SSCS News for July

This post is the first of special blog editions we’ll be publishing occasionally to cover the latest news coming out of SSCS. For access to all of our posted press releases, including those containing the stories below, please visit the news page on our website.

SSCS Computerized Daily Book 7.4.12 Introduces POS Interface for the Comdata SmartDESQ

Service Station Computer Systems, Inc. (SSCS) announces the release of the Computerized Daily Book™ (CDB) 7.4.12, the latest version of SSCS’s flagship back office system for C-stores, auto repair facilities and fuel retailers.

This version of the CDB introduces support for an interface to the SmartDESQ point-of-sale (POS) system from Comdata®, a leading provider of corporate payment systems for a wide range of markets including the retail petroleum industry.

The SmartDESQ provides enhanced processing and pump control for diesel and gasoline fuel transactions, enhancing operational efficiency and simplified end-of-day reporting. The CS-Poll Interface seamlessly retrieves fuel and nonfuel sales, A/R sales, and permit number data generated by the SmartDESQ’s day reports. Once polled, the data can be posted to the CDB, the most complete daily book program in the industry.

Volume and money totals reports are among the information that can be polled. The program is designed to automatically poll (record sales results) allowing unattended polling.

“Our new CDB release continues the SSCS tradition of providing the widest variety of POS interfaces to the CDB to meet the diverse requirements of our petroleum retailing customers,” states SSCS Vice President of Sales and Marketing Al Stoeberl. “Truck stops have come to rely on the SmartDESQ as their go-to system for streamlining the processing of various retail methods, including the authorization of both Comdata cards and regular credit and debit cards. We’re happy to be in a position to extend the functionality of this innovative system with full back office capabilities.”

Other key features introduced with CDB 7.4.12 are an Inventory Days Remaining report that shows how many days of stock are left on an item or items based on their historical usage history, and a Site Bookkeeping Days report that displays how far behind each site in an enterprise has fallen behind on their books, comparing the last recorded end-of-shift time to the book date. This report also makes available an average days behind value for each site.

Additional 7.4.12 highlights include:

• The ability to display multiple taxes on a work order.
• Improved handling of vendor item numbers throughout the system.
• Automatic generation of invoice numbers on recurring Paidouts.
• The ability to record manual information on a barcode label such as “+CRV”.

CDB 7.4.12 is available now.

Invoice Files from Dr Pepper Snapple Group Now Available to EDI Conversion Module Users on Sunray

Computerized Daily Book back office system processes electronic invoice information for quick conversion into purchase records using industry-standard (PCATS) file layouts.

Service Station Computer Systems, Inc. (SSCS) is pleased to announce that invoice information at the item level for Dr Pepper Snapple Group products is now available to SSCS customers using electronic data interchange (EDI). The process incorporates the XML file layouts established by Conexxus (formerly the Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards [PCATS]), to which leading retailers, wholesalers and technology vendors comply voluntarily.

The re-keying of information from an invoice hard copy into a computer is time-consuming and leads to inaccuracies when direct store deliveries are processed. EDI functionality helps remedy this through seamless transfer and capture of data. Invoice information is sent from the Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s secure AS2 server over the Internet to SSCS’ secure AS2 server to the retailer’s Computerized Daily Book (CDB) back office program. Once available to the CDB, the information can be converted with the click of a button, recording a transaction complete with item names, quantities, costs, invoice number and date. New items in deliveries automatically are identified along with any cost decreases and increases since the last item purchases. Any price on any item can be changed and sent to the c-store’s point-of-sale (POS).

“Too long has the c-store industry had to deal with the tedium and imprecision associated with manually processing delivery information,” states SSCS Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Al Stoeberl. “That’s why we work with Conexxus and assorted suppliers to provide standardized solutions for the problem. We’re happy to partner with Dr Pepper Snapple Group to bring our mutual customers this convenience. Given that company’s extensive roster of products, we expect the beneficial impact of paperless processing to be significant for c-store operators.”

EDI’s rapid acceptance as a strategic business tool is due to its cost-effectiveness and capacity for fostering improved business relationships. Key benefits of EDI to a retail business include:

• Reduced administrative costs
• Fewer clerical errors
• Shortened transaction cycle times
• Improved inventory management
• More effective communications
• Better trading partner relationships
• More responsive customer service
• More accurate forecasting
• Re-engineering and streamlining of internal administrative processes (that is, users do not have to scan their purchases)
• Overall increased productivity