[ic] Preorder & Stock Alert Question

[IF]

On Fri, 6 Oct 2000, Dave Barr wrote:
[del]

> 
> As you mentioned, Interchange was never intended to be a 
> one-stop-shop solution with built-in accounting and inventory 
> management, this makes sense as there are too many variables to take 
> into account. 'IF' mentioned in his follow-up the idea of a wish list 
> of supported "hook-up" proprietary software, this 'could' work, but 
> the underlying question of background data management remains before 
> establishing those programmes. My main concern is with adding to 
> Interchange so many proprietary hacks (or additional proprietary db 
> tables) that upgrading in the future would become a nightmare (been 
> there, seen it, bought the "T"). If we can establish the data flow 
> and base requirements to meet the needs of the many as opposed to the 
> few, then the solutions will hopefully become more apparent.

[del]

> >
> >I am doing a bit of this with a vendor serviced by 12 different
> >fulfillment houses. So I know about that "joy". 8-) We are just trying
> >to keep track of when we sent them the order -- shipment status is a
> >ways off.
> 
> 12? [gasp... shudder]... I'm having kittens trying to work out how I 
> am going to get around the problems with having one centralised point 
> of fulfilment - you are a braver man than I Mr. Heins!
> 

My suggestion was based just on my knowledge about bookseller's
POS/Inventory/Accoutning systems. If one would expect IC being
able to be configurable to fulfil all function such inventory
management systems can perform, I think that would be a bit 
too much to expect from an open source code package. 

That's why I suggested to think about one or two major existing
inventory management systems of industries, which are heavily
using the internet for online e-commerce, and discuss possible
IC integration or hook-ups.

Just to let you know that the inventory of a usual bookstore
is fullfiled by at least eight to ten wholesales, around 150
publishers, all of which offer drop shipment for end customers,
at vorious prices, unreliable speed etc. A bookstore sells
online, in the store, over the phone, over private email, what
have you. Let's say  you have drop shipped from a publisher to
your customer, how is the return handled etc...

You want stuff like this being handled by IC ? 

Just imagine that even Amazon, who became a wholesaler himself
and ships exclusivley out of their own warehouses (I believe)
makes still around $ 2.00 loss on each book shipped out.

I have no knowledge about other industries' requirements and
available inventroy management systems and I doubt that
my suggestion made a lot of sense.


-- 
IF