If
you own multiple stores or plan
to expand your operation to multiple
locations, you can be assured that
The Uniform Solution can provide
the capabilities that you need.
The Uniform Solution was designed
to accommodate the inventory control
needs of companies with multiple
locations. Since the cost of maintaining
a fast (10Mbps) always on network
connection or a Metaframe server
between multiple locations is usually
cost prohibitive, The Uniform Solution
consolidates and distributes data
between locations once a day in
a nightly polling operation. The
polling operation runs automatically
each evening and only sends data
that is new or has been changed
by a location. At the start of each
business day, each location will
have information that was accurate
at the close of the previous day
for the other locations.
The Polling Location
The polling location is the physical
location that is usually the centerpiece
of a multiple location operation.
The polling location is usually
either the largest store in the
retail operation, a warehouse for
ordering and distributing merchandise,
or the corporate headquarters. It
is the location determined to be
the most central or the most strategic
to the entire retail operation,
and it is the location where operations
only allowed by one location are
best performed. The polling location
is the location responsible for
contacting each remote location
in the nightly polling operation.
Remote Locations
Remote locations are locations physically
located away from the polling location.
They are contacted nightly by the
polling location and send newly
added or changed information.
The Batch Process
The Batch Process refers to the
nightly polling operation conducted
to consolidate and distribute data
between the polling location and
the remotes locations. The polling
operation is conducted by using
a phone line and modem to connect
the polling location with a remote
location. Since the data being sent
between locations contains only
new or changed information, the
polling operation is very fast.
Duties of the Polling Location
Some information in The Uniform
Solution can only be maintained
at the polling location. New inventory
items, the user list, customer standards,
and inventory standards are a few
examples of information maintained
at the polling location. Requiring
this information to be maintained
at the polling location simplifies
the polling process as well as the
entire inventory control operation.
Sharing Data
The polling operation in The Uniform
Solution allows each remote location
to share as much or as little data
with the polling location as you
like. It also allows you to choose
what data from what locations you
would like to see.
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