasts and experts will be happy to know that Vista has added features for them too. The Windows Movie Maker for example will allow editing of DVR-MS videos. The new Windows DVD Maker on the other hand will allow DVD creation and burning. For photo enthusiasts, the Windows Photo Gallery will still allow basic editing plus metadata additions to photos. Windows Paint also now has unlimited undo functions.

Windows Defender

On the aspect of security, Vista now includes Windows Defender which can be used against spyware. Aside from the usual function of scanning for spyware, Windows Defender can also perform real time monitoring for changes in Windows that have been caused by spyware. With Windows Defender, users can now easily keep in touch with Microsoft to inquire about suitable applications and spyware.

Wireless Networking

Wireless networking is not a very new concept. There are however, some improvements in Vista. With Vista, wireless connections do not mimic wired connections. The network stack now holds the support for wireless networks. New features can then be implemented. These include easily finding and identifying open and closed networks.

Speech Recognition

With this feature, users can use voice commands on their computer unit. The difference between Vista voice recognition and other versions is that voice recognition in Vista boasts full integration. Certain applications therefore can be manipulated by dictation. A mousegrid may be used for applications that require mouse functions. A user simply needs to dictate a series of numbers to zero in on the particular area that has to be clicked. This feature is easy to use even without the tutorial provided. Voice recognition is fairly high and exact.

Source by Marko Hammond

Outsourcing is a process, such as manufacturing anything or product design, to a third-party company. Outsourcing often results lowering cost or making better use of time and energy costs.

Offshore software development outsourcing has led to dramatic industry growth around the world.

There are some few but most important factors that led big companies to outsource their software application development to offshore companies.

These factors are like better management at small cost, good quality products in very low cost etc.

Eastern countries like India etc are the good market places and number one choice due to cheaper human capital, very skilled professional, rich resources and low processes cost etc. Due to these factors India and some other Eastern countries are the first choice of big companies.

Around 40% of the Fortune 500 companies including Lucent, Microsoft, Oracle, and Motorola etc are leveraging the outsourcing model.

Companies are outsourced and hire consultants in order to maintain a flexible workforce.

If we will analyze overall strategy like failure and success we will find overall the offshore outsourcing effort is a successful idea.

The main Objective of Outsourcing is to maximize the ROI (Return on Investment)

There are some points that are very important while doing offshore software outsourcing.

You should remember while doing offshore software project outsourcing:

• Proper synchronization between onshore and offshore team.
• Better time management.
• Quality of the end product.
• Better growth opportunities. etc.

Eastern Software Systems A SEI CMM, Level 5, ISO 9001: 2000 Certified Company is a Low Cost Outsourcing Company, Offshore IT Outsourcing Company.

Source by Hem Singh

Choosing the best printer for your application goes hand in hand with selecting the correct software.  Start by determining which versions work with your machine and whether or not you should spring for an upgrade to the latest package with all the bells and whistles.  All three of the options reviewed below can be used with several different printer brands. Remember to talk with a knowledgeable customer service representative before finalizing your purchase.  Software is almost always a non-returnable commodity so a little advance research really pays off.  Most of today’s ID formatting options are user friendly and integrate with products such as Microsoft Access for easy data management.  You generally have the option of purchasing your digital camera separately if you wish.  Just take a moment to ensure compatibility by locating the TWAIN compliant specifications on the box. 

Datacard Truphoto Solution with ID Works

This is a great starter kit at a very affordable price.  If your company is launching a brand new ID badge protocol on a small scale, trying this product gives you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the basics before adding more complex modules.  The drivers and software come together in this setup so you are ready to install without a lot of hassle.  Templates are also included so you don’t have to build your own card formats from scratch, and the user interface is easy to navigate.

The Truphoto Solution package brings you a camera that is specifically programmed to give you increased controllability and image quality when used in tandem with your PC.  Special features such as auto-capturing/cropping photos make the ID creation process a snap.  Exposure and focus are also automated and advanced enhancement features can deal with common problems like red-eye to ensure a sharp finished product.  You receive a tripod and backdrop with your purchase to get you up and running in no time.

EPI Suite Classic

Mid-size clients often select the EPI Suite Classic as their preferred ID badge solution.  This program comes standard with a variety of card designs to choose from and allows users to create custom designs for any application.  Batch printing is made simple with this system giving organizations the ability to reissue and update cards efficiently for mass enrollment processes.  There is no limit to the number of records you can store, so this product will continue to serve you well even as your company grows.  If you buy a new printer, the software can automatically reformat all of your existing designs to fit the new equipment – potentially saving you hours of work.Password protection, multiple user accounts, and special printing effects make this an excellent choice for secure ID creation.  Bar coding and mag stripe encoding options come as plug-ins for this package so you can upgrade easily if you want to add these features.  A face-finding camera tool and one click image transfer speed up the entire production process.  You can even add additional images such as fingerprints and digital signatures to take your identification strategy to the next level.  Finally, the report printing features make auditing your current database swift and accurate.

Asure ID Enterprise

This top-of-the-line, user friendly software groups the options you use most often into readily available tool bars to increase the efficiency of your system.  The program also features fly-out menus and floating windows that can be easily dismissed once you are through with them – keeping your monitor free of clutter.  Clickable tabs mean your various screens are within easy reach at all times making navigation intuitive. 

The Live Link option allows you to print cards with data freshly uploaded from your external HR or security databases to ensure that your information is always current.  An internal database is also included if you wish to create a self contained process, or you can mix and match your sources.  iDIRECTOR  is available for smart card applications so you can streamline this advanced data storage and communication technology into your workplace.  Memory management and encoding application jobs are dealt with in a single pass using this deployment module.

This premier software is packed with advanced options that are compatible with several high volume printer brands, but this is truly the ideal vehicle for creating IDs with Fargo systems.  It is designed to be integrated with the OnQueue decentralized printing platform which can interface with up to 20 printers at once.  This allows you to add new equipment to your fleet without having a separate PC dedicated to each printer.  It also tracks when and where each badge was created to promote accountability and security.

Source by Daisy Mccarty

Trying to convert xml files to pdf properly can be quite frustrating as there are many solutions out there that not always fulfill what they promise. You probably already know that pdf is considered the industry standard – it enables you to cross-platform document exchange, for example, word processors files, graphic based files, and many other file types. Want to get the most out of this unique technology? Follow this quick report and i’ll show you how this can be done at minimal effort.

Basically, this popular portable document format technology enables you to ‘print’ any file you choose into a universal virtual ‘electronic paper’, so you can distribute your files to anyone and they would always look identical no matter where they are being opened. We can clearly find various advantages with this process, suppose you’ve just finished writing an ebook by using your favorite word processor and by using a specific font – it’ll attach all fonts that you’ve used, no matter what fonts are installed (or not) on the other systems of your viewers.

Being able to convert xml files to pdf requires you to find a professional software – you must verify that it enables you to generate standard PDFs. When searching the internet you’ll be amazed with how many solutions there are in this field, there is one thing you need to do – that is ‘filtering’ out those that do not provide you with several basic and important features. Before you install anything on your computer verify the following: it should enable you to ‘Print’ any file from its original application via a printer driver to PDF format, and it must be compatible with Adobe Acrobat’s most updated version.

The best way to check if a tool can properly enable you to convert xml files to pdf is to carefully see if they offer free trials without any further commitments. See that you can easily contact the manufacturer for any questions or support. There is one other thing, you need to see that the solution you choose suggests security updates, this way it keeps you immediately updated whenever there are any changes with adobe’s pdf format.

Source by Tim Danenberg

Quickbooks EDI Integration with E-commence shopping Cart with QuickBooks , Where your online solution which may be Amazon, Ebay, your customized shopping cart with Quickbooks. EDI solution for QB, helps businesses automate their 832 Price/Sales Catalog Often used to transmit UPC’s to the retailer or 3rd party catalog, with description and sometimes MSRP. 846 Inventory Inquiry/Advice Used to notify a trading partner of on hand inventory. 850 Purchase Order 852 Product Activity Data Provides point of sale information. 855 Purchase Order Acknowledgment PO Acknowledgment or Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) Order. 856 Ship Notice/Manifest Notifies retailer of shipment and it’s contents. 860 Purchase Order Change Request 864 Text Message Sometimes used to transmit EDI errors, can be used for general information 867 Product Transfer and Resale Report 869 Order Status Inquiry 870 Order Status Report. Powerful software designed for QuickBooks with extensive inventory control, warehouse management, CRM, purchasing, eCommerce, sales order management, EDI, barcode, route sales, field service and more. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) solution. Channel Integration allows fast processing of large groups of EDI orders through QuickBooks. Our solution connects with retailers & transfers of EDI documents. Channel Integration’s Advance Shipping Notification (ASN) Wizard is a simple and customized solution for collecting additional data required for ASNs. Automatically generate invoices in the QuickBooks System when Electronic Invoices are created. If you’re one of the millions of small businesses using QuickBooks and running an online store, you’ve come to the right place. Automate your business processes with Channel Integration’s Quickbooks Integration solution for use with QuickBooks.

You can post orders into QuickBooks with a single mouse-click! Better yet, use Channel Integration to synchronize your online store inventory with QuickBooks. Channel Integration integrates with QuickBooks Merchant Service, Authorize.net and PayPal so you can process payments. Channel Integration also helps you generate shipping labels with USPS, UPS WorldShip, Endicia Dazzle or Stamps.com.

Channel Integration’s Quickbooks EDI Integration Solution is a state of the art hosted EDI solution

Source by Sarab Singh