November 12, 2008

Prophesy Online eStore Open for Business

Stronger Company...Stronger Product Line

Ploger Transportation Praises Prophesy Dispatch Software

Prophesy Online eStore Open for Business

Prophesy is pleased to announce the grand opening of the Prophesy eStore, our new online web store offering a number of best-selling Prophesy trucking software products. The Prophesy eStore is located at eStore.Mile.com and can also be accessed by clicking the "buy it now" links on mile.com product pages.

"In recent years, trucking companies have told us that they wanted a way to order our user-friendly products online," said Prophesy/Accellos Vice President Bill Ashburn. "The new Prophesy eStore makes it easier than ever to demo, purchase, and review Prophesy trucking software. We are pleased to offer the same industry-leading trucking software that we always have, paired with this added level of convenience for our industry peers."

The Prophesy eStore's initial offerings include powerful tools for fuel tax reporting, driver log auditing, freight billing, street-level commercial mileage and routing, and driver compliance. These products can be purchased separately or as part of an integrated package. Each purchase includes one year of technical support at no additional charge, and users can learn more about additional training and support options while visiting the store.

Visitors will enjoy useful features such as a Quick Find function and the ability to review products and leave their comments. Users can also create a site account to keep track of past purchases, maintain a personal shopping cart, and set options for periodic notifications and newsletters.

During the grand opening of the Prophesy eStore, special product discounts will be offered. Visit the Prophesy eStore for details at eStore.Mile.com.

For more information on the Prophesy eStore, email usernews@mile.com or call 800-776-6706 today!

Prophesy Introduces “PerkPoints”!

Earn points by introducing other transportation companies to our Industry-Leading Software.

Do you know of other trucking companies who could benefit from Prophesy Software in the same way you have? We bet you do! And today we are pleased to announce a hot new rewards program for our users who take the time to spread the news!

Introducing Prophesy PerkPoints

Our goals for this program are rather simple:

To generate more "word of mouth" referrals about our products in the transportation and warehousing community
To reward our valued customers who take the time to spread the word about their experience with our products
To welcome and reward new users who join us as a result of a referral

Prophesy PerkPoints is a system of points awarded to valued customers who refer our product line to other transportation companies. With PerkPoints, our users will be able to shop our online store (hosted by www.perks.com) for their preferred rewards (see partial list below). Each referring company will receive a secure online account where they can spend or bank their points for larger rewards if desired.

What can I buy with my PerkPoints?

Available rewards in the Prophesy PerkPoints Store include items such as:

Electronics
Gift cards
Clothing
Jewelry
Vacation/travel options
Audio/video media
Tools
And much more!

How do I earn points?

There are three basic levels for each referral, and a point level assigned to each!

Level One: Simply refer a Prophesy product to an industry colleague = 500 points

How? Send an email to an industry peer letting them know about Prophesy software, and be sure to CC our team at perks@mile.com so that we can track your points.

Level Two: Your industry colleague contacts Prophesy with interest in a product and mentions your name = 1000 points

Level Three: Your industry colleague purchases a Prophesy software solution within 90 days of initial contact with a Prophesy Representative = BONUS points (5000 - 75000 depending on purchase price)

There will be many opportunities to earn additional points throughout the year. Ask your Prophesy Representative for details by calling 800.776.6706.

What does my industry colleague gain from my referral?

Aside from gaining powerful, industry-preferred operational software, your colleague will be pleased to know that there is also a significant bonus for the referred company. Because when they purchase their Prophesy Software as a result of your referral, they will receive a 5% discount on their total purchase price. That discount is not available under any other program we offer…it can only come from you!

Let's get started!

Spread the word beginning today, and earn points. To get more info, simply send us an email at perks@mile.com!

Stronger Company...Stronger Product Line

How our affiliation with Accellos brings more functionality to Prophesy Users

We've talked a lot in the last few weeks about how excited we are to have become a part of the Accellos Software family. For the Prophesy transportation product line it means added strength in development, training, technical support, and virtually every area within our company. But there are many other areas where our affiliation with Accellos can truly benefit our existing customers, meeting your needs today and in the future as your business continues to grow.

This article is meant to serve as a general overview of additional solutions we now offer. In the coming months we will focus on different areas of the Accellos product line in more detail in each issue of Prophesy User News & Reviews.

In addition to robust TMS and mobile resource management solutions, Accellos offers powerful yet flexible options for warehouse management and third-party logistics including:

Accellos One Warehouse Fulfill: Productivity, efficiency, and visibility in warehouse and distribution operations
Combining radio frequency and barcode technology with a robust, three-tiered, Internet-based architecture, Accellos One Warehouse Fulfill Edition delivers a powerful, scalable, and flexible real-time warehouse management system that helps you boost productivity, reduce costs, shorten order fulfillment times, and increase customer satisfaction.

Accellos One Warehouse Fulfill Edition integrates seamlessly with many popular accounting/order-entry packages and shipping systems to provide the warehousing link in a total supply chain solution. Accellos One Warehouse offers a feature-rich solution to automate, streamline, and verify all your in-warehouse processes. From the receiving dock to the shipping dock, Accellos One Warehouse tracks every movement of stock into, out of, and within the warehouse.
Accellos One Warehouse Collect Edition: Automated Data Collection (ADC)
Accellos One Warehouse Collect for GP tool that connects, collects, and controls every aspect of Microsoft Dynamics GP receiving, order fulfillment, and inventory control functions. From Manufacturing to Distribution, Accellos One Warehouse Collect for GP offers several software options to work with your Microsoft Dynamics GP ERP package.

Using wireless technology, Accellos One Warehouse Collect for GP integrates with Microsoft Dynamics GP by gathering data at its origin and entering it real-time back into your ERP system. Information is gathered through simple user prompts on RF handhelds and processed through Microsoft Dynamics GP following all of its business rules.
Accellos One 3PL: Solutions for third-party logistics and lead logistics providers for their warehouse operations
The 3PL industry is a dynamic environment with varying degrees of complexity caused by multiple clients operating in a single facility. 3PL operators have the challenge of operating a profitable business with a single set of tools, facilities, manpower, and material handling equipment.

Every 3PL facility operates differently due to client mix, key performance indicators set by customers, terms of contracts, and many other factors. The level of automation varies, depending on customer requirements and contract terms. 3PL business owners require non-rigid, flexible, and agile solutions that can handle varying degrees of automation within a single facility. Accellos One 3PL provides the appropriate level of automation within a given facility, ranging from radio frequency to paper-based inbound and outbound processes each supported by electronic data interchange (EDI/B2B) and non-EDI transactions. Moreover, Accellos One 3PL allows these varying levels of automation to co-exist and operate concurrently within a single facility.

For more information on our expanded product line, or any of the solutions mentioned above, please contact your Prophesy Representative at 800.776.6706 or email us at usernews@mile.com.

Ploger Transportation Praises Prophesy Dispatch Software

In 1962, James Morrow, then a young entrepreneur, founded a small trucking company by the name of James Morrow & Sons Trucking with a single truck. With over 46 years of continuous service, the company has grown to a 25-truck fleet and in 2006 joined forces with another trucking company to form Ploger Transportation. The Ploger team specializes in truckload freight including books, roll stock paper, and other paper products. The company also ships plastic containers most often used to hold dairy foods such as ice cream, cottage cheese, and sour cream on store shelves.

During its early years, the company's operations were handled using spreadsheets, pen and paper, whiteboards, and other time-tested but problem-prone methods. With the vast amount of recurring and new business the company routinely managed, the Ploger team began to feel suffocated under the weight of their own success. "It simply became impossible to keep track of everything manually," said Ploger Vice President Jerry Morrow. "To be successful these days you need some type of automation, and we knew our business needed to be updated in this respect. We were just bursting at the seams."

In 2002, President Tanya Morrow was approached by Prophesy for a demonstration of the popular DispatchSeries software. As is the case with many growing companies, Tanya did not feel entirely ready for the intimidating step of computerizing their operation. However, necessity drove her to consider a new way of doing things in the hopes that it would remove the burden from their shoulders. Though initially apprehensive, once Tanya had a chance to see the Prophesy Dispatch solution in action she was blown away. She realized then that this software had the potential to vastly improve nearly every aspect of how they ran their business.

After a full review of Prophesy options, the company purchased Prophesy Dispatch with an interface to their existing Peachtree accounting system. The company also added several Prophesy tools including Mileage & Routing for mileage lookups and driving directions, FleetTrax for fleet maintenance and parts inventory management, and TaxTally to handle their complex IFTA fuel tax reporting.

Once implemented, the Ploger team began to see the benefits right away. Jerry Morrow was delighted that his fleet's preventive maintenance was now tracked flawlessly using FleetTrax. Fuel taxes, which were always a thorn in their side, were now a breeze with TaxTally. Morrow was also impressed with the ability to find, store, and retrieve driving directions, saving time and headaches when frequently traveling to customer locations. As time went on the company continued finding new benefits and creative ways to get the most power possible out of their Prophesy system.

Most importantly, Prophesy has helped the company to better serve their customers while simultaneously reducing their overhead costs. With this extra breathing room the company is able to concentrate on expanding its fleet and improving other aspects of the business, which they could never have accomplished before. "Prophesy has allowed us to make so many improvements to our business," said Jerry Morrow. "I don't even know where to start. We have so many more resources at our disposal and much more ability to handle day-to-day operations. And all of this we're able to do more efficiently than we ever could have hoped."

Morrow added, "To put it into perspective, in 2002 our annual revenue was 1.5 million. This year, we have pulled in over 6 million, in a slow economy no less. We couldn't have done it without Prophesy."

For more information about Prophesy's Total Software Solution for Trucking, email usernews@mile.com or call (800) 776-6706.

Prophesy Has “Gone Gold”

You may have noticed a difference in the appearance of our logo over the last few weeks. In celebration of our recent acquisition by Accellos, Inc., our traditional blue logo has "gone gold".

For our team, this visible change represents the gold standard for which Accellos products are known, and the level of quality that we work to provide for our valued users.

Team Prophesy is committed to remaining the "gold standard" in trucking software, and with Accellos resources behind us we can offer you even more:

Top-notch products driven by a stronger and more robust development team
An expanded product line designed to meet the needs of today's transportation companies
More Customer Care Representatives who routinely go the extra mile for your company
Expanded training resources and tools for additional learning along the way
Increased opportunities for customer outreach and interaction
A new Customer Rewards Program
And much more to come

For more information about how Prophesy can now support your transportation company even further as an Accellos Company, contact us at 800.776.6706 or email usernews@mile.com.

Ask the Tech Team

This month we explain how to add multiple shipments to a single load in Prophesy Dispatch. This is useful in cases where you plan to service multiple customers during a single trip. Here's how!

Create or open a load and add a customer, rate, stop details, goods, and charges as needed. This is your first shipment.
Click Edit > Add to Current Load, or right-click anywhere on the load window and click Add to Current Load. A second shipment is added to the load.
Add a customer, rate, stop details, goods, and charges to the new shipment as needed. You can switch between shipments by clicking the blue navigation arrows in the upper right of the window.
Repeat step 3 as many times as needed to finish building the load.
Finally, make any desired adjustments to the load's itinerary and assign a driver and vehicle to the load.

Note: On the System Defaults tab of the Preferences window, you will find an option named "Add Shipments to Load", which controls the order in which the stops of each shipment will be added to a load's itinerary. Choose from the following options:

At End of Load: Stops will be added to the itinerary in the order in which you added them to the load, regardless of which shipment they belong to.
To Minimize Mileage: Stops will be ordered in the itinerary so that the overall trip covers the fewest miles possible.
In Chronological Order: Stops will be ordered in the itinerary based on their arrival dates and times.

Ask a question! If you have a question for the Prophesy Tech Team, email it to usernews@mile.com and you could see it answered in a future issue of the Prophesy eZine.

All trademarks property of their respective owners.