MAC RSS-Feed https://www.mac-its.com/ MAC News Meldungen de_DE MAC-ITS Tue, 03 Oct 2023 12:41:30 +0200 Tue, 03 Oct 2023 12:41:30 +0200 TYPO3 EXT:news news-67 Wed, 22 Aug 2018 08:33:58 +0200 MAC successfully presents DiVA OMS at K5 2018 “David vs. Goliath – Markets undergoing change” – this was the motto of this year’s K5 Future Retail Conference, which took place for the eighth time July 3rd and 4th 2018. It focused on strategies and clever business models to help retailers to establish at the market successfully despite of all the global players.

The conclusion of this year’s K5: legendary! Exhibitors, visitors and organizers agree: this was the most successful K5 of all times! In only a few years, the K5 Future Retail Conference advanced from an event almost exclusively known by insiders for its reunion character to an ultimate branch highlight for e-commerce pros.

MAC IT-Solutions was present as an exhibitor and as a speaker. Oliver Bartl (Head of Cloud Business, MAC) and Anika Schmidt (Senior Brand Communications Manager, LLOYD Shoes) used their presentation to follow the motto of the K5 “David vs. Goliath” to talk about challenges but also chances and perspectives using LLOYD Shoes GmbH as an example, which at the beginning of the year successfully launched their e-commerce business with Order Management System DiVA from MAC. This was the big talk at this year’s K5: Who wins in online trade – the big or the small? The answer: not the size of the company determines its success, but the ability to adjust to the markets. DiVA OMS provides the optimal conditions: DiVAOMS as a standard software specializes on e-commerce with a high level of automation, a short launch time as well as maximum flexibility and scalability, which vitally helps small retailers and especially fashion brands to enter e-commerce business easily.

Save the date-
Secure your ticket here for the K5 2019, happening June 4th and 5th 2019.

See you at K5 2019!

]]> news-65 Tue, 26 Jun 2018 10:20:00 +0200 Review - MAC User Meeting 2018 at Microsoft Munich – Bavarian state capital and synonym for the annual Oktoberfest, pretty dirndls and huge beer mugs. However, Munich is also one of Germany’s most important IT locations and home to branch solutions like Apple, Google and Microsoft. Right here, at Microsoft Headquarters in Munich Schwabing, MAC IT-Solutions held its user meeting 2018 June 6th to 8th.

For years our solutions relied on the established Microsoft Dynamics platform as well as most recently on the leading cloud-computing platform Microsoft Azure. Thanks to the longstanding and trusted cooperation between Microsoft and MAC, we are connected through more than the technological partnership. That is why we were very pleased to be guest at Microsoft Germany and host our user meeting at this location. At this point, we would like to thank Microsoft for the look behind the scenes we got as part of the tour of the office.

Microsoft headquarters in Munich Schwabing is one of the most modern office complexes in Germany. It did not officially open until 2016.  On all seven floors there are various, demand-oriented work spaces, which provide the employees with the maximum amount of flexibility by time- and location-independent work models as well as optimal ways to evolve and unfold. The tour was topped off by visiting the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC), where we experienced the latest Microsoft technologies and were able to try them out. The highlights were the Envisioning Center with a 180° screen and the HoloDeck with various mixed reality scenarios for the Microsoft HoloLens.

The official start of the MAC user meeting was the traditional greeting and introduction including review and outlook by the MAC management. We repeatedly put the focus of our event on an exciting mix of interesting lectures and practical round table slots under the motto ‘Meet the Experts’. The participants had the opportunity to actively participate and ask questions. In addition to topics like omni-channel integration, picking using the HoloLens, MDE functionalities in warehousing, marketplace integration in DiVA and the latest data protection regulation (DSGVO) the participants got insights on the new marketing engine in DiVA, analyzing possibilities of DiVA and BI with Targit as well as payment connections and new development possibilities. In addition, as usual, there were many opportunities to exchange and network in a relaxed environment.

At this point, we would like to thank all participants that made their way ‘south’ and by this vitally contributed to the success of the event. Also a big thank you to the Microsoft team as well as Daniel Heckmann and Andre Wiesmann especially and to our guest speakers Daniel Heckmann and Stephan Randler (neuhandeln.de), who offered interesting insights to ‘Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business’ strategies as well as the ‘Amazonification of commerce’. Thank you very much!

On this note – let us focus on the next event. We will announce the location for the MAC user meeting 2019 shortly and we hope to see you all there!

 

]]> news-62 Wed, 21 Mar 2018 08:28:17 +0100 Fulfillment by Amazon with DiVA Fulfillment by Amazon means that a retailer uses different Amazon services to streamline own processes and gain profit from the platform Amazon. Amazon directly ships the trade goods of the retailer from its location. Amazon in consequence does the warehousing and presentation on the internet. These goods are labelled for the customer as: “Sold by XV, fulfilled by Amazon”.

Amazon also handles the payment if a customer decides to buy the goods. The retailer is not concerned with the payment method or credit rating. At the end of each month, Amazon balances all open transactions of the retailer. DiVA handles Amazon as an individual secure payment method. It implements the country-specific Amazon platforms as promotion media. This allows for individual evaluation per country, with individual product ranges and customer communication.

The Amazon location processes the following shipment, so that there is a fully automatic process here, too. The customer can choose shipping- and invoice addresses and sender online as usual. Using the Amazon logistic processes provides a performance, which can hardly be attained by individual shipping. Should the stock on the FBA inventory be insufficient, Amazon automatically reroutes the orders to DiVA, so that shipping is handled from here.

DiVA displays every national FBA inventory as an individual distribution and return location. The solution is scalable to handle multiple locations per country.

After placing an order, it is transmitted to DiVA. It is then processed in DiVA and posted. Factors like tax rate of destination country or distinction between full and reduced tax rates are fully implemented.

Amazon completely handles the communication with the customer and after-sales support. This primarily means returns handling. The first step is Amazon’s return platform and the second step is the reception and classification in the Amazon location.

DiVA handles all communication to Amazon through its standard interface to Tradebyte. Tradebyte is a middleware that offers a link to Amazon FBA among many other market places. Webservices handles communication to FBA, which provides up to real-time speed. This interface transmits orders, synchronizes inventory, relocates stock (even across borders) and transmits item data.

Amazon provides settlement data at the end of a billing cycle. This includes information for each business transaction, so that the total payment can be split up. It is made up of customer payments, return payments, transport- or inventory damages etc.

Please contact us if you are interested in implementing FBA!

]]> news-60 Wed, 21 Mar 2018 08:28:17 +0100 MAC receives IT Innovation Award 2018 Inspiring. Spirited. Digital. More than a hundred companies applied with their IT solutions for the IT Innovation Award 2018 under this motto.

MAC IT-Solutions also took part in this competition and has now received an award for their ERP and CRM system DiVA as BEST OF in the category Apps.

Once a year the Mid-sized Companies Initiative presents the IT Innovation Award to companies and solutions that are of high value for small- and medium businesses. Businesses of any size can apply as long as they develop an innovative IT solution that is suitable for the middle-class. All submitted solutions are then evaluated by an independent jury concerning their innovative content, usefulness as well as their profitability and practicability for the middle-class. Finally, one winner has been selected in each of the 38 categories to receive the IT Innovation Award 2018.

MAC received the award as BEST-OF 2018 in the category Apps for their industry solution for the second time in a row. DiVA integrates the functionalities of various modules like ERP, CRM and LVS in a perfectly aligned system. Microsoft provides the functional and technological basis with their platforms Dynamics, Azure and 365, which guaranty investment protection and sustainability by instantly providing the latest technological developments. Thanks to the upgradeability, DiVA offers a maximum of flexibility and can be perfectly customized for the individual needs of our customers. DiVA focusses on B2C e-commerce trade and ensures the required system performance for a smooth transaction of the complete trade process – from e-commerce startups to internationally acting global players.

By exclusively focusing and specializing on e-commerce and omni-channel trade, MAC is not only accustomed to the high level dynamic and complexity of online trade but does also have more than 20 years of industry know-how. MAC will continue to meet the needs of the rapid development of omni-channel trade and will further put all strength and motivation on optimizing our solution for the middle class.

]]> news-59 Wed, 21 Mar 2018 08:28:17 +0100 MAC@Internet World: Reflecting this Year`s Internet World 2018 Reflecting this year’s Internet World 2018: more than 17.200 visitors, 250 speakers, 220 sessions and 420 exhibitors. Europe’s leading e-commerce trade fair (6th-7th of March 2018) surpassed all records on its first day already and is growing as rapidly as the sales trend of online trade.

 

The experts of the German Retail Association (Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE)) and German E-Commerce and Distance Selling Trade Association (Bundesverband E-Commerce und Versandhandel Deutschland (bevh)) expect another increase in e-commerce sales of approx. 10% for the year 2018. This means that online trade remains the growth driver. In the course of these developments it comes as no surprise that the biggest group of exhibitors at the Internet World 2018 were the service providers for e-commerce like shop software providers, payment and logistics providers as well as providers and agencies in the fields of technology and online marketing.
 

We can also draw a positive balance on this year’s exhibition: essential for a good trade fair is not the quantity of visitors, but the quality of discussions. We were able to hold many interesting and high-quality discussions in Munich about our latest developments and requirements in e-commerce and in this course presented our ERP and CRM system DiVA based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This year we focused on DiVA365 OMS, our Azure-hosted order management solution, which is, et al. for fashion brands, a great entry into the e-commerce world without disrupting the entire company-proven IT-landscape with a new ERP system. Oliver Bartl, Head of Cloud Services at MAC IT-Solutions, also stated the advantages of DiVA365 in a talk taking LLOYD Shoes GmbH as an example.

Our conclusion: A trade fair specifically focused on e-commerce is viable for our future as a specialist for ERP, CRM and OMS systems.

]]> news-54 Thu, 22 Feb 2018 10:53:00 +0100 MAC again a finalist in the competition “Großer Preis des Mittelstandes” MAC IT-Solutions GmbH has been nominated for the second time in a row this February for the competition “Großer Preis des Mittelstandes” (Grand Award for Medium-sized Businesses), after already being named a finalist last year. This means we successfully mastered the first step in this competition. Now we are crossing our fingers that we will win this popular award in the second attempt.

The „Großer Preis des Mittelstandes“, awarded annually by the Oskar-Patzelt-Foundation, is one of Germany’s most popular awards for small and medium-sized businesses. It is the only award in Germany that not only regards numbers, innovations or generated jobs, but also views the businesses as a whole and its complex role in society.

A business has to be nominated by a third party to be able to take part in the competition “Großer Preis des Mittelstandes”. In this year’s case, Brigitte Kalkbrenner from “Wirtschaftsmagnet GmbH” sent in the request. Mrs. Kalkbrenner’s argumentation for the nomination states: “MAC IT-Solutions GmbH meets all competition criteria. The company is growing and stable. It creates jobs that are secure. Its software is one of the leading ERP systems on the market. It is innovative. It commits to local social and beneficial project.

The next step and the second stage is to answer an extensive questionnaire and win over the approx. 100 members of the 12 regional juries as well as the final jury and make it to the award list. Three businesses from each competition region can make it to the award list and up to five more win a finalist award.

September 2018 will show if MAC is named one of the lucky winners of the „Großer Preis des Mittelstandes“, when the awardees are announced as part of a festive award gala. Things certainly remain exciting!

Find all information on the competition for the “Großer Preis des Mittelstandes” here.

]]> news-52 Thu, 08 Feb 2018 11:15:00 +0100 LLOYD Shoes relies on DiVA OMS and the Microsoft Azure Cloud LLOYD relies on the omni-channel management solution DiVA OMS from the Cloud to pursue their e-commerce growth strategy.

„With DiVA OMS we were able to provide LLOYD with a professional and also cost-efficient omni-channel solution for a successful start of their e-commerce business“, says Oliver Bartl of the service provider MAC.

A central component of DiVA OMS is the elaborate process automation, which is well established in various installations. Many integrated control routines and various order post-processing rules allow for correct and fully automated processing of all orders from the shop.

The project phase only lasted six months and resulted in a successful go-live in summer 2017. Since the start of 2018, the official LLOYD online shop is available and orders are being processed in DiVA OMS.

For LLOYD MAC relies on the innovative Microsoft platform-as-a-service „Azure SQL Database“. The database performance can simply be increased with growing order numbers.

]]> news-50 Wed, 07 Feb 2018 11:15:00 +0100 DiVA 2018 - Ready to go Microsoft launched the new release Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2018 in December 2017. We are dedicated to being up-to-date at all times, so we directly started to update DiVA to the new Microsoft version.
 

Right now DiVA is on the 2018 level technically and we will use the month of February for applicatory tests. With these, we will analyze the DiVA standard and decide, which new functions can be used reasonably and which features will be replaces, if necessary. We plan to conclude the analyzing process in February with a sprint, so that DiVA will be available in the newest Microsoft version in March 2018.
 

In our opinion, the most important highlight of the new version, besides integrating Microsoft Azure Cloud, is that it puts a lot of emphasis on the web client. It evolves into the preferred user interface, which is why many functions and the performance have been noticeably increased. Registered users can change profiles in DiVA 2018 within a session without having to log in again and designing individual pages for users or roles can be done without programming.

]]> news-48 Mon, 29 Jan 2018 16:16:18 +0100 MAC presents the cloud-ready ERP system DiVA at the Internet World on 6th/7th of March. Insights and current trends for the future of e-commerce. As usual this year’s Internet World Expo, Europe’s leading trade show for e-commerce, 6th-7th of March in Munich will be all about the newest trends, the latest technologies as well as highlights in e-commerce and omni-channel trade. Visitors can look forward to more than 420 exhibitors, 250 talks and 300 renowned speakers, who will present the future of online – but also stationary – trade.

Needless to say, MAC IT-Solutions GmbH will be at the Internet World again with its own booth to present its latest developments for e-commerce for today and the future. We will focus on the opportunities and possibilities of digitalization in e-commerce and will present the multiple advantages of our cloud-ready ERP and CMR systems “DiVA@Cloud” based on Microsoft Azure. In addition to our exhibition booth, our very own Oliver Bartl, Head of Cloud Business, will give a talk about the advantages of DiVA as an order management system (OMS system). He will focus on automation of order management processes and standardization of business operations.

DiVA@Cloud is our example for a successfully functioning e-commerce tool. All data material is now no longer stored on company-own servers, but stored in the cloud. MAC provides the respective infrastructure and ensures trouble- and maintenance-free operation. Take advantage of rapid time-to-market, low investment costs as well as the possibility for customization and specific developments at any time so you can completely focus on the daily business.

We will gladly talk to you about our products and our company in a personal meeting.

Therefore, get your free ticket now and visit us at our booth.


You will find us here:
Hall A5 - Booth H209

]]> news-44 Mon, 16 Oct 2017 10:15:15 +0200 dmexco 2017 – A great success for MAC. dmexco 2017, hosted on 13th and 14th September in Cologne, can be described as a true digital spectacle with so many new things and insights that it is impossible for the individual visitor to take them all in.  For MAC IT-Solutions, dmexco 2017 also was a great success.

The significance of dmexco as an international business platform is reflected in the latest numbers: with a record of nearly 1,100 exhibitors and 570 international speakers, dmexco could confirm its reputation as the 'global platform for the digital marketing economy' - even though visitor numbers did not beat the 2016 record.

The reason for this seeming decline? For the first time since its inception nine years ago, visitors had to buy tickets to strengthen the 'business only' aspiration of dmexco and keep visitor numbers in check. The declared goal of dmexco-makers Christian Muche and Frank Schneider is not "to collect as many people as possible in the halls of dmexco (...), but to strengthen a high calibre expert audience", because "if we are talking about quality, then (...) the quality (of the trade visitors) is the deciding factor", says Gerald Böse. And they certainly got that right at dmexco 2017!

As in previous years, we at MAC had a presence with our own stand at this year's dmexco. We were able to make a lot of exciting new contacts and had the chance to talk to sector experts and interested visitors about our new products as well as the strategic direction of MAC and our position in the market. With a clear emphasis on e-commerce and omni-channel selling, we focus on DiVA as our e-commerce back end solution with ERP, CRM, WMS and POS as key elements. Hand in hand with this, we as Microsoft partners strive to run an increasing number of our client systems in the Azure Cloud. DiVA has been proven to out-rank competitor solutions through the range and depth of its functionalities, which are the USP of this technology platform and make it a benchmark for the sector.

We would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to all our current and potential clients for their visits to our stand at the fair. We are already looking forward to dmexco 2018, when Europe's biggest digital industry exhibition will open its doors once more.

]]> news-42 Tue, 01 Aug 2017 11:38:00 +0200 jpc chooses the DiVA IT back end system by MAC IT-Solutions. At the beginning of July, we completed the first project phase of implementing MAC's DiVA back end system at jpc. The first step was to bring financial accounting onto the new platform.

As a music mail order company, jpc offers its customers a huge range of products and an outstanding advisory service. Deep-dye music fans can find real gems and new inspiration here. This passion has even led to the creation of a proprietory music label - cpo. Their flair for choosing great independent artists has already been rewarded with two Echoes and a Grammy.

jpc has been using MAC's MAILplus mail order software for more than 25 years. In the wake of modernising the whole company and general technological change, a modern and future proof IT platform became an urgent requirement. After an extensive tender process in 2016, the decision was made to implement MAC's DiVA ERP and CRM systems. The technology platform of DiVA is based on the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV, which MAC continues to develop as a standard software for e-commerce and multi-channel.

One goal of the overall project was to streamline jpc's IT set-up and take out excess sub-systems for process simplification. In order to reduce the complexity of implementing this project, a phased approach was taken.

The first part of the project was the replacement of RPG based accounting with the financial accounting DiVA module. Supported by valid data migration, the implementation and integration into the remaining system was easily accomplished.  Mr. Ortmann, CEO and owner of jpc said: "A very smooth implementation process. My expectations of the change-over in our financial accounting were more than met. I did expect a few challenges along the way, but both teams were so perfectly prepared that they could start being productive right away."

The operation of the new IT solution is left entirely in the hands of MAC. As jpc wanted to avoid any discussions around data protection - now and in the future - the system environment for jpc was set up by MAC in the German Microsoft Cloud. The trusteeship solution of T-Systems and Microsoft guarantees that data is exclusively subject to German jurisdiction, data is stored and processed in Germany only whilst still using Microsoft's latest Cloud technology.

The current project phase of the ERP change-over will see a number of different part-solutions fully integrated into DiVA by the middle of 2018.

]]> news-40 Fri, 30 Jun 2017 19:33:00 +0200 MAC reaches jury selection at the 'Top SME Awards'. After being honoured as 'Finalist' during our first participation in the 'Top SME Awards' in 2016, MAC was nominated again this year to compete for the award. We have already reached the jury selection stage, which is only achieved by 25% of all participating companies which then go on to the final selection stage.

The annual prize awarded by the Oskar-Patzelt-Foundation is one of the most sought after accolades for small and medium enterprises in Germany. The 'Top SME Awards' honour businesses with particular entrepreneurial and social achievements. What makes it special:  you can only take part in the competition if you are nominated by someone else. So we would like to thank Mr. Michael Otten, CEO of WiREG mbH (Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Regionalentwicklungsgesellschaft Flensburg/Schleswig mbH - the Economic & Regional Development Agency Flensburg/Schleswig) and Mr. Christian Kalkbrenner, CEO of Wirtschaftsmagnet GmbH, for their nominations this year. Dirk Wieland, CEO of MAC: "Just the nominations enabling us to take part in the 'Top SME Awards' are a great honour for us, as they imply the recognition of our efforts. We do hope, of course, that we can follow up last year's Finalist achievement with winning the prize this year."

Altogether, a total of 4,923 organisations from all 16 federal countries within Germany were nominated for this year's competition (the 23rd overall). Of these, 839 were selected by the Jury to move onto the next stage - amongst them, MAC. Who will actually win an award will be decided in September of this year, after all applications have been reviewed by the 12 regional juries and the finalist jury. For each region, up to five organisations can be selected as Finalists, with another three potentially being honoured with a 'Top SME' award. The winners are only announced at the awards galas taking place on different evenings in each region. So, fingers crossed!

Accolade for the entrepreneurial elite of Germany
The 'Top SME Awards' are a competition with a long tradition and a strong commitment to their vision of 'Healthy SMEs - Strong economy - More jobs'. 2017 was dedicated to 'Respect and Consideration'. In line with this, participating organisations embody innovation and sustainable governance alongside commercial success. Especially on counts such as 'Overall development of the organisation', 'Creation and security of jobs and trainee positions', 'Modernisation and innovation', 'Regional commitment' and 'Service & customer focus, Marketing', the nominees represent the entrepreneurial elite of Germany.

]]> news-38 Mon, 26 Jun 2017 16:56:00 +0200 MAC at K5 Retail Conference. Berlin is worth a visit - especially when the K5 Future Retail Conference is hosted in the capital. With more than 5,000 participants, 100 exhibitors and 50 speakers, the K5 Retail Conference has become one of the most important trade fairs for e-commerce. So of course MAC had to be there, too!

For two days (22nd and 23rd June, 2017), everything revolved around the latest and most important trends in e-commerce as well as the question: "HOW, WHAT and especially WHO is driving the trade of the future?" Under the heading 'Thriving in a world of platforms', this year's innovative concept was relevant to anyone who wants to be (even more) successful in the future: from start-up and small businesses to the big players on the e-commerce scene. The main thing for everyone was the exchange of ideas and strategies, as well as the networking opportunity provided by the event.

Next to several studio sessions and top class partner events, the networking program offered excellent opportunities to exchange views on operational and strategic issues, and to talk about current trends in e-commerce. We at MAC really profit from this exchange of hands-on experiences to continue moving in the right direction for continuously improving our solutions to meet market demands. This K5 agenda built on last year's look at the changes that digitalisation has already brought to e-commerce.

MAC's first active participation in the K5 Retail Conference event, with our own stand, was a complete success. It provided us with a fantastic opportunity to talk to current and potential clients about the possibilities of digitalisation in e-commerce. A particular part was played by 'Cloud Solutions' and 'Mobile Services' as both developments have long ceased to be a trend and have become an intrinsic part of e-commerce reality. This was the perfect showcase for the advantages of our Cloud-based ERP and CRM systems 'DiVA@Cloud'. And a literal look into the future was also on the cards: we are already working actively on deploying a hololens on an industrial scale to connect the virtual and physical world. It remains exciting!

]]> news-36 Fri, 09 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0200 MAC at fairs and exhibitions in 2017. Increasing digitalisation has reached all of us, in our personal lives as well as at work. It influences all areas of life and everyone is talking about it. And yet, personal contact and face-to-face conversations have lost none of their importance. On the contrary. We at MAC deliberately focus on fairs and exhibitions as 'real' market places to refresh old contacts and build new ones, and to talk to our clients about the latest technological developments.

This year, we have already been to several events: Internet World in Munich (7th and 8th March); CeBIT in Hanover (20th to 24th March); and as speakers at the Meet Magento in Leipzig (22nd and 23rd May).  Events still to come are the K5 Retail conference in Berlin (22nd and 23rd June) as well as the dmexco in Cologne (13th and 14th September).

Every exhibition we attend has its own focal point and speaks to a different target audience. Whilst CeBIT used to be THE event in IT for general consumers, professional users were the centre of attention this year.  CeBIT remains "the only event which mirrors the entire value chain of the sector", says Oliver Frese, Chief Organiser of CeBIT. As a joint exhibitor on the WTSH stand (WTSH is Schleswig-Holstein's developmental agency for economic advancement and cross-sector technology transfer), the main topic of 'Data security and Digitalisation' gave us an opportunity to demonstrate the advantages of the latest version of our ERP and CRM systems DiVA for e-commerce and multi-channel in the Cloud. We could also position ourselves alongside the WTSH as an active player for Schleswig-Holstein as a great business location.

By contrast, Internet World as a pure B2B trade fair is the main event for internet professionals and a meeting place for providers and users in e-commerce and on-line marketing. This year focused again on the increasing digitalisation of the economy, which creates a paradigm shift for the entire sector. This makes Internet World a great platform for MAC to demonstrate how successful e-commerce can run on the system side, utilising the advantages of our Cloud based DiVA@Cloud ERP and CRM solutions. The great relevance of increasing digitalisation is reflected in the numbers of exhibitors and visitors at Internet World - 16,000 trade visitors and 400 exhibitors in 2017 were a new record for this event.

Networking conferences like Meet Magento or K5 Retail, where we make our first appearance as speakers and have our first exhibition stand, respectively, are very important opportunities for us to meet and exchange ideas with clients and others interested in our offering.

On that note - We look forward to the second half of a great year, closing in September with dmexco in Cologne. We will make sure you are kept in the loop on all upcoming events where MAC will have a presence.
 

]]> news-34 Mon, 22 May 2017 12:35:00 +0200 MAC Usermeeting 2017 - Review. 'Meet the Experts' was the guiding motto of this year's MAC User Meeting in Düsseldorf. For the first time, we did not have the classic series of talks throughout the two days (May 11th and 12th, 2017) but our 'Meet the Experts' slots on specialist DiVA and MAILplus topics. This innovative format focused on intense and constructive debate and the exchange of ideas with slot participants. At the same time, it gave our clients a great insight into our processes and ways of working at MAC. Via an on-line survey in advance of the Meeting, participants could not only register for their chosen slots, but also become part of the creation of this event, as they could suggest further topics for the Expert slots.

The 13th User Meeting began - as every year - with a tour of an MAC client company, including the warehouse: babymarkt.de, a long-time customer of MAC and user of the DiVA ERP and CRM system, opened their doors for us. Babymarkt.de also bought into the new world of DiVA 2016, based on Microsoft Dynamincs NAV 2016, in Q3 of last year. With a product range of over 100,000 items from well-known brands, babymarkt.de is a leading supplier of products for babies and toddlers in Germany. We would like to thank everyone at babymarkt.de for making it possible for us to take a look behind the scenes.

The way babymarkt.de works day-to-day was first demonstrated by Kirsten Reintjes of babymarkt.de during the two days of the MAC User Meeting as a separate Round Table event. The 'babymarkt.de Expert' slot was offered several times, due to high demand. It proved very interesting for clients already using DiVA as well as those who are thinking about becoming users in the future. A big thank you to Kirsten Reintjes who made herself available as our Expert from the user side.

Other 'Meet the Experts' topics discussed at the Round Tables, in addition to the Live Demo at babymarkt.de, were:

• Multi-channel: Till integration with the new Retail Backoffice and StoreManager Profile
• DiVA & Devices – Live demo along the economic process chain with different devices
  (for example tablet, iPhone, MDE and hololens)
• Cloud on Azure – Architecture, operations and monitoring of a Cloud infrastructure (Cloud advantages)
• GAMMA – The new native market place integration in DiVA
• MAC Paygate - Presentation of MAC Paygate with a white label solution by Computop and its advantages
• Software quality & QS measures (Test suite and quality assurance)
• DiVA Roll Centre – Look & feel of the different profiles
  (for example customer service, purchasing, branch management, global and role specific KPIs)
• Customer base & release management
• MAILplus – – Future perspective and joint development (discussion for developing MAILplus together)
• Design Thinking Workshop – practical seminar „Develop a new Ludo!“
  (Design Thinking is a method which opens up new ways of thinking about complex problems from a user point of view, taking inspiration from creative design methodologies.)

Our conclusion:
Offering 'Meet the Experts' slots has proven to be a successful concept, with a very positive response on both event days.  Our clients liked the opportunity so much to swap ideas directly with our Experts, to ask questions and be an active part of the event, that we will continue with this concept next year - with a few optimisations to make the sessions even better.  We at MAC also took a lot from these discussions and conversations, and got some interesting input for our work.

We would like to thank all participants and Experts, who gave us their support and made this year's MAC User Meeting what it was: a very interesting and inspiring event. We hope to see you all again soon, when it's time again to 'Meet the Experts'!

On that note: After the User Meeting is before the User Meeting...

]]> news-32 Tue, 02 May 2017 16:46:00 +0200 MAC is awarded the "Wirtschaftsmagnet" seal at the finals. Hotels have stars. The more stars they have, the more positively they are viewed by potential guests. For companies, it is more difficult to show their individual strengths to applicants, their communities or the public as a whole. Even if there are now many prizes and awards across all industries - very few are reputable, recognised as a genuine expression of quality and, hence, worth striving for.

Next to the 'Top SME Awards' (Großer Preis des Mittelstandes), the 'Wirtschaftsmagnet' seal  is THE seal of approval making genuine qualification visible and credible. This seal was bestowed for the first time in April of this year upon MAC IT-Solutions by the Oskar-Patzelt-Foundation, as part of the 2nd Day of Dialogue in Leipzig. In contrast to many other awards given to companies to honour their efforts in a given discipline, the 'Wirtschaftsmagnet' seal is only awarded to those companies which stand out for their holistic and sustainable approach to governance and a stakeholder-driven spirit of true enterprise.'

The 'Wirtschaftsmagnet' seal stands for the 'strongest companies in the market'. In order to make this a meaningful label, a number of dimensions are taken into account, creating a qualification process with a standard measurement in seven areas:

1. Economic performance
2. Appeal as an employer
3. Brand - Market - Marketing
4. Agility of the organisation
5. Innovation power
6. Social responsibility
7. Growth dynamic

Five of these seven areas are based on the criteria used to judge the 'Top SME Awards', which has progressed to become Germany's most important and sought after award for commercial organisations.  In carrying out the evaluation for these criteria, Wirtschaftsmagnet GmbH works closely with the Oskar-Patzelt-Foundation but is otherwise entirely independent.  MAC took part in the extensive application process for the 'Top SME Awards' in 2016 for the first time and was awarded the highest achievable accolade of 'Finalist'. This qualified MAC for participation in the awards competition this year, and also for the quality seal 'Wirtschaftmagnet'.

This accolade is a great honour for MAC, and shows great appreciation for our commitment and performance. At the same time, it works as a great motivator to keep improving and optimising. Christian Kalkbrenner, CEO of Wirtschaftsmagnet GmbH, explains why the seal is different from other awards: "Organisations can use the seal to prove their strengths without shouting about it. The qualification also tells them where they stand compared to others and which specific aspects they can optmise further. This leads to the definition of concrete measures and often to a real motivational high amongst staff which can quite surprise the management."

]]> news-30 Fri, 14 Apr 2017 16:45:00 +0200 MAC and Intershop offer integrated Microsoft Dynamics NAV and e-commerce solutions for Microsoft Azure. MAC IT-Solutions GmbH and Intershop Communications AG are extending their core competencies in the areas of e-commerce and Microsoft Dynamics NAV as part of their partnership. Clients already using (or planning to use) Microsoft Dynamics NAV, who would like to extend into Microsoft Azure's modern Cloud platform, can now extend their IT architecture into a fully scaleable e-commerce platform.

MAC and Intershop have developed an integrated solution for exactly this scenario: bringing together the advantages of ERP and CRM DiVA (based on Microsoft Dynamics) and Intershop's Commerce Suite. Both systems have been optmised to deliver seamless processes and powerful performance, and run efficiently with Microsoft Azure Cloud. They are flexible and scaleable, and can cope with even the most rapid and intense data peaks. The needs of both retailers and wholesalers are covered, enabling all seller businesses to outsource non-core activities like IT and save on unnecessary expenditure. Thus, our clients can focus their attention on the success and development of their business.

Data security is a top priority for all mail order companies - and for MAC in particular. For companies wanting to be sure that 100% of their customer data is stored and processed in Germany, Microsoft Cloud Germany offers a Cloud service which guarantees (by means of a trusteeship solution) that all data is processed in Azure data centres in Frankfurt and Magdeburg. This is done in partnership with Deutsche Telekom AG. Intershop and MAC's integrated solution is of course also available in this Azure environment.

Dr. Jochen Wiechen, Chairman of Intershop Communications AG, on working with MAC: "Bringing together MAC's and Intershop's offering via Microsoft Azure Cloud links resource planning (ERP), CRM, finance, purchasing and e-commerce as central elements in a goal focused digitalisation strategy. In addition, Office365 can be integrated seamlessly, another pillar in the Microsoft Cloud strategy. The solution is requirement focused and flexible, as well as safe and efficient. We are certain that it will really resonate with the market."

Oliver Bartl, Head of Cloud Solutions at MAC IT-Solutions GmbH adds: "Our clients Plus, Garten XXL and Lenscare have been successful in their markets for many years now with our ERP and CRM system DiVA and with Intershop. The new integrated solution in the Azure Cloud is a valuable additional option for adapting even more efficiently to a constantly changing market. We are sure that this joint offering will win over many new customers for both companies."

]]> news-27 Tue, 07 Mar 2017 16:42:00 +0100 Save the date – MAC User Meeting 2017 with a new concept. This week, the 'fifth season' in Northrhine-Westphalia (NRW) is coming to an end.  Enough reason - Northern Lights that we are - to turn our eyes towards the next big event in Düsseldorf. It is in this modern, multi-cultural and multi-faceted city we will hold the 13th MAC User Meeting. We will be at the Hyatt Regency, a trendy design hotel situated in the lively media port on a peninsula of the rhine. The former trade port has become one of the hippest places to be with great architectural sights and amazing new buildings, housing many IT, media and creative companies. The flair of this modern lifestyle is sure to inspire us at our User Meeting.

This year, we got an invitation from our long-time customer babymarkt.de for a visit to see the operations of a real-life multi-channel seller in action. This was a great experience for the team. Babymarkt.de has been working successfully with our DiVA ERP and CRM system since early 2009, and also with the new DiVA 2016 based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016.With more than 100,000 products for babies and toddlers, babymarkt.de is one of the leading suppliers in this segment in Germany and Europe. They use DiVA to run their own warehouse in Dortmund and the main logistics in the Czech Republic. Their expanding branch network is managed via MAC's till solution POSeidon.

Try something new - for this year's User Meeting, we have come up with a new concept and  structure. We begin, as always, on day one (Thursday, 11th May 2017) with general topics around the strategic outlook of MAC and interesting insights into current issues for the market. Following on from this, we will not go into a number of parallel product sessions, but offer slots on different topics. Under the heading: 'Meet the Experts' we will work on a series of topic areas, with a number of small groups working in parallel. There have already been a number of suggestions for interesting topics, which we will define more closely in advance based on your feedback on registration.

You can look forward to hearing the experts talk on these issues (amongst others):

  • Cloud round table with Microsoft – Architecture and monitoring of a Cloud infrastructure
  • babymarkt.de and DiVA – Presentation of the solution by a user – Far from the marketing pitch, how does a client really work with the solution?
  • Design Thinking Process – Methodically towards user-led product innovation
  • GAMMA  – The new native market place integration in DiVA
  • Multi-channel: Till integration with the new Retail Back Office Roll Centre
  • Practical excursion: Workflow from purchasing to sale (incl. MDE storage)

On the second day, Friday 12th May, 2017, we start with a short slot with two separate sessions for specialist topics on MAILplus and DiVA, and then go back to 'Meet the Experts'. There will naturally be ample opportunity to network and find new, interesting people to talk to. Catering will be provided.

We look forward to an exciting event in a great environment and, of course, to your participation in this year's MAC User Meeting.

So long - See you in Düsseldorf!

]]> news-5 Wed, 01 Mar 2017 16:32:00 +0100 MAC presents DiVA@Cloud at Internet World 2017. This year, MAC will have a presence at several trade fairs and industry events, such as CeBit in Hanover, the K5 Future Retail Conference in Berlin, the Meet Magento in Leipzig and the dmexco in Köln. We kick off this busy year with Internet World in Munich (March 7th and 8th 2017), Europe's largest E-Commerce fair.

As a purely B2B event, Internet World has become THE event for internet professionals and is a meeting place for decision makers on the provider and user sides in e-commerce and on-line marketing. Visitor numbers have been going up every year and for 2017, more than 16,000 people are expected to attend. 400 suppliers will show their new products and tailored solutions for on-line selling. Visitors can look forward to finding out about the latest trends, seeing a number of real highlights and well-known industry experts as well as leading edge technology.

A central topic for Internet World this year is digitalisation, which will put whole industry sectors through a paradigm shift. This makes Internet World a good platform for MAC to show the advantages of our Cloud based ERP and CRM systems DiVA@Cloud, based on Microsoft Azure, and how these can support the system side of successful e-commerce. The progress of digitalisation is certainly a breath of fresh air for on-line sellers - and it also enables significant cost savings.

DiVA@Cloud gives our customers several advantages: low investment for implementation, always being at the leading edge of this technology, and always having access to the most up-to-date version of our DiVA ERP system. Data is no longer stored on company servers, but 'in the Cloud'. MAC provides the infrastructure and ensures worry and maintenance free operations. You profit from fast times to market, low investment costs and the option to add individual adaptations and specific developments at any time, leaving you free to focus on your main business activity. DiVA@Cloud performs to your requirements - and you only pay for what you need. At the same time, you can be sure to have an IT solution which is scaleable and fits your needs, even if these change rapidly through accelerated growth.

You have questions? Visit us at our exhibition stand D194 in Hall A6. We will be happy to discuss your needs with you and answer your questions on 'The Cloud'.

Registering for the fair is free. 

We look forward to your visit!

]]> news-1 Thu, 16 Feb 2017 16:29:00 +0100 MAC presents the latest Cloud technology at CeBIT. Soon CeBIT will open its doors again - in Hanover from 20th to 24th March 2017.  In line with this year's motto: 'd!conomy - no limits', CeBIT focuses especially on the opportunities and possibilities driven by digital transformation.CeBIT is the most important event of its kind worldwide, presenting the latest in digital technology for commerce, governments and society.Already we can see in our economy how digital transformation is breaking through established commercial structures, enabling entirely new forms of cooperation across company and sector boundaries.This makes CeBIT a window to the future, now more than ever, creating a first hand experience of the whole spectrum of digital transformation - with all its opportunities, and through concrete show cases and best practice examples. 

CeBIT in Hanover is THE large scale event for the IT sector in Germany.Working as a fusion of show and conference, it offers the perfect mix of high calibre talks, interesting discussions and a huge exhibition area for national and international product innovation.This year, the focus is on new technologies like AI, humanoid robots, VR applications as well as subjects like data security."Opportunities for commercial organisations in digitalisation and new technologies" is another key topic, says Oliver Frese, Chairman of the Deutsche Messe AG.

This year, MAC will again have an exhibition stand together with the WTSH (Hall 5, Stand F38). In line with the topic of 'Data Security & Digitalisation', we will present DiVA@Cloud, with the latest versions of our ERP and CRM systems for e-commerce and multi-channel selling in the Cloud. Working in the Cloud enables us to give our clients immediate access to the most up-to-date versions of our DiVA ERP system, so that they are at the leading edge both technologically and in term of system functionality. You save costs with DiVA@Cloud even at the point of installation:  there is no expenditure for any hardware, buying licenses or extensive development services. Our clients have the system performance they need to reach their goals, and only pay for what they need. And they can be sure that even extreme phases of growth are covered by our adaptable and fully scaleable IT solution.

As every year, the leading lights of the IT sector will come to CeBIT for five days to discuss the latest trends and their effects on the world of work and our society. Be part of it and visit us at our joint stand with the WTSH.

We will answer your questions and give you a tour of our services and new products, as well as discussing the implications of data security and digitalisation for your company.

We look forward to your visit!

]]> news-21 Fri, 03 Feb 2017 16:26:00 +0100 MAC goes for computer telephony integration (CTI) for DiVA. MAC offers a new CTI module to its customer service users. This extends the MAC ERP and CRM system based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV to enable an improved, fast and correct response to customers. As part of this, there are many new features to support effective in- and outbound computer telephony.

In the course of a single working day, huge volumes of data and information are being sent, received, searched and captured. The risk: information gets lost or its capture is incorrect or incomplete. Yet communication which runs smoothly and cost effectively is essential to the success of your organisation. That is why MAC uses computer supported telephony (CTI) in the design of optimised communication processes.

The term 'CTI' stands for the consolidation of telecommunications with electronic data processing. Any TAPI-enabled telephone system (TAPI = Telephony Application Programming Interface) can be linked to DiVA. All calls can then be managed and captured directly from DiVA's ERP and CRM systems. A user-friendly dialling function also makes calling much easier. For example, during the call with the customer, his or her contact card can be opened and all call results and notes entered directly during or after the call to keep the customer history up to date at all times. The option for several members of staff to access the same customer record at the same time, for both in- and outgoing calls, means an even more effective answer to your customer requests.

Conclusion: Fully integrated CTI functionality for customer management puts an end to time-consuming searches. One click and DiVA automatically finds the correct contact based on the telephone number, connects the call to the customer and opens the contact card in real time, if so desired. The result: a significant time saving together with increased productivity and improved communication between staff and customers.

]]> news-19 Tue, 24 Jan 2017 16:09:00 +0100 MAC nominated again for the Award "'Top SME Awards'. Thanks to a nomination by the city of Flensburg, MAC took part in the competition for the 'Top SME Awards' for the first time last year and achieved the 'Finalist' distinction. This is the highest possible accolade to receive for a company taking part for the first time, after successfully completing the extensive application process. At the same time, this is a requirement for being nominated again for future competitions for this coveted award.

The 'Top SME Award' has been taking place annually for the last 20 years and invites SMEs to be judged on their business performance as a whole as well as the contribution they make to society. The prize is awarded by the Oskar-Patzelt-Foundation. In 2016, a total of 4,796 small and medium sized businesses were nominated, with 136 entering the competition for Schleswig-Holstein. Of these, only MAC and two others reached the 'Finalist' stage.

This year, MAC has been nominated twice, so we can take part again in this exciting event. We would like to thank Mr. Michael Otten, CEO of WiREG mbH (Wirtschaftsförderungs- und Regionalentwicklungsgesellschaft Flensburg/Schleswig mbH - the Economic & Regional Development Agency Flensburg/Schleswig) and Mr. Christian Kalkbrenner, CEO of Wirtschaftsmagnet GmbH, for their nominations. Dirk Wieland, CEO of MAC IT-Solutions GmbH: "We are very proud of the distinction as Finalists and appreciate the trust and recognition expressed in these new nominations. This endorses our business approach and motivates us to push for the next stage of our development. It is also an incentive to aim for winning the prize this time."

In parallel to the 'Finalist' achievement, MAC qualified for the 'Wirtschaftsmagnet 2017' award. This 'seal of approval' awarded by Wirtschaftsmagnet GmbH in partnership with the Oskar-Petzelt-Foundation honours companies with holistic and sustainable governance, delivering consistent commercial success. The quality seal is awarded to those who can prove success in seven areas, aligned with the five categories of the 'Top SME Awards', but focusing especially on stakeholder values.

All applications must be in by 15th April 2017. This is shaping up to be an exciting year for MAC...

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