The Clevertech website once looked like this.
A little more than a year ago, we updated to the design above.
But the look of a website isn’t the only thing that needs to keep up to date. As our business grew and changed, we found that we wanted our website to convey a different message and to play a different role in our business.
We changed the wording. We redesigned our blog. We did some deep thinking about the new directions in which our company was headed and wrote a lot more pages.
We recently changed to a third design, the one you see above — and on our current site.
We’re still making changes. We have exciting things going on that we want to share.
Now, here’s the takeaway for you: it’s great to be able to update your site whenever you want to or need to.
When we build a site for a client, we make sure that the client can get in and make the changes they need to make. Whether it’s a Content Management System that allows the client to update text without calling upon the IT department, or a database system that lets clients update their inventory or accounting processes, we want to empower our clients by making it easy for them to do their own updates.
One example is the e-commerce solution we created for a Brazilian swimwear designer. They were using a catalog with category listings which were just plain anchor links. Click on “bikinis,” and you’d go to a page of bikinis. We decided to treat the category listing as a dynamic and multi-level set of master-subordinator or parent-child relationships. This allows the client to add items and categories freely, without having to bring us in each time to create a new category for them.
Multilevel child entries can sometimes create problems in report building and listing. What’s more, the use of custom orders can take extra time in database processing and code development. We created a Coldfusion process to streamline the system. It works for the swimwear company, and it also works for another client of ours — a company that manages unclaimed assets.
Their database has hundreds of millions of records in it. Not only does it grow each year as more unclaimed assets are added, but they also store each and every salesperson touch of each asset. Big database. Critical data. Clevertech provides database expertise and business process improvements resulting in a more efficient staff.
The key to this kind of success is to design the site to work in the way that your company needs it to work. A single off the shelf solution wouldn’t have worked for both these clients, but our ability to take their expert knowledge and accommodate it in their websites’ design process worked perfectly for each of them.
Permalink | Published in Expert systems, Technology Tactics
Creating invoices can be complex:
It doesn’t have to be complex. Follow us through an Invoice Builder to see how simple the process can be. Click on any image to enlarge it for a better view.
Clevertech has created Invoice Builders for a number of clients. With our Invoice Builders, creating invoices is streamlined. The example here, developed for Passover Grand Getaways, starts with a simple overview page, which you can see above. The tour operator can see at a glance the number of rooms already booked, the number of invoices and quotes delivered, the amount of money to be collected, and any alerts — such as individuals who need a reminder about a payment, or who haven’t responded to a quote.
Typing in the first few letters of a guest’s name brings his or her information page up. All the details, from name and address to relationships with other guests, are on that page. There’s no need to shift from one program or file to another. To create an invoice for the customer, the operator simply clicks on “Create Invoice,” bringing up the worksheet at left.
There’s no need to type in the type of room or price, either. Using a drop-down menu, the operator can quickly select the room type, and the price is automatically filled in.
For the hotel in this example, there are a number of different kinds of rooms. The operator can set these up and change them as needed, to fit the specific details of a given hotel or package. In this case, the operator has chosen a connecting room for children under 12 — any level of detail needed can be accommodated by the program.
Clicking on “Add Room” allows the operator to add additional details about the guests, including the names and ages of all family members, special needs such as a crib or rollaway bed, or handicapped accessibility.
Some of these elements affect pricing and availability of special additions. For example, it’s important for the hotel to be aware of the number of cribs needed, and not all rooms may be equally accessible to people with disabilities.
It’s also essential, in case of emergencies, to have complete information readily at hand. With the Invoice Builder, one program maintains all the information. All the details are immediately accessible at any time. Since this is an online program, the information is also accessible from any place with a computer — no problems arise with time zones, office hours, or access to files in a particular drawer or a particular computer.
The Invoice Builder automatically prices all the items in the guest order, and the operator can quickly generate an attractive custom invoice, ready to be printed and mailed, or to be emailed to the guest.
Since all the necessary data is resident in a single program, it’s just a matter of clicking an icon on the guest’s page.
Once the invoice is sent, the Invoice Builder will automatically alert the operator at pre-selected intervals: in this case, after 7, 14, and 21 days. Follow-up is automatic, so no one has to carry around thoughts like, “I’d better follow up on that” or “Has everyone paid?”
One of the important side effects of an efficient system is that workers are freed not only of repetitive tasks, but also of the need to keep myriad details in mind. The system will do that, so stress on human workers is significantly reduced.
The operator can run reports of many kinds. It’s easy to see how much money needs to be collected, for example, and how many rooms are still available.
Another side effect of highly efficient systems is that your company looks reassuringly efficient to customers and other stakeholders. A question about any of the data in the system can be answered with speed and certainty.
Clevertech designed this Invoice Builder specifically to meet the needs of a client in the hospitality industry. We’ve done the same for companies in a variety of other industries. The key is the way we can user our business training and acumen to understand your business completely, and then use our technical skill to create the technological systems that will completely meet your needs.
Permalink | Published in Business Strategy, Expert systems, Technology Tactics
Preparation for Passover requires meticulous cleaning not only of the kitchen and dining room, but of all spaces that might have contained food — it’s like spring cleaning on steroids. An alternative is the Passover program or Passover getaway: a visit to a hotel which has been specially prepared for Passover. Rabinically supervised cruises, hotel stays, and resort visits require complex preparations on the part of the tour operator or company that makes the arrangements.
Not only are there rooms to book, but there can be complex relationships among the rooms, as families travel together and one invoice may cover a number of rooms. Additional guests not staying at the hotel may join the Passover meal, and there may be special needs, from allergies or accessibility issues to birthday cakes and seating preferences at meals. There are multiple activities from golf to religious studies, and different price points for different ages and room arrangements.
Organizers of Passover programs also have to be able to accept deposits and payments and keep track of them. They have to have information for the hoteliers and for the guests. And naturally they want to be sure to have continued contact with their satisfied customers, in order to plan for next year.
This used to be a matter of sheaves of paper. Not any more.
We thought it was high time for an online system for Passover program operators. So we created one, initially for Grand Getaways.
The advantages of web-based systems for arrangements of this kind are impressive:
Clevertech developed an integrated system for the Grand Getaways Passover vacation at the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando, Florida. The system includes project management, accounting, and customer relationship management elements, all combined into a single, highly user-friendly admin site.
The system has a number of special features:
While the specific functionality of the system is designed for optimum workflow and efficiency — that’s what we at Clevertech do, after all — the online nature of the system gives it a level of usefulness that simply wouldn’t be possible with a software package that lived in a single computer.
Is an online system what your business needs? Meet with me at one of my favorite coffee shops to discuss your particular needs. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee and we can begin the conversation that will lead to improvement in your workflow and your bottom line.
Permalink | Published in Business Strategy, Expert systems, Technology Tactics
Hall Street Storage has been a Brooklyn landmark since 1931, when the multi-building warehouse, nearly a city block in size, was built. They’ve remodeled and updated in some exciting ways. They’re now the biggest green business in New York City, using 100% renewable energy for their self-store division and taking recycling to new heights, but one thing stayed the same until very recently.
There was one woman who knew everything. When a delivery arrived at the warehouse, she would sit down with the customer, a calculator, and a piece of paper, and work out all the details and the costs. Without her, that process couldn’t be done. Even with her, it was a lengthy process, but it was part of the experience.
Hall Street used a computerized system, a DOS program that required that everyone key in commands. Again, only the experts who knew the commands could use it, and it was a lengthy process, but it worked well enough.
Until February 15th. The system stopped working, and Hall Street couldn’t send out the February bills. They called Clevertech.
We went to visit them. We looked at their operations, listened to their concerns, got to know their business thoroughly, and in less than a month we built them a warehouse management system that takes care of their inventory and accounting.
Now, when a delivery arrives, anyone can key in the details on the warehouse receipt form. The shipment is assigned a lot number and a location according to its need for refrigeration or freezing or dry storage, the weight or number of items is entered, and the costs are automatically calculated. When customers come to collect their inventory, a delivery ticket shows how many items have been removed, and automatically recalculates the charges. Recurring costs are automatic, too, and every customer has an account with a running total.
Hall Street can check on a given item, on a particular room, or on a customer. If there is a recall of an item, they can easily see where each item is and when it arrived. They can see how much space is available in each room so deliveries can be routed to the best place for optimum use of their storage. Customers coming to examine their inventory or to retrieve their goods can be directed to the right place immediately.
The process was painless. We met with them weekly during development to get their feedback and to move the system ever closer to their ideal. We replicated what was familiar and comfortable: “Things are called what they wanted it to be called, ” as developer Brad Newman puts it.
We fixed what they didn’t like. For example, it used to be impossible for Hall Street to see a customer’s account information without printing out a statement. For this green company, the waste of paper was an extra frustration added to the time spent. Now, they can pull a customer up on the screen.
We fixed some things, too. Better reporting has made a difference for Hall Street already, and will continue to do so. Clevertech was able to export the historical data from the antique software system and migrate it into the new one, so Hall Street now has a wealth of data which they can analyze in ways that haven’t been possible before. The expert’s intuitions are still important, but now data-driven decisions are possible.
Hall Street Storage is a perfect example of a case in which an expert’s specialized knowledge could be incorporated into a custom software solution, thereby adding value to the business. Processes are more efficient and less frustrating, costs are reduced, and the entire workflow is streamlined in ways that improve life for the staff and for the customers.
As for the expert, her intensive knowledge of the business can be directed toward more creative tasks, instead of the routine business of calculating the costs of each delivery. Clevertech worked with her to get her knowledge into the warehouse management system, where it now constitutes valuable capital for the business, and she is freed up for more challenging work that takes better advantage of her years of experience.
Clevertech can do this for you too. Call us to begin the conversation.
Permalink | Published in Business Strategy, Expert systems, Technology Tactics
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