The RelMS Process
RelMS is more than a just software application, it is a complete multi-branch, multi-user system designed for your moving and storage company, whether large or small, to win more sales, enhance your professional image and easily control the flow of relevant information within your organisation.

Enterprise Ready
RelMS is designed to cater for all types of organisational structures.  Smaller companies with single consultants can purchase standalone licenses for RelMS, whilst multi-user and multi-branch organisations have the ability to easily mould RelMS to their complex business needs.  The features described here, although present in the standalone version, find their full expression in multi-user installations.

Microsoft SQL Server hosts the central Enterprise database server in a multi-user installation.  Through intricate replication rules, mobile units such as Tablet PCs and Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPC) download only the data and documents relevant to the particular consultant involved and this is stored in a Local database (either MSDE 2000 or SQL Server 2005 Express – both freely available) on that Tablet PC or UMPC.  As this data is only the current working data for that consultant and only a small subset of the Enterprise database, the volume of data transfer is quite small and security of the organisations database is maintained.

As both the external consultants in the field and internal consultants at headquarters can potentially update the same quotations, RelMS uses an intelligent rules based synchronisation process to update only the fields that have actually been changed instead of entire records.  This combination of field-level updates and intelligent synchronisation rules automatically resolves any rare situation where the same data has been updated at both the Enterprise and Local databases.

Mobility -> Winning the Sale
RelMS targets the key aspect of winning the sale, so often neglected by competing hand-held inventory collection systems.  The RelMS interface is optimised for equal ease-of-use both by your internal consultants on their workstations as well as your external consultants running RelMS on their mobile Tablet PCs and UMPCs.  Running on mobile units, RelMS has been tightly integrated to use their pen capabilities to facilitate data entry.

RelMS allows you to link audio-visual files, including slide presentations and movie clips, directly to any item on your default inventory.  These empower your consultants to provide compelling presentations at the customer’s premises.  Intelligent volume and pricing defaults enable detailed quotations to be printed on portable wireless printers at the customer’s premises.

External consultants synchronise their Tablet PCs or UMPCs with the enterprise server via remote or local network connection.  This two-way synchronisation process downloads new quotations allocated to the consultant’s RelMS diary and updates the central server with the inventory information and any customer quotations and reports generated at the customer’s premises.  Any changes to default inventories, customisations, audiovisual presentations and document templates at the enterprise database are downloaded during synchronisation, allowing you to centrally control your entire fleet.

External consultants have a handy feature available to them for switching their view from the Local database to the Enterprise database whenever in network range with the server.  This allows them to search for historical non-current data that is not downloaded to their Local database during synchronisation.  It also enables them to view the diaries and quotes for other consultants so they can reassign work to their colleagues if required.

Tailor-Made
While RelMS ships with preset room-by-room inventories, it allows each firm to easily customise the default inventories, item volumes and pricing.  The engine room for tailoring the system to your needs is called Housekeeping.  This critical feature is only accessible by users with administrator privileges.  From housekeeping, every aspect of the system is controlled and customised, including:
•    Creation of branches and users including the ability to assign multiple users to the same branch and multiple branches to the same user
•    Creation of specific removal types such as domestic, commercial
•    Allocation of removal types to different branches
•    Creation of rooms/offices typically encountered for each removal type
•    Creation of items for removal and packing typically found in the rooms/offices including default volumes, pricing and size and packing variations
•    Items can be optionally set as Packing boxes that your company supplies at designated cost per volume or cost per item
•    Items can be optionally set as Other items – these will allow the consultant to write (using pen handwriting recognition) non-typical items and specify their volume (Note: at the Quotation data entry screen, these Other Items can be replaced by preset items by clicking a button to select from all inventory items based on category)
•    Allocation of audio-visual files to individual items to allow demonstration of your company’s quality procedures and standards for areas such as wrapping and handling
•    Special Instructions defaults for highlighting items for special care or packaging
•    Allocation of Additional Materials per item automatically calculated at quotation (e.g. a piano trolley for piano item or 3 sheets of cardboard and roll of tape for every lounge suite item)
•    Creation of general presentations to cover every aspect of the move, including transport and packing options, safety, storage and handling and other internal and external services
•    Ability to turn on and off the comprehensive default pricing components available to the quotation-pricing engine as suits your business
•    Creation of customised pricing components (internal and external services) with default unit pricing and email addresses for automated mail-out of orders for services
•    Allocation of internal and external services per removal type
•    Data-entry and/or data import facilities for Country/State/Locality information
•    Lookup table for line-haul rates assigned based on origin and destination localities
•    Transit and Storage Insurance policies
•    Crating Types including default volume rates
•    Default Access Conditions at origin and destination with loading percentage factors that are applied to the overall costing
•    Appointment Types and their default durations for appointments other than survey inspections to appear on the consultants’ diary
 
Security
Secure access is controlled at the following levels:

Windows domain level
SQL Server database level
RelMS application level

At the RelMS application level, only users assigned with administrator privileges are able to access the Housekeeping functions.

Data security is inherently available through use of the industry standard Microsoft SQL Server.  RelMS recommends best practice automated maintenance and backup routines for SQL Server installations.

Connectivity
A major feature of RelMS is the ability to link it to your existing operational and financial systems via customisation of the RelMS Data Exchange Service.  This robust server-based process allows import and export of XML data files at periodic intervals (minimum of 1 minute) from preset Import and Export folders.  Once processed, these XML files are moved to corresponding archive folders.  Thus, data is seamlessly shared between all your critical systems.  The RelMS Data Exchange Service has many fail-safes built in and can be set to automatically email multiple individuals in case of unexpected conditions.

Customer-Friendly Web Portal
The elegant and appealing RelMS web portal allows prospective customers to register the details of their move and supply a comprehensive inventory from a simple to user interface.  These online applications are automatically routed to your relevant branch and assigned to consultants to follow up.  The RelMS web portal automatically presents the customised inventories set up at RelMS Housekeeping, so refinements to your preferred settings automatically flow through the entire system.

Internationalisation
For US quotations, the pricing engine can be set to automatically integrate with the E-Tariff 400N to provide regulatory compliance.

Units of measure, pricing and terminology are all configurable at housekeeping to suit regional needs.

Audit Compliance
To comply with even the most stringent regulatory requirements, RelMS keeps copies of all quotations and reports generated to customers.  When different quotes are generated (e.g. after inventory or other changes) a different set of documents is generated at a new version and older versions are still retained.  These read-only snapshots of formal documentation are synchronised automatically with the Enterprise database and are permanently available for review when needed.

System Requirements
Hardware requirements are a Pentium III class machine 500MHz with 256MB RAM running Windows XP, Windows 2000/2003 (minimum configuration).

Microsoft Word mail merge is used to produce customer quotes Microsoft Word XP, 2000/2003 is required. If Word is not installed, RelMS will still function, but the printed quote functionality and customer labels will not be available.

Larger organisations requiring more than 5 concurrent users will require SQL Server 2000/2005.