Ixchange releases ProfitAbility version 4.1

JSE-listed Ixchange has announced the latest update to its customer order fulfilment system, ProfitAbility, one application in the Ability suite of business management solutions.

ProfitAbility version 4.1 includes a full suite of financial applications, including general ledger, cashbook, accounts receivable and payable, and all the financial services that companies need. Improved sales functionality from quotes to sales orders and allocations has also been added, as has a new job-costing module.

The primary new feature in ProfitAbility that will appeal to distribution companies is the location tracking facilities, which have been included in addition to the product`s serial number management facilities. Version 4.1 also includes a configurable tracking mechanism that allows the host company to split its stock database into separate companies and to track stock movement in each company, independent of the others. This ability extends to general ledger and customer information as well.

More specifically, the product is able to run multiple companies with company-defined data-share. This means that businesses can have stock belonging to either one or multiple companies within the database. In addition, all the configurable business rules can be defined at database or company level.

"In previous versions of ProfitAbility, costing was handled in a first in, first out (FIFO) basis," says Johan Buys, director of the Ability division.

" In version 4.1, we have added average or specific costing by branch, warehouse or nationally, in addition to the FIFO facilities. The costing of shipments is also customisable, whereas it used to limit users to costing by value, it now includes weight and volume as well."

The new part shipment facility allows users to set rules that determine order fulfilment per order. The company has also built workflow rules into the application so users can ensure that all the steps in every business process are followed and completed according to each company`s specific business rules.

The facility to create kit (assembled goods) for products and the components of those products has also been built into the system, allowing users to order products and certain variable components of the product to suit their needs, as well as retaining the ability to only order the whole product if required.

Distributors are able to set the pricing of the products and components according to the customer doing the buying, thereby retaining special pricing for certain customers. Contract pricing has augmented the existing matrix or rules-based pricing in ProfitAbility 4.1.

"ProfitAbility will also be able to deal with customers` e-commerce needs. The product works with Internet Information Server and uses the same business rules as the normal internal user. Customers are able to transact online and in real-time. For instance, customers are able to view sales orders and pricing lists online. These lists can be set-up for contract pricing to ensure premier customers are presented with the relevant price lists inclusive of special discounts. Each customer company can log into its own site within the ProfitAbility site with the information relevant to that company. In this way the customer can assign passwords to any number of staff members and control its own database," says Buys.

Additional features include the addition of user-definable fields; bonded warehousing functionality is available to importers that need it; and the upcoming project management module will make allowances for time and material management, and partial billing. Buys adds that time sheets and resource planning may be added in the next release.

Accompanying the product will be the latest versions of AdaptAbility, an application that will assist users in importing data from current data sources, and ReportAbility.

ReportAbility acts as a middleware engine using a third party reporting tool to produce customisable reports and graphics. It will give the users the option of firing reports up from within ProfitAbility, as well as a stand-alone item on the desktop. ReportAbility utilises the same preset security and access control that is defined per user or group of users in ProfitAbility. The reports produced range from operational and financial status reports to detailed management reports using OLAP technology. The Business Intelligence tools presently supported are Crystal Reports and Business Objects. The idea is to expand the list of compatible products going forward, all using a single ReportAbility user interface.

ProfitAbility will ship with a basic set of reports and an open interface to the OLAP tool of choice of the customer.