Hi, Steve,
From the look of it, it is similar to the requirement of an engineering=20
workshop, ie, job control, job costing and job billing.
While it is not too difficult to produce such a system, the accuracy of=20
system generated data is very difficult to ensure. The following=20
operational peculiarities are usually the culprit,
1. The use of spare parts locked down from an assembly with the=20
lock-down process not being recorded by the system.
2. The use of parts savaged from damaged parts/assemblies inherited from=20
previous service jobs. These damaged parts never got thru the system in=20
the first place.
3. The swapping of good part/assembly against damaged part/assembly in a=20
service job is not being recorded. Thus, the service job is underpriced=20
with the retained damaged parts waiting to be written off in the spring=20
cleanup.
4. In bigger shops, there is the problem of inaccurate demarcation among=20
capital spares, spares for servicing and spares available for sale.
IMHO, the rectification of these problems requires very stringent=20
assembly (lock-down) control with individual part serial number tracing=20
similar to those in use in aircraft maintenance systems. None of these=20
is available in CK-Ledger's inventory module. What I am saying, perhaps,=20
is that you may have to be prepared to accept a certain degree of=20
inaccuracy given the level of immaturity of inventory control provided=20
by CK-Ledger.
Just my 2 c worth.
Cheers,
CK
PS - All these also affect servicing quality, ie, consumer complaint=20
about repair shops utilizing refurbished parts instead of newly=20
manufactured parts.
Steve Gallaher wrote:
> Marc,
>
> That=92s a good question. Let me give you a somewhat brief description=20
> of what I=92m envisioning. Hopefully it explains what we after.
>
> Our company provides electronics repair services throughout New=20
> Zealand. When someone brings in an item such as a TV or DVD player for=20
> repair, we need to capture some additional information before we even=20
> start the work. We need somewhere to record what it is (TV, VCR, DVD,=20
> etc.), as well as the make, model, and serial number (for warranty=20
> work). Additionally, we need to enter what the reported problem with=20
> the item is. Once the =91job=92 and related information has been entere=
d=20
> into the system, we need to assign it to a technician for work. We=92d=20
> like the ability to assign new job to a technician and have the=20
> technician be able to log on to the system and see his queue of=20
> pending jobs. Then, while working, the technician may need to add some=20
> journal entries about what he is doing, as well as adding line items=20
> from inventory to the job as well as adding labour from services. When=20
> the work is finished, the technician can mark the job as =91completed=92=
=20
> and it would then show up in the queue for the manager to review and=20
> invoice. I=92d imagine there would be a function to convert the service=
=20
> job into an invoice, kind of like how CK-Ledger handles converting a=20
> Sales Order into an invoice.
>
> This service job work model would also be applicable to most any=20
> industry that performs repairs or diagnostic maintenance services=20
> (such as auto mechanics, plumbers, or PC repairs).
>
> Regards,
>
> Steve
>
> From: "Marc Lutolf" <mf...@ne...>
>
> To: <ck-...@li...>
>
> Subject: RE: [CK-Ledger-users] Issuing refund / credit
>
> Date: Wed, 25 Feb 2004 12:11:50 +0100
>
> Hello,
>
> I use the Xaraya version of CK-Ledger in a service industry setting=20
> (hosting and software services). What more do you need that isn't=20
> provided by the services module?
>
> Marc
>
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