ASR Blog

automation station

here at punkster, we are working on a new site right now. we are working on a site from the back to the front. not only is it going to look legit finally! look like we might just be a real company after all! but the back end of this site is going to chance everything!

right now here's what happens if one store puts in one order:
1-get call or fax from store to put an order in
2- input order into excel sheet by hand
3- fax to factor (the company that approves store's credit)
4- once approved, fax to warehouse
5- warehouse takes order and fills it best they can based on inventory
6- faxes back to us to fix invoice for final wholesale cost
7- send back to factor to update based on inventory sent
8- warehouse ships out order and inputs tracking info manually
9- stores call to see where the order is
10- we call the warehouse to see about order
11- they look it up manually to find order among list of hundreds of stores
12- store gets order
13- factor gets payment
14- im exhausted and our workday is already used up

so yea! what the heck is the matter with this picture! everything along the way with that system is and should be and can be and will be automated going forward. every step of that should NOT include us or really much man handling at all.

we are working with this back end web design firm we are really excited about, loyer tcg and they are making this entire system something manageable. you see, if we are wasting all our time on the busy paper work of punkster how are we going to have chance to grow and evolve the business as we are so ready to do!

so loyer is going to make us a backend password protected site, a store goes into their account, inputs there order, and through the magic of the great beyond we call the world wide web, voila! there is an order in the stores, money in our bank, tracking info sent via email, and maaaaan, we missed the whole thing!

i am thrilled. in a time where we are growing so rapidly and having serious trouble handling it properly and taking care of everyone like we would like to, this web program is going to change everything.

. . . .except diapers.

(at least for now! maybe we can get that automated that too.)

internet, dating

no matter how small the business is, be careful who you work with. because that small business, if all goes well, turns into big business and those small partnerships and connections you had when it was fun and games and in your kitchen, are the people you will be working with forever, in the warehouse, the corporate office, the big time. so be careful.

i learned this the hard way when my old boyfriend helped me make my website. it was a nice gesture and great to have him support me, but once the love died down a bit, so did the favors. of course. but whats a girl to do with a half a website? my business partner joked asking if i could just stay with him a couple months longer, get the site done! sounded like a horrible idea for both of us, but then again, what was the good option?

we ended up keeping him and his business partner on to finish the site and payed him. needless to say love gets in the way of business conference calls and the tension continued to build, as the site continued to BE built.

but now, years, yes years later we still deal with the ties that bound us years ago, mainly a URL!

websites are up there with custody when it comes to a messy break up. our site is not doing too well. i won't say its their work. ill give them the benefit that they tried, or if they tried to sabatoge they did well with that.

but as the site gets worse and the fear to contact my web designer heightens i realize what a bad idea that was in the beginning. but who would have known!!

i finally bucked it up and emailed the "designer" yesterday to ask how i fix these glitches in his system, to which her replied,

"Leanne,

I'm sorry, but for a variety of reasons we won't be able to help.

s."

ah! variety really is the spice of life!!

varietal, the begruding kind?

i should write, "Does sabatoge really feel that good?
or
Hahah you guys are really just toooo much! I couldn't have written that better for you myslef. Variety! Awesome answer hahaha"

love and web, a tangled bunch.

business partners, clients, customers, take note! save the relationship, not the money. pay for someone else to help you and keep your friends around. because in the long run, you will pay no matter what, whether in blood, sweat, tears, or bank accounts.