Datacor’s mission is to help our customers maximize productivity, use data as a competitive advantage, and drive smarter business growth.

As a leading provider of process manufacturing and distribution software, and a trusted advisor for process manufacturers and distributors around the world, we’re committed to the continued development of innovative solutions that enhance and improve your business operations.

These capabilities help drive efficiency in supply chain management, manufacturing, and warehousing operations, and support back-office functions.

In this blog, we look at some of the exciting developments we’ve got planned for 2024, including:

• Order Dispatching
• Field Service
• Direct Store Delivery / Proof of Delivery (DSD/POD)
• Enterprise Office Automation
• Compliance Update for Mexico-based Customers
• MES & WMS
• Price Intelligence
• Formulation & Regulatory Control

Manage your schedules and routes with ease

The first three new features represent significant investment in supply chain execution capabilities. All three can be used in combination with each other or on their own.

Among them, Order Dispatching will be soon available for .Net users, offering an entirely new way of managing your schedules and routes.

Logistics Managers and Dispatchers rely on Datacor software to fulfill their sales orders and generate a bill of lading – and, if they use our warehouse management solution, can electronically pick the inventory to complete the shipment. The new Order Dispatching capability takes this a step further by providing a detailed graphical user interface to make the process even easier to manage.

These visuals help make sense of even the most complex of delivery schedules, significantly increasing productivity.

This essentially allows you to schedule your trucks, assign drivers, and add orders to those vehicles for any given day with ease. It’s even possible to load product in a specific order, so shipments can be prioritized for greater efficiency.

Not only is this ideal for managing regular product orders or warehouse transfer orders, but it also supports field service orders if you sell, rent, or lease equipment so you can better manage the servicing you provide.

Filters make it simple to view specific products/services, while integration into route optimization software allows routes and deliveries to be optimized – identifying traffic patterns, preferred routes, and other complex rules and requirements.

Due for release by the end of the first quarter 2024.

Make light work of service schedules

Another much anticipated change for the .Net platform is our upcoming Field Service update, which provides a robust solution for tracking activity and arranging service schedules directly with the ERP.

Before a service technician heads out on their route, their truck must be stocked with the minimum inventory requirements for the job, along with any additional items needed to satisfy orders scheduled that day.

The new module allows users to create install and uninstall schedules for equipment, define preventive routine maintenance schedules, and plan for servicing and repairs.

Technicians will be able to log after-hours service calls on the fly, retrieve service and equipment history, view accounts, and collect payments onsite. Problem codes can be added, along with records of which services were performed, whether a follow-up visit is required, and what inventory from your service van has been used during the call – helping with both parts replenishment and invoice generation.

Scheduled for release at the end of Q1.

Ensure seamless deliveries

Another great new feature for .Net users is Direct Store Delivery / Proof of Delivery (DSD/POD). Chemical companies using the POD functionality (or food manufacturers using DSD) will be able to easily stay on top of deliveries and monitor order status in real time. By capturing the relevant barcodes, photos, and signatures, they can ensure the correct products are delivered on time, every time. The live tracking also reduces manual processes back in the office, automating invoice generation and relief of inventory.

Due for release by the end of Q1.

Streamline enterprise processes with Office Automation

Datacor is planning enhancements for its popular Office Automation – Rapid Payables solution, with new Enterprise Features coming soon.

Launched in 2023, the base product has proven extremely popular 
with businesses looking to achieve more with their current accounting teams – automating the three-way match process with optical character recognition (OCR) and workflow built directly into the ERP.

Later this year, we’ll be adding additional Enterprise features that will support larger businesses with multiple divisions, complex routing and approval rules, and additional complexities.

Enterprise features are due for release in the second half of 2024.

Simplified compliance for our Mexic0-based customers

Mexican Tax Authority Compliance will soon be far simpler thanks to a new feature being rolled out in the coming months. Datacor clients with locations in Mexico must comply with the e-Invoicing (CFDI) and the e-Accounting requirements of the Mexican Tax Authority (SAT). New functionality is being built into our ERP to not only help reduce the cost of compliance, but the risk of being non-compliant.

Mexico has very specific electronic invoicing and accounting rules to counter fraud – and that requires a lot of administration and manual processes to meet those obligations and ensure the correct data is shared with SAT. With our new automated solution, many of these time-consuming tasks can be eliminated.

Coming at the end of Q2.

MES & WMS available to all

There’s good news for users of our C/S platform coming in the form of our market-leading Manufacturing Execution System (MES). For the first time, Datacor’s MES will soon be available to C/S customers.

Our MES allows you to digitize the manufacturing process, eliminate paper batch tickets, record inventory movement and production yields, manage downtime, and have real time visibility into the status of production.

All these benefits that Datacor ERP.Net clients have been enjoying – improved manufacturing efficiency, safety, quality, and inventory accuracy – will be available to C/S clients from the second quarter.

Similarly, we’ll be opening up access for C/S users of our Warehouse Management System (WMS) in the second half of the year too. That means being able to perform purchase order receipts, inventory movements, pick inventory for fulfilling orders, as well as performing physical inventory counts and lookups.

By digitizing what material handlers and warehouse workers do on a day-to-day basis, they will be able to conduct all their inventory related transactions where the work is physically being carried out, in real time, through a more intuitive and attractive user interface using on an iOS or Android mobile device.

And that’s not all. No matter which platform you’re using, your MES will also soon benefit from these additional features: Process Inspections, Manufacturing KPIs / OEE, and additional machine and scale integration/automation.

We’re also planning to update the WMS with directed pick and putaway to drive further efficiency – directing the user to complete required warehouse activities.

ICYMI: we recently hosted a webinar on the topic of Datacor MES & WMS, discover the power of real-time data here. 

Boost profitability with price agility

Being able to react quickly to changing raw material/labor costs, and assess the impact of cost of goods sold, volume forecasts, and margins is vitally important given the prevailing market conditions. Our new Price Intelligence product is a web-based solution for C/S and .Net customers that puts them firmly in control of their pricing and profitability.

With the first phase launching in Q1, users will be able to analyze historical pricing,
look at their invoices, and highlight potential opportunities. The innovative system can flag stale pricing that needs to be adjusted; pricing defects, where increases in the underlying cost of goods sold is not being represented in the sale price; products that are being sold to one customer below the average price that they’re being sold to others; show that margins are too low; or scenarios where margin is below a specific target level.

Price Intelligence makes it easy to discover issues and act. It launches in Q1, with additional development for price proposal collaboration coming later this year.

Stay in control of your SDSs and GHS labeling

We’re also pleased to announce that Datacor’s Formulation & Regulatory Control solution has now entered limited availability.

This currently allows clients to author and manage Safety Data Sheets and Globally Harmonized System (GHS) labels, but throughout the year we’ll be investing in functionality that automates aspects of authoring safety data sheets and pulls formulation calculations out of spreadsheets directly into the software.

This fantastic feature aims to greatly reduce the cost of compliance, increase R&D, and speed up time to market.

There’s plenty to be excited about for 2024 – but this is only a snapshot of some of the fantastic new features, add-ons, and functionality that will soon be available.

There is so much more our development team is working on and we’ll reveal more in due course, so be sure to keep checking the website and your inbox for news and updates.

To learn more about how these products can help to improve efficiencies and reduce costs for your business, click here.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How can I find out more about these planned features?
To learn more about any of the updates listed above, reach out to your Datacor sales representative for details.

Can I trial Datacor software and discover how it can enhance my business activities? 
Of course! Click here to request a free, no obligation demo of Datacor ERP and find out how our solutions can positively impact your bottom line, boost your productivity, and improve your workflows.