Today's market, in which all companies currently have to operate, is going through a phase of radical transformation due to the fact the economy now has a global dimension, no longer just based on the accumulation of goods, but, increasingly on the provision of services with an integrated and networked structure.

There already exist a huge number of interconnections between businesses, suppliers, partners and customers, between those who physically manufacture a product and those who distribute it, in fact between all the players on the scene, all involved in a long chain, creating the value of the product.

It is the very complexity of these relationships that has forced the need to improve the logistical set-up to the fore, so that it is a prime mover in making a company's competitive strategy as effective as possible.

This is where the advantage of WEBPROTEX software is clear, since it is designed to deal with all those operations performed to integrate a company's sales and marketing activities with those of its own customers or suppliers, in situations where the customer is not necessarily the end-user of the goods or services being sold, but a partner who is also the conduit for reaching the end-user.

There are two quite distinct modules, one aimed at users with access to a continuous web connection, the other ideal for those whose online service is irregular or which is charged according to the connection time.

The second option is essential for companies whose sales are in the hands of agents or representatives who visit the clients to do business and who may not necessarily have an internet connection available.

The module designed to solve this problem allows users to work off-line until the time comes to interact again with the company data in real time, updating their own records and transmitting the work they have been doing off-line to company HQ.

Once connected to the company portal, the web user only has to follow a quick log in procedure, select the language (this can be set automatically for the user from the data held by the server) and access the home page.

A menu is then displayed with all the available options split into sub-modules for quick selection of the operations. The sub-modules that appear on the screen will depend on the type of access granted the user.

One of the modules displayed will always be the option to enter a new order.

This procedure has two possible approaches: placing the order direct, when the user does not have to check the availability of the stock, or it can be placed via the stores module, enabling the operator to check the availability of the product, particularly useful for urgent orders.

All the user has to do, is select the customer, then the system will offer the options open to the order, with product lines, colour charts and everything else required to make entering the order a fast, simple guided process, with the total quantities, item and total prices always in view.

It is always possible to add discounts and add any notes or comments on any line of the order form.

The order for the item and quantity can then be placed directly or the information can be saved, while a search of the stores is performed to check availability, adding one or more items found during the search.

At any time while entering the order it is possible to look again at technical information sheets, images, notes and descriptions of each item and also to print out any of the information in a variety of formats.

Once the order has been placed, all the data are immediately available on the server to be dealt with by the staff member at the company headquarters.

Another sub-module allows the user to access provisional orders, those that have not been confirmed, and to look at orders previously placed.

The selection filters operating on the available parameters make any type of enquiry flexible and fast, carrying the operator through to the correct section of the order form.

The user can view, print and export, in Acrobat format, a progress report on one or more orders, or any individual items in the order and the report may be sent direct to the customer as an e-mail attachment, so as to keep the customer informed of the expected delivery date and the quantity being despatched.

On the subject of despatch, the system also has a sub-module to check delivery notes and invoices which can be printed out in full or in part.

The user can also do a rapid customer search, using the many filters for customer details, sending goods or literature, and this option can also be used to enter new customers.

Groups of clients can also be e-mailed very simply, to advise them of price changes, or send out some technical information.

From the customer section, it is possible to access the directory module, going straight to the list on which the customer appears, or search direct, either obtaining print-outs or sending multiple e-mails, the only limitations being the way the user has set-up the system.