NWA Intactix Users Group

JDA Launches Their Own Blog

2012-01-24T10:21:00.003-06:00

JDA has sent out an email to many of their customers announcing their new blog called Supply Chain Nation. They are encouraging community discussion on their topics and the comments will be moderated as is the case with this blog.

The few posts that they have uploaded are from various JDA executives with their takes on the retail industry. I hope to find that they categorize their solutions and add their product managers to their list of blog posters.

New ProSpace classes at NWACC's Shewmaker Center

2011-11-15T15:28:00.001-06:00

We are growing and will be offering Intactix and Space Planning (better known as “ProSpace”) starting January 23, 2012. In this class the student will be able to build planograms, analyze shelf space and reduce out of stocks, just to name a few things that will be covered.

There will be an “Introduction to Shelf Management and Intactix Space Planning” on Monday evenings, January 23-March 12 (8 weeks) from 6-9pm. We will then offer the “Advanced Shelf Management and Intactix Space Planning Class” on Monday evenings, April 9-30 (4 weeks) from 6-9pm. If you are interested or know someone interested, registration will begin October 20, 2011. For additional information contact Renee Campbell via email or at 479-936-5175.

JDA's Bentonville Training Facility to be renamed "Paul Sharos Education Center for JDA Solutions"

2011-10-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

This plaque was displayed at Paul's memorial this past Saturday.

In honor of "Mr. Wonderful", JDA has renamed their Bentonville training facility to "Paul Sharos Education Center for JDA Solutions".

Paul was the lead trainer and established the Bentonville office.

Father, Friend, Long Time Co-worker, Paul Sharos

2011-09-15T09:29:00.000-05:00

This morning I found out that our long time friend Paul, passed away last night.

The following is an excerpt from an internal memo at JDA...

It is with great sadness that I send this note to inform you that one

of our long standing JDA Associates, Paul Sharos, passed away

unexpectedly this afternoon.

Paul a Senior Instructor in the Education Services team originally

joined JDA in July 1996 with Intactix in the Naperville office. In

2005 Paul relocated with his family to Arkansas to start up the JDA

Bentonville office. Paul helped to develop the Training-On-Demand

program to provide custom instruction based on specific customer needs

and historically maintained one of the highest Instructor Revenue and

Instructor Utilization rates. Many of you had the pleasure of working

with Paul, I understand that he had a good sense of humor and made

friends wherever he went and always made his interactions with others

personal.

I have been told when Paul wasn’t at work he enjoyed being a “Band”

Dad, spending as much time as he could with his family, and loved

movies and American Idol.

Paul was cherished by his team, friends at JDA, and the many customers

that he touched.

Paul is survived by his wife and three children.

I've known and worked with Paul from our days together at Intactix in the late 90's. A fond memory of him that I have is when I first met him, he bought me a Packers cheesehead which I still own and occasionally use. I noticed that he had this giving attitude all the time and you may have experienced it yourself. For the past 6 years Paul, Michael McClain and I loosely ran an unofficial Intactix Users Group here in NW Arkansas. We could all count on him for contributing the most to the meetings with his peanut-gallery comments, eye-rolling jokes, donuts, coffee and knowledge sharing.

I am really going to miss this great personality. My thoughts are with his family.

FOCUS Draws To A Close

2011-05-04T09:58:00.000-05:00

See everybody at the all new Aria Resort in Vegas next year.

FOCUS 2011 Is Underway

2011-05-01T18:43:00.001-05:00

Next three FOCUS conferences to be in Vegas?

2011-05-01T18:31:00.002-05:00

When talking with another JDA customer today I was told that the next three conferences will be held in Vegas. I guess the prices in Vegas are too hard to turn down.

JDA Massively Improves JDAUSER.COM

2011-04-05T17:14:00.000-05:00

JDA has designed a whole new support/community website for their customers. I've been using it for about a month now and here are some new features I've found. Be sure to check it out.

Able to retrieve forgotten login ID without calling help desk
Google powered search engine
Instantly see your open tickets on your home screen
Request download updates of your products
Easier to find things due to new interface. More information visible from one screen.
Request WebEx session
Replay webinars

Coming Soon: An Intactix Users Group Meeting In NWA

2011-03-18T17:33:00.000-05:00

There have been some requests for us to resume the Intactix users group meetings in NW Arkansas like we use to have every other month. To gauge interest in this we will have a meeting sometime in May shortly after the JDA conference in Orlando.

Paul Sharos of JDA and I will work on an agenda and will post the location, date and time here soon. We're looking for ideas on guest speakers (if you want any), training needs, how-to's and tips n tricks. As always, please feel free to contact either one of us for agenda suggestions.

Stay tuned...

Intactix Portfolio 7.7 Now Available For Download

2010-10-12T22:18:00.000-05:00

JDA has been hard at work adding new features to the Intactix Suite. Be sure to contact the help desk to get the web link to download the software. Downloading will save your company quite a bit in sales tax since there is no CD being shipped.

Advanced Virtual Merchandising Starts October 11

2010-08-11T09:50:00.000-05:00

My advanced class for Intactix Space Planning (ProSpace) starts at 6:00pm October 11 and runs until November 8. The class is two hours long on Monday evenings.

We will cover the following in this class...

Chart creation/editing
Table (reports) creation/editing
Highlighting
Formulas

The price is $600 per student. If you have any questions about what is covered please call me at 479-464-6058 or e-mail me. To register please e-mail Melinda Schmohl or call her at 479-936-5107.

Introduction To Virtual Merchandising Starts Aug 16

2010-08-11T09:37:00.004-05:00

My introductory class for Intactix Space Planning (ProSpace) starts at 6:00pm August 16 and runs until September 13. The class is two hours long on Monday evenings.

We will cover the following in this class...

Software setup
Hierarchy within Space Planning which explains why certain products will stack in unexpected manners
Printing/Opening/Saving
Print Layout creation and editing
Manipulating merchandise and fixtures
Measuring products according to Walmart's requirements
Shortcuts for accomplishing repetitive tasks
Efficient error checking
Using and creating shelf labels for product identification and error spotting
Uploading planograms through Retail Link and using their system to check your work before it goes to the modular planner
Product images
Store visit to explain merchandising techniques and fixture types that will be converted into the virtual world of Intactix Space Planning

The price is $650 per student. If you have any questions about what is covered please call me at 479-464-6058 or e-mail me. To register please e-mail Melinda Schmohl or call her at 479-936-5107.

JDA Releases Space Planning 7.6.2

2010-05-05T13:56:00.000-05:00

According to a memo sent to customers today, Space Planning 7.6.2 is now available to all maintenance-paying customers. The following is a quote from the memo...

"The ‘Update From Fixture Library’ functionality has been redesigned to support updating individual fixtures, and fixtures within an assembly, from matching fixtures in a fixture library. Based on feedback from users and the Space Planning SIG (Special Interest Group), updating planogram dimensions and segments from planogram templates in the fixture library is no longer supported. A new diagnostics log shows the update status for each fixture in each planogram, with a total count of updates and errors for fixtures that could not be updated. JDA encourages you to review the Release Notes for additional details, and evaluate this significant redesign. We would like your feedback to determine if additional refinements are needed for a future release.

Space Planning could become unstable if a large number of products displayed automatic models using the Model + extended bitmap option and the images contained transparencies. The instability in the 3D view could cause Space Planning to shut down unexpectedly, losing unsaved changes.

The maximum length for some fields was too restrictive for multi-byte characters. In Space Planning, the maximum length of a string (alphanumeric) field is measured in bytes, not characters. Several fields have been modified so that multi-byte characters are considered when enforcing the maximum length.

Additional details are available in the Space Planning 7.6.2 Release Notes document available on the Intactix Enterprise Suite 7.6.3 CD, or from JDA Support Services.
This release is a full installation package of Space Planning, and can be used for either new installations or for upgrade installations. If upgrading from a version of Space Planning prior to 7.5.0, please review the Release Notes document for important information."

JDA Updates Logo

2010-03-10T16:13:00.000-06:00

Here's the new look for JDA.

All future NWA Intactix Users Group meetings cancelled

2010-01-14T11:46:00.000-06:00

Due to attendance trends I have decided to cancel all future Intactix Users Group meetings. In the future we may have a special event but our regularly scheduled meetings have had such poor attendance that it's just not worth the effort to put these together.

If you have any feedback or general comments about this group please leave a comment on this posting and feel free to post it anonymously if you like. I guess with Walmart taking category advisory in house in many categories, there just aren't as many ProSpace users in the area or the meetings just didn't have the value expected.

However we will continue on as a user group though through this website. The forum is a great resource for getting your Intactix questions answered. When you post something on the forum there is a panel of Intactix user/experts that instantly receive your question via e-mail. When someone posts a reply to your posting you will instantly receive an e-mail.

Give away at this week's meeting: Office Pro 2007, Harvest Reap and Windows Vista Ultimate

2010-01-12T15:33:00.000-06:00

Our giveaways for this month's meeting are once again provided by Harvest I.T. the makers of the Retail Link downloader, Reap. We will have a drawing for Office Pro 2007, Windows Vista Ultimate and Harvest I.T.'s Reap. We will draw from business cards dropped off at the front door.

First 2010 Users Group Meeting: Jan 14

2010-01-04T14:53:00.002-06:00

This month's meeting will be at the Shewmaker Center at 9:00am on Jan 14. We will have a demonstration of ShelfSnap Snap-O-Gram technology.

If you haven't heard of ShelfSnap be sure to check out their website. They can take a photograph of a shelf layout and use it to generate a ProSpace file.

As usual we will be covering ProSpace tips n tricks and the following...

Printing using layouts
Creating a store to item report using MS Access

November meeting has record breaking attendance

2009-11-13T09:15:00.000-06:00

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you didn't attend yesterdays user group meeting. Here is the link to the presentation. In addition to this presentation I demonstrated a great data visualization application called Tableau. For those that did show up we had a drawing for a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition and a copy of Harvest I.T.'s Reap software which is an excellent Retail Link downloading tool. The prizes were provided by Harvest I.T. The winner of Windows 7 was Darren McDonald from Coca Cola and Sherrice Stevens from McCormick won the copy of Reap. Congratulations guys.

A big thank you to the JDA gang for the great coffee and donuts. Maybe we'll have a better turn out next time.

User Group Meeting this Thursday at 9:00am (cst) @ Shewmaker Center

2009-11-10T17:21:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the late reminder but our next meeting, which is also our last for the year, is this Thursday. The agenda is as follows. Hope to see you there at the Shewmaker Center at 9:00am.

Tips and tricks on maneuvering shelves and positions

Using tables and Space Automation to correct your planogram settings and fixtures
Paul Sharos, Intactix Instructor Extraordinaire will be explaining what's new in the newest 7.6.1 release of ProSpace.

Shewmaker Center Now Offering Two Levels Of ProSpace Training

2009-11-05T15:58:00.002-06:00

For the past five years I've been teaching ProSpace at the Shewmaker Center at NWACC on Wednesday evenings from 6-9pm. The class would run for twelve weeks and would cover introduction to the software to the most advanced analytical features like tables and charts. Well, good news! We still offer that but now you can pay for just the parts you want without the twelve week commitment. Starting Jan 6, 2010 we will be offering a beginners class that runs for seven weeks at the usual time of Wednesday at 6pm. Then you can continue on or drop into the advanced class (if you already have basic ProSpace skills) on Feb 24 for five weeks at the usual time Wednesday at 6pm.

The beginners course will cove topics such as

Software setup
Store visit to examine merchandising styles and fixture design
Creating and editing projects, planograms, fixtures, products and labels
Creating and editing print layouts
Understanding the hierarchy
Product measuring and imaging according to Walmarts requirements
Creating and using product libraries
Using fixture libraries
Importing exporting data

The advanced portion will cover

Charts
Tables
Importing POS data
Highlighting
Labels

For questions about the class please contact me at eric@liberatore.net. To register for the class please contact Begi Quarti 479-936-5155 bquarti@nwacc.edu.

JDA Releases Intactix Enterprise Suite 7.6.1 Service Release

2009-10-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

According to a memo sent out to current license holders of Intactix Portfolio, 7.6.1 is now available for ordering. Nothing was mentioned about the software being available for download which became an option for version 7.6.0 but I would think that this is still an option. Just contact JDA support for that link.

Since this is a service release this may not be something you need to run out and install immediately. The memo indicated that most of the changes will affect Planogram Converter, Floor Planning, Planogram Generator, EIA and the PEM feature in Space Automation.

Check out www.jdauser.com or your inbox for further details.

The Barcode is 57 years old today

2009-10-07T16:14:00.000-05:00

I noticed that Google was celebrating something today because their logo was a barcode. Turns out that one of the most important inventions in supply chain was patented today in 1952.

When I clicked through some of the Google results I found this free website that could be useful if you need to generate and print a UPC barcode.

JDA Intactix Suite 7.6 Available Online

2009-09-09T22:30:00.002-05:00

Wow! Not only are there some excellent new features coming in the newest Intactix suite but you can finally download the program instead of waiting weeks for your disc. You will need to submit your request through http://www.jdauser.com or contact their support desk. According to a memo sent from JDA today you must request CD's if you still require a physical shipment. Why is 7.6 worth the upgrade process? Export to Excel: No more pasting and reformatting your UPC's. This truly exports it to an Excel file and opens Excel for you immediately if you choose. Print to PDF: Yes, you probably already have a PDF printer installed but if don't you will now have the ability to print charts, tables and planograms into an Adobe Acrobat file. It installs a PDF printer but will only work in Space Planning even though you'll see it available in other programs. Improved "Mulitple Planograms" Option for Tables: The checkboxes at the top of your table are now replaced with a handy menu/window option. This also allows you to compare planograms that may not be located as number one and number two. "Perform Space Planning Action" Command for Space Automation: Previous versions of Space Automation were limited to whatever commands were available to you. Now you can specify a Space Planning menu or screen in your script even if there isn't a command for the function. This is close to the Macro menu option in old InterCept.

Meeting This Thursday

2009-09-08T09:10:00.004-05:00

This Thursday the 10th we will have our users group meeting.

We will be picking up where we left off from July with our "Modular Relay" format. This week we will be covering the following...

How to create and use tables
Highlighting

Our meeting will start at 9:00am at the Shewmaker Center.

JDA Software Acquires Equity Interest in European-Based Strategix Enterprise Technology

2009-07-16T12:03:00.004-05:00

Remember that little company out of Germany that created a PDA-based version of ProSpace? Well it's no surprise that JDA has invested in that company, which is called Strategix. What you may not have been aware of is that Strategix has been a reseller of sorts of selected JDA products in Eastern Europe and Russia. They have established a brand name for themselves that is well recognized in the retailer and manufacturer arena. This will help JDA get more market share where they have been struggling.

Click the title of this posting for the full press release. Click here for a link to Strategix.

Meeting This Thursday

2009-07-06T10:41:00.004-05:00

This Thursday the 9th we will have our users group meeting.

We will be picking up where we left off from May with our "Modular Relay" format. This week we will be covering the following...

How to create and use charts
How to create and use labels
Proper item dimension capture
How to edit and use images of products using PhotoShop

Our meeting will start at 9:00am at White Auditorium on NWACC campus.

UPDATE: Paul Sharos will be demonstrating the newest features of the upcoming 7.6 release of ProSpace and SpaceAutomation.

Links to May '09 NWA Inactix Users Group Presentations

2009-05-22T08:59:00.000-05:00

Well, as expected the meeting started out with the usual technical difficulties but we finally got started. Thanks for putting up with me.

Here are the links to the presentation and other documents that were used in yesterdays meeting...

The Upcoming Intactix Users Group Meeting - 5/21/09

2009-05-15T16:33:00.002-05:00

When do you use ProSpace? It's usually during the relay process, right? There is a flow to your work in ProSpace during a relay. It usually starts with your Retail Link data being imported into each planogram so that you can analyze your space to sales with charts, tables, labels and highlighting, followed by printouts. Then you may move shelves and products around and fill in all the fields that Walmart requires. From here there many more hours spent in ProSpace.

So with this work flow in mind I've decided to start a regular feature for our meetings. Myself and others will demonstrate how to effeciently do these tasks in the software as well as tricks on doing them easier and faster. We will present these over the next 6 meetings then start it all over again. We'll still have an open format so that you don't have to wait for a future meeting to see something demonstrated.

Here is a preliminary agenda which will most likely change throughout the year. Nothing here is in concrete.
May 21

How to build your Retail Link query
How to build a Product Library and use it to update your planograms
How to work with multiple planograms both in a single file or individually
Setting up ProSpace for working with Walmart
A few points observed from FOCUS 2009

July 9

How to create and use charts
How to create and use labels
How to measure items
How to edit and use images of products

September 10

How to create and use tables
Highlighting

November 12

Tips and tricks on maneuvering shelves and positions
Using tables and Space Automation to correct your planogram settings and fixtures

January 14

Printing using layouts
Creating store to modular and item to store reports using MS Access

March 11

May 13

If there is something that I should add to this list please let me know. You can add it to the comments.
Of course Paul Sharos of JDA will be there providing his wit and wisdom but more importantly donuts and coffee! Don't forget that both Paul and I provide training on ProSpace. Visit http://www.jdalearn.com/ for Paul's all-day-format training and visit NWACC's website for info on my class.

ProSpace/SpacePlanning Webinar: Upgrading Your Version ProSpace

2009-05-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

If you are not using ProSpace/Space Planning 7.5.5 yet you are missing out the one feature worth upgrading alone; the function of your mouse wheel in tables. There are other features added that you will benefit from as well.

JDA is offering a free webinar on May 14th at 1:00pm CST to current paying maintenance customers on how to back-up your files and perform a flawless upgrade. You will need to RSVP using this link.

Register for FOCUS 2010 before June 30 and save some serious money

2009-05-07T09:37:00.000-05:00

If you attended this year's FOCUS and register by June 30 for FOCUS 2010 you can save $655 per person. See the details at http://www.jdafocus.com/.

Even though the attendance was low and the length of the conference was shortened by a day I felt this year's conference was one of the better ones that I've attended and noticed that the Intactix user community was as strong as ever. I look forward to see how next year's will measure up when FOCUS returns to Las Vegas May 16-19, 2010.

Submit your enhancement requests for SpaceAutomation and/or IKB to JDA by May 15

2009-05-01T11:18:00.003-05:00

If you are a member of the SpaceAutomation and/or IKB Special Interest Group you have until May 15 to submit new enhancement requests to add to the voting list. New requests should be submitted on an enhancement form submitted to CSS (Customer Support Solutions), as described on www.JDAUser.com in the Special Interest Group section. If you have questions on submitting enhancement requests, please contact your regional CSS (contact details posted on JDAUser.com). JDA requests your use of the enhancement request form to provide the relevant details so that JDA and other SIG members can understand your business need and your enhancement recommendation.

The schedule for SIG enhancement voting:

May 15: Cut-off date for submitting new enhancement requests to CSS.

May 29: Distribution of the final enhancement list for SIG voting.

June 19: Voting ballots due to your SIG Chairperson and SIG Manager. This voting schedule provides time for discussion. Based on member interest we can schedule conference calls to discuss enhancements.

August 22: Distribution of tabulated results to the SIG.

If your company has competitive concerns about submitting your confidential votes to your SIG Chairperson (me), please contact George Mirza and we will make alternative arrangements.

Some facts from this mornings opening session at Focus 09

2009-04-27T15:05:00.003-05:00

800 in attendance from 200 companies from 15 countries. Typically there are
about 1,200 in attendance. COO Chris Koziol was master of ceremony and
thanked our employers for sending us understanding the economic reasons
that attendance was lower than usual. He introduced CEO Hamish Brewer.

Hamish covers some of the innovation in their products of which none are
Intactix products. To be fair though there has been some small innovations
made over the past year as in other years but not to the scale of their
other brands. (UPDATE: Thanks to Larry in the comments for reminding me that Intactix had a significant release of Planogram Generator last year in 2008.) He also introduced a new initiative, "Managed Services".
This is where JDA will offer full implementation services which include
tech-support, advanced support, hardware and optimization. Furthermore,
support and development will partially be moved off shore. (UPDATE: Hyderabad India)

Hamish then introduced our keynote speaker, Sam Donaldson. Sam delivered
energetic, insightful and entertaining stories on the three US presidents
that he worked with from the 70's to the 90's.

Follow JDA FOCUS 2009 On Twitter

2009-04-26T22:39:00.002-05:00

I've been resisting the mass bandwagon of Twitter because I couldn't really see a need to get micro updates from whomever but I found out today that JDA was doing a Twitter thingy with this conference so I finally signed up. If you want to follow these "twits" (UPDATE: Getting familiar with Twitter I have learned that a posting is called a "Tweet" not a "Twit". Twit is funnier though.) and get up to the minute updates on going's on, room changes and whatever follow them at http://www.twitter.com/JDAFOCUS.

My account is http://www.twitter.com/eliberatore. Don't spam me.

The Gaylord Hotel

2009-04-26T10:38:00.001-05:00

Day 1 has started with various meetings for S.I.G.'S and workshops. Weather
is great. Tonight is the grand opening for conference.

Mr. Liberatore Goes To Washington

2009-04-24T13:51:00.001-05:00

Michael McClain and I are off to this year's FOCUS conference. I'm curious what the attendance is going to be this year.

I'll be posting any announcements or learnings from my seat in the audience.

DATE CHANGE: Next Intactix Users Group 5/21/2009

2009-04-21T09:00:00.001-05:00

The May Intactix meeting will be May 21st instead of our usual 2nd Thursday of the odd-numbered months. Still starts at 9:00am at the Shewmaker Center. A few of us are working on an agenda so if you have any requests be sure to e-mail me.

FOCUS Returns to Vegas in 2010

2009-04-20T16:59:00.000-05:00

True to their custom of holding their annual conference every other year in Las Vegas, JDA is holding FOCUS 2010 in Caesars Palace May 16-19. This year JDA has cut back on the conference in Washington, D.C. Meetings and events will be more intimate and will end a day shorter than usual. Next year they are returning to the 4-day format.

Next ProSpace Class Starts May 6

2009-04-16T11:26:00.001-05:00

To sign up please contact jthulin@nwacc.edu. For questions about the class please e-mail eric@liberatore.net. Cost is $655 and runs for 12 weeks every Wedensday from 6:00pm-9:00pm.

Sam Donaldson To Be Keynote Speaker At FOCUS 2009

2009-02-13T08:27:00.000-06:00

Sam Donaldson, the veteran ABC Washington correspondent, will be the keynote speaker at FOCUS this year. (I wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that FOCUS is being held in Washington DC this year?) He will be taking questions from the audience.

Every year JDA gets an engaging keynote speaker to open up the meeting and this year shouldn't dissapoint.

JDA Notifying Users That It's Time To Join the 21st Century

2009-02-09T12:21:00.004-06:00

JDA e-mailed an announcement this morning stating that starting with their 7.6 version of Intactix Suite they will be adding and dropping testing and certification on certain operating systems and database platforms. 7.6 is scheduled for release in the middle of this year.

They will be adding Oracle 11g support to IKB and are currently evaluating SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 for potential support in the 7.6 release.

With this release JDA will no longer certify or test on the following OS's or database platforms.

Oracle 9i

SQL Server 2000

Windows 2000

Windows 2000 server

Citrix MetaFrame Presentation Server, Feature Release 3

Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE)

According to the e-mail "These changes are being made in an effort to ensure we are supporting our applications on the latest operating systems and database platforms, while balancing that effort with the challenges to support older operating systems and database platforms."

Free JDA Offer

2009-01-27T13:57:00.001-06:00

The following is a posting directly from the JDA Bentonville office.

JDA Software/ProSpace FREE FRIDAY!!!!

Is ProSpace giving you "fits"? Would you like a quicker way to manipulate your modulars? Do you need some help with fixtures, tables, etc.? Need answers to ProSpace analytics capabilities? We can help!!

Please join us Friday, February 13, 2009 for an open house/Free Friday!! Paul Sharos (Instructor, Services) will provide a Space Automation demonstration and all attendees will receive a free script (e-mailed post-event). Plus, we'll have some time to help you with any ProSpace questions/issues you may be having and help you set up scheduled class training or customized training.

Free Friday is from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Stop by as you have time or come and spend the full time visiting with your peers, sharing experiences and chatting with the JDA staff. We look forward to seeing you!

JDA Software, Inc. is located at 211 SE 34th Street, Suite 3, Bentonville, AR 72712 (off Walton Boulevard behind Speidini Restaurant). Phone is 479-845-0860. The following link will take you to a map…..

http://inter.viewcentral.com/events/cust/location.aspx?cid=jda&pid=1&event_address_id=3

Today's Presentation Now Online

2009-01-08T16:55:00.000-06:00

We had lot's of good feedback on today's meeting.

I have posted today's presentation (Michael and my portions) on line. Click here to download.

My Next ProSpace Class Starts Jan 7

2008-12-04T11:05:00.000-06:00

Do you want to pollish up your ProSpace skills? Here's what is covered in my next class which starts Wedensday Jan 7 through Mar 30.

Introduction to ProSpace
Manipulating products, positions and shelves
Creating and using product libraries
How to build your planograms according to Walmart's requirements
Creating print layouts
Creating Retail Link data to import into your planograms
Space to sales analysis
Table and chart design and creation
Highlighting

This class covers the basics all the way to the most advanced features of ProSpace but with a focus on working with Walmart libraries and tables. This next class will be the first one covering the newest release of ProSpace 7.5.5. Training manuals are provided.

Classes start at 6pm and end around 8pm. One on one is available from 8pm to 9pm. If you have questions about the class please contact me at eric@liberatore.net or at 479-381-3118. To register please contact James Thulin or phone at 479-936-5107. Price is $650.

Formula O' the Month

2008-11-13T12:30:00.001-06:00

What it does: Looks at the item type of a product and will display it's order type (W=warehouse, A=assembly) if its position is lacking enough inventory on the shelf to meet your desired days of supply by order type.

Where you put it: As is the case with most ProSpace formulas you can paste this into a label, a table, a chart or into highlighting.

When it would be of benefit to use this formula: When building a planogram and you have items that are replenished by two different methods. If you have a need to allow more days of supply for items replenished on a slower method but need less on items that are replenished with more frequency.

This example will work for those that have downloaded Walmart's field naming.
IF(_Type / Sub(Product)="33" AND Actual days supply(Performance)<20,"A: " & Actual days supply(Performance),IF(_Type / Sub(Product)="20" AND Actual days supply(Performance)<10,"W: " & Actual days supply(Performance),""))

Chances are you will need to edit this formula so if you have any questions please be sure to create a post in the forum and it will be promptly answered.

The Final NWA Intactix Users Group Meeting... for this year

2008-11-10T13:27:00.000-06:00

This Thursday we will be covering tables, product libraries and highlighting. We will also demonstrate some of the changes to ProSpace 7.5.5.

Special Early Bird Registration Ends October 31

2008-09-30T15:58:00.003-05:00

Just incase you didn't get the e-mail from JDA today...

If your company still has a travel budget you might want to Register for FOCUS 2009 (in Washington DC) by October 31 and save up to $700 on the special Early Bird Registration Rate. Of course you can attend for free if you agree to give a small presentation on SpaceAutomation (AutoPilot). Ask me about it.

ProSpace Class starts Sept 24

2008-09-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

If you want to get brushed up on your ProSpace skills and get familiar with the requirements for Wal-Mart modulars be sure to sign up for the next Virtual Merchandising class at the Shewmaker Center. E-Mail James Thulin or call him at 479-936-5107 for class pricing and enrollment. Call me at 479-366-3742 or e-mail me for questions about what the class covers.

Table creation

2008-09-16T15:33:00.000-05:00

Here is the link to the PowerPoint I created that tries to explain design screens for ProSpace tables. This is a work in progress and I will be slowly adding more to it as time permits. By the way, I created all of these slides using a great tool called SnagIt. I will be using this more to create some other screen captures and perhaps some video. This is now my preferred way of answering "how do you ______ in ProSpace?". Post your question or e-mail it to me and I will post the answer in the forum using screen captures and/or video if possible.

Here is the link to Michael McClain's presentation. See you all November 13th at our next meeting.

This Month Our Meeting Location Is In A New Location

2008-09-05T10:00:00.004-05:00

This is a reminder of the September Intactix Users Group meeting , Thursday, September 11 from 9:00-11:00.

This month's meeting will be held in the NWACC Student Center - Room 108.

We have an action packed agenda planned for this month's meeting:

This month's discussion topic will be Pro/Space Libraries!

Working with Wal-Mart Fixture libraries
Creating fixture assemblies
Saving planograms and assemblies into a fixture library
Importing product data from Excel into a product master library
... and more

Other items on the agenda:

Basic table filtering & highlighting
Formula of the Month - TBD
NWACC Update - What's coming up at the college

There will also be a JDA webinar on Imaging following the meeting at 1:00. You can access the webinar through this link. Click here

We also want to thank JDA for providing refreshments for the meeting.

Directions to the NWACC Student Center :

The Student Center is located in the far EAST end of the NWACC campus in Bentonville, next to the parking garage. From Interstate 540, take Exit 86 at Highway 102/62. Go EAST on Highway 102 and turn LEFT at the first traffic light (Water Tower Road) past the interstate. Make a LEFT at the first available entrance into the college and park on the upper levels of the parking garage. The entrance to the Student Center is directly across the sidewalk when exiting from the garage. Room 108 is located just inside the doors on the left.

Wal-Mart Updates Their Modular Tech Specs

2008-08-25T14:03:00.003-05:00

If you work on Wal-Mart's modulars you may have received an e-mail about this already. Desc 25(Planogram) which is renamed to Print Layout needs to have a new value when you turn a modular, nr_p_c_seg.psy

Check this out...

2008-08-07T13:50:00.004-05:00

Not ProSpace-related or anything but I thought this was cool.

Want to watch over time where and how fast Wal-Mart popped up in the United States? Click here.

Thanks Rick for forwarding this...

Focus 2009 To Be Held in D.C. April 25-29

2008-05-28T17:07:00.002-05:00

Next years Focus conference will be in Washington D.C. April 25-29 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

Here are the registration specials that JDA is offering.

If you attended this years conference you get a special price of $995 if you register by June 6 08.
If you book by Aug 31 08, $1,250 + one free guest.
Book by Oct 31 08, the price is still $1,250 but your guest is no longer free
Book by Dec 31 08, the price jumps to $1,450
Book by Feb 28 09, the price jumps to $1,650
Book by Apr 20 09, the price is $1,850! OUCH!
Show up and pay at the window... $1,950
Guest rate = $750

For detail information go to www.jdafocus.com

Want to know what you're going to see at JDA Focus this year?

2008-05-01T10:22:00.003-05:00

FOCUS is just days away and JDA wants to make sure that you get the most out of your attending the conference. If you didn't get the invite here's what they sent out.

Please join us from the comfort of your own office for a presentation on Wednesday, May 7 th from 2:00-3:30PM EST, where we will provide an overview of JDA's 18th Annual FOCUS Conference.

Familiarize yourself with the schedule of events, how to best leverage the over 200+ sessions and workshops, and the many exciting opportunities provided for networking and maximum learning. Your participation in this event will help assure you get the most out of your experience at FOCUS 2008.

At-a-Glance Agenda:
* Overview & FOCUS Message
* Leveraging FOCUS
* Overview of Schedule, Product Tracks and Super Sessions
* Overview of The Solutions Zone & Day In The Life
* Overview of The JDA Services & Support and Upgrade Zones
* Conference Logistics & General Information

Click here to register for this event

Participant Dial-In Number(s):
US/Canada Dial-in #: 888-434-3293
Int'l/Local Dial-In #: 706-634-5126
* Conference ID: 45808562

NOTE: In order to join this conference call, you will be required to provide the Conference ID Number listed above. Also, please note that LiveMeeting has upgraded its program so you will need to take an extra minute to accept the new upgrade in your system before proceeding to register or view the web presentation.

Next meeting on May 8th

2008-05-01T10:12:00.003-05:00

Just a reminder that our next Intactix Users Group meeting will be next Thursday the 8th at 9:00am. I'll post the agenda soon. If there is something that you want to see covered or demonstrated please let me know.

I have a stack of brand new DVD's from Fox to give to the first person who requests a topic to be covered or demonstrated. (Must be present at meeting to pick up prize) Click "Comments" at the bottom of this posting or e-mail me.

Some FOCUS Facts

2008-04-08T16:16:00.004-05:00

2007 attendance: 1,025 from 28 countries

2008 attendance currently: 1,096

This year there are 214 sessions, 16 super sessions, 10 workshops, 28 SIG meetings and 160 track sessions.

Once again JDA is providing an "online agenda builder" that will assist you in choosing what sessions to attend. Visit http://www.jdafocus.com/.

Click here for the Preshow ebook.

Next years meeting will be at the Gaylord National Resort in Washington, D.C. April 26-29. If you register between May 18th and June 6th you get a discounted registeration fee of $995.

New Fixture Libraries?

2008-03-26T16:10:00.005-05:00

I heard a rumour from a reliable source (so what value is that?) at Wal-Mart H.O. that the fixture libraries were about to change again.

Well today I logged into RL to see that indeed there are new dates on their fixture files indicating there are changes. However after opening the properties screen on several 48 inch-wide shelves I can't find any difference between the "new" library and the old. So I uploaded a planogram with old fixtures and another one with "new" to see if there would be any errors or warnings. The only warning I received was when I used a 22 X 48 inch shelf regardless if I pulled it from the old or "new" fixture library.

"Fixture is not a valid fixture from the Wal-Mart Fixture Library: SHELF 22X48 HEAVY DUTY WHITE"

So apparently the system that checks your planograms currently has an error in its programming for 22x48 inch shelves.

Do you have any further information on this? Post it in the comment link for this posting.

Update: I called someone in the Modular Core department. They are aware of the "22X48 " warning problem and are working on it. No ETA was given.

Some more things to know about ProSpace 7.5

2008-03-18T10:38:00.003-05:00

Rumour has it that we are to start seeing 7.5 CD's in the mail this week or next. This release will require new activation codes and you will have to (groan) uninstall first then reinstall with 7.5. It's something to do with Windows Vista (which you aren't running anyway) and it's inability to install over a previous version. It is recommended that you back up all of your tables, charts, highlighting, labels, layouts, INI file and PMD files before you install. Your images should be fine as long as they're not in the Space Planning folder.

Even though this release is primarily a bug-fix-release there is one big fix that will compel you to upgrade.

Notes From March Meeting

2008-03-14T13:38:00.002-05:00

We had another good turnout for yesterdays meeting with a lot of Q&A between the audience and presenters. My apologies to those relying on the phone conference. NWACC was unable to procure a working phone for us.

Here is the link to the PowerPoint we used at yesterday's meeting.

Thanks again to JDA for the donuts and coffee. Don't forget they're having another free open house at their Bentonville training facility.

Motorola (Symbol Tech) Mobile Briefing Center Visiting Bentonville April 10-11

2008-03-14T12:33:00.003-05:00

Are you a gadget guy/gal? Then you might be interested in reserving a spot with the Motorola (Symbol Technologies) Mobile Briefing Center at the Bentonville offices of Motorola at 1201 S.E. 28th St on April 10&11th. They will have hands-on demonstrations of PDA's and scan guns that can be used for mobile retail applications such as Strategix's SX Collector, or as I like to call it, Pocket ProSpace. For more information and to register visit http://www.motosymbol.com/

Oldest ProSpace Bug Finally Fixed

2008-03-12T11:39:00.004-05:00

ProSpace 2007.5 should be arriving any day now. Guess what FINALLY works in tables... It's worth the upgrade alone!

Thank you JDA!

Intactix Users Group Meeting This Thursday

2008-03-11T14:18:00.000-05:00

This is a reminder of the November Intactix Users Group meeting THIS THURSDAY, MARCH 13 at 9:00 AM at the Shewmaker Center.

Agenda for this month's meeting:
2008 Meeting Schedule
JDA Update – Paul Sharos - JDA
Version 2007.5 Update
Working with Product & Performance Libraries
Formula of the Month – TBD
NWACC Update
Upcoming Events

JDA will be providing coffee and doughnuts for the meeting. They will also have some door prizes for the group.
Meeting Schedule for 2008
Second Thursday of every odd month, starting in January.
Directions to the Shewmaker Center
1100 S.E. Eagle Way
Bentonville, AR 72712
The Shewmaker Center is located on the Northwest corner of the NWACC campus in Bentonville. From Interstate 540, take Exit 86 at Highway 102/62. Go EAST on Highway 102 and turn LEFT at the first street sign on the EAST side of Interstate 540 (S.E. Eagle Way).
Go to the end of Eagle Way to the Stop sign. Turn LEFT into the Shewmaker Center parking lot.
We will be meeting in the Shewmaker's Wal-Mart Auditorium on the first floor, just inside the main doors.

See you then!

Upcoming ProSpace Training From JDA

2008-02-28T13:30:00.003-06:00

JDA has announced dates for upcoming ProSpace, Space Automation and IKB training at their Bentonville facility.

Basic ProSpace $1,875

Mar 25-26
Apr 15-16

Advanced ProSpace $1,250

Mar 27-28
Apr 17-18

IKB $1,750

Apr 29-30

Space Automation (AutoPilot)

May 1 - Basics $875
May 2 - Smart Scripts $299

For more information visit www.jdalearn.com

Next ProSpace Class

2008-02-27T15:16:00.002-06:00

My next class will be on May 7th ending on July 23rd.. The schedule remains the same: Wed nights at 6pm. Class runs two to three hours. Cost is $650. Contact James.Thulin@nwacc.edu to enroll or e-mail Eric@Liberatore.net for questions about the class.

JDA Focus Early Bird Discount About To Fly Away

2008-01-17T16:33:00.000-06:00

Register for the 2008 Vegas FOCUS conference by 11:59pm (EST) on Jan 20th and you can save $225 per person. Go to www.jda.com/focus to register.

To save even more (attend for free) do a 50min presentation on how you use Space Automation.

See a demo of Intactix's newest software

2008-01-15T16:07:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the short notice but tomorrow JDA will be providing a demonstration over the web of two of their newest tools that add on the Intactix Knowledge Base. They are called IKS (Intactix Knowledge Server) and PIIX (Product & Images by Intactix).

IKS is a new function added to IKB that uses Space Automation (AutoPilot) to generate web-based on-demand reports to the field.
PIIX streamlines the process of acquiring images from Gladson, for those that subscribe. It tracks all images through IKB.

The time for the LiveMeeting (free Microsoft software install recommended) will be 10:00am Central U.S.

Please e-mail me for the the password.

Jan 08 Meeting Notes

2008-01-10T12:01:00.000-06:00

Not a shabby turn out today though almost everyone sat well to the back of the auditorium. I guess some have figured out that Michael "sprays what he says". Thank you Kent Ruesink of JDA for the Krispy Kreme and coffee.

For a copy of the presentation click here.

Get Some Class

2008-01-03T15:02:00.000-06:00

My next ProSpace class will be starting Jan 9th at 6:00pm and will end around 8:00. It runs for 12 weeks every Wednesday evening from 6-8. If you would like more information about the class contact me. If you would like to register please contact James Thulin of Shewmaker/NWACC.

Meeting Reminder - Jan 10th

2008-01-03T09:01:00.000-06:00

This is just a reminder that our next meeting is at the Shewmaker Center at 9:00am Central on Jan 10th.

Planned topics so far are...

Top 10 ProSpace Customizations
Tips N Tricks
Formula of the Month
Space Automation demonstrations

We will also have another guest speaker, Kent Ruesink of JDA. Kent is one of the oldest members of JDA. I mean that as in he's been there longer than most. Before JDA he and I use to work together at Wal-Mart in modular planning. He put a lot of the systems in place that Wal-Mart still uses to this day for modular development. Currently Kent has been behind the development of one of JDA's newest tools, Category Advisor for IKB.

We are still adding topics to our agenda. Feel free to let me know if you would like something covered in this meeting.

UPDATE: This meeting will be available for online attendance. If you wish to attend via GoTo Meeting please e-mail me. (free install required for screen view - phone call is not toll free)

Microsoft Truck Makes Second Pit Stop In NWA

2007-12-06T16:46:00.000-06:00

What do you get when you get Bill Gates to do a "Pimp My Ride" on a Freightliner? You get the Microsoft Across America truck.

Did you miss truck on its last stop in November? No worries. They're coming to town again this month for two days.

Where: John Q Hammons Parking Lot (west side)
When: Wednesday, December 12 & 13 2-6pm

I took a look inside the truck on their previous visit and it is pretty impressive. Not only do you get to kick back and play Project Gotham Racing on an XBox360 but you get to see the latest applications for retail, the latest systems on PDA's and smart phones, and a live demonstration of VMT's latest retail tools. There will be drawings for USB drives, MapPoint and LiveOneCare.

Attend FOCUS 2008 For Free

2007-11-16T13:06:00.000-06:00

You may already know that the FOCUS conference this year is being held in Vegas. How would you like to attend for free? (travel expenses not included) If you use Space Automation (AutoPilot) and can demonstrate some of it's functions with something that you have built I would like to invite you to take up this free offer from JDA. The presentation doesn't have to be anything complex. I've done this before and it is very easy.

JDA does this because it's more interesting for an FOCUS attendee to see the software work in a real-world environment and to talk with the speaker. Your session would only be a part that lasts for about 15-30 minutes depending on how much time you want to demonstrate your script. Attendance for last years Space Automation break out session was approximately 20 people. JDA throws in an additional free gift to the guest speaker also.

Contact me if your interested or just have questions about it. No obligations. eric@liberatore.net

JDA Announces Early Bird Registration For FOCUS 2008

2007-11-15T16:46:00.000-06:00

JDA sent out an e-mail today announcing a special for super-early bird registration.

"By registering now, you'll receive a $255 per person discount. Fees include all sessions, conference materials, receptions, meals, renowned keynote speakers and fabulous entertainment and networking. And, by registering before December 31, you will receive one free guest pass, good for all evening events – a $500 value."

Early bird rates end January 20, 2008.

The dates of the conference are May 18-21, 2008 in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace

For more information and to register today, visit www.jda.com/focus or call 866-850-0999 or e-mail focus@jda.com.

Good turn out for November meeting

2007-11-02T13:24:00.000-05:00

It was estimated that the combined attendance for yesterday's meeting was around 40 or so. That's combining our first time on-line attendance. If you were one of those that attended on-line please let me know how the audio/visual performed. Once again a big thanks to Terry Wolvert from Pixelstreams for donating his GoToMeeting account for our benefit. We hope to continue offering this service for future meetings.

One of the reasons we went online with this meeting was because of the topic this month: Automating ProSpace Functions With VBA. Our presenter was Christie Vogel from CH Robinson. She demonstrated how to use VBA to copy data out of a ProSpace file and populate a table withing MSAccess. If you are looking for the sample data that she demonstrated click here.

The rest of the presentations which include formula of the month and how to number all of your planograms in under a minute can be found here.

Microsoft Across America Stopping by Shewmaker Center

2007-10-31T11:07:00.000-05:00

Vendor Managed Technologies,the developers of Velocity, a widely used retail analytics tool, and Microsoft are rolling into town in a stateof-the-art truck loaded with exciting new technology products that can help you achieve your goals with Wal-Mart and all your retail accounts. The Microsoft Across America Truck is a hands-on interactive environment packed with workstations featuring Windows Vista, Microsoft Office, a Tablet PC, and VMT’s Velocity software.

Experience live demos and get your business’ technology questions answered. You can learn how specific products from Microsoft and VMT work together to create a unified solution that fits your unique needs or how to leverage your current technology to potentially save you time and money and streamline your business.

They will be at the Shewmaker Center in Bentonville on the following dates...

November 14 - 2pm-6pm
November 15 - 9am-1pm
December 12 - 2pm-6pm
December 13 - 10:30am-2:30pm

Click here to attend

If you have questions contact Jennifer at 616-454-9000.

November meeting to be simulcasted over internet conference

2007-10-29T12:53:00.000-05:00

For those of us that are located too far too attend our meetings in person we now have the ability have you conferenced in. Audio will be on phone and visual over the net. Click here for the details.

Don't Forget to Fall Back

2007-10-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

No this isn't a reminder to turn your clocks back for fall. Due to travel conflicts we are moving our bimonthly meeting a week earlier for November. It will be at the Shewmaker Center at 9:00am on Nov 1st.

Want to automate some tasks in ProSpace but don't have Space Automation? Christie Vogel of CH Robinson will be demonstrating how she has been able to automate some ProSpace functions using VBA; a tool you most likely already possess. It comes with MS Office (in case you weren't aware).

By the way, our clocks change back on the first Sunday of November which is the 4th.

ProSpace Training At Shewmaker Center Jan 9th

2007-10-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

The Shewmaker Center is now enrolling for the January 9th Virtual Merchandising class. This class will continue it's 12 week format every Wednesday night at 6pm. Books and PC's are provided. The price is $650. It is recommended that you be familiar with common retail terminology and Microsoft Excel. This is a Wal-Mart focused training so you will be familiar with using Retail Link data with your planograms, W-M fixture libraries and W-M terminology. We will take the user from a "never seen ProSpace" user to an advanced user.

Please e-mail the instructor eric@liberatore.net for questions about the class.
Please e-mail jthulin@nwacc.edu to enroll.

Free Hour of ProSpace Training at JDA-Bentonville 10/19/07

2007-10-15T16:58:00.000-05:00

Have you seen the latest release of Space Planning? (Pro/Space)

Have you always wanted a way to zero out ALL Product & Performance Descriptions and Values?

Would you like to get a total number of manufactures in a planogram/project with 1 mouse click?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions JDA has a FREE FRIDAY for you...............

Be sure to call now and reserve your seat............class size will be limited to the first 25 that sign up.

Class is from 8:00AM-9:00AM Friday morning October 19th. Private training appointments are being taken for after 9:15 on Friday.

****EXTRA BONUS******

ASK BENITA ABOUT ANY TRAINING PROMOTIONS WITH SIGNED AGREEMENT BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR

Please call 479-845-0860 or 1-888-752-6647 ext 7733

Big Turn Out For Sept Meeting

2007-09-13T12:30:00.000-05:00

Today was by far the biggest attendance we've had this year. We would like to thank Bea Rivera and Roger Fox of Wal-Mart Imaging Studio for their insight on imaging. An interesting fact they shared was how many products they shoot in a year: 100,000+. They do that with 8 people.

We also learned that we can quickly find out what product images are missing by using a little-known feature of Retail Link called Product Image Status. Download the Excel template and just fill in the UPC that you are inquiring about and upload. In a few minutes you will receive an e-mail telling you what's missing.

JDA will be hosting an open house today from 1:00 to 5:00 and Friday the 14th from 8:00-12:00. There will be a demonstration of Space Automation sometime in there as well.

Here is the link to the PowerPoint that we used this morning.
Here is the link to the imaging guidelines from Retail Link.

Retail Link no longer e-mailing passwords

2007-08-20T16:18:00.000-05:00

In the past whenever you mess up on entering your password three times in row Retail Link would automatically send you an e-mail with your password in it. Those days are gone. Also gone is the ability to change your password more than once in 24 hours. If you need to change it more times than that you will need to ask your Retail Link site administrator to do it for you.

Click here for the details (RL ID required)

NWACC Announces New 12-Week ProSpace Training

2007-08-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

Starting August 29th ProSpace training will be offered on Wednesday evenings at 6:00pm to 8:00pm. at the NWACC Shewmaker Center. This course starts out with beginner level training and completes by week 12 with advanced features such as complex tables, charts and highlighting.

As usual the training is focused on using ProSpace with Wal-Mart. Students will learn how to create planograms, update the performance data from Retail Link, analyze item and segment performance, how to do space to sales analysis and produce work that meets category objectives as well as Wal-Marts curnet modular rules.

To sign up please e-mail rcampbell4@nwacc.edu. For any questions about the details of the class please e-mail eric@liberatore.net.

UPDATE Nov 15, 2011: This class is now an eight week course on Monday nights from 6:00-9:00pm starting Jan 23, 2012. Following this class will be the Advanced training in April.

JDA Releases Space Planning 2006.3.6 Service Release

2007-07-30T09:06:00.000-05:00

The following is an announcement from JDA sent out last Friday regarding their newest version of ProSpace. This is a service release.

The Space Planning 2006.3.6 service release is now available. Contact your local Customer Support Solution center, Agent or Distributor to request a copy.
Reference Numbers: CSS 789098, 792484 and 786032

Reported Issues
· If you used the Assortment Changes view to delete product facings, the action could result in an exception error, which could cause Space Planning to shut down unexpectedly, losing unsaved data. This issue occurred only if you used the Assortment Changes view to edit a planogram that included a product with multiple positions that were configured with different merchandise settings on different combined shelves.

· Effective with Space Planning 2006.3.3, the Project.ProjectPrintPreview automation method (used by customized automation clients to show a preview from automation) fails and displays a blank preview window. This issue does not affect the normal use of Space Planning.

· If you opened a multiple-planogram project from an Intactix Knowledge Base (IKB) database and then deleted one of the planograms, the action could result in planogram data being overwritten. The data was overwritten when the project’s planograms were saved back to the database using a customized automation client. This issue did not affect the normal use of Space Planning and IKB. It was limited to customized solutions under certain situations for automation clients using the SaveToDatabaseEx automation method.

Resolution
These issues have been resolved with Space Planning 2006.3.6 which is available as either a hot fix file release, or a full installation package of Space Planning.

· The full installation of Space Planning 2006.3.6 can be used for either a new installation or for upgrade installations. If upgrading from a version of Space Planning prior to 2006.1.0, please review the Intactix Install Notification - IES 2006 3 document available from JDA Customer Support Solutions.

· The hot fix is contained in prospace.exe version 2006.3.6. This file is compatible with any previously installed version of Space Planning 2006.3.x. The prospace.exe file is placed in the installed Space Planning folder (default path C:\Program Files\JDA\Intactix\Space Planning) and does not require registration; it simply replaces the prospace.exe previously installed. This hot fix file is not required if you are installing version 2006.3.6 or subsequent releases.
If you need assistance, contact your local JDA Customer Support Solutions center where available; otherwise contact your Agent or Distributor.

Space Automation SIG Conference Call - July 13th

2007-07-12T16:57:00.000-05:00

This Friday the 13th of July I will be hosting a conference call for all of the members of the Space Automation Special Interest Group with George Mirza, product mgr. for Space Automation. We will be discussing the features that are on the ballot for this year's enhancement voting. If you did not receive an invitation be sure to go to http://www.jdauser.com/ and join the Space Automation SIG group. Contact me if you have any problems signing up.

The next two weeks we all get to vote on what features we want JDA to add to the next release. So get registered now!

NWAIUG Meeting July 12th

2007-07-09T16:05:00.000-05:00

This week will be our 4th of 6 users group meetings for 2007. For the agenda click here.

ProSpace Training Starting July 9th at Shewmaker

2007-06-19T17:25:00.000-05:00

The next class for ProSpace training will start July 9th and will run for 6 weeks. Classes will be from 6-8pm on Monday's and Wednesday's.

To get more information about the class visit the Shewmaker Center's website. (As of this posting they don't have an announcement on their site.)

I will be the instructor for the course so if you have any questions about the syllabus contact me. If you have questions about registering or paying please contact Marshall McCall at mmccall@nwacc.edu or at 479-936-5171.

WM Shareholders Week

2007-05-31T08:38:00.000-05:00

Can't attend the Wal-Mart Shareholders meeting in Fayetteville this year? Catch it on the internet Friday June 1.

Click here to listen in. (Live)

New Space Automation Classes - "Smart Scripts"

2007-05-21T08:56:00.000-05:00

JDA has added a new class called Smart Scripts! These classes will delve deeper into Space Automation and its functionality. Participants of the Smart Script Building Class will be exposed to some of the more popular commands and functions of the Space Automation software. They will learn to make ‘smarter’ scripts to allow each script to accomplish more.

You should be a Certified Space Automation customer first in order to attend these classes.

Dates: May 24th & June 7th
Location: JDA Training Facility in Bentonville Arkansas

Objectives:
After participating in this course, you will be able to:
Utilize Import and Export data functions
Create arrays and input file loops
Work with variables
Protect your original files
Determine key differences between ‘IMMEDIATE’ scripts and ‘UNATTENDED’ scripts

Duration: 6 Hours
List Price: $299.00

See JDALearn.com for details or contact Benita Burchfield at 214-277-7733.

Space Planning 2006.3.3 Service Release Announcement

2007-05-18T11:03:00.000-05:00

This arrived in my inbox today from JDA.

"The Space Planning 2006.3.3 service release is now available. Contact your local Customer Support Solution center, Agent or Distributor to request a copy.

Reported Issue
Space Planning could become unstable when printing or using Print Preview for a layout that contained a table view, which could cause Space Planning to shut down unexpectedly, losing unsaved data. The instability was random, due to a combination of factors that affected the rendering of the view while processing the table open automation event, before all print page information had been fully initialized.
Resolution
This issue has been resolved with the Space Planning 2006.3.3 service release. This release is a full installation package of Space Planning, and can be used for either new installations or for upgrade installations. If upgrading from a version of Space Planning prior to 2006.1.0, please review the Intactix Install Notification - IES 2006 3 document available from JDA Customer Support Solutions.
If you need assistance, contact your local JDA Customer Support Solutions center where available; otherwise contact your Agent or Distributor."

JDA Learn Hosting Space Automation Seminar / Demo

2007-05-18T10:06:00.000-05:00

Want to know more about Space Automation? Many of us have a copy of it but don't use it. What can it do? What can't it do? Is it hard to learn?

Friday, May 25th from 9-10 JDA will be hosting a seminar on this great tool at their Bentonville training facility. There is no charge for attending and they assured me it is not a sales push and there will be no sales staff on hand. This is a demo with Q&A to follow. If you plan to attend please RSVP Jessica Conley at JDA. 1-479-845-0860 or e-mail her at jessica.conley@jda.com. Their training center is close to Rainbow Curve behind the Clarion hotel.

A New Layout Center Is Coming!

2007-05-16T12:59:00.000-05:00

Wal-Mart is buying some property near the corner of Central and SE "S" St in Bentonville to create an additional layout center. This is the intersection in front of Washington Jr High and Memorial Park. If approved by the city (ahem) they will build a 120,00 sq ft two story building for layout space.

Read

What's New In The New ProSpace?

2007-05-11T16:29:00.000-05:00

Well, they're doing away with year-for-the-version number format for starters. The newest version will be 7.4. I just received the SpacePlanning Pre-Release Scope document from the newly elected Space Planning SIG chairman (manufaturer side), Ira Mulfinger. Here's the highlights on the goods.

Formula builder has six new functions. Also, the functions are now listed into logical groups.
Background image loading. No longer will you have to wait for all images to appear before you can work.
Splitter View. ProSpace will automatically create split windows for your planograms but it uses some intelligence in the ratio of your planogram to determine if your window needs to be portrait or landscape.
Various changes that will improve Space Automation performance.
When using the keyboard to move objects, they no longer slow down with each inch they're moved.

Version 7.4 should be released with the rest of the Intactix suite in Q3.

May '07 NWAIUG Presentation

2007-05-11T16:08:00.000-05:00

Chances are you were not at this meeting so I'm not sure if every slide in our presentation from yesterday will make sense or not. If you have any questions about the meeting please leave a comment on this post or in the forum.

Focus Presentations Are Now Online

2007-05-11T13:17:00.000-05:00

If you attended the conference in New Orleans this year you are now able to download the presentations in PDF format. JDA sent out an e-mail today with a password to access their site. Look in your inbox for that information. The web address is www.jda.com/focus. Click on the presentation link.

Record Attendance At NWAIUG Meeting

2007-05-10T16:59:00.000-05:00

Chirp, chirp, chirp. (Crickets). We had 14 people attend the meeting today. We're not sure if that's because of moving the location, schedule conflicts or lack of interest. If you did not attend the last meeting would you please respond to this poll? We want to make sure we're not wasting anyone's time.

Woo Hoo! 100 Members of NWA Intactix Users Group

2007-05-09T17:45:00.000-05:00

Everybody, we have reached our 100th member! Lanny Samples of Birds Eye. If we had red siren lights or alarms that would go off they would be doing that right now with confetti falling. Welcome, Lanny! You get the first donut at the next meeting.

I Wish AutoPilot Had This Feature...

2007-05-08T16:32:00.000-05:00

This year JDA has asked that our Special Interest Group vote on new features for Space Automation. Before we do that, they ask that we upload a form through www.jdauser.com with any new feature requests that need to be added to the ballot. The instructions are in the document. Please have them uploaded by June 4th.

Once everyone has uploaded their forms I will send out the ballots with both the new and previous feature requests. Soon after that we will have a conference call to accomplish the following...
• "Campaigning" for features. Is there a feature that Space Automation is seriously lacking? Get in on the call and you will get a few minutes to explain to the group why this feature is important, how it will work and why they should invest their voting points into your feature.
• Q & A for George Mirza, Product Manager for Space Automation.
• Explanation on how to vote.
• Expectations once voting results are announced.

Have you selected the Space Automation SIG in your profile on www.jdauser.com yet? Please be sure to do this so that you will get the next e-mail announcing the conference call.
(The picture is just to make some laughs and in no way implies that there are bugs in any of JDA's software.)

NWA Intactix Users Group Welcomes Our 100th Member

2007-05-08T14:35:00.000-05:00

Six months ago we started this online portal to give Intactix users an online meeting place. And sometime this week we will have our 100th member. At first the idea was to benefit local users here in northwest Arkansas but our membership has expanded to Europe and Australia. So to celebrate our anniversary and 100th member we are announcing a contest with prizes.

First, how to participate. Submit a posting in the forum. Sounds easy enough, right? The posting has to be a legitimate posting such as a basic how-to, tip, or a question. No posting is considered too elementary (remember we have members that are brand new to Intactix programs too). Each posting by a user is counted as an entry. Maybe you could post the steps for creating a new item in a planogram, how to print using Batch Print or how to do highlighting based on a formula.

Since we're limiting the prizes to participating members, your chances of winning are pretty good. Michael, Rick and I are not eligible since we are the moderators. The contest will end at our third meeting of the year which will be July 12th.

What is the prize? Rick and his company, 20th Century Fox will be providing a list of various movies for you to take your pick. We'll have more details on the prizes soon like how many movies and titles.

In the future we plan to continue this contest while changing up the prizes and announcing the winner at each meeting. So get to posting!

NWA Intactix Users Group Meeting May 10th

2007-05-01T20:35:00.000-05:00

Our next meeting is fast approaching. Here is what we have on the agenda so far.

Recap of key points from Focus
Formula of the month - avoid losing your work from the "status bar crash"
JDA's BMI department has some announcements
Demonstration of Strategix's SX Collector - a PDA version of ProSpace. (tentative)

This is just a start and we will be adding more as the time goes by. As usual, feel free to request something to be addressed or demonstrated.

Remember, the meeting is being held in the White Auditorium on NWACC's campus in Bentonville, AR from 9:00a - 11:00a. Click here for the whole schedule. If you haven't already, be sure to join our online group to receive our e-mail updates.

FOCUS Back In Vegas In 2008

2007-04-18T12:30:00.001-05:00

Just announced here at FOCUS. We're returning to Caesar's Palace next year.

They're tearing down all of the meeting rooms and kicking us out so that means FOCUS 2007 is over. So this is the last post from New Orleans. At our next meeting on May 10th we will be sharing key points from the conference and I hope to have a live demonstration of the mobile tool from Strategix.

UPDATE: The dates are May 18-21.

Strategix creates mobile ProSpace

2007-04-17T14:17:00.001-05:00

In my opinion this is the coolest thing I've seen here at Focus in the Solution Zone. If you're not familiar with the Focus conference the Solution Zone is an area set aside for partners of JDA to set up booths to showcase their solutions that retailers and manufacturers might be interested in. Think Comdex. An unknown company from Dusseldorf, Germany, called Strategix made up of some Intactix expatriots has created a mobile version of ProSpace called SX Collector that has the most important features.

-Product libraries

-View/edit planograms

-Images are brought over from your PC automatically to be used in the POG. The sync utility will create small image files and place them on your PDA. Each image is copied to 1k.

-Uses a barcode scanner that can be attached to PDA or used in a PDA model that inncludes a scanner. If no barcode you can type in the UPC.

-Create new items and fixtures.

-Can be used for auditing for price and inventory.

-Syncs automatically back to ProSpace.

Right now this tool only runs on Windows based PDA's.

Check them out at www.strategix.de

UPDATE: I find the information on their website a bit lacking on this product so I scanned their sales brochure for a better look. Click here for side 1 and side 2. (PDF's)

Tesco Shares Best Practices For Category

2007-04-17T09:05:00.001-05:00

No doubt you already know about Tesco's announcement a while back about their expansion into the U.S. Needless to say the turnout for the above meeting delivered by Janet Smith of Tesco had a big turn out. She shared some interesting acts about Tesco.

-3rd largest retailer in U.K. behind WM/Asda and Carrfour.

-$80 billion year business

-2,672 stores

-Largest private employer in U.K. (350,000)

-Convenience stores are typically 10,000 sqft

-Express format is 2,500 sqft

-Offer financial services

-Was the first profitable retail in dotcom in the U.K.

-In the telcom business

-Has a U.K. catalog business

The Space / Range / Display Team

-Buyer buys items, SRD team does all of the category management

-Their goal is to leverage their scale while keeping the keeping the customer offerings local (aka store of the community).

-They think Wal-Mart does not do this very well.

-Believes they're better at store of the community because "store mgr can add local items to the assortment". I know WM does that here in the states and goes beyond that method for SOTC.

-They have a big focus on planogram compliance. Tesco has developed their own tool to audit stores. Each store is responsible for maintaining the accuracy of their fixture configuration in the database.

-New items are added to the range on a strict schedule. If a buyer wants to put a new item into distribution he is restricted to ordering the item when the next planogram is planned.

-The only JDA software they are using is ProSpace, ProFloor, IKB and Web Publisher.

-Working on automating POG creation.

-Their POG sizes are limited to the floorplan just like WM.

-Not interested in an out of box solution for assortment decisions. They are open to using them for a starting point.