Forum Sales Order Processing
Overview
Forum Advertising Software is the business software solution for today's rapidly changing Media Sales market. The Forum Ad booking system is at the cutting edge of today's advertising systems. It allows booking of traditional print advertising alongside new media and online booking all controlled from one central location. The Advert booking system includes all of the expected functionality in addition to many unique features.
The Forum Software solution provides capabilities which have been designed from the ground up as a sales order systems for Exhibitions, Awards, Distribution ads (email/newsletters), Web Ads and loose inserts as well as the traditional print booking system. This provides the solutions for Media business to have a system that takes all sales orders whether a Classified or Display booking for print or floor space at an Exhibition; providing the business with a single view of customer orders.
Forum is the media sales solution for leading Newspaper publishers in the UK such as The Independent, Express Newspapers as well as niche publishers such as Times Supplements Limited (TES). The Advert booking system also provides solutions to leading magazines such as OK magazine and The British Medical Journal. The Advert booking system also provides solutions to some of the leading Newspaper and Magazine publishers in South Africa and Ireland.
Media Systems Ltd also provides full production control capabilities from advert make-up, to copy chasing and full page planning using MediaPlanner. The software solutions are highly configurable so can be tailored to fit your exact business requirements in order to align with your existing business workflows.
Features
MSL's Customer Control Center offers a comprehensive solution by streamlines processes, offering businesses a total overview of their customers, empowering employees to make informed decisions while giving management information that will help strategic decision making. Some of the features include:
- High system availability & reliability delivered using Sun and Sybase combination
- Multi currency
- Loyalty Points accumulation/redemption system
- Integrated complaints system
- Completely customisable user interface
- Intuitive, quick and simple to use for end users
- Rich, real-time reporting capabilities
- Historic data information for Web Ad booking shown to improve communications between salesperson and Customer.
- Split payments and custom payment plans for Exhibitions and Awards.
- Integrated CRM & ad booking for better account management
- Able to make a cross media campaign booking in a single system, under a single booking reference:
- Exhibitions
- Web booking
- Awards
- Loose inserts
- Distribution ads
- Print booking
- One single database controlling booking, CRM and production a fully integrated solution
- Order based system for print items and non print items
- CRM capability directed at publishing users
- Screen building stored in the database per Usertype.
- Thin client compliant (Citrix, Jetro, Windows Terminal Server)
- Windows Vista / Windows 7 compliant
- Multiple Materials, the ability to make bookings of different copy and size all within one booking
- TPS and YAC functionality
- PAF searches internal to system
- Copy Management facilities to improve advert production
- Highly customizable system
- Canvassing and Mail Merge tools.
- Additional documents and files attached to the booking (AdPlus)
- Meta data information additional to the booking and html editor for separate editing of online information.
- Complex Package booking
- Contract functionality
- Integration with Microsoft Word for inputting of lineage adverts
- Style gallery
- Web based copy chasing module
- Multi business unit compatible
- Online credit card authorization and payment
- Integration to Crystal Reports.
Benefits
Forum is able to provide complete control of the sales order processing environment for all sales elements that your business may want to incorporate including online display advertising. Salespeople where permitted are also able to sell and input exhibition stands, seminars and events and distribution ads (mail shots) as well as loose inserts. All of these elements are input through a single front end and their data is held in a single database for onward invoicing and reporting.
Forum has the ability to repurpose your traditional print ads for online use without manual intervention. This saves time, money and ultimately reduction of manual processes reduces errors and delivers accuracy.
A significant benefit gained from using the client/server/server model is the ease and cost effective manner in which the system can be deployed and expanded by adding additional application servers, which enables the system to deliver the advantages of a central data store without the problem of constantly having to upgrade the central server as the system expands. Forum is deployable per PC or as part of a thin client infrastructure under Citrix/Jetro Cockpit and Windows Terminal Services.
FAQ
Find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about Forum Sales Order Processing.
Forum Advertising uses a client/server/server model. The application can either be installed as a thick client on the host PC or the client can be deployed using application delivery services such as Citrix, Jetro and Windows Terminal Services.
The server components utilise the high availability and reliability of Sybase database and UNIX based servers. The servers can be physical Solaris machines or can be hosted on Windows servers in a virtualized environment.
Forum Advertising provides for the ability to link a Windows login to a Forum Advertiser user. This ability provides Windows authentication and control of user specific functionality within Forum Advertising linked to the logged on user, without the user having to separately log on and off the application.
All screens can be individually and ergonomically designed to meet the needs of separate user types within Forum Advertising. Workflow through the screens, colour, incorporated logos and presentation are all configurable, maximizing productivity and minimizing user fatigue and discomfort.
Forum Advertising provide for the ability to create a tree structure of publications. That is combinations within combinations and publications within combinations. The resultant structure is presented to the user in an easily navigable tree that enables the selection of groups of combinations/publications with the minimum number of keystrokes.
Each combination/publication can be assigned a short-cut key that enables the user to be keyboard or mouse/keyboard centric.
Package discounts can be configured and applied when defined groups of publications are booked together. Different discounts can be applied to the separate publications within the package and for different adtypes.
Vat codes, rates and applicable dates are defined centrally. Any new rate will be used for all customers and bookings to which the VAT code is eligible.
Yes, a simple uplift of percentage or fixed value can be applied to a rate with a defined applicable from date.
This will depend on the complexity of the advert, however using Forum Advertising's line scheme all basic booking data, which includes publication/combination, adtype, classification/subclass and series insertion dates can be entered in a simple abbreviated format.
A series is defined as multiple insertions in a single publication on a single date. This is standard functionality within Forum Advertising.
A different classification and sub-classification can be assigned to each insertion within the booking.
Forum Advertising integrates with Address lookup files. Searches can be made for Postcode, Postcode and house number or by street name.
Forum interfaces with online card authorisers' including VeriFone Payware, Commidea and Worldpay.
A variety of ways have been implemented for capturing metadata for internet search requirements. Metadata can be used to auto-generate lineage advertising, reducing the amount of re-keying required. Bookings for on-line advertising can be extracted from the database on a scheduled basis and forwarded to the hosting site for upload.
Unlimited contacts can be assigned to a customer. Actions and notes can associated with each contact to provide a comprehensive call log.
Email templates provide for a standard format which can include ad, insertion, payment and standard text information which can be sent by the Sales staff on completion of making the booking. Alternatively a batch process run at the end of day, this can be utilised to combine details of all ads booked to separate customers.
