Our first release of 2018 brings three seemingly small features that make integrating your ERP system with Printerpoint much simpler.
ERP systems like SAP, Profits Plus, Netsuite, Prophet 21 and Microsoft Dynamics NAV are a great place to manage customer relationships, including supply ordering. But for an outside application like Printerpoint to talk to an ERP, they need to speak the same language.
So let’s say an order comes from one of your MPS customers: Aardvark Architects needs a new cyan ink cartridge for their Canon iPF825 printer.
If the customer calls, your fulfillment person will type in the company name in the ERP, find the printer, and then scroll through a list of product codes until they find the cyan cartridge. And which size did they need? Let me call them back to double whether it should be 330mL or 700mL.
Until recently, Printerpoint could tell you the printer’s name, the customer name, and even that they usually get 330mL cartridges. But this information would still need to be manually searched in the ERP because Printerpoint and the ERP don’t talk the same way. You can search the ERP on “Aardvark Architects”, but in the system, it is really Customer number 120056.
Three cool things you’ll find the next time you log into Printerpoint:
A Customer ID field
A Printer Asset tag field
Manufacturer product codes for every HP and Canon printer supported in Printerpoint
Instead of waiting for a customer to call and let you know they need a new cyan cartridge, now you’ll get something more interesting:
The printer tells Printerpoint that it needs a new cyan cartridge and that the last time the customer ordered a 330mL cartridge
Your fulfillment coordinator approves the order in Printerpoint, adds any changes (let’s send them two, they went through that last one quickly!)
Printerpoint sends a message to your ERP system that Customer 120056 needs part number 2959B001 for printer AADH1023
Your ERP system logs the order and processes it using your existing workflow. Maybe you’re shipping from your warehouse, or a small order like this you might choose to drop ship from your favorite supplier. If the part number is included in your customer’s contract, the ERP bills it internally, if it is not, the customer gets a bill.
This type of automation is what makes Printerpoint act as the “IoT” (Internet of Things) for printers. We enable your customers’ printers to communicate with the other systems that help you run your business - for service requests, supply fulfillment, and even monthly billing.
And if you’re not ready for automation, that’s fine - Printerpoint will send your fulfillment team a simple email as soon as an order is placed with all the relevant details they need to ship the order.
“Printer IoT” is a big focus for us this year, and you will see many more features that help enable seamless communication within your ecosystem coming in the next few months!