Network Services has advised that effective 1st November, they will no longer be accepting or crediting paper Supplementary Return forms. This includes any old paper template forms and POS printouts. This is the next step in the modernisation of the newsagency channel, a project near to our hearts as it helps newsagents cut time out of the operation of their business. All Supplementary returns are to be submitted by one of two ways – XChangeIT LINK or NETonline.
Network Services has indicated that all returns will be online by 1st December. Click here for a copy of the SupplyNET October newsletter.
Newsagents switching to the latest software can cut paperwork, speed up returns credits, reduce mistakes and achieve a more balanced supply. I have seen newsagents cut between fifteen and twnety man hours a month from their back office operation when switching to the new standards. This is a net saving to the business of $4,000 annually.
While there is a considerable operational benefit to the magazine distributors of the latest IT moves, there is also a significant benefit to newsagents.
Yippeee!
Hopefully (soon!) down the track this will also mean we don’t have to print out copies of the already submitted online forms to be included in the parcels. Paperless in real. There is no beneift to us as yet until this happens.
Surely if their new barcode parcel system can link everything up like they say it can, we can do like with G&G and save ourselves toner and paper while we’re at it.
And they have the gall to suggest we agents ‘get with it’..
I am not convinced on NDC’s new barcode system. According to their letter, NSW is up and running and we should receive notification from them, when our parcels have been received. I have not received anything. I sent them an email about questions I had, no reply received…..
Hi Mark,
Dont know if anyone else has been experiencing problems with Supp Returns and Network. We have been following their process, use ExchangeIT and yet we have not been credted for any Supps for July, Aug & Sept… The blaming game is unbelievable apparantly its our fault that Network have not credited us.. go figure. We are not talking little sums the outstanding amount is around $4,000 cost.
And then we have the instances of rejected claims beceause of incorrect recording of amounts received the saga never ends… each month there would be at least two to three titles we are rejected on and when we go back to the invoice we find we received and were charged for more than is recorded on system for us to claim. It is always us having to justify what we received and its always our fault. Why does this happen?
Cheers
Peter
Peter , i have had no dramas with ndc accepting the supps as a whole but same as you i seem to get a few here and there that get rejected that i don’t bother to worry about because of the hassle in chasing it up but at the end of the day all of these dollars just keep adding up .
Peter,
There are occasional bumps but these are sorted out quickly. If you or anyone is getting advice which does not seem right, please let XChangeIT, the magazine distributor and your software provider know. Together, we usually get to the bottom of it quickly.
Hi Shaun,
With us its generally the same titles… the ones we dont sell and usually with a retail price of over $10… I know hey are not material whe consider the our total invoices, however $100 per mth is still $1,200 per annum which is comming out of our pocket.
Whilst there are other means to make up the difference I dont like it on principal.
Cheers
Peter
What annoys me is that the Convenience stores and large supermarkets are still being treated
differently from the Newsagency chain. They get free enevlope reply paid service for all magazines that are topped. They still complete hand written returns and they still get over supplied to blazes so where is the fairness in this category management ?
Yes- we are carrying less stock and credit as a result of change BUT we are still treated like second rate citizens in the eyes of the publishers.
Peter, we have had the same issue. I have contacted NDC who told me to contact XchangeIT, I did that and they told me to contact Tower, I did that and they told me to go back to NDC as it was a problem their end. I have put three calls into NDC over the past three weeks and not yet recieved a call back. “A supervisor is looking at it and will get back to you shortyly”… ????
B, There are escalation processes which see just about any issue resolved within two days at most if it is a Network or XIT issue.
And what are they? I have three weeks worth of returns in boxes I can’t send cause I have no barcodes and three weeks worth of returns to do??How do I escalate the problem??
B, for Tower they are the people you see listedn in our weekly email, our months snail mail newsletter and in our user documentation. For Network, ask for a manager, for XChangeIT, ask for escalation.
That said, I have asked them to escalate it for you.
Thank you, very much Mark.
In the case of Network, it has been a manager suppose to be calling me back!! Please don’t get me wrong when I said that the Tower guys told me to call Network. They walked me through every possibility and checked every setting before telling me to call Network again. I can not speak highly enough of your support team – they are fantastic, always helpful and always call back when they say they will.
I also have a problem with supps to Network. Says I have not received them. Also does not recognise that it is a current return and then puts it in as a supp and then it gets regected. Tower say I’m set up right. Network just keep saying that it is a problem that will be fixed soon.
I’m going back to doing it online even though it takes time. It will be less time than what I am spending now trying to track what is missing, resubmitting, phone calls and emails that no one ever gets back to you.
DEB, Escalate it then. To network, to XIT and to your software providor. There are ways to get to the right people and any issue resolved.
Anyone else noticing that since G&G pared back their customer service in Qld that PDFs aren’t always coming back when returns are submitted?
Last week, none were generated, so I had to request them.
This week the supplementary wasn’t forthcoming, so again I’ve requested one.
No dramas with G&G at all, until now, so
hopefully it’s a minor problem that can be easily rectified.
I am a small newsagent. How much will it cost me to use xchangeit?
Joe, My software company, Tower Systems, has an entry package hardware, software, training and support for $7,9995.00 inc GST. This also qualifies for the 50% tax break. It’s the system used my around three times more newsagents than any other.
is anyone having problems with gg recieving return files for week 44 ?
We were new to the newsagency business as well and recently upgraded to edi returns. we also went thru same problem as you Peter. in fact, i still have a few piles here that i couldn’t return , and have made a lot of calls to network. got different answers as to what to do (and even got told off very rudely by one of them because i did what one of them told me to do in the first place) end of the day…. don’t don’t care about us and just overloads us with more junk than ever before.
anyway, a little off topic here, can i ask what most of you do about early returns. (do you just send the cover back or send the full issue back- even if the sticker says just cover)
up in sunny north Queensland we are allowed to top everything except AWW cook books
God bless Anna Bligh and the lucky state. Tripodi cant get past the border tickgates
are there differences between states in the way they accept returns?
the reason im asking is because 1 time i asked a GG customer service rep what should i do for early returns…..response was early returns should always be in fulls regardless if the sticker says cover. But the problem is that the amount of junk titles they send to us recently has become a big problem….need lots of boxes and they are a hassle to trasnport back for early returns.
anyone from WA care to share how they send back early returns? thanks a lot.
Ed,
Contact your state manager. If you have not happy with the response come baack to me personally and I will approach them on your behalf. The key to winning the argument is to have good data to prove your points.