The Compass Winter 1998 The Compass ||
Summer 1998 |
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In general, life in the trade association business is much like your lives, I’m afraid. Mostly we deal with routine matters, and find ourselves juggling several projects while trying to meet deadlines which we have aggravated through procrastination. But occasionally, something comes along that makes it all worth the daily grind. For me, our recent completion of the first-ever NAGASA Imager Study is one of those jewels among the dross. As many of you know, the conventional wisdom in the industry was that graphic arts dealers would not disclose sales and margin information to anyone, and they certainly would not allow manufacturers to learn these intricacies of their business. But in 1997, NAGASA proved the conventional wisdom wrong.
Dealers large and small throughout the United States and Canada provided detailed information about their imager sales, and as a result, NAGASA was able to compile the first-ever definitive analysis of imager sales mix, manufacturer market share through the dealer channel, dealer margins and street prices. The manufacturers who sponsored the NAGASA Imager Study found access to data available nowhere else, as did the participating dealers, who received an abridged version of the sponsors’ report. And the success of the initial study has prompted us to not only continue the project through 1998, but to broaden the study to include presses. Every dealer should participate in these data collection efforts -- not only in support of NAGASA, but because the data available cannot be found elsewhere. The measure of an association’s success lies not just in providing the same services year after year, but in broadening the scope of services and developing innovative services which help members improve their businesses. By that measure, the 1997 NAGASA Imager Study -- Are You Ready for the Year 2000 BUG?
What is the Year 2000 problem and why is it so costly to fix? Systems that are not Year 2000 ready might interpret the year as 1900 -- or worse. For example, the user of a system might be prohibited from entering “00” into a date field, sorting Depending on the age of your software system and the programming language used to create it, the process of adding century date logic can be very costly -- especially when you include Different terms, such as “Year 2000 ready,” “Year 2000 compliant,” “Designed with century date logic,” and other phrases are used to describe hardware and software that should function properly into the 21st century. But the bottom line is this -- will it work properly when the clock strikes midnight on January 1, 2000?
What are some basic steps to analyze my system’s situation? To assess your system’s Y2K readiness, contact the vendors for each of the components. Ask if their product(s) are Year 2000 compliant at the version that you are running. Some potential answers to your inquiry might be: “Yes,” “No, but there is an upgrade available,” or just plain, “No.” Also ask if they have received Year 2000 certification. Based on the answers from all the vendors, you now have a list of potential problem areas. In the case of custom software, you’ll want to work with the authors of the system or contract with someone to evaluate the system -- which, unfortunately, can be pretty costly. However, don’t become overconfident if your initial results are good. These types of problems can be like peeling an onion; when you remove one problem, you may find that others then become visible. The key to success is to start now, if you haven’t already. Basically, you are trying to determine how many pieces there are to your overall system; which ones are Y2K ready; which ones can be made Y2K ready; and what the steps are necessary to make each piece able to accurately The first question that you need to answer is: When do my systems need to be ready to handle dates into the 21st century? Many banks have been creating amortization schedules that go into the year 2000 for over 20 years, so they needed to solve this problem in certain applications a long time ago. You might have heard about some of the problems being caused by credit cards with expiration dates in the Year 2000. The answer depends on your business. If you take or place orders a year in advance, you will need to have those portions of your systems Y2K enabled by the end of this year. If you are a distributor that typically takes orders a week in advance, and can get product from suppliers overnight, then you have a little more wiggle room before it becomes a challenge for your business. As a result of a roundtable discussion at Forum 98, NAGASA has organized a task force to develop a model request for proposal that outlines key functions and features for a Year 2000-ready computer system and vendors that can meet the specifications. The project is designed to help the small dealer, and the task force is comprised of six small dealers and distributors. The model will be available in October 1998, and the vendor list will be available in December 1998. Not surprisingly, many companies both large and small have found that the cost and time required to do significant testing or to perform upgrades can be comparable to purchasing and implementing entirely new systems. Given the genuine importance of the Year 2000 issue, don’t overlook the potential benefits of replacing your older, non-Year 2000-compliant system with a state-of-the-art, new Year 2000-ready system. Whichever remedy you decide is best for your system, it is critical to get your business computer systems in order now. Good luck, and don’t forget -- the year 2000 is a leap year, too!
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President’s Column
The impending computer crisis that will be created by the turn of the century has received as much attention as Seinfeld over the last few years. Is it all hype, or is it real? In reality, the answer is that it’s a little of both. The problem is real, and each company must assess its individual situation to determine if its computer systems are Year 2000 (Y2K) compliant. As a smart first step, take a look at some guidelines for a common-sense approach to your company’s Year 2000 readiness.