The Issues Involved
Using the SellingPoint System, successful manufacturers are making it easy to sell their product directly to the public.  Traditionally, manufacturers have struggled with these issues:

• How do we keep our customers up to date, ensuring that they have current information regarding our product offering?
• How do we collect orders accurately?  Some orders are even doodled on napkins.  Going from order to manufacturing is no where near streamlined.
• Is it possible for our engineers to enforce rules during the ordering process?  We are tired of orders coming in that cannot be manufactured or must be reengineered.
• How can we easily manage an order from customer to the shop floor?

SellingPoint not only address every one of these issues, but provides effective tools to successfully meet these challenges right out of the box.  SellingPoint is able to overcome these barriers with a combination of powerful software and the internet.

Powerful Software
The SellingPoint Product Manager acts as the hub of the SellingPoint System.  It provides the crucial link between the manufacturer and customer.  Administrative features throughout the Product Manager make it easy to delivery product catalogs and accepting orders.

Combined with Microvellum's line of software, orders from SellingPoint are converted into jobs that can be run on the shop floor.  This means it's possible to run an order directly from the customer to the machines without requiring human intervention.

How SellingPoint Uses the Internet
When it comes to order entry, many view the Internet as a buzz word with little practical value in their business.  Executives view the Internet as a place to advertise, but nothing more.  Hence, the concept of using the Internet in a manufacturing environment is almost instantly dismissed as nonessential.

It's important to note, however, that SellingPoint takes the power of the Internet to a new level and leverages that power to do incredible things for a manufacturing business.  Most manufacturers today manage catalogs and orders via traditional methods such as fax, postal mail, and printed material.  Although used widely, there are limitations to this traditional approach:

• Printed material goes out of date quickly and is costly to replace
• The lag time involved to physically mail product catalogs can cause discrepancies in orders
• There is no practical way to enforce engineering rules when customizing an order
• Orders cannot be check for errors until they get back to the manufacturer

SellingPoint simply uses the Internet as a way of replacing the fax, printed media, and postal mailing.  It's like having a direct link to customers so that everyone is on "the same page at the same time".  Instead of having a printed catalog and paper forms to order with, a customer has a web site populated with the latest products in a manufacturer's offering.  All engineering rules are enforced as products are customized and ordered through the web site.  These orders are verified and electronically transferred instantly back to the manufacturer.

So the thought that SellingPoint uses the Internet is not a reason to dismiss it's practicality.  Using the latest in internet technology, SellingPoint provides live communication between a manufacturer and customers.  It elevates automation to a level unseen before.  And it streamlines business operations while lowering total cost of ownership.  This means most businesses loose money by not using SellingPoint as an order entry system for their customers.

How the SellingPoint System Works in Public Ordering

1. Using the SellingPoint Product Manager's powerful import tools, automatically import a product library from Microvellum software with a couple clicks of the mouse.  This transfers all product info and manufacturing data into a single file called a SellingPoint Product Catalog.
    
2. With another couple clicks of the mouse, upload that SellingPoint Product Catalog to a SellingPoint Online Store.  This store can be linked up with the manufacturer's existing web site.
    
3. Any one with an internet connection can visit the SellingPoint Online Store.  The manufacturer can specify custom price adjustments for each customer causing prices throughout the entire site to be readjusted dynamically.
    
4. The customer adds customized products to their order.  During the customization process, all engineering rules are enforced meaning the customer cannot order something that cannot be manufactured. Alternatively, the in house staff of the manufacturer can enter customized orders in the case of a customer not able to order online themselves.
    
5. The orders are sent back to the SellingPoint Product Manager .  This process is as simple as checking your email.  SellingPoint has the tools to manage all orders coming in, in addition to easily reviewing customer info, order details, and store status.
    
6. With a single click of the mouse, export an order to Microvellum.  SellingPoint automatically creates a Microvellum Job which contains everything necessary to manufacture all customized products in the order.
    
7. From Microvellum's software, send the job to machines on the shop floor.