An Overseas Update

Published on Friday, September 30, 2005

Status:

Kuala Lumpur represents a new adventure for me, and a new project. The goals were simple: update/clean the systems, upgrade the internet connection, give pseudo-voip capability and try to get them on the VPN.


Before leaving the states I had to make sure several things were in order. First, I needed to order the rotuer I was going to bring out with me. Next, I needed to make sure KL had arranged the appropriate DSL upgrades, and last: pretest the connection. Before leaving L.A. I had the opportunity to test the new router and have it connect to the VPN. All is good to go.

After arriving I solicited the help of a co-worker and we started updating the computers (making sure all service packs and updates were installed), and installing Firefox, Thunderbird and Skype. In the I.T. market we acquired several headset and webcams, hooked them up to appropriate managers' computers, and linked managers in several offices together. Next I set forth trying to get the router setup. Part of my planning included making sure all voltages were accounted for, so when I arrived in KL an adapter was awaiting me. Unfortunately, either the adapter failed or the router was damaged in transit. We went into the I.T. markets and ordered a new, albeit lower grade, router. A few days later it arrived and I quickly got it installed. Several things needed to be changed with the ISP for the router to get on the VPN, so I had to connect it to the VPN remotely several weeks later. Alas, doing I.T. overseas is indeed a learning experience!


ERP Time

Published on Friday, September 9, 2005

Status:


Currently our ERP setup is a nightmare, both in stability, features and especially administration. A new solution is in order. After collecting goals/requirements we have begun researching, and even started testing some platforms. The "other half" of the IT department and I installed and tested Compiere today on a spare (albeit low performance) rackmount. For those of you (most) who don't know, Compiere is an ERP solution that ties together all the faucets of a company under one hood. We are impressed with Compiere, but installation is a bit on the complicated side.

In the end, we opted for Compiere to be managed and hosted externally, yet we would still administer many aspects (regarding user interaction).

TOES

Published on Monday, September 5, 2005

Status:

Toes, aka the Temporary Order Entry System, is a, get this, a temporary ordering system to buy some more time while the full ERP is designed and implemented. Because we grew so quickly, orders needed to be put in a temporary zone, then moved somewhere else (apologies for being vague, you can understand why). Myself and a co-worker hacked up a temporary holding zone for the orders. It allows New Invoices, to View Invoices, whatever is In Queue, Voided and Search. The order entry page is auto-loads prices and things from the database, so totals are pulled out of the database and added up automatically. We ultimately entered well over 1500 invoices into TOES before the ERP was implemented, and besides a few odd hiccups, it was pretty stable. The UI doesn't look all web2.0-like, but for an intranet project, it didn't need to.



Adding a new invoice
Auto-fill out feature


Order in-queue, ready to be transferred
Viewing an invoice



Orders Taken (already moved)

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