Australian Newsagency Blog

My newsagency software company is getting calls from newsagents encountering issues following changing some system settings under the direction of XchangeIT.  While the XchangeIT support people have the best intentions at heart, some changes are best left to the people who know more about specific system settings.
Newsagents who are advised to change settings on their […]

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Tower Systems is in the process of getting final artwork approval on two posters for newsagents selling Blackhawk gift cards.  Developed in-house by the Tower marketing team for exclusive use by the Tower Newsagent network, the posters are designed to encourage sales of gift cards along with greeting cards in newsagencies offering the Blackhawk range. […]

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Newsagents are being urged by XchangeIT to ensure that they have the absolute latest software from the various newsagency software companies.  This is essential to ensure accurate data flow back to the magazine distributors and thereby protects newsagents from an XchangeIT fee penalty.  If you are not sure, check with your software company.
Having the latest […]

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Magazine theft is costing newsagents between 3% and 5% of total magazine sales.  Publishers and magazine distributors accept no responsibility even though they control the range and volume or magazine stock we receive.  Worse, still, most newsagents do not take basic steps to understand the problem.
Newsagents need to ask themselves if they really have a […]

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The folks at the Herald Sun have launched a marketing campaign designed to switch newspaper home delivery customers to a full subscription service.  The  commercial risk for newsagents of this campaign, if I understand the campaign correctly, is that it drives existing customers from paying in the newsagency to paying the publisher direct by credit […]

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My software company, Tower Systems, is showing off the latest newsagency software at the GNS Market Fair in Sydney this weekend.  Tower already serves in excess of 700 newsagents in NSW/ACT.
In Melbourne, Tower is on show at the Home & Giving Fair, showing off our gift and homewares software. There are many newsagents attending this […]

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The 3G enabled iPad I have had on order for so long is in stock and being picked up this morning. One retailer told me that the supply block has been significantly relieved this week.
I will be keeping the 3G device I will keep for myself.  The WiFi unit I got last week is for […]

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Tower Systems is helping newsagents in South Australia collect newspaper home delivery payments through its free eziPass electronic payments platform.  Using eziPass,retail newsagents will be able to collect payments from home delivery customers and receive a service fee for providing this service.  The fee itself is being handled between News and the newsagents.
Click here to […]

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The Apple iPad in its current form is not ideal for assisting with newspaper home deliveries.  The GPS is not accurate enough nor the update speed fast enough for what would be needed in a suburban newspaper distribution situation.
Also, the only sat nav facilities in the iPad are for Google maps, not Melway or other […]

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Quietly, over the last few days one of team from Tower Systems has been playing, like a kid in a candy shop, with our Point of Sale software on the yet to launch Apple iPad.  Using some smart technology we have been able to gain a good feel for the iPad as a management tool […]

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My software company Tower Systems is hosting three opportunities for newsagents to learn more about our software and provide feedback over the next week:

Melbourne, Thursday March 25 @ 11am. Tower Head Office. Level 3, 22 Horne Street Elsternwick.
Brisbane, Tuesday March 30 @ 11am. River View Hotel, Kingsford Smith drive.
Sydney, Thuesday April 1 @ 11am. […]

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Last year, Tower Systems, my software company, introduced a magazine supply adjustment initiative with Gordon and Gotch.  It allowed newsagents to make adjustments at a more logical time and place in the business than any other adjustment opportunity available to newsagents.
At the recent round of Tower Newsagent user meetings newsagents have told me how much […]

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More than 350 newsagents are now using the broadband eftpos solution from Tyro.  Both POS Solutions and Tower Systems (my software company) offer this fast and secure eftpos link.
Reaching 350 locations is significant because this involved retailers in deciding to go for new technology and quitting their traditional back relationship for eftpos services.
My own experience […]

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Network Services has published updated advice on returns processing through XchangeIT.  Click here for a copy.  It’s good advice which all newsagents should follow.

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Tower Systems is running its third free online magazine management training workshop for 2010 - tomorrow (Tuesday) at 11am.  Click here to book - there are places still available.
The session will cover XchangeIT EDI standards, efficient operational (arrival and return) processes, how to track theft and other points which drive efficient management of magazines.  Participation […]

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The old XchangeIT EDI platform for newsagents is to close permanently on the afternoon of Tuesday January 12, 2010.  With all but 120 newsagents having now successfully migrated to the new XchangeIT Link, the time is right to once and for all kill off this old technology.
Newsagents not running the new platform need to make […]

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I am told that this is the last week electronic invoices will be provided to newsagents still using the old XchangeIT platform.  If XchnageIT moves proceed as planned, next Monday’s invoices will only be provided to newsagents through the new XchangeIT Link platform.
There will be no excuse for the small number of newsagents who have […]

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Around 200 newsagents are yet to migrate to the new XchangeIT Link EDI platform.  These newsagents face not receiving electronic invoices from January 1.  They also facxe slower returns credits and other operational challenges.  With more than 2,500 newsagents already migrated, getting these remaining few would be good for the channel.
Newsagents who have migrated are […]

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The old XchangeIT platform used by newsagents for receiving invoices from magazine distributors will close in just over two weeks. Only the new XchangeIT Link platform will work. The impact on a newsagency of not receiving invoices electronically is significant. This is what will happen in newsagencies which have not migrated to the […]

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A glitch in the Gordon and Gotch IT infrastructure meant that not all newsagents using the soon to be phased out original XChangeIT platform received their electronic invoices for today.  This caused considerable frustration as the newsagents affected, software companies, like mine and others, scrambled to find out the cause.
Once we found out that it […]

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The original XChangeIT platform used by newsagents for receiving invoices from magazine distributor will close for good in several weeks.  Only the new XChangeIT Link platform will work.  I will use this blog several times between now and the closure of the old platform to let newsagents know.  Newsagents should tell their colleagues.
The impact on […]

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The old XChangeIT EDI platform for newsagents will be shutdown next month. Newsagents are being encouraged to migrate now rather than wait to the last minute.  I support this.  Panic calls once the old platfrom is turned off will be the fault of newsagents who did not prepare.  The bumps from the early weeks have […]

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My software company, Tower Systems, has released a low cost newsagency software, hardware, training and support package. It includes newsagency point of sale software, Lenovo computer, receipt printer, laser printer, cash drawer, scanner and on-site installation for under $5,000.
A short video introducing the offer here.
With fewer than 800 newsagents without a computer system, Tower […]

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I am undertaking a newsagent retail sales benchmark study comparing sales for September-October 2009 against September-October 2008.
Tower Newsagents can participate by sending a Monthly Sales Comparison report: tick the box to exclude home deliveries, and tick the box for a category breakdown. Set your first date range (on the left) to September 1, 2009 […]

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Jost Stollmann, the CEO of Tyro (fast broadband eftpos), wrote to software companies which integrate their software with the Tyro eftpos solution about the recent reports of fraud using eftpos terminals.  I publish Jost’s note here in full as it provides excellent information of value to newsagents.
Tyro is better than a bank terminal since it […]

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