Jim Croce sang once about “… if I could save time in a bottle…” – and I just wonder where time goes…  Yes, it’s been a LONG time since you’ve seen the crazed writings I create on these pages.  Has the silence been golden? Of have you been secretly pining away for more wit and wisdom from the one and only; is it writings from this one that you have been yearning for…?  Or do you really just not care one way or the other and you’re just about to go read something else…?  I guess I’d better get to the topic, huh? I know its ground I’ve covered before, but it’s still a fertile field to … darn, what’s a good word for plow that starts with an “F”…?  How about farm…?  It’s still a fertile field to farm…  There.  I got some alliteration in. But I’m rambling on (again?) about changes and not doing things the “new” way because it’s too difficult.  Or it requires us to think of a different way of doing things that maybe – just maybe – we don’t want to think about.  It’s about adapting to change and dealing with the change that comes along as newer (and better?) ways of doing things come along. OK… since the last time we talked, ...

Author: Joey Adami EDI OPTIONS, Inc. 55 Herricks Rd Garden City Park, NY 11404 After spending some time with our client support technicians, it seems that in the rush of the holiday season, our clients not only face shorter deadlines and shipping volume but unique EDI issues as well.At holiday time, clients ship a much higher volume of goods, which can complicate every aspect of shipping logistics. From packing a much higher number of boxes and labeling to creating multiple invoices for stores or distribution centers. Holiday logistics can become exponentially more complex. "During the holiday season many issues for support are easily fixed with features that are already built into their EDI systems"-Tech Support With a variety of EDI capabilities & customization, each client has the ability to attain an automated EDI operation. Within software systems, there are tools for everyday business and tools that might only be used during this season when business traffic is high. For example clients found themselves learning how to easily edit or even delete items off an ASN.  Others discovered new reports to track invoices, ASNs or any transaction inbound and outbound that was sent or received from any given time frame even though these activities were easily performed manually during periods of low activity they would be impossible to perform during the holiday season without high level tools. For business, especially in the wake of current economic challenges, it is imperative ...

It was a dark and stormy night…  The wind howled through the skeletal branches of the trees…  ghosts, goblins and other monsters scampered along the street…  the full moon shone brightly, yet all the streets seemed dim and darkened and you were wary about what might bump into you in the night… Yeah, yeah, yeah.  OK, so it’s warm, a bit breezy and mostly sunny.  At least it is in most of Southern California.  But it seemed just wrong to start off a blog on Halloween with something so … so … cheerful. I was thinking, on this warm and sunny October day – that Halloween is the PERFECT version of the supply chain.  Honestly, think about it…  And think about how many different supply chains may be involved…! But the basic one – “TRICK OR TREAT” – the art of hitting up the neighborhood – is a perfect example of a simple – yet WILDLY effective – supply chain. The breakdown: *             you put on some clothes (a costume), *             you walk down the street, *             you ring a doorbell and yell “TRICK OR TREAT!” , *             and the person gives you some candy (or other great treat)…! How much simpler and easier is that supply chain?!?  Nothing to do but get dressed up on some costume – whether a simple sheet with ...

I just read this article – well – a pair of articles – over on MSN – about the 25 WORST cities for finding a job and the 25 BEST cities for finding a job.  Truly interesting stuff; however the methods used to create the article are – at best – flawed.  The flaw is that they only use the unemployment rates, as compiled and published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics – a federal agency that is responsible for researching and compiling labor economics and statistics… The list of the bad cities includes quite a few cities located in California.  But if you were to look at the list – and if you’re not from California – you’ve probably NEVER heard of many (if ANY) of those cities.  Here’s the list: 1.    El Centro, Calif.        2.    Yuma, Ariz.                3.    Flint, Mich.                4.    Merced, Calif. 5.    Yuba City, Calif.       6.    Modesto, Calif.       7.    Visalia, Calif.             8.    Monroe, Mich. 9.    Palm Coast, Fla.       10.  Stockton, Calif.          11.  Fresno, Calif.              12.  Bakersfield, Calif. 13.  Hanford, Calif.           14.  Redding, Calif.           15.  Muskegon, Mich.     16.  Jackson, Mich. 17.  Rocky Mount, N.C. 18.  Saginaw, Mich.          19.  Madera, Calif.            20.  Detroit 21.  Elkhart, Ind.                22.  Sebastian, Fla.           23.  Kokomo, Ind.             24.  Rockford, Ill. 25.  Niles, Mich. 11 of them are from California.  But, of those 11 – only one is NOT located in the Central Valley area of California.  And the ...

I have started Open Source GIS (Gentran Integration Suite) Error Reporting / Status Reporting BPML Project. Project URL: http://github.com/burmjohn/gentran-integration-suite-bpml/tree/master Through the URL above you can download, fork, and contribute to the project.  If you have any questions please let me know, I'll do my best to help.  There is nothing to download yet, however I hope to have something up shortly. What is Git and Git hub? http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives...rogrammers.php Don't worry about not knowing how to use a revision control system, we will be primarily communicating through the forums on the website and suggestions / additions and downloads can be done through there. Whats the purpose of the project? To create a rock solid error / status reporting module that will aid in day to day GIS operations.   My initial goals were to have the system log the errors in a database, as well as email the error off to the admin (or support desk) depending upon your setup.  The reason for logging the errors to a database is so you can leverage external uses, such as a web page with a quick display of errors, or a desktop application that displays the most recent errors and statuses.   This is something that should definally be discussed in more detail. Let us know what you think! Since we are in the initial planning stages, ...