posted on December 29, 2004 07:49:34 AM new
Hi
I would like to up-grade to the Inventory edition but have a few questions before I do:
1-Is there an inventory importer for local listings or do we just continue to use SMP? I.e. continuing using SMP as I currently am.
2-Does IE sync with local inventory in SMP?
3-If I use IE are fields expanded in SMP? I.e. When a text file is imported, will I be able to have and import more fields?
4-Is it possible to track how many times an item has been launched, when it was last launched and price increases and reductions in IE?
5-Is there a plan to provide exportable sales reports in IE?
6-Are there plans to charge more for IE in the future?
7-This is really just a general question; Is there any plan to enhance the mailing list feature so it can be edited either by exporting or by having the ability to delete duplicates and non-paying bidder email addresses?
I sent out my first marketing email and was reported to eBay for spam. There wasn't a problem with eBay but there could have been.
If any of these questions receive a no answer, please pass them on as suggestions.
Thank you
Paula
ny-baglady
PS is there any way to change my user name here at Vendio? Thanks
posted on December 29, 2004 01:59:15 PM new
Hi Paula,
The SMIE interface is really not set up to interact with SM Pro. SMIE will allow you a great deal of control over the state of your listings with the auto-launch and auto-relist profiles - these do not interact with SM Pro. You can still upload items from SM Pro, and they will go to pending and launch, but I'm not sure of the benefit of switching to SMIE if you are still going to use Pro. I will be happy to pass along your suggestions.
posted on December 29, 2004 03:38:47 PM new
Hi Diane
I'm sorry. You need to be a little simpler for me... to busy lately
From what you said I presume the following:
From what you said the auto-launch and auto-relist profiles, which are available in SMP & SM are the main changes?
the tour information sounds much different:
1-Create or edit up to 50 inventory items at once (at once being the key here), then *find* and *replace fields for multiple items*... to optimize prices and quantities before launch
*This to be a very benifical change. I certainly would like to replace fields for multiple items*
2-Powerful real-time inventory management
Organize items into folders so you can find, edit, and launch them quickly.
*This appears to be the only difference between SMIE & SMP. Is that correct?*
3-Smart merchandising features
*aren't these available in SM & SMP?*
4-Streamlined post sale
*These items are also available in SMP & SM?*
I am not trying to be un-corporative. I am trying to figure out whether to switch to SMIE or not. In other words, what will this edition do for me to expedite my business.
Thank you for your time.
Paula
ny-baglady
posted on January 7, 2005 05:42:06 PM new
Hi Paula,
I apologize for the delay. SMIE is more inventory based so if you sell more unique items, you are better off remaining in Sales Manager Merchandising Edition. You seem to do a lot of the same type of item so it might work out for you but I am going to have someone take a look at your account to see if it will work out for you, and to get additional input on your questions.
Reports is one of the features that is being worked on right now. At the moment, the alternative is to archive closed sales and download the archive as you can use the exported data for reports.
Regarding the mailing list, only one email will go out to a customer who might have multiple entries into your mailing list. Some customers report anything that is bulk email as SPAM. You can remove them from your mailing list, if you haven't done so already.
posted on January 7, 2005 06:23:29 PM new
Hi Paula,
Here are some possibly more complete answers from a product perspective:
Your initial questions:
1-Is there an inventory importer for local listings or do we just continue to use SMP? I.e. continuing using SMP as I currently am.
In SMIE, we are currently building an import function similar to the one used in SMPro. It is not currently available, but should be available during the first half of the year (hopefully early in the first half).
2-Does IE sync with local inventory in SMP?
Indeed, it does not. We built SMIE with the thought that SMPro may be enhanced later to integrate more with SMIE, but wanted to optimize it to bring more functions online. Given the dynamic nature of the sales automation, keeping these two inventories in sync would be problematic. We can see doing a windows based uploader for inventory certainly.
3-If I use IE are fields expanded in SMP? I.e. When a text file is imported, will I be able to have and import more fields?
SMPro does not change when you switch from SMME to SMIE. In the newer version of SMPro (6.1) that will be available in February, we are offering the ability to upload batches to SMIE that will concurrently create SMIE inventory items. Generally speaking, however, we expect the majority of SMIE interaction to be online with its bulk editing and launch automation features
4-Is it possible to track how many times an item has been launched, when it was last launched and price increases and reductions in IE?
Each inventory link has quantity counters for items in inventory, items on market, and items to ship. Clicking on these quantities also provides a recent history of launches and any automatic price changes
5-Is there a plan to provide exportable sales reports in IE?
There is a plan to provide sales reports for both SMME and SMIE. We have drafted the specification, which is currently in review by the development and user interface teams
6-Are there plans to charge more for IE in the future?
We do not have any current plans to charge additionally for SMIE. It generally takes quite some time to make any changes like that and given the competing priorities, I do not expect this to be a consideration any time soon.
Your follow up questions:
1. From what you said the auto-launch and auto-relist profiles, which are available in SMP & SM are the main changes?
First, the SMPro and SMME relist and relaunch automation is not nearly as robust as the one offered in SMIE, which offers:
- The ability to automatically launch new items both when items sell and/or when they do not
- The ability to designate the number of items you'd like on market at any time, such that BIN purchases trigger automatic relaunches of new items either immediately or at according to a predetermined schedule
- The ability to automatically reprice new listings based upon the historical success or miss of previous listings
- The ability to set a single launch automation "profile" that can be attached to multiple items very quickly without manually editing each item
The other additions include much of what you read in the tour, including
- The bulk editor that enables you to edit up to 50 items at once, including copying information from one item to another without the need to "cut and paste"
- Three levels of folder organization vs. 1 in the SMME inventory module
- Find and Replace (non-visually) up to thousands of items at once, which enables you to change prices, titles, quantities and other fields without going into each to edit individually. It's quite powerful
- The ability to audit and manually edit quantity on market in the rare instance quantities are incorrect
As you note, SMIE carries forward the same great merchandising features and post-sale system SMME has. These are added to the SMIE marketing pages for completeness (since many come to it with no foreknowledge of Sales Manager).
I hope this helps clarify the differences. As for what's best for you, if you are comfortable with SMPro and sell primarily unique items, I wouldn't recommend a change. If you sell multiple copies of items and are comfortable with a primarily online application, SMIE does offer many time-saving automated features that SMME does not.
Thanks and take care! I'll try to monitor this thread over the weekend, but apologies in advance if I'm not as quick to respond as I would be during the week.
posted on January 7, 2005 07:30:35 PM new
Hello
Thank you so much for your complete answer. I appreciate it!
I do sell a lot of unique items but sometimes, especially in swimsuits, I repeat an item over and over. Sometimes the size changes and sometimes I just get more than one suit in the same size and style.
The problem I have is changing text and prices.
If I had the ability to change bulk prices on unique items, I would save a ton of time!
This is my busiest month so I need to put this on hold for awhile but thank you so much for your response.
Have a great weekend!
Paula
