another chapter in the storey .... Wordpress

PLEASE CLICK HERE ..... to see the new home for this blog .....





Blogspot has been good - but we need an excuse to learn Wordpress ...


click here for a NEW BLOG on Internet issues with CARQUEST ...


click here for the NEW BLOG for EXPLORIS issues with CARQUEST


Why Wordpress ... we keep hearing how Wordpress is a good solution for building a web presence so content can be updated ( unlike our existing web pages that are way out of date ) ...stay tuned --more stuff coming .... in the meantime --thank you bloodspot ...

how do stores learn to sell wheel weights ?????

so - what does it take to get salesmen to sell wheel weights ??  D&T does OK --but Petes & Auto Barn a distant 2nd and 3rd ????

I was talking with a partner and mentioned I see 'resistance to change' in many places .... why ?

Payroll

I will be doing payroll on Tuesday, May 29th.  Please make sure that all timesheets and vacation/sick days are sent in for first thing in the morning.  Payroll will be deposited on Thursday, May 31st.

Thank-you.

The most underused SCREEN in EXPLORIS ... is....

I think the most underused screen in EXPLORIS ( eBay nee WHI's Nexpart ) is the Multi-Store Creator-Editor ... assuming you are a multi-store jobber

It SUCKS big time -- to add a part to your store ... trust me -- it misses key items that makes the part stand out like an orphan ... BUT ...what it is good at .... by default ...since we have nothing else like it  .... is in LOOKING to see how you stores order point ( stock level at which the system re-orders ) ... does you store have ENOUGH ... if you try to stock just one --and you sell it often -- and you are always running out .... hmm ... time to INCREASE the stock level ....

One small point -- when you change the ORDER PNT ( order point ) -- from say 1 to 2 .... HIT the RETURN BUTTON ....you will see the cell turns a slight different colour of green --and the system will update the change ... try it both ways ... only one way works ... got to love the programmers at EXPLORIS WHI head office ....

Case in point --does Petes and Auto Barn have enough of PLB 194B2 ?????  How many other parts are like this ??  For this example I have collapsed some fields so you can see Qty Available ... Order Point ... and a few of the SALES Hist ( Hist1 is last month ...Hist24 is 2 years ago ... only months with data shows ... so no store sold 2 months ago -as there is no Hist2 showing )

A sign of a KEY STAFF MEMBER would ( and should be ) the ability top look at this screen and make a decision ,....

This is being cross posted to our EXPLORIS blog ...

CORNERSTONES -- ??

You have to wonder where the 'spirit' is at CARQUEST these days .... when is the last time they tried to help jobbers get smarter ??  They seem just happy being a WAREHOUSE and forgetting they are running a chain of Auto Parts stores ....  and I hate to admit it -- we need to re-minded of things we already know .. but have forgotten ....

BUT --wait there is hope -- CORNERSTONES -- a publication from 1970's ?? is on the link -- heavily buried and  rarely reviewed ( until now ) ....  

Mike Parker writes ....

 During our meeting this week you inquired about the “Cornerstones” you will find them on the CQ Link under Communications>Handbooks and manuals> cornerstones.

Mike Parker

Account Executive

buried and  rarely reviewed ( until now ) ....   go try one --and rate it ... print it off and bring it to a staff meeting ... and use this as your whats new .... all we ask is that you have read it --and see if you agree with what it says ....

The driving force behind these is very much missed ...and no one has yet to improve upon these ..but in fact most of these stand the test of time very well ...  and just smile that something that was originally typewritten is still current ...  oh ...forgot -- many of you don;t know what a typewriter is ( or was ).

how often should we review OLD STUFF

How often to go thru OLD STUFF ( see image ) and repeat ..many idea's are timeless .... the young the customer the less likely they understand markup and margin ...eh ?

How many other idea's have we had that are worth repeating more often ?

IF you can;t figure this out - it is the MS Word template to print avery labels for MARKUP & MARGIN

good YouTube help videos

you can log in ( once you register ) with youtube and subscribe to various 'channels' ... we also list suppliers that support youtube video's on the googledoc page for supplier e-cat ... here is an example

Update - STENS

reminder - you can get a priced or un-priced cat in Stens ....










reminder - Stens has LOTS of golf cart parts --- example brake pads .... as pictured here ....  start at page 770 in 2012 cat.  This particular part ( XAS - 710-285-006 ) is NOT stocked in Barrie ...so you need to order from Stens Canada in Brantford ... details in Plaxo

also --we will need to update our STENS data ...as 710-285-006 is not in our 2011 data file

An Amazing Thing!

In an amazingly selfless act, Jake's wife Chrissy donated a portion of her liver to a 9 month old baby girl.  A local family put a petition on facebook looking for donors for their baby and Chrissy saw the petition and met all the initial requirements.  After being tested she was a match for the baby.  Within a month Chrissy was having surgery to donate a portion of her liver, she is back at home and doing fine.  The doctors would know within 15 hours whether or not the baby would reject the liver and she did not reject it, she is currently doing well in Toronto where she will be staying for the next 4-6 weeks.
In recognition of this wonderful thing, the company will covering the 2 1/2 half days that Jake took off to drive his wife to Toronto and be there for her surgery as a goodwill corporate donation.

I added Brake and Steering Rebuilders  (BSR)  to plaxo as well as Hydraulic Rebuilders. Read the notes as to what they can do

Greg

new suppliers added to E-Cat listing

See your google doc for supplier e-cats and the youtube links for training .... added Sierra and Mallory Marine .... both have youtube training video's ( Mallory is part of Mr. Gasket group .... so Hot Rod as well as Marine )



Any times you can IMPROVE our list of suppliers and their BEST web page and training video's -- if you do NOT have EDIT privileges -- you could ask to get this --or ask your store manager to use your suggestions --and all stores can share in the benefit.

Payroll

Mark your calendars, I will be doing payroll on Thursday, April 26th. Please make sure that timesheets and vacation/sick days are sent in for first thing in the morning. Payroll will be deposited on Monday, April 30th.

Thanks, Rhonda

Linked Alternates .... not pretty but - what we have

In the first demo's of EXPLORIS many many years ago there was a smart window that opened up and you could easily see the number of items linked to a master part ...in fact as a test ( when I was on the Jobber Committee ) I linked a handful of 1/8 drill bits ... never new we had so many types ....

Anyways -that was then and this is NOW --and what we have is NOT PRETTY but it is all we have ... the tell tale is the up and down arrows as circled ... try it for BAT 551MF

In the master part in F-8 screen ( see #2 image ) you can edit and see what parts are listed ... until you click EDIT and then the ALT/SUP SETUP you won;t see how many you have

 .... see image #3

Does this make it any easier to understand ????

LFT - some parts available

Notice a new sub line ( PN Code #3 ) in LFT .... the Lift Struts ... a few basic hardware parts .... you also have additional end parts from lines like CC Marine ( hat tip for that to Ryan )

FMSI updates

Bill Mercer ( our rep ) from FMSI is off on a medical leave - we are awaiting who might be able to cover for our yearly visit ... stay tuned

Saw this article --click here - on AC line splices -and handy uses ....

new sku's in MWC

for a long time it looked like Torq ( SCA Hygene ) was a dead line in CARQUEST .... looks like some breathe of life coming back

Example - dispenser #654028A .... and a no nonsense approach that the cost of the dispenser is based on as NO PROFIT to the customer ....

Polish Cloth # 197278  ( only levels set at Petes & A Barn

Blue Grease Cloth # 440278 A ( levels set at all stores --we have requested movement codes be INCREASED so the DC will stock more -- at this point any of our stores has an order point HIGHER than the DC warehouse

Road Show

What can happen when you attend a road show? For those of you who made the time to attend the last road show on March 27th you will see a bonus payment in the amount of $75.00 paid with your mid month. For those of you who chose not to attend you received a payment of $1.00.

Anyone who drove to the meeting will receive an extra bonus at the staff meeting on Monday but you must attend the staff meeting in order to receive it.

Rhonda

Mid Months

Mid Months will be deposited on Friday, April 13th.

Rhonda

Missing Images or Safety Sheet data

we have added Bogdan Danescu to Plaxo as the contact in CARQUEST for missing images and Safety sheets ...  he handles just the Cdn side -- but assuming that most of what we are missing are the Cdn lines ( like CQO and ANT )

Search Plaxo for IMAGES and you will find his contact name and e-mail address

PS --Note - his e-mail address is NOT his first name ... has been corrected ( for the 3rd time ) --see PLaxo