NDD Distribution Pty Ltd.

News Direct Distribution (NDD) is the leading marketing, distribution and sales organization in Australia. The company is specialized in the sale of consumer magazines, which are distributed to newsagents and other outlets throughout the continent. The magazine palette runs from general subjects to professional reviews. Using TYPO3, AOE media created an enterprise solution which, alongside ordering, invoicing and reporting functions, also includes comprehensive connectivity with the extant ERPS. Thanks to the seamless meshing of these systems, the entire NDD ERP now runs under the direction of TYPO3. This solution was developed in collaboration with MassMedia Studios from Sydney, who signed off on the site's concept and design.

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The News Direct Distribution project confronted the developers from AOE media with some challenges: a technical concept had to be installed, which was capable of dealing with the orders, invoicing, accounting, crediting of remainders, distribution and delivery of magazines to more than 9,000 contracted retail outlets. NDD offers news agents and kiosks a choice from a wide range of titles: around 1,500 magazines are available from a total of 250 different publishers, from consumer magazines to professional reviews.

The user registers with the NDD website and can then login at any time to input data. The entire system runs on the TYPO3 interface. This sophisticated enterprise solution, complete with website, was only made possible through a variety of especially programmed TYPO3 custom extensions. A total of three systems had to be seamlessly adapted and coordinated with one another under the integrated TYPO3 umbrella: the Enterprise Resource Planning System "APPX", the document management system "Redmap", as well as the reporting solution "Crystal Reports".

The heart of the system is the Enterprise Resource Management System APPX. The entire sales, marketing, ordering, storage, ranking and mail distribution of the numerous titles runs through the APPX-Server. Even the sales management of the titles already ordered or sold passes through the APPX solution. The ERP server, complete with database is connected with the TYPO3 server and its dedicated MySQL database. The databases are linked with one another and addressed via specially adapted extensions. All data sets, magazine titles, customer coordinates, orders, re-orders, remaindered items etc. are to be found both in the TYPO3 databank as well as in the ERP. To match any newly entered retailer data, whether for a first order or a re-order, server synchronization takes place nightly.

Via the user-friendly TYPO3 Frontend, visitors can learn about the current status of their order as well as maintain an overview of all their previous business with the company. The viewing of invoices, delivery notes etc. from the Redmap document management system also functions via a TYPO3 interface extension specially programmed by AOE media developers. In addition, invoices can not only be displayed onscreen, but also downloaded to save as PDF files. The NDD system also works as a marketing tool: retailers get presentation previews and introductory offers over the website on any new magazine title that fits their previous order profile. AOE media's solution represents a genuine Enterprise Resource Planning System. All orders can now be placed independently by the magazine retailers themselves; the former, accident-prone, system of business contacts over the phone and piles of paperwork is now entirely replaced by a fully automatic, simple to use, robust and secure TYPO3 system.

Link:
http://www.newsdirect.com.au