Friday, May 31, 2013

RetailGraph Software for Homoeopathy Business



THE SWEET SWEET MEDICINES 

Homoeopathy also spelled as homoeopathy or homœopathy; comes from the Greek word "homios" which means "like" and the word "pathos" meaning "suffering".

It simply means treating like with like and is a system of alternative medicine originated in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, based on his doctrine of similia similibus curentur ("like cures like"), according to which a substance that causes the symptoms of a disease in healthy people will cure similar symptoms in sick people.

RetailGraph is proudly support the homoeopathy way of healing and serving mankind.

In our case as we are supporting "homoeopathic stores" where in we deal with the following
  • Main Group
  • Sub Group
  • Potency 
  • Product
They further have variations like:
  • MAIN GROUP
    • DIL
    • BT
    • MT
    • SYP
    • HT
    • RN
    • CMR
  • SUB GROUPS 
    • 10 ML
    • 11 ML
    • 100 ML
    • 20 GM
    • 20 ML
    • 22 ML
    • 30 ML and many more
  • POTENCY
    • 3X
    • 6
    • 6X
    • 12X
    • 30
    • 30X
    • 200
    • 200X
    • 1M
    • 10M and more
  • PRODUCT
    • AALSERUM
    • ABIES CAN
    • ABIES NIG
    • R1 to R89
    • ALFALFA TONIC 100ML
    • VITA-C-15 250ml
    • CINERARIA EYEDROPS (Alcohol Free) and many more
In totality there are close to 4000 + products formed from the permutation and combinations of these MainGroups, Sub Groups, Potency and Products which will be managed by RetailGraph.

We can say that the software has acted as "Homoeopathy software",  "Retail Store Software", POS software and much more.

As we all know in RetailGraph the Product will be made under the Product category with main details like 
  • Marketing (we have taken name of the company)
  • Category (we have taken Main Group)
  • Brand (We have taken the Sub Group)
  • Product (We have taken the product)
  • Size / Strength (We have taken the Potency)
similarly we fill in the other details and Product & its Potencies combination in "Name to print."




This way we have created the products with in the Software and now we can add the opening stock to these products by entering value on Opening Stock Entry OR by simply adding value in Lot details which has Opening Stock Entry field.

This way current inventory of the stock is ready for use.

Now the another customization required is, that at the time of billing the following replacement must reflect in Sales Invoice to avoid any confusion:
  1. Category to be replaced with MAIN GROUP
  2. Brand to be replaced SUB GROUP
  3. Size / Strength be replaced with POTENCY
  4. Change the name of Sales Invoice to Retail Invoice
  5. Selecting different MRP from different batches
The first 3 points can be done by changing the name in captions master.
OPTIONS --> SYSTEM DEGFAULT --> CAPTION MASTER and

for the 4th point we need to edit the Sales Invoice Transaction name.

MASTER --> OTHERS --> TRANSACTIONS SERIES ( change the description to your preference.)

5th point is also covered when there is a repeat purchase of any product there is an option to change the batch no. and the purchase rate, MRP can be different as well. So at the time of sales we can select the batch no. select the MRP we wish to add in the product.

Once we the changes are done and saved it reflects in the software- sales invoice (retail invoice) as shown below:


The different MRP option is as shown in below screenshot:



Another challenging task in front of us was to make sure that the potency comes in sequence in the drop down of Potency, i.e., it must come like:
  1. 3x
  2. 6
  3. 30
  4. 200
  5. 1M
  6. 10M
  7. 50M
  8. CM
but it can't as the system reads the digits in sequence and hence this order can't be maintained in normal functioning then we acted smartly and introduces underscore ( _ ) before the potency so that when system reads them they wall in smae sequence as we want.
  1. _ _ _ _ 3x
  2. _ _ _  _6
  3. _ _ _ 30
  4. _ _ 200
  5. _1M
  6. 10M
  7. 50M
  8. CM
 This way the potency were made in sequence and as shown in the below screen shot



Other requirements were to get reports and analytics based on the following parameters:

  • Product Wise
  • Potency Wise
  • Sub Group Wise
  • Main Group Wise
  • Dealer wise sales
  • Day wise sales and more.

Reports ans analytic were available with in the software and can be seen under

These were the requirements of our customer which we managed to deliver and rest all is already cover in the power packed product "RetailGraph".

Hope the blog is educating and helped you experience the product in a sweeter and remedial fashion of Homoeopathy.


Please share your comments.

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RetailGraph Team
SoftWorld (India) Pvt. Ltd.

21, Sunder Market,
Near SMS Hospital, Jaipur-302004
Ph: +91-141-2577600 (5 Lines) * Fax: 2571882
Cust. Care Center: +91-141-2577603 (2 Lines)

Email: info@swindia.com
Web:
 www.swindia.com
Web:
 www.retailgraph.com



Wednesday, May 29, 2013

DEMO 1: Product Master ( Master --> Inventory --> Product)




Demo On RetailGraph | Product Master

In todays blog we will be sharing the main features related to "Product Master" of RetailGraph.

Today  we have Ram as a customer having pharmaceutical stores and Deepak an IT personnel who will be giving an Online demo on RetailGraph to Ram.

Deepak will be calling Ram and show him the features.

Deepak: Hello Ram! 

Ram: Yes ?

Deepak:  hi i am deepak from SWIL, as discussed, can we start with the demo.

Ram: yes yes we can.

Deepak: Ok please connect in on my system through remote my id is "123 abc 345" and password is "1234".

Ram: Yes deepak sure just a moment,  aah yes i can see your desktop now.  Please go ahead.

Deepak: Thanks ram ! So as discussed in our earlier discussion you already know in brief the different Menu's in RetailGraph.

Ram: Yes.

Deepak: Today i will be sharing on how the "Master - Product" is created and different options which are available in the Master Tab.

Ram: yes sure, please proceed.

Deepak: Ok. Within Master -->you have "Inventory" & with in it you have "Product". Product screen has different Tabs like "Home", "view" and "Options"

Products needs to be entered and created in the system before making any sale, purchase of the same.

With in the "Home" tab the screen shows the existing products within the system and other options like
  • New ( to create a new product)
  • Edit (to edit parameters of existing product)
  • Form View (to view the existing product in Form style)
  • Print (Different print related options)
  • Refresh (to refresh the details in case you have made any change)


Ram: yes i can see , right Ok.

Deepak:  Once you click on "NEW" a new Tab will opens up and it has all the related details and attributes required for a product and its details. It further has 3 Tabs --> Product Details, Lot Details and image.

Product Details includes information about the product like Marketing Company of the product for Example Glaxosmithkline;
Category-->Tablet ; Brand-->Crocin; Product--> Crocin Pain Relief ; Strength--> 500mg

Similarly details like Billing unit that is 1 unit (strip; bottle, pack etc.) contains how many pieces and if you wish to sell loose; MRP, purchase rate, sale rate;  Best Before; Stock Location, attributes and description, status showing whether its continue or discontinue and more.


The Other tab that is the Lot details tab has the details with in only if some transaction related to product has been done earlier. once the product has been purchased.It has details like Lot no. Batch no, mfg date Expiry date, MRP, Sale Rate and more.



The columns of the reports can me adjusted as per the requirement by setting the grid layout which is available on right click on this screen and has multiple options which can be changed and the layout can be saved as mentioned below.

Similarly we can set image corresponding to our product, it can be selected from the local machine itself, as shown below. Once you select the image you can save it and exit from this window.



Deepak: Hope this is clear to you.

Ram: Yes, I must say RetailGraph is quiet user friendly. We can move ahead.

Deepak: Alright

After this we were routed back to the Product Window, We have just completed the New Product function of the product. similarly the Edit and Form View function have similar attributes and are their for editing an existing product and to view the details of existing product in form view mode.

Now we move on to the Print section, we can simply click on print and get our print OR we have Print option available on the View Tab as shown below. 

1. Preview



2.Print Option

It has different print options available as shown below, like setting different printers Dot Matrix, Laser and Thermal. Print Set up and more as shown below


3. Grid Layout: It is the same as we shared earlier where in we can right click and set grid layout and can also save the layout.

Deepak: Ram i hope you understood the features do you have any queries.

Ram: Yes i understood almost everything you shared it looks so easy to use and user friendly. Still can you please explain again the set grid layout feature.

Deepak: Sure Ram, Set Grid Layout enables you to arrange the columns according to your requirement and you can change it as follows:

  • Right click on the sheet where in you wish to change the grid layout.
  • tick on the visible box for the columns you need and un-check  those you don't need.
  • It also has box for allow focus and lock, allow focus gives you the right to edit the attributes of that field and Lock feature just locks it.
And yes it is the same for different tabs and features for retail graph. This is the beauty of the product that once you understand a single function with in a tab, it works the same in all other tabs.

Ram: Ok, i got it, thanks, please proceed.

Deepak: Alright, now we move to another feature of Master which is Options Tab it is as seen in the below screen shot



Option Tab further has following sub tabs with in it, which are:


  • Export to Excel ( getting reports in excel format from the software)
  • System Maintenance (it performs the below mentioned activities)
    • Reposting
    • Recalculating
    • Change Values 
    • Facilities
    • Merge Product
  • Log Reports (with this you can have reports available for the below mentioned logs)
    • Transaction Log
    • Print Log
    • Print Barcode Log
    • Master Log 
    • View
  • Send SMS (It gives you an option to send SMS )


  • Export Import Data ( Allows you to export / import the data in the following heads)
    • Transaction
    • Inventory
    • Locations
    • Accounts
    • Resources
    • Other

Deepak: These are the main features of Master_Product. Once the products are entered in the system then we proceed further to buy (purchase) stock or enter opening stock. I will explain it to you in  next session.

Hope i have clarified on the Master customer, and how is your experience.

Ram: Yes i have understood it quiet well, i feel that it is a user friendly software and will be of good use so far, let us see what else it has to favor the business . Thanks deepak.

Deepak: Thanks Ram. yes surely it has many more features which i will be sharing on next sessions.  

Hope you have liked the post. Please share your comments.

Connect with us on
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RetailGraph Team
SoftWorld (India) Pvt. Ltd.

21, Sunder Market,
Near SMS Hospital, Jaipur-302004
Ph: +91-141-2577600 (5 Lines) * Fax: 2571882
Cust. Care Center: +91-141-2577603 (2 Lines)
Email: info@swindia.com



Friday, May 24, 2013

Getting Started with RetailGraph Experience

Getting Started with -- Main Tabs of RetailGraph | Overview



In this blog I am will be sharing some screens of RetailGraph to make you more familiar with its features and GUI. 

To start with RetailGraph is as user friendly software as our windows, and has good GUI with which users can easily communicate.

RetailGraph Login Screen

The above mentioned screen is the "Log in Screen" and has following features:
  • User name and password for login.
  • Registration (with registration details like Sr. no, key, password, users, features, business type Address station, validity, AMC due date, import/export feature) ,
  • Data Link Properties (with Windows and Web Configuration details like server name, database name, user name, password, consolidation settings, restore database, repair suspected data, set SQL for LAN, Update to new version and disconnect all users); 
  • Online Support(It helps you to connect with customer care in case you were facing any changes, it has an inbuilt team viewer through which you need to share ID to the customer cares executive and he will take remote access and resolves the concern) can be accessed from here. 
  • Version of RetailGraph you are using & its Release date and 
  • Today's date.


Home of RetailGraph
When you enter your credentials you will see the home screen or the first screen of RetailGraph as shown in the above Snapshot, you can right click and a calender to you screen.

Now we will be navigating through different Menu options available in RetailGraph. 

"Intentionally keeping the size of the snapshots bigger for better visibility, as our aim is to make you experience the product features and GUI."


1. The below mentioned screen is the "Sales Menu" screen consists of different sales related options which are must for any trade.


2. The below mentioned screen is the "Purchase Menu" screen consists of different Purhcase related options which are must for any trade.

3. The below mentioned screen is the "Inventory Menu" screen consists of different  options related to Inventory management which are must for any trade


4. The below mentioned screen is the "Receipts Menu" screen consists of different  options related to Receipts and Deposits.

5. The below mentioned screen is the "Payments Menu" screen consists of different  options related to payment related instruments in business.

6. The below mentioned screen is the "Accounts Menu" screen consists of different  options related to Accounts which are required in businesses.

7. The below mentioned screen is the "Payroll Menu" screen consists of different details related to salary and payslips which are need in business.

8. The below mentioned screen is the "View Menu" screen consists of different query options to have the view of given details and MIS view for management.

9. The below mentioned screen is the "Reports Menu" screen consists of options to have different reports available for references and discussions and are important for any business.



10. The below mentioned screen is the "Analysis Menu" screen gives you the power of analysis and to analyze the information available which is essential for business.

11. The below mentioned screen is the "Master Menu" , it creates master of customer, products, accounts, locations and much more, it would not be wrong to say it is the mother of all, and acts as a source which gives information to other menus.

12
. The below mentioned screen is the "Option Menu" screen gives us various options which facilitates us to change setting and rights with in the software.

13. The below mentioned screen is the "Tools Menu" , it helps us with tools and instruments  which helps the businesses, for example the schedule sms feature helps business to engage  customers and stay connected.

14. The below mentioned screen is the "Help Menu" ,the options for seeking guidance related to software. It also has an inbuilt feature to connect for online support.

The above screen shots are just the glimpse of RetailGraph and is just the start and experience the tabs and features of RetailGraph.

In the upcoming blogs we will be experiencing the software in more detail.  Will show how the software works and what all needs to be done to get started and going.

Hope you have liked the post. Please share your comments.

Connect with us on
Facebook | Linked In Twitter

RetailGraph Team
SoftWorld (India) Pvt. Ltd.

21, Sunder Market,
Near SMS Hospital, Jaipur-302004
Ph: +91-141-2577600 (5 Lines) * Fax: 2571882
Cust. Care Center: +91-141-2577603 (2 Lines)
Email: info@swindia.com




Tuesday, May 21, 2013

RetailGraph as "Pharmaceutical Software"

Ever Green Pharmacy Trade

 


From the very childhood and even now, the names like paracetamol, syrup, injections, doctor, nurse, hospital used to frighten all of us, but during the course little have we all realized that the healthcare business is a recession proof business rather it flourishes during recession as people in depression consult doctors and take medicines more frequently.

No I am not asking you to open a chemist shop or force your younger ones to opt for medicine, it’s just an observation which I shared and to everyone's surprise it’s not the only industry which is recession proof but other business like Education, Food and more http://smallenterpriseindia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=200:recession-proof-industries-that-we-can-trust&catid=75:features&Itemid=59 are also their which are least effected by recession.

Through this post I wish to highlight the complexities involved in pharmacy business and how we at “Softworld (India) Pvt Ltd” are addressing it since last 20 years. 
Stake holders involved in pharmaceutical industry are:

· Manufacturing company
· Dealers/Distributors/C&F Agents
· Retailers
· End Customer

There are complexities involved from one level to the other due to which it is next to impossible to manage this trade without errors in a traditional manual manner. As the human error involvement is higher. 

The flow works as:

· Manufacturer sales the drugs to distributor or the C&F agent
· C&F Agent will then pass on the drugs to different retailers.
· The Retailers finally sell them to the end customer

As we dig deeper there are different things involved in these transactions, out of many the main challenges are to have visibility, correct information, updates, transparency, security & authentication, robustness of data and reporting and analysis in business. 

Also other major points which were considered are:

· Keeping track of sales order, sales invoice, purchase order, purchase invoice, challan etc.
· Updates on expiry, dead stock and slow moving items and so on.
· Accurate reporting and analytics for business decisions
· Sales return and its adjustment
· Accurate implication of VAT, octroi and other taxes and more. 

When a C&F agent receives products from manufacturer he is supposed to pay the price with fixed days of credit period as mutually agreed upon them, similar agreement is between C&F agent and his retailers to whom he has supplied the material. To keep a track of the credit period is important, for any business and to know the outstanding amount.

Other concerns were to manage and adjust the returns and replacements which happen due to expiry, near expiry goods, breakages, free samples etc.

The buying pattern of customers has to be reflected to the manufacturer to be more profitable and fast in the execution of certain plans which will be created after studying and analyzing the reports and information.

RetailGraph make this easy, fast and accurate by being C&F Software, Distribution software, Retail software, store software and more.




We all know how emails, chats, skype, facebook etc. have almost replaced the traditional ways of  communicating with friends and family via Posts.

The same way RetailGraph is committed to improve the business practices across the globe and make business more predictable by bringing visibility which helps management take strategic decisions.

There is more to be shared on RetailGraph and how proficiently it acts at all level by acting as a C&F Software, Distribution software, Retail software, store software etc.. and how it helps the pharmacy trade in my next blog.

Hope you have liked the post. Please share your comments.

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RetailGraph Team
SoftWorld (India) Pvt. Ltd.

21, Sunder Market,
Near SMS Hospital, Jaipur-302004
Ph: +91-141-2577600 (5 Lines) * Fax: 2571882
Cust. Care Center: +91-141-2577603 (2 Lines)
Email: info@swindia.com


Thursday, May 16, 2013

Apparels Business | Some Facts





Whenever we hear about shopping we all can imagine going to an apparels shop looking for options trying out selected item and then finalizing a shirt, skirt, trouser and so on.
How complicated or easy it is to manage a store or chain of apparel stores.

Through today’s blog i will be sharing some points on apparels store business and how can RetailGraph helps and manages.

Some outright facts for the retail stores are:

· Brands like Benetton, Marks & Spencer and other international store are Open 7 days a week Monday to Sunday 10 am to 10 pm for the customers.

· Season end sales, Season Start fresh Stock, Festive Season, Weekends and Longer weekends (Friday or Monday Off), School/ College Holidays are PEEK time for them and during this time they can’t afford any internal challenge or concern.

· Apparels store usually have 2 Point of Sale Machines on a store area of 8000 to 10000 Square feet.

· These POS machines also have a Barcode reader and a printer attached to it, CCTV, RFID

· Usually the Store software OR the apparels software are managed by a 3rd party vendor and have predefined SLA assigned in case of any fault in the application

· The Infrastructure part is managed by another party again with certain up time commitment and hot with the availability of hot standby incase the system goes down.

· Usually a back up POS arrangement is managed by big retailers to avoid any chaos on peak time, in case a POS goes down

· Product Category, Color, Size and material are some of the parameters of the clothes.

· Foot fall, Foot Fall per square feet, loyalty programs, discounts season end sales, stock clearing sales, Fresh stock etc.are some of the terms which come across if you are in a Apparels store.

· Apparel industry is full of words which are jargons for commoners like us so better check it on http://companya.com/apparel_glossary.htm

As now as we all are familiar with Apparels business let us enter into a apparels store and shop.

Well Apparels stores in itself have different formats.


For example:

· Mother and Me ( Targeting Needs and requirement of would be mothers and infants)

· Lilli Put (for Infants and younger kids up to 10 years)

· Life Style

· Shoppers Stop

· Fab India and more……

· Patwa

· Rana’s

· Vishal

· National Handloom and many more….

Each store formats has its own target audience and different options.

Beautiful designs colors yes this is the site of a apparel store with different options for everyone.

Trial rooms, and big mirrors for you to try and decide which one suits you better, and then you move to the billing counter and get it billed and move on happily.

The apparels software’s have made the transactions and processes so smooth that end user as well as the retailer is at a win-win situation.

If we analyze it from customer point of view things like Sale Invoices, Sales Return, loyalty points, bonus points, free gift, special discount, season end sales discount, and many such points were so easily accessible and done.

From Retailer point of view, billing, accounting, request for stock, managing suppliers, analyzing buying pattern, tracking customer history, Analyzing and deploying promotion schemes, customer engagement through sms and cards, sale manager wise performance report and much more is available.

It would not being unfair to say that software’s have made our life a lot easier.

Today we can assign multiple users with in store with different rights and can have a real time view of our analytics across the globe at different stores.

I think it is time for all retailers to introspect and feel the importance of software and how they all will get benefited with it.

And it is needless to say that not only retailers but it is the end customers who also gets benefited and a great experience.

Hope you have liked the blog.

Connect with us on
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RetailGraph Team
SoftWorld (India) Pvt. Ltd.

21, Sunder Market,
Near SMS Hospital, Jaipur-302004
Ph: +91-141-2577600 (5 Lines) * Fax: 2571882
Cust. Care Center: +91-141-2577603 (2 Lines)
Email: info@swindia.com


Thursday, May 9, 2013

Who don’t like a free candy?
















Hello all it has been long time since the last blog, nevertheless I am back and back with yet another story.

Before I Start let me ask you a? Do you like to have a candy OR toffee OR chocolate OR any other small gift and that to for free…?  Is the answer YES? …… Ok…Registered YES is the answer.

Today I have to share few view points on customer satisfaction and delight.
We all remember going to a retailer for our needs and generally it’s a monthly affair, we all procure our monthly needs for cereals, flour, sugar, salt and other related spices on a monthly basis or some even do it for a 2 months or so.

But one thing which I have noticed during years which remains the same is the retailer from where we purchase, why is it so? The answer is the experience.
The retailer know you and your preferences as you do repeat business with him month on month, knows your preferences, educates you on new products and benefits remembers your face and give you a welcoming smile when you arrive and if it’s a lucky day your younger ones will get a free candy as well.

So we all loved that experience, but that is history now the stores have changed the formats have changed and so does the generation.

But the basic for customer retention and delight remains the same, customer’s experience while shopping has to be good. The free candy has now changed to promotions for loyal customers and point system and loyalty cards and so on.

Customer satisfaction in earlier time (time when we used to get a free candy once in a while) and customer satisfaction now (when we get a discount coupon etc.) have the same agenda to retain the customer.

And everyone know that 1 satisfied customer is the best advertisement and the 80-20 principle, so it is evident that its always better to retail and satisfy your existing customers and should never sacrifice the existing customer for a new customer.

Coming back to what I asked
? Do you like a free candy?
ANS: YEs

The essence behind this is that the retailers must know how make their customers feel happy, the retailers doesn’t offer free candies to everyone but he only offers it to his selected customer who made repeat purchases. However earlier retailers don’t have options to communicated more frequently with the customer as email, sms and Social media were not there and the maximum times communication happens only while the customer is at store. But now thinks have changed with the advent of  POS software and Inventory Management Software retailers have options to send across SMS’s and emails to their customers on their birthdays, anniversaries or during festive season or during any special offer or schemes.

This retail software also helps in setting promotions and free gift options for the loyal customers giving them a sense of belongingness towards the store.

Customer also has his own life cycle towards a store and take its own time to reach the Advocate level for the business after series of good experiences.





Initially without making a purchase customer is still a prospect, one the purchase is made he becomes a customer, on doing repeat purchase he becomes a client and then graduate to Advocate which is the highest level through which he does word of mouth publicity for the business.

So to delight the customer in today’s age it is clear that retailers must engage their existing customers to have

· Repeat Business
· Reference
· Word of mouth publicity and
· An everlasting Bond

With the help of retail software retailers today have various means to engage with their customers through:

· Free Gifts
· Sending birthday & anniversary greetings on sms and email
· Communicating during festive time
· Giving options on different promotions and more

Time changes but the basics of engagement remains the same. The way we don’t forget our old / exiting friends for making new friend, we should never neglect or unknowingly avoid our existing customer for new ones.
Hope you have liked the blog.

Connect with us on
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RetailGraph Team
SoftWorld (India) Pvt. Ltd.


21, Sunder Market,
Near SMS Hospital, Jaipur-302004
Ph: +91-141-2577600 (5 Lines) * Fax: 2571882
Cust. Care Center: +91-141-2577603 (2 Lines)
Email: info@swindia.com