Electronic invoices from Network Services will now be released at 3pm the day before magazine supply in-store. This means that Monday’s invoices will be available from 3pm tomorrow (Sunday).
I appreciate that this change will frustrate many newsagents, particularly for the Monday delivery.
Mark,
They told us that weeks ago and nothing happened with it. I already have Wednesday next weeks invoices but not Mondays.
They told us that we would be receiving delivery summaries several times over the last year or two and nothing has happened.
They told me on Friday that they had a problem with Mondays invoices and that I will have them on Friday afternoon. Nothing happened.
Yes this is frutrating.
If this is true it is an indication of just how out of touch with the newsagent channel these people are. They clearly cannot understand what we do as distribution agents and the work / process involved in getting their product out on sale in a timely and efficient way.
Mark, who is it that we need to speak to about this matter?
I am passing on information received through here to Network people today.
Mark, if you are in contact with someone make them aware that I cannot complete my arrivals today so product that we will receive tomorrow (sunday) will now not be arrived until Monday and therefore subagents will not receive this product until Tuesday. This is the impact of what they might think of as a simple change.
Mark, i echo the comments above. It is certain that many many sub-agents will not receive their Monday magazines until Tuesday or later. The publishers will lose a high level of weekly sales. A retrograde step that would appear not to have had any proper thought behind it.
What a stuffed up idea.
Niall, get it fixed.
Why change a system that has been working perfectly well. Networks seems to be taking lessons from the federal government.
Wrong tactic gents.
Mark, please add our name to the list of newsagents annoyed with the change.
Sub agent deliverys will not be done until Tuesday.
Half of our subagents are upto 100 km away and they will not get theirs until wednesday now because the bread contractor only runs three days a week. This will only add expenses or cost sales for my business. Smart thinking Network.
I echo all the above comments. Who did Network consult to make such a stupid bloody decision (and nice to see great communication, prior, during and after).
Sub Agents will suffer as i will not be hanging around waiting for Network to get their !@#$ together.
newsXpress Seymour
newsxpress Seymour
3pm the day before delivery is way too late ON ANY DAY! What on earth makes the powers at Network belive that this would be an improvement? Improvement for who? This leaves far too small a window to prepare for the next day’s delivery of magazines.What a ridiculous decision!
The focus here needs to be on the impact this will have on newsagents. The net result will be reduced subagent sales and consequently less sales for us the newsagent. This would not happen if the a sales based distribution model applied for the distributor instead of one based on # distributed.
The question here is why has this change been made? What is the justification, what are the perceived benefits/costs. We know the costs and there are no benefits that I can see!
Surely the xchangeit system is not that inflexible that a it matters whether the EDI files are downloaded one day, several days or even a week in advance of any on sale date. In fact I can see considerable advantage if this where the case. We could all plan our promotions that little bit better if we had a couple of extra days notice. This situation needs to be fixed and fixed fast!!
This is a decision by Network and not XhcangeIT.
3.30 and no files
Got my Monday files.
Pity they were dated Sunday.
Telling the computer that tvw etc is arriving on a Sunday was interesting.
Xchangeit then froze once my files got through. It must have been confused as well !!
It looks like Network weren’t happy with just screwing up the delivery time of electronic invoices … they also had to stuff up the date as well. All Monday invoices have been dated with Sunday’s date. This will create even further problems with both billing and subagent delivery.
The Tower advice for newsagents is to NOT arrive their Network invoices today but to do it tomorrow morning. We are chasing Network but will not be able to get onto anyone until tomorrow morning. Ugh!
Some tinkering with the XchangeIt DD2 file to ‘find and replace’ all occurrences of 20100620 to 20100621 fixes the problem. But I wouldn’t recommend it unless you know what you’re doing.
5.50pm Sunday.
No files.
Good on you Network.
Another one not happy with Network
8.06PM no files.
I assume that network will not complain if I am late with anything on the next few months. This will cost me money now.
4:17am MONDAYMORNING STILL NO FILES!!!!
4.25am Monday.
NO FILES
I RECEIVED MY FILES BUT THEY ARE SAVED IN THE INNCOMING FILES FOLDER how do you get them out of there ?
5:19am Subagents mags distributed and STILL NO FILES!!!
6.14am Monday…….no files!
NO FILES
I have let senior Network Services people know that files are missing this morning. Hopefully the buzz of their Blackberries will get some action before the Network call centre opens.
this is the problem we will have every week if they continue to do the files on a sunday arvo either put staff on to take the calls or go back to friday with the files . they have to understnd we do not just work from 8 – 5 monday to friday
I received my files yesterday afternoon and downloaded them with the 20th date with all sorts os errrors I am now here wondering should I delete these files and start again to solve any charging issues
well bugger NDC i am now a few hours behind for the day so everything bar WD people and tv week are all going back . Instead of doing paper returns for 4 hours i will now have to sit on the phone listen to all the bull about how it is one off and that every one else recieved files then finall get around to doing mags while trying to serve which takes forever , what a great way to start a week
WD, TVW etc will all scan as last weeks copy
yeah that dosn’t do to much for your stock figures
Still waiting on files. I am considering sending them an “infringement notice”!
NHIAL MAYBE U SHOULD GET OFF YOUR ASS AND CONSULT THE CHANNEL THAT FEEDS U .YES WE THE NEWSAGENTS WHO SELL YOUR PRODUCT WELL
For a company that insists on us being guinea pigs for their new stysems, blah blah, it truly amazes me that they won’t utilise a far more effective means of communication/issue reporting i.e. EMAIL.
If they’re so gung-ho about IT means of processing etc etc, one would think they would be more willing to exploit the advantages of email. But no, you have to have circular arguments on the phone with people who think you’re stupid, and wait for office hours to tick over in order to even do that, rather than have someone log and sort issue reporting online. Even I could do it, and it wouldn’t take a bloody week to get back to you.
Even when the person on the phone tells you that you can report big issues to ‘this email address’, only to find it’s the same one that give you a week’s turnaround.
Thank god we don’t have an EDI system in place. It would bankrupt us within six months! Minimum standard, my behind.
Jim,
I might send them an infringement notice as well.
” i audited their computer file and it was not to the agreed standard”
An update just in from Network:
We’ve identified that a few issues where agents haven’t received files for on-sale today, unfortunately it doesn’t affect just one state the issue is widespread.
We are in the process of actioning complete resend of all files from the old file creation process, this process has already been kicked off and should start sending files within the next 1hr.
Too little, too late
still no files this is rediculous and still no comunication from network
Got wednesdays files – this is stupid
All I can say is thank god for this blog or I would be none the wiser as to what is going on!!!
And still no files
Got wednesday and friday files
What a mess not happy
12.05pm Monday and no Network files received. Great communication there, Network! Contacted XChangeIT who advised us of Network server problems and promised to keep us updated. At least XChangeIT support answers emails and they are willing to communicate on behalf of Network, even if it is not a problem of their doing. Disgraceful communication efforts by Network, but no surprises there, since they have always been unable to respond satisfactorily to any kind of communication from us.
just packed up the last box i am not taking delivery of these items it is bull the way they have not even botherd to flick an email to let us know what is going on
Mark,
I understand that Network are saying that the later generation of EDI files results in greater accuracy in details of what we actually receive rather than what was planned for us to receive, however getting the EDI files earlier also assists in situations where communications with the outside world fail.
Our ISP recently initiated security upgrade changes that prevented xchangeit from connecting and it took us a week to track down the problem with the assistance of the support guys at XIT. Because we had a weeks worth of invoice data already in our system our only issue was sending sales and return data.
Very rarely do we have issues with stock included in EDI data not being delivered, so I see the benefit of data files arriving a week early as far outweighing the benefit of improving accuracy.
yay files ,to late . lets do it all again next sunday because it was such a great succes
and so much fun
BYE BYE NDD, should have been NDC
Can I just say, perhaps on behalf of all, thanks Mark. Without this blog we would all have been in the dark with no one to call.
Cheers
Thanks Brett. What happened yesterday and today has led to considerable activity within Network today. They are working hard to ensure that files go out on time. They are also looking at the issue of timing.
If this was a supplier of say gifts or something we would quickly tell them were to shove there business with the way they treat us , why do we put up with this treatment ?
O Joy! O Happy Days!
Not.
Yet another infringement notice this morning. From a bloody month ago.
WTF???
Take photos, folks. We really need to cover ourselves here.
ruddism at work best
Y&G, We too got our 2nd infringement for something I know I did correctly. Is this their way of telling us they want to quit supply to us, or is it simply a case of inefficiency, mishandling and bungling at their end? Either way, we are left hanging, wondering what will happen next.
Wendy, we’d tried to tell them that there must have been a problem with their system. We’ve followed their instructions to the letter, every single week – we can do it with our eyes closed, as can everybody else who carries out the same tasks in their businesses every week.
We’ve had several of these infringements since March, and no opportunity to question them. If you look at your returns management status report on Netonline, you’ll also find that the returns have been approved. However, nobody can tell us exactly when they would be enforcing the infringements.
After a fruitless conversation with Network some weeks ago, the most useful information I got (before it turned into a race for the fastest lap times!!) was that apparently it’s the warehouse that determines whether or not infringement notices are imposed, and there is no connection with head office in this regard. This means nobody on the phone can help, because they have no control over what the warehouse says. If the warehouse can’t find your form, then potentially you’re going to pay dearly if these are ever enforced. In other words, it was impossible to find out whether or not there would be ANY means of redress, let alone recourse. According to the person on the phone, no there would not be, because customers do not have access to the warehouse. Even on their online status page mentioned above, the facility for notes is for us, not them. They can’t see them! What is the point, then? This was the most frustrating part of the exchange. In the end, I terminated the conversation, because I was so tired of going around in ever-diminishing circles, faster and faster.
Eventually, we actually got an apology, because we’d backed our email complaints up with photos of our boxes etc. But of course, because we had emailed them, it took ages to get a response. I still don’t understand their email situation. It has me stumped.
But here we go again. Clearly the bugs haven’t been ironed out yet.
So, Wendy, I think it’s simply a case of the latter, in answer to your question. It’s one thing to be understanding of teething problems with new systems, but quite another to not know when to be really afraid when you get these ‘infringement’ emails. Particularly when we didn’t even know about them until we had quite a few – the email notifications have only been going for a couple of weeks. We just happened to see a string of yellow triangles with exclamation marks on the webpage, and had a look at them. Imagine our consternation on learning what they were for! As for enforcement, I think we deserve some consultation and prior warning. There should also be more timely ways for us to question warehouse decisions, especially when it’s the warehouse that haven’t been looking hard enough in boxes.
Wendy.
Their inefficiency.
After three infringement notices a little while back (and a refusal on their behalf to even consider that the problem was their end)we started documenting our procedure with photos. When the next infringement notice came we fired back an email with these photos of the return concerned. A few days later we received a phone call apologising for the notices. They blamed a scanning error in there receiving depot & the problem had been now fixed. All seemed good after that until this morning when we received another notice. Fired back photo proof to them so we are now awaiting what excuse there will be this time.
Networks left hand has no idea what it’s right hand is doing as far as the warehouse is concerned. I would say if you do NOT get a notice they they have lost your returns.
We get a notice with every returns we send through, and every single time it is a network stuff up that is to blame and nothing to do with us. We once got a notice that we did not include a returns form with box 1 but we only sent 1 box back, another time we got a notice that we did not clearly mark all the boxes with returns labels, again we only sent 1 box back and it arrived at the warehouse so how could it not be clearly marked?
One question.
Has ANYONE here NOT had a problem with the returns system????
yeah i have never had a problem with NDC they are great to deal with never accuse me of doing wrong ,always accept my returns how they are , i always pass my audit …….what a load of bull 🙂 i have had several letters and i now do the same as YG photo everything
Oops.
Sorry re double post. My computer’s browser went down, and my partner’s computer had my tag, so he posted without knowing I’d done it too on another browser on the other computer, and it went up while the new post was being ‘moderated’ and my tag was still on his.
Ah, the joys of technology.
Thank god for knocking off now.
Have a grouse evening, all 😀
It seems this is not too isolated. My account online shows returns sent back in June 2010 were received by Network in January 2009, and I got pinged for being late!
WELL WELL WELL network have changed there mind yet once again i have all of mondays files already so much for the day before being a sunday . once again comunication would have to be Networks strong point
Has everyone see the email from Ann Nugent (QNF) regarding imfringement notices from Network and the request for information. There is clearly something wrong with their system and they need to acknowledge that before things get out of hand. We have only started receiving notices since they applied the new scanning system. We have infringement notices for not labelling parcels correctly and not including paperwork in box 1 as required. All of which I now is not true, however up until recently I hadn’t been keeping any photographic evidence to prove my case; that has all changed now.