NEXT GEN E-Cat in Mode 2

at the recent Exploris training is was mentioned --oh - by the way --did you know that the Next Gen Cat works in MODE2 (no internet connection ) ... and the conversation went one -- but a few of us had op[en mouths ... I looked at Bob and said --did you know that ...

While they struggle to fix the problems with the DIFFERENCES in vehicles that we have in Canada vs the USA ( an example was given for Mercedes E class - where the USA have far more models offered than we do in Canada ) ...the ability to have e-cat lookup in times of NO INTERNET is really handy to have ... and of course that is HINDSIGHT if you didn't set at least ONE TERMINAL to new next gen e-cat ... hint ... hint ...

Routine Maintenance on Windows XP

There are some things we need to do on the Windows XP machines every so often to keep then in shape - if not you will get this message ,,,,,,


This is what you do -- go to your computer and right click on your hard drive and select properties and run the TOPOL as shown --this program will clean up the mess the NEXT TIME you re-start your machine --so plan on this then do it on your lunch or at end of your work shift ( saving you idle time )




Thanks to Matt for spotting this - he noted that MOST machines at Auto Barn had this problem - but having just transfered from D&T - he never ran into it ... cute side story -- 30 minutes after solving this and getting Matt on his way --I get the SAME error ( usually when switching customers in invoicing screen ) --- so I ran it and went to lunch.

new Keystone website -

Just had a long call with Jason  McDonald from Keystone - there are MANY things happening with the relationship of Keystone & CARQUEST Canada .... some are in place and some will be happening very soon.
-no CARQUEST upcharge - the price that Keystone charge is the price we pay
-so that opens up all sorts of things that were made impossible previously
>>>>>  such as the CURRENT PROMOTIONS ( red button )  check this out weekly
-we still have some technical issues for make our E-Cat work - have addressed these to Tim Folks & Tom Kurtz ...if we can get the supplier prefix added to the e-cat ( like K&N Filter ) then e-cat works for 95% of line --and if we can get the CARQUEST Toronto DC to STOP STRIPPING the supplier prefix from the part # ( we think they did this JUST for ease in stock pickers ) -then we get the rest of the parts ( approx 200-300 and approx 10-20 in K&N to also show ( note these few parts do show in e-cat - but since the majority do not - you disregard the data )
-look for the sliding scale for margins -the more expensive the part - the less we make - but that is COMMON SENSE
-remember that we continue to quote relative to the US Dollar --so if someone gets a quote and comes back in a week - the difference will be the USA-CDN dollar ( Click here for USA-Cdn dollar chart )

Some changes - like ability to change passwords will not be on the NEW web-page for  a day ( and if this happens - wow --as their IT guys can do changes that fast --compared to --well - you know )

Farm Hydraulic Oil

It seems that ALL oil is getting complex ...so we are not surprised to see an updated spec for units built in 2007 and newer will require J20C that updates the long held 303 spec for Farm Hydraulic oil.

We will watch as these companies try to figure out if they incorporate into ONE SKU or keep two sku's based upon a price issue.

Comments appreciated

Small Things make BIG Differences

Going thru some old e-mail in a pending file --came across one from 2006 where we asked for better descriptions on hose & tubing in line RBR


Here is what we had ( prior to April 15 2010 )
RBR  27000  FUEL HOSE
RBR  27001  FUEL HOSE
RBR  27002  FUEL HOSE
RBR  27003  FUEL HOSE
RBR  27004  FUEL HOSE



See the image for what we have now -- much thanks to Don Grover in Raleigh - better descriptions help our staff in counting and our customers in knowing what they are buying


So --what other description improvements could help ???  Your turn

Payroll

I will be doing payroll on Monday, April 26th. Please make sure all vacation/sick days and time sheets are sent in before that.

Thanks.

CLB BP3757NALL -- still a good #

While we get the PLB - CLB change cleaned up -- it is important to note that CLB BP3757NALL is still a good sku that all stores need to stock - please check your levels  - there are more loose ends that are in the process of being cleaned up


earlier post on BP3757NALL

Wish # 6040 - various MOVEUP suggestions

Here are some general points & wishes on Move ups

I copied you a reply back to Mike Deal in Classogram/Mvt Code Dept. IF we had an option to see the description #2 (which generally holds the updated replaced by info .... ) it can make moveups a bit easier - seeing the descriptions confirms this part is being replaced by something. OR --can you come up with a better way to COLOR the part to show it is a REPLACED BY something else part ??

If we had the option to LIMIT the impact on 'Select Sales Override' -- I just did a SLS moveup and had a raft of 8.x items come up due to special order sales -- if we had a way to LIMIT the EXTREME level of mvt code we would add --for example on SLS I used 5.8 .... allow us to input the upper end of Mvt Codes to allow --so if we have sales on items - say - ONE FULL Mvt code above out input -- 5.8 + 1.0 = 6.8 ...any item with sales at or better than 6.8 --OK -- but any item with 6.9 or worse --ignore. Hope I wrote that in such a way it makes sense ...

How can we remove Min-Max from the display ... we have SO LITTLE ROOM on the moveup display - to WASTE IT showing Min-Max ( which we do NOT USE ) ...so on every moveup we have to adjust the display.

If you have Multi-store - we need a way to OPEN ALL ( instead of hitting the 'PLUS" sign 100 times for the 100 items

Whack a Mole - Update

A few weeks back I posted an article on Peter McNally and how asking him to FIX a problem was much like dealing with the game WHACK-A-MOLE -- you tell him of one problem --and it seems to get fixed -- but another problem pops up somewhere else.

The TPS line is a fight to get competitive with OEM sources ... we had sent him examples on 20153 that Ken found - and in following up we are pleased to see the price lowered to just 6% more than USA ... too bad the rest of the line didn't get fixed .... YET .... but --we will continue to request fairness and competitive prices .... and this post will be a footnote in the history of the struggle for CARQUEST Toronto to keep the Ontario jobbers competitive ....

PLEASE --keep the feedback coming --and will keep the push for common sense and fairness ...

BTW --I was impressed that some lines that were HIGHER than last time ( 2007 ) we fought this battle are lower now --we will work on the problem lines .... more to come

Matt's work on Battery display

While we wait for CARQUEST to provide adequate leadership --Matt took matters into his own hands and did this ... quite resourceful and good looking job -- now we can go back to the older sign and it will LAST and look better than this quick and dirty label using the yellow price sticker.

The plastic holders do an excellent job

HD E CAT

I found this HD vin decoder on Gates website. It is pretty neat. It will tell you all of the rubber products on that particular vehicle. Check it out. Here is a sample VIN: 1M1AA13Y21W139084

http://www.vindecipher.com/gates/index.cfm?action=decode

New Anti-Virus program for EXPLORIS machines

NOTE -- if your PC didn't come from CARQUEST -- you are responsible for maintaining your own anti-virus ( that is Pete's and Rhonda as far as we know )

All Exploris machines are updating their anti-virus program --the original logo looks like the shield and V - once you run an update it changes to the RED M.

I have asked Ryan to consider if the preferences are strong enough ( for example NO full scan set for any day ) ????

Note -- Auto Barn is set to have their new program tonight for tomorrow am ( Thur April 8th )