RE: ALF Expense Analysis

I've been lurking here for awhile, so I guess it's time to throw my 2
cents in.  I don't think Konrad is the only frustrated customer out
here.  I know I am asked frequently what we receive for the ALF money we
pay each year and I have a hard time justifying it against the 1 or 2
PCM's we load and the 10 or so support calls we make.  I agree with Dale
in that there are intangibles that are there, but it is difficult to
illustrate those to management.  I think MAPICS could accomplish quit a
bit if they would start 'giving' away a piece of client software to
replace one of your existing applications every time you pay your ALF.
This would spread a lot of goodwill among the existing customer base
(who help fund the development), and help reduce MAPICS support costs
for older legacy applications.

Jeff Green
ERP Manager
Metal Sales Manufacturing
Sellersburg, IN
www.mtlsales.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Snyder [mailto:jeffreygsnyder@xxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 8:36 PM
To: mapics-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: ALF Expense Analysis


   Always good to hear at least one customer out there is happy with
MAPICS

    Sometimes i get sooo fustrated from all the bashing on this
   thread...maybe  the grass just looks greener on the other side ??? 

    

   Thanks again Dale, for the breath of fresh air.  Konrad  never ceases
to
   amaze me.

    

   Jeff Snyder,  CPIM

   Mapics Consultant

    

   From: DaleGindlesperger@xxxxxxxxxxx
   Reply-To: MAPICS ERP System Discussion <MAPICS-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
   To: MAPICS ERP System Discussion <MAPICS-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
   Subject: RE: ALF Expense Analysis
   Date: Fri, 7 Nov 2003 15:43:10 -0500
   Hi Dale,
   Yeah, I think the ALF is pretty steep myself - it's easily the
largest
   single item in my budget. But I think I still get decent value for
it,
   especially as I plan on upgrading to R7 as soon as they finish CSM.
We've
   used Browser since 1999, and we are increasing our usage, and at
least
   it's
   a lot more stable than it used to be. Of course, that could be
because of
   the newer versions of Winwoes being a little better than the old
versions.
   I was initally concerned about the mismash of languages, as Konrad
   mentioned (I think he missed a couple, like PowerBuilder for those of
us
   running MDCC, and probably some others), but they seem to work fine.
I am,
   however, very much looking forward to running in a full Java
environment
   on
   R7.x when we convert.
   One thing to keep in mind is that our ALFs don't just fund existing
   application enhancements. They also fund e:Info and the folks at the
   response line, which is worth a lot to some of us. It's great to get
a
   speedy response via e-mail, and generally fast response via phone
when I
   or
   my people need to talk to a human bean on something weird that is
   happening. There is also continuing enhancement to some older
modules,
   like the Offline Shipping Enhancement, and such. Also, it costs a lot
to
   fund R&D for the new hardware, modules, and languages (WebSphere and
   such).
   On a tangent - Konrad, I noticed no one said they have loaded 5118
yet. I
   have it sitting in my drawer, waiting to see if it's OK. Hasn't
ANYONE put
   it on?
   Dale Gindlesperger
   IT Manager/Special Projects Leader
   Fleetwood Folding Trailers, Inc.
   Somerset, PA
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