PowerShift’s Top Ten New Features

We surveyed PowerShift users about what they think are some of the best new 4.00 features, i.e., those enhancements that have had the most positive impact in their operations. Here are the top ten: 

Automation of GL Registers
You can schedule most general ledger registers to launch automatically, using the PowerShift Job Scheduler.

Improved AR Information
PowerShift 4.00 offers several enhancements to facilitate AR collections: automatically generated account past due notices, progress payment reminders, and a new on-demand Customer AR Activity (RST) report. RST prints a listing of a customer's AR transactions for a given date range (optionally including paid or and/or archived invoices); output is ideal for HTML email or a spreadsheet, but can also be printed and mailed. 

Drop File Support for Data Import
PowerShift automatically imports XML, EDI, WMS and/or Shipping Manifest data (i.e., a "drop file") at specified intervals – without operator intervention. A bill of material import has been added, as well as XML export/import programs for the customer item number, item price, planned manufacturing order and warehouse map files. (PowerShift 4.00 inventory transactions can be validated against a warehouse map to eliminate entry of erroneous location information.)

Tool Support and Tracking
You can now keep track of tool inventory, associate tools with operations and track of tool life and other attributes.

Item Messages
Item messages (set up in TRST) can provide additional information such as item attributes (weight, color, etc.) assigned in Enterprise Item Maintenance (IM). Sales Order Maintenance and Inventory Status Inquiry offer a Q-Info window that displays the information.

Service Items
Service items, such as electricity, can now be added to inventory.

Planning Exception Handling
Planning Action Selection (MPC) allows you to move, cancel, or release planned orders based on exceptions from Finished Goods Planning (MFP) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP). Simply choose the orders on which you want the system to take action and click process to effect the changes.

AP Enhancements
A couple of great AP enhancements: Fixed expense processing has been automated and the new AP template makes it easy to distribute invoices to multiple accounts.

Lot Tracing
Display the specific components used on a manufacturing order or to chase a single component all the way to its final destination.

And finally…
Would you believe there’s a Material History Transaction (MH) file purge program? It’s true! The list of new programs in PowerShift 4.00 is a long one.

That’s ten – and we didn’t even mention improved screens, picking and back flushing by location, better WIP reporting, expanded access to audit trails, and a whole lot more. There are far too many features and enhancements to list in this email – have a look here.