Conference 7.286::digital

Where were the systems shipped from? If Kanata, Canada (KAO), it could be
the new style content listings. With these, the pink copies of the content
listings were eliminated to save costs. I believe these are currently in use
for only for the PC product line. SBU is still using the old style content
lists.

The new labels are 4 by 6 inches, and printed on blank label stock
(no pre-printed information, logos, etc.). If you see those, no pink copy was
ever created. 

Is there a reason why the customer needs a duplicate copy of what is on the
box, or is he just concerned that they were being removed? 

    Another possibility is if the shipment is coming from i.e. Kanata these
    are removed for customs purpose.
    
    hornet
    

My PC from Kanata came with a pink contents list in a plastic envelope on the
box in addition to the label on the box itself.

				Steve

           Ivan,
           
           What is the system number?  If you can provide, I can tell you
           who shipped it.
           
           Steve

>> Is there a reason why the customer needs a duplicate copy of what is on the
>> box, or is he just concerned that they were being removed? 

The customer presumably needs to supply the packing list for the received
stuff to their accounts payable department so accounts payable can reconcile
it against our invoice and pay our bill. I.e. if we wanna get paid, we'd better
supply a packing list!

--RS

    As an MCS Base Sales Rep, I hate to hear these pink BOM's are being
    removed from packages.  The majority of my day is spent tracking down
    information (DEC#'s, serial#'s, & part#'s) to put equipment under
    contract and increase Digital's revenues.  Frequently, the pink BOM the
    customer has is the only link I have to set up services.
    
    If equipment is sold outside of my region (Southern), it does not hit
    my database.  This includes all equipment sold by Pioneer, Avnet, WESCO
    - the list is endless.  Therefore, the customer's equipment must be
    built from "scratch" in the service delivery database.
    
    Only the most savvy customers understand what an Order Report DEC# is
    (and why I so desperately need it) or what a warranty code is. If s/he
    can forward the BOM to me, I can take it from there and make sure the
    customer gets what s/he needs.
    
    In other words, the pink BOM is critical to my job and to customers'
    satisfaction with their equipment.
    
    Karen (first ever 'write' note)

    Karen, your note brings up an important point and one that really bugs
    me often, being in Customer Service. Why is it that I can call Dell and
    read them the serial number off the back of a system and they can
    *instantly* tell me, the date it was sold, who it was sold to and how
    it was configured when it left there? 
    
    Yet, Digital, with its mighty computer network and all of its whiz-bang
    systems and processes has to rely on a customer saving a pink slip of
    paper from the original crate in order to decipher what the customer
    has. It's pathetic. :-(
    
    Harry
    

    <-1
    
    Beats the bejeezes outta me!  I have asked the same question myself for
    13 years and been on countless 'task forces' to address & resolve, but to 
    no avail.   The info block is created because each region has its own 
    SMART database which holds its own information.  None of these databases 
    is accessible through your 'home' system.
    
    
    I have NEVER understood the illogic of the decisionmakers that don't 
    understand why I don't need access to other areas' information. Being the 
    leader in networking, I don't understand what the difficulty is in tieing 
    the data together.
    
    As mentioned in my first note, this is the first topic that fired me up
    enough to respond after being read-only for about 9 months.
    
    
    

Re: .6, .8

Karen,

In connection with the Sales Organizer program, in Asia Pacific South 
Pacific Territory, we are looking at any and all information that MCS 
Sales in our territory need to do their business.

Have you followed this up with your local MCS Sales Operations people?
If this was/is a problem out here, we would/will certainly be working
the issue.  I would imagine your operations people would want to do 
the same.

Regards
Warren
SPT MCS Sales Operations

    re: .7
    >    read them the serial number off the back of a system
    
    	Come to that, why is it that the serial number always has to be on
    the back? Over the weekend someone had had to crawl under my desk and
    turn my machine round to read the serial number for a physical
    inventory. If you saw the arrangement of my desk you would realise this
    is a major physical effort. On Monday morning I had to turn it back
    again so I could reach the tape drive. If the number is any use then it
    should be reasonably accessible when the machine is in its normal
    environment.

    The USCIC has an option under Backlog Management to access serial
    number information for Order Report DEC Numbers.  Likewise, if you have
    a serial number, you can obtain the DEC Number from it.  I have found
    the system to have the information about 95% of the time.
    
    Menu path - OA - Order Applications, BL - Backlog Management, QUS -
    Query Serial Number Information.
    
    
    TJ

    Ooooh! .10 hit another of my hot buttons! Take a look at virtually
    every piece of equipment that's made by IBM. Under the left FRONT edge
    of the unit you'll find the serial number, easy to find, easy to read.
    I have a small telescoping mechanics mirror to make it easier to see
    those ones on the back of other brands. It did take a while to be able
    to read backwards though! :-)
    
    Harry
    

VTX ORDER_STATUS, given a DEC number or other pieces of information, can
tell you what was in an order and when it was shipped. 

				Steve

    re -1
    
    VTX is good only if you know the DEC#.  Most of our MCS Customer, come
    warranty conversion time (1 year later) haven't a clue what a DEC# is
    never mind the one associated with the equipment they purchased.  And,
    by the way, those that come off the shelf from our distributors/vars,
    etc., are almost impossible to track.....
    
    Any more great ideas?
    
    Toodles.....JP
    
    P.S.  CIC works about 90% of the time for me too. I've found it to be a
    great resource, so, you BASE reps out there, get with your MCS CSA's
    when you hit this roadblock, if I'm not mistaken, this is one of the
    things were here for....  (I'm one of those CSA's....)
    

Re: .14

No - you don't have to have the DEC#.  You can search by account name,
salesperson's badge number, customer PO number or even month/year.

				Steve

    Steve:
    
    you can search by AMID #, there is no provision that I know of that
    lets you search by customer name or customer code for that matter; and,
    oh by the way, VTX is purged of all shipped complete orders at 90 days.
    Not a great big help.  
    
    Can you provide the instructions for searching by customer name.  That
    function will come in handy....
    
    Thanks and Toodles.....JP
    

There is a field called "AGID Account Name".

			Steve

    Steve:
    
    Thanks, but after trying for my biggest customer, Michelin, it doesn't
    work.  Any further suggestions?
    
    Toodles.....JP
    

Not from me...  There's a "Your comments or requests" entry on the menu -
use it.  

				Steve

    re .6
    I agree with Karen. A large part of my day is spent creating equipment
    lists of clients equipment to use in quotations for maitenance.
    Cutomers cannot believe that Digital does not have a database of
    equipment sold by the company. I must check out the revision of
    equipment prior to putting on service maintenance. I spend so much time
    retyping all this info it is unbelievable. Having the info online would
    insure quotes went out much sooner. 
    Regards Ivan
    

    re .13
    Vtx Order Status is for US orders only  I believe? 
    
    Can anyone out there see if anyof the following DECnumbers can be
    traced anywhere in the world (I will be supprised) I have an account on
    the Common Scheduling System and not even there can I find ref to these
    DECnumbers!
    950036363,940212261,940212435,950036453,950036312,940212242,940212243,
    940212234,940212236,940212237,940212402,950036348,940210511,940212101.
    
    I am stumped! 
    
    Regards Ivan.
    
                 

    re .11
    How do I find more info/contact with the folk at  CIC or USCIC.
    I would like to obtain a query account.
    Regards Ivan. /Thanks

    
    RE .7
    
    DELL builds the system _after_ that the customer (end user) ordered it. 
    That is they know everything (serial, config, who the end customer is 
    etc.) before they even start to asemble(sp?) it. I'd say that
    simplifies things for them.
    
    /Kjell

Re: .23

So do we.

		Steve

Re: .21

It does seem to be US-only.

		Steve

    re .23 So what? DIGITAL still knows how the system is configured when
    it leaves the plant! The serial numbers and configuration sheets are
    entered into a computer somewhere, or else the info that .0 is looking
    for wouldn't be on the "pink sheets". The customer's name IS on the
    final shipping paperwork, as is the serial number. ALL the info IS
    sitting in a database _somewhere_, it's just that Digital, one of the
    worlds largest computer companies, can't figure out how to USE the
    products that they manufacture! :-(
    
    Harry
    

    re .26
    correct! Someone agrees, the info is somewhere. On one of the documents
    that I sometimes see, there is a "Map" of the system and all sorts of
    other good things. Also interestingly is a "Configuration ID" Now this
    hopefully will be the key to finding this info (We know the decnumber
    but can't tie it up with a database) in a database which I believe is
    in Manufacturing. Also this system in Manufacturing must "read/tie-up"
    with "Order entry and Validation" Our business is to deliver to clients
    what was ordered...the info must be somewhere?
    Regards Ivan
    

It seems like the right answer to this is to have the information available
electronically, not go back to the customer for the pink sheets, which I'd
have to believe the customer sometimes throws away anyway. Are there any
reasons why hard copy of the pink sheet is required at the customer site
other than that the information is not electronically available here? Recall
that all the information on the pink sheet is already pasted to the box.
I believe there is also a Product Delivery Document in addition to the pink
sheet which is similar, but different.

I think the right answer is to fix the data systems so the information is
automatically available, not generate redundant paperwork (not that I'm
unaware how difficult it is to fix the data systems)!

 - Tom

    
    re: .26
    
    Well, let say that we sell the system to a reseller... We will not know
    who the end customer is/will be (unless the reseller decides to tell us for
    some reason) or if the reseller added something to the config etc... DELL 
    on the other hand always sell directly to the end customer. So they
    know what they delivered and to whom, as they built it AND sold it
    (actually the other way round, they sold it and then they did build it).
    
    I too see the need for improvments, but I don't think that DELL is what we
    should compare with in _this_ case, COMPAQ would seem more appropriate.
    
    /Kjell

    Re:  .22
    
    To get an account request form try calling the CIC Hotline at DTN
    297-5070.  There is an on-line request form menu option, but I don't
    know how to pull it into Notes to post here.
    
    
    TJ