It’s analysis suggests that 97% of UK consumers do not get the advertised speed; it also suggests that the gap between what we are being told we will get and what we actually get is getting bigger!

Ofcom is revamping the code of conduct to how broadband is sold but in truth this probably means more confusion for the general public.

The problem is that there are bigger and bigger claims being made and with more and more people and devices being able to surf the web it’s becoming a big factor in what service people buy.

My Broadband

My own experience (at home) has been with Tiscali (running off my BT landline) and recently Virgin Fibre.

The service from Tiscali was extremely poor; my download speed was very low and the upload speed was even worse – when I confronted them on it they seemed unable to help.

In the end I decided to give the new service from Virgin a try; they promised a download speed of up to 20GB and an upload speed of around 750kbs.

I have to say that the service from Virgin is excellent; I do get exactly what they promised – it’s so good that in truth I can’t use the complete download speed and adding photos to Facebook and this like are now effortless.

What can you do?

What I suggest you do is test your download speed. There are many places to do this but I like http://www.speedtest.net/. Simply visit the site and click ‘begin test’. Realistically don’t settle for less than 2gb download and the minimum upload I would suggest be 500kbs – but that’s just me!

Kapil Sibal, the country's Minister for Human Resource Development, showed off the super-cheap touch-screen device in New Delhi as part of a push to provide high-quality education to students across the country. The tablet also comes with a solar-power option that could make it more feasible for rural areas.

Tech Spec...

The tablet is a Linux based device that has everything you would expect to see on a mobile device. It has 2GB of RAM (but no hard disk, instead using a memory card) and USB ports.

The Big Picture...

The tablet is part of a larger initiative that is designed to help India’s educational system. Nearly 8,500 colleges now have broadband connectivity with 500 or so web-based video courses.

The tablet has been developed alongside several branches of the Indian Institute of Technology and whilst the price is expected to be $35 now they hope it will be more like $10 once development has finished.

The competition looks like it will be around a treasure hunt on a dummy website where competitors are looking for flaws. The next stages will see them working in teams to defend attacks by industry professionals.

You can find out more or register for the ‘Cyber Security Challenge’ by visiting http://www.cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk/.

For the majority of us internet security affects us in the form of ‘spam’ emails. Sometimes they are selling something or offering a ‘to good to be true’ price or simply trying to sell us cheap Rolex Watches…

There are many different ways that internet security affects us every day and the effects can be slight or substantial. There are various different applications and hardware options that business and individuals can consider – the important thing to understand is that digital security is going to become more and more important as more and more of us ‘get connected’ in some way.

If you would like some internet security options you could visit here for more information from Ontech Solutions.

It's not that there is anything overly wrong with this but each time that I speak to somebody I am surprised at how interested they are in a stock control and accounting system that works specifically for them - THAT DOES'T COST THE EARTH.

Vision Commerce

Vision Commerce is a software application that makes life easier for Wines & Spirits traders.

• Understand your stock position
• Improve account sales by knowing what your customers have purchased in the past
• Most Importantly - Simplify things

Working with Sage Accounts we have a system that every small, medium and large Wines & Spirits trader can really use.

If you would like to find out more about Vision Commerce or indeed the Vision Software Suite contact David Stump on 0871 221 2671 or email dstump@ontechsolutions.net - remember you won't know if you don't ask and I promise we/I don't bite!

A short time ago we started speaking with the chaps about their website; we simply said that there wasn’t much there and that it might be an idea to have a look at it in general.

Once we actually started speaking about it became that there was a desire to refresh the branding and the website – there was a real feeling that perhaps what they had wasn’t presenting them as the professional warehouse and logistics company that they are.

Ultimately we redesigned their logo, business stationery and website – a complete new look.

Among other things the new website shows their services, some testimonials and most importantly news.

We believe they have great branding to match their great services.

 The New Design

BWA Logistics Ltd (t/a Belvedere Warehousing & Distribution) offer warehousing, bonded warehousing and logistics for London, Essex, Kent and the South East.

The event was a great success; the food was great and the entertainment (supplied by comic Jim Tavaré) went down a treat.

There were several industry awards; we would like to congratulate all finalists and those that won!

• Best New UKWA Member Award went to White Arrow Logistics Ltd
• Environment Award went to NYK Logistics UK Ltd
• Technology and Innovation went to Briggs Equipment UK
• Training Award went to Systems Training
• Team of the Year went to Wincanton Group Ltd
• Customer Service Award went to Bibby Distribution Ltd & MDA Ltd (jointly)
• Employee of the Year was named as Bob Steward, EDF Energy
• Warehouse Manager of the Year was awarded to Stephen Steenson, The Malcolm Group
• Chairman’s Award went to David Williams, Great Bear Distribution

With over 450 UKWA members and guests in attendance the 2011 lunch is already being planned!

Image Supplied by the UKWA ©2011

The challenging cycling event is in aid of the Royal British Legion Poppy appeal.

We are happy to support the event organised by Roger Davis (CEO of the UKWA) and wish them a safe, successful trip.

Our designers developed a dozen or more designs that were then filtered internally so that we could show a selection to C&C; from those they the played with one idea that left us with what they decided to go for!

The Winning Design

We think it is simple, clean and a classic look;

Kevin comes from a call centre background where he progressed to a Customer Services Manager position.  We are sure Kevin will be a great asset to the team and will do his upmost to ensure that we provide customers with a high standard of service at all times.

The Different Stages

FS0 took effect in April this year (April 2010) and was the first of three planned stages. It stipulated that ‘as a minimum, all Member States are required to handle the destination site of electronic movements, enabling the electronic discharge of the movement by report of receipt’ (taken from the HMRC Website).

FS1 is planned to take effect from 31st December 2010 and moves the system on to handle both electronic submissions and discharges.

FS2 is planned for July 2011 and is when the rest of the FESS requirements are due to be met.

Do you need to Worry about it?

If you receive goods under bond or transfer goods from one location to another you need to be aware of the requirements. In truth you should already know about it as there would have been a change after April this year.

We have been speaking to more and more warehouses (both 3PL and Own Warehouse) operators that have real concerns about their current systems being able to cope with the change.

What’s the Worry?

It is probably fair to say that if you are buying a shiny new warehouse management system then it will (or should) have EMCS cover... however if you don’t then you may have a system that works perfectly for you right now but that doesn’t cut the mustard with respect to EMCS.

Ah, the Solution

At Ontech Solutions we have a WMS system that we have built; its a great system and one of the reasons it is so good is that it is modular. When we set out on the development path we wanted to be as flexible as we could be.

As such you could take our warehouse tool but use another distribution tool or, and this is the fun bit, have your own warehouse tool but take Vision Bond and let it work with your current systems to allow you to comply and work efficiently.

If you have any thoughts about your systems and meeting the EMCS requirements give us a call, we are happy to chat and may be able to offer a solution that simply works.

A new wines & spirits trader that we are speaking to asked if we linked with them - we don’t currently so we looked at it...

Initially we assumed the trader in question would want to be able to take their products in Vision Commerce and export/sync them with Liv-ex. In principle this is a very easy thing to do - we knew that Liv-ex didn’t have the facility to allow this but we assumed it could be done...

The Main Issue - Double Selling

We soon came to the understanding that whilst this is an easy thing to do Liv-ex didn’t really allow it or like the idea as once a product is made available on the exchange it is assumed to be available; if this product was then sold via another channel there would be the chance that it would be on Liv-ex when it was not actually available.

Clarification

So now we think we have an answer - not an ideal answer as it is basically ‘no’ but we go back to the prospect none the less.

Now it becomes clear that whilst we assumed the prospect meant they wanted to sell on Liv-ex what they actually meant was they wanted to be able to pull Liv-ex data and show it against their client reserves.

The idea being that they wanted their private clients to be able to login to a customer information system (probably online) and see their purchases and the current Liv-ex valuation for each.

The Penny Drops

Right, so now we know exactly what they want to do; again very simple - we have customer information systems for Vision Warehousing and have looked at the idea of them for Vision Commerce in the past.

In truth we thought this was a great idea and could work well for many existing clients as well.

So again we speak with Liv-ex and are unfortunately disappointed.

The way that Liv-ex works is to allow the trader or buyer to search for a product that they are looking for, as they search the options are filtered and filtered until they are left with either the wine they are looking for or a simple list that they can choose from... here is where the problem is for us.

As there is no actual Liv-ex product code there is virtually no way to synchronise a clients product codes against those from Liv-ex.

The Future

Liv-ex know that there are people wanting to integrate with them and make better use of their data and we hope to have meetings with them to see how we could move forward.

The Liv-ex platform and system is a great tool and an essential offering used by many traders. We look forward to the time when we can say ‘yes’ Vision Commerce does link with Liv-ex.

I’m going to stop and say hello to clients as well as one or two exhibitors that I’d like to have a chat with but I think you’ll find me in the Top 100 tastings area...

Being as my favourite is probably a nice Riesling I’m disappointed that I won’t be able to make the Riesling Masterclass on Monday; instead I will have to be a little less indulgent and am probably going to opt for the ‘just-drinks' State of the Nation debate.

If you are exhibiting I hope it is a good show for you, if you are visiting I hope that you get what you need and enjoy the 30th London International Wine and Spirits fair.

They still have the 12 months for the price of 10 on Sage Cover but now have also an offer where you get 12 for the price of 9 when paying by direct debt.

They have a great deal for Instants customers to upgrade to Sage 50. Currently you can get 30% off the cost of upgrading – if you are using Sage Instants this is a great opportunity to get additional functionality and a reduced rate.

Finally cut the cost of keeping in contact with your customers and tracking your opportunities with ACT! Sage 50 customers can get up to 25% until May 31st.

This month the offers for the Instants Upgrade and ACT! are really good. A 30% and 25% discount respectively demonstrates real savings, as ever all offers have terms and conditions applied; for specific details simply contact us.

The show attracted exhibitors from across the 3PL industry; trade associations, warehousing and transport companies, logistics consultants and many innovative solutions providers.

As honorary IT advisors to the UKWA we were asked to attend their pavilion so that members could put questions to us with regards technology needs. We were surprised by the questions that we were asked and the concerns that were raised; many being more to do with general IT issues rather than industry specific.

I met with Roger Williams and Michael Davison to look at how we might be able to better assist the members by taking a look at general technology issues rather than warehouse management software or logistics software.

So over the next few weeks we will look at some topics and put together some presentations that can be delivered at regional UKWA meetings.

Whilst my son was disappointed not to have a promotional football or similar from my trip I found it a productive and enjoyable event and look forward to Multimodal 2011.

Within a year of starting out Imbibros had moved to their first warehouse/outlet where they served both trade and retail customers.

The Rickyard (a converted barn) allowed Imbibros to manage all aspects of storage and despatch as well as establish regular tasting events in the warehouse setting.

Imbibros and Vision Commerce

Imbibros were introduced to Ontech halfway through their first year of trading. At the time they had an excellent system that was manually managed; the downside to it was that it was very time consuming and required a reasonable degree of understanding to use it.

Initial meetings established that Vision Commerce fitted their growing needs; integration with their bonded warehouse, the ability to hold stock in more than one warehouse or location, the addition of Vision EPOS and the integration of financial accounting meant that Imbibros soon decided to make the move.

The Result

We think it is fair to say that Imbibros are still hungry to grow so this is not the end of the story by far. At the time of preparing this they have two outlets that each have access to Vision Commerce and that each use Vision EPOS for retails sales.

The system is delivered by remote deployment; meaning they can access the systems from any location with an internet connection. This means the capitol hardware costs are great reduced and they have access to the trade systems from work, home or the beach (if needed).

If you would like to find out more about Imbibros contact either Paul or James on 01483 861164 or you can visit their website: www.imbibros.co.uk.

Vision Distribution

Due to the fact that London City Bond were using a dispersed system it meant that each transport system, for each site was totally independent. London City Bond wanted to have a single, fully integrated solution which would allow route planning for all sites and all depots.

Vision Distribution Benefits

Vision Distribution is a multi platform, multi-site, radial distribution system which copes with multiple deliveries, from multiple sites and with multiple source depots.

• It allows for the planning of delivery vehicles from multiple depots
• It controls the transit of goods between the delivery depots
• It charges customers, therefore is designed for 3rd party use as well
• It can be easily used within a single environment
• It also comes with a mobile hand held solution to help make the delivery process effortless

The Result for London City Bond

By having Vision Distribution installed, it has enabled London City Bond to have all of their transport and delivery information for their various sites and depots in one central location.

Deliveries, collections and returns can all be arranged via the system and reports can also be easily generated for areas such as order information and details of deliveries for each customer.

Since the introduction of the mobile hand held system, it also means that drivers no longer need to return to the depot with signed paperwork.  All that’s required is a signature on the screen and all the delivery information is on the servers at the office within minutes.

To take a more in depth look at London City Bond, visit their website www.lcb.co.uk.

Details of the release can be found within the Development tracker system, which can be access by customers on the internet, the address is tracker.ontechsupport.net

You will need your user name and password to access the site.

If you are experiencing any issues which may be fixed by this version please contact the support team for an upgrade.
Bug releases are non chargeable releases to Vision Commerce.

As part of the Sage marketing machine we are sent offers to promote at the beginning of each month and each quarter. Sage would like us to send out individual updates and campaigns for each offer; our preference is to simply let you know what is available and contact us if something is of interest.

Current offers:

12 for 10 on 50 Accounts Sage Cover Extra
Basically 10% discount on 50 Accounts Cover Extra.

Terms and conditions apply and this is available until 16th April. For full details contact us now.

25% Off 50 Accounts Upgrades
If you are running Sage 50 Accounts v12 or v2007 you can get a 25% discount on the RRP cost of the Sage upgrade.

Terms and conditions apply and this is available until 16th April. For full details contact us now.

VAT Free 50 Accounts Upgrade
Get a 17.5% discount if you have an active v11 Sage 50 Accounts registration without a support contract as of 1st February 2010 or a v11 Sage 50 Accounts contract that is due to renew in March 2010.

Terms and conditions apply and this is available until 16th April. For full details contact us now.

£100 Off a 10 Day Sage Training Passport
For a limited time only you can get £100 off a 10-Day Training Passport, which offer huge savings on the full range of classroom and self-study training courses.

Terms and conditions apply and this is available until 16th April. For full details contact us now.

Sage offers change all the time so we’ll keep you updated as new offers become available. If you have any specific thoughts or requirements don’t hesitate to contact us on 0871 221 2671 or email me by clicking ‘reply’.

Regards,

David Stump and the Ontech team

We are working through offers that come in at the start of the month from Sage, Microsoft and other strategic suppliers and will be forwarding those shortly.

We have  Multimodal 2010 at the end of the month, there are clients going live and existing clients that are looking at expanding and how we can help, Gordon Brown is about to announce the date for the UK General Election and it’s barely 20 past nine!

Our month is going to be busy; we hope yours will too and look forward to speaking to you and finding out how we can help with your plans for April and the rest of the year.

Regards,

David Stump and the Ontech team.

Alan Gilchrist and David Stump will be available to answer questions and show how the Vision Suite of is helping companies is the warehousing and logistics industry.

If you would like to arrange a time to meet please email David Stump at dstump@ontechsolutions.net, or just stop by the stand on the day.

The new version is packed full of new and additional features to enhance the Warehouse Management Functionality

• Enhanced Warehouse Receipting Module and Booking Diary
• New Charging mechanisms and integration with VInvoicing for 3rd party invoicing
• Updated Sales Order Screens making it simpler to process orders
• Frozen Stock and Location Change options have been simplified and made easier to use
• More Enquiry Screens and additional searching has been added
• Lots of New Reports including a Warehouse Management overview
• Workflow has been added to the system for the order processing / picking and despatch
• New Picking types, not just FIFO any more but designed to suit any customer picking needs

Customers will be able to have the new release from 20th March 2010 onwards.

If you wish any further details then please contact us on 08451 89 89 00 or email us at info@ontechsolutions.net

Note that only receipts from some "initial member states", the identity of which HMRC have yet to confirm, will be covered by electronic AADs. Despatches from member states not involved with EMCS from 1st April 2010 will continue to be accompanied by paper AADs and these must be dealt with as now in the member state of receipt.

Over 150 handheld devices are in service and confirmed in excess of 250,000 delivery lines during its first quarter alone.

Visio ePOD is an essential asset to any distribution and logistics operation, providing real time data between drivers and central offices, giving customers a more accurate delivery window.

The 21CN is a more robust platform, so you will experience an even smoother and more reliable broadband service. It will also enable Eclipse to give you the newest communications services - from higher speeds to a wide range of bandwidth-hungry information services including Voice over IP (VoIP) and video over the internet.

The government are extremely keen that the UK can be as competitive as possible, openly saying that faster fibre broadband is one of the key elements to being competitive.

Eclipse is consistently recognised in independent reviews as one of the best performing ISPs in terms of speed, reliability and customer service and won Best Business Email and Best Business ISP at the 2008 ISPA awards.

Click here to find out more about Vision ePod.