Welcome to our Blog! We work for The BlueBox a South African company with an increasingly international footprint, that has offered modular business software and web technology solutions to organisations requiring superior technology solutions at an affordable cost for almost a decade.

9 Tips for Time Management for your staff

Introduction

Time management is a challenge faced by every employee, employer and business. Although this may seem an odd topic for an IT business to have any interest in, time management has relevance to us on a number of levels. Firstly it is important to us from a productivity point of view. Effectively, developing software is marginally different to any manufacturing process. We build a product, assembling it, investing raw materials in a process that results in a finished item that can be sold. The major difference is that the principal raw material coming into play in our process is time....read more

Is web based technology just a fad or are there real business benefits?

Introduction:
Every so often we encounter someone who challenges the wisdom of our business committing itself wholeheartedly to browser based system development. This is almost always a surprise to us. We have become so familiar and accepting of the advantages of web based or browser oriented solutions that we generally automatically assume that they are obvious to everyone else. While making this assumption may be a strategic mistake, we firmly stand behind the view that the web based system is the best business strategy a software development business can make. There are a vast number of advantages to browser oriented systems over old fashioned applications. When applied in the business system context, these advantages need to be translated into concrete business benefits...read more

The 10 commandments for successful customer relationship management

Introduction:
If ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) was the business system acronym of the 90's , CRM (Customer Relationship Management) seems to be the system favourite of this decade. Every system provider seems to be punting some form of CRM offering, and many business executives seem to be asking for CRM solutions without really understanding what CRM is, how to apply it, who it's for or even fully what the benefits are. There is no doubt that there are massive potential benefits to a well implemented and executed CRM programme. Focus on CRM goals within an organisation can improve customer satisfaction, improve customer retention, bolster sales pipelines, shorten sales cycles and ultimately increase turnovers. However, the key success factors of implementing a CRM solution, along with those benefits, need to be well understood before selecting a CRM solution. Ultimately it will be a combination of the CRM solution chosen, how well it is implemented and the full organisations level of participation that will determine if your CRM initiative is a success....read more

How to choose a point of sale system

Essentially a point of sale system acts like an electronic cash register that impacts on the whole business environment. Basically, wherever a retail sale occurs a point of sale system should come into play. Early point of sale systems were simple mechanical cash registers that began in the 1970's. As a result of time factors and technological constraints these early machines had limited functionality. Over time, as they evolved in functionality, they became operational in many business environments such as restaurants, hotels and grocery stores. Today's point of sale systems are powerful electronic solutions that are utilised commercially. Even better is the fact that most point of sale modules available today can be fully integratable with stock management systems, accounting systems, as well as payroll systems, just to name a few.....read more

Effective web marketing!

Imagine a world without cars, shopping malls, computers, or even internet access, seems almost impossible doesn't it? Technology has allowed us to advance in such a way that we often shudder to think what life would be like without it. Computers and the world wide web remain one of the more significant advancements of the century. From adults to children, businesses to schools we all seem to have been affected by this world wide phenomenon. Perhaps the main reason for our dependence lies solely in the fact that it provides us with a more convenient and efficient way of dealing with everyday hassles. Today a simple click allows us to connect with a distant friend, make a purchase or even retrieve information when we so desperately need to. From an e-commerce perspective more and more people around the globe are utilising the internet to do their banking or make purchases, the list of benefits it provides is endless. To add further web marketing is a concept that goes hand in hand with the popularity of the internet.......read more

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Serial Numbering -The simple 'Big Ask' for stock environments

Introduction:

It is quite surprising how often we get queries about serial numbering, and whether our system can either handle, or provide them. The question usually crops up after long discussions about the intricacies of stock management and how the BlueBox will be the tool that gives them the ability to finally deal with their many stock management issues. There is a pause and the question is asked in a half whisper, as if it it almost too much to hope for that we also “do serial numbers”. The awe, in our minds, is misplaced. To us, the intricacies of comprehensive stock control, which the BlueBox Business System handles with ease, is far more worthy of admiration. Serial numbering is simply a nice additional feature which adds value to the whole stock management process. Although not the most complex of subjects, our customers interest in the topic makes serialisation worthy of a brief whitepaper.......... read more

BlueBox business systems & the lean manufacturing operation

Introduction:
There is no doubt that the business software industry is fraught with anagrams, jargon and terminology. This can result in a lot of confusion, debate and interpretation as to the meanings of certain concepts. Combine with this the manufacturing specific names and terminology and one can have a tough time holding ones own in a conversation involving system specialists, engineers and business analysts in a manufacturing environment. Lean manufacturing is one of those terms that along with JIT, Kanban, Kaizen etc. has very specific meaning that is not necessarily fully understood by business system providers who purport to offer them..........read more

Make your warehouse more efficient!

Introduction:
If someone had to ask you to rate your warehouse's performance, how would you respond? Whether your operation is Retail, Manufacturing, Distribution or Wholesale in nature, and whether the answer is positive or negative, this is a question which you should know the answer to. Furthermore, you should have the information to back your answer up. If you are not certain of your answer to the question you have probably wondered whether a Warehouse Management System (often called WMS) would make a difference to the efficiency of your warehouse. If you are already have a WMS, you should know the answer already. The obvious challenges are deciding by what means you would measure performance, how you rate efficiency, and on what elements you would base that measure.......... read more

The request for quote process & the pre- procurement lifecycle

Introduction:

Culminating in the Request for Quote document, pre-procurement, as it's name implies, is the process that organisations go through prior to raising an official purchase order. The pre-procurement process is undoubtedly one of the more 'dry' subjects to cover in a whitepaper; never-the-less, it does have value as a business process and, particularly where businesses have significant capital expense, can have dramatic impact on an operations cashflow management. Larger, more complex organisations in particular face a number of challenges in this area, as runaway processes can quickly result in big numbers.......... read more

Data backups and restoring - preserving your data in case of mashups.

Data backups and restoring/preserving your data.

Introduction:

Since in many instances your company's data basically is the business in a box and the loss of all or part of it would have serious ramifications for the effective functioning of the business, electronically backing up and preserving suitably up to date records of your data is imperative. In the case of data stored centrally on a server a number of basic backup solutions can be followed. There are more comprehensive solutions that cover almost every possible data loss eventuality and are offered as professional services by numerous companies. The bottom line is that your business should have a backup solution that is planned, documented, understood, tested and offers sufficient cover for the risks that may affect your data availablity eg hard drive crashes, fire, theft, malicious hacking, etc........read more

Web 2.0 - What is it, does it affect me, & what is the BlueBox doing about it?

Web 2.0 – What's it all about?

Introduction:

South African television watchers may have noted a margarine related product advert that spends more time talking about the concept of “blogging” than about the actual product they are supposedly advertising. I found this quite a poignant indication of just how much Web 2.0 as a web culture is permeating society as a whole. When advertisers are using technology as a vehicle to sell to housewives, sit up and pay attention! Web 2.0 implies some form of newer release of the World Wide Web by using the version number naming conventions common to software nomenclature . The implication is misleading. Web 2.0 is, most simply put, a buzzword used to describe a philosophy which is taking an increasingly large foothold in the worlds communal online psyche......... read more