Operations II - Version 3

Operations II has seen a significant amount of development in 2003, building upon its strong foundations, to deliver a market-leading SME product for the manufacturing community. Focused clearly on the needs of assembly and manufacturing businesses and users, 2003 in particular has been a great year for Operations II development.

Operations II customers are already benefiting from the release of Traceability, Quotations, Capacity Planning, Instrument Calibration & Reporter modules in 2003, together with major enhancements in the Quotation & Material Requirements Planning modules, to name but a few. Operations II Version 3 is a release of strategic importance, aiming to deliver the latest functionality as well as to consolidate the considerable enhancements we have delivered this year into a new and improved, fresh and attractive proposition. The new core functionality includes:
· Pegasus Instant Messenger
· Enhanced Currency Handling
· Modular Enhancements
· New Windows XP style icons & new wallpaper

Pegasus Instant Messenger
Pegasus Instant Messenger (PIM) is available with Operations II Version 3. PIM optimises the effectiveness of business communications. PIM is a communications framework which will offer a number of services, the first of which is a business alerts service, offering the ability to distribute information automatically in the form of an instant message. These messages can be configured in a variety of ways; by business rules/criteria, which are monitored on a periodic basis and timed events. The recipients of these messages can also be configured to receive messages regarding very specific topics. PIM can be easily configured, via a user-friendly wizard, to generate a user definable message. This automatically generates a pop-up window to alert the relevant recipients regarding their chosen criteria, such as:
· Escalating overdue Purchase Orders to the Purchasing Manager Monitoring Stock Levels dynamically to enable more efficient Stock Control
· Warning the Budget Holders of information which are outside the budgetary control thresholds
PIM is based on real time data within Operations II; the content of the instant message is dynamically generated and completely up-to-date.

The Benefits of Pegasus Instant Messenger
Developed with the small to medium sized business in mind, PIM does not depend on large-scale or costly hardware systems, offering:
· Ease of Use - there is no need to invest in expensive training or consultancy, PIM is easy to configure and use.
· Data Security - PIM's security is independent of Operations II; it is safe to deploy information to a variety of personnel, ranging from stock and despatch to Sales and Accounts staff.
· Independent Delivery - PIM is linked with internal and back office systems; there is no need for a permanent web connection, as is the case with most other 'instant messenger' type products.

Pegasus Instant Messenger for your Business
There are two editions of PIM: Desktop Edition and Enterprise Edition.

The Desktop Edition offers excellent entry level message facilities, which further enhances the usability of Operations II and uniquely integrates with all areas of business. It offers users the ability to generate instant messages in pop up format, and allows up to 5 pre-defined Tasks via a Simple Wizard utility.

The Enterprise Edition offers all the functionality available within the Desktop Edition but is further enhanced with additional Tasks for businesses with a wider range of pre-defined requirements. Further Tasks can be added as a business grows or to accommodate changes in processes and requirements.

In addition to generating instant messages in pop up format, the Enterprise Edition provides customers with the option to receive messages via E-mail. The Advanced Wizard offers all the functionality of the Simple Wizard as well as allowing user-definable Tasks to be created and timed events to be specified. Advanced HTML capabilities within the Enterprise Edition enhance the presentation of the information being delivered.

Enhanced Currency Handling
The Sales Order & Quotation systems have been improved to allow the input of pricing in currency. For currency customers; Sales Orders, Text Invoices, Credit Notes & Quotations are currently entered in home currency and the system converts this to the currency value based on the current exchange rate. This enhancement now allows the user to enter the value in currency and the system converts this value back to home currency. This is an important new function within Operations II - with the introduction of the Euro, many UK companies now hold Euro bank accounts and trade with their customers in Euros.

When an invoice is being raised against a Delivery Note, it is now possible to either use the exchange rate on the Sales Order or to change that exchange rate. The current exchange rate will be shown, but it is also possible to enter a different rate.

Modular Enhancements
A number of modular enhancements have been included in Operations II Version 3 to improve the functionality, these include:
· Automatic selection of E-mail address when printing for example; Acknowledgements and Purchase Orders.
· Edit EC VAT details when entering a Sales Order or producing a Delivery Note, Invoice, Text Invoice or Credit Note.

Enhancing the overall presentation
The new Operations II look and feel, with Windows XP style icons and new wallpaper, provides the latest and up-to-date user interface experience.