Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions?

[Dan - Glendale Designs]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

Agreed, we have that too (it's called Dynamic Order Export) but we only make it available to Dedicated Server customers at this time.

Killing me man...

[William Davis]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

Some eCommerce solutions criticize platforms that uses modules to meet certain needs as if it were a weakness of some kind, when in reality its quite the contrary. An eCommerce platform that can accommodate a relatively; inexpensive, quick and reliable third party module solution is a testament to the platform's exceptional robust design. One only need's to ponder, whether one would ever be content with just the OS, and few extra software our devices (e.g.: computers, browsers, tablets, cell phones, etc...) comes with.

There will always be a need for scalability in business systems, and modules solutions such as these provide an effective means to adapt and exceed market conditions. Don't know though, if we can justify the reoccurring cost of a dedicated server, I have to look into it.

[Dan - Glendale Designs]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

No question modules will continue to fill a role with Miva Merchant, however I see the market changing in a number of ways, and for good reason.

That said, this is a perfect example where things get tricky for us. Miva Merchant has a solution available only to their dedicated server accounts, honestly the first time I have heard of it. (not saying much as I tend to miss things here and there) In order for us to to bring a retail module to market, we have to have a certain level of demand, and obviously this available solution reduces that demand extensively. Rick's statements make it sound as though this solution may be made available to the masses at some point, which ultimately just scrapped that idea for us, unless there were enough demand to cover the development, documentation and support of a stop gap 3rd party solution.

Now I know it sounds like I am being critical of Rick/Miva Merchant here, but it's actually the complete opposite. (well maybe Rick, just because ) There is no question in my mind that Miva Merchant is moving in the proper direction, they are doing an awesome job coming up with solid core features and Miva Merchant 9 is where this platform needs to be. We are just caught in the middle of growing pains and it is difficult to plan, strategize and bring retail modules/solutions to market as a result.

So again, I throw out there that if there are still any holes in these vendor notification capabilities/requirements, let it be known. If there is enough demand, and it makes good logical sense to make such a solution, we might be able to make something happen for those non-dedicated hosting accounts, or Miva Merchant may implement in their own internal solutions. (this all goes for any other needed solutions discussed on these forums)

[Rick Wilson]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

Since we've fully hijacked this thread, Dan is correct on his assessment of both the module market and the sometime tension we create in it.

Philosophically we're going to ensure we control the tools in house to deliver large Enterprise level builds, like Taylor Swift, BTO Sports, etc... without being beholden to a third party module (although they all have third party modules, so it's a nuanced statement).

That's why in this case we built something more akin to "ToolKit" for Enterprise companies, then we did a super easy to use point and click vendor manager module. The day to day use is that easy but configuration of our tools require a web developer who knows how they work.

Dan, you should have Brennan schedule a demo of the tools with you guys.

[Dan - Glendale Designs]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

Since we've fully hijacked this thread, Dan is correct on his assessment of both the module market and the sometime tension we create in it.

It wasn't a full hijacking, there was some relevancy there. I will definitely get with Brennan for a demo of the tools.

[Brennan]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

I can add some color here to a few parts of this conversation.

emediasales has an a couple off the shelf module which does vendor management and drop ship notifications:

http://www.mvtrocks.com/p-VC-VCVENDORS5.html

http://www.mvtrocks.com/p-EMEDIA-EDROPSHIPM.html

If you are looking for something simple and off the shelf, both of these should get the job done, though they do require a monthly subscription.


You can create this functionality yourself using the template based emails and some custom fields. Though not a perfect interface for managing suppliers and vendors, it will work and is automated. At a high level here is how you would set it up.

1. Create a custom product field for supplier and populate each product with a supplier code.

2. For each supplier create a new email in Template Based Emails which gets triggered when an order is placed. (If you have lots of suppliers this could become a pain to manage)

3. Then in each email, loop though the products in the order, read the supplier code and only output the products assigned to that specific supplier.

4. The trick to making this whole thing work is if an email template is blank Miva will not send the email. When an order is placed Miva will trigger ALL the supplier emails. However, with the logic added above you will need to set it up so that if the order contains no products from that supplier it outputs a blank template which will never be sent. This will ensure only the suppliers of the products contained in the order get notified.

Dan, I would tend to agree with you that even with these existing solutions there still may be room for a well done module to come in and pick up some of the market share for this functionality.

Shifting gears to the enterprise tools Rick mentioned, everything above can be fully automated without the use of these tools. We do have plans to create some public documentation and videos soon to show developers how these tools work so you can leverage them for existing clients/projects.

[William Davis]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

Thanks Brennan, I appreciate the tip. We will explore your suggestion prior to going live, but unless I am missing something, I suspect the module solution will be more efficient from multiple perspectives. We'll explore it and try to remember to update this thread for those who might be interested.

[lesliekirk]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

FYI - the first one mentioned is the MM5.5 version of what Bill is already using and requires the "Everything" license.

[alphabet]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

It would be nice if the s0x_OrderOptions table had an opt_prompt field. Trying to email a vendor an attribute opt_code can be confusing to the drop shipper especially when the merchant can't use special characters.

[Brennan]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

There are template level variables you can use to replace the option code with the option prompt.

In your attributes loop, this variable should be available:

&mvt:option:opt_prompt;

[alphabet]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

Thank you Brennan. Is the option:opt_prompt available after the basket becomes an order on the INVC page?

[Brennan]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

yeah it should be.

[alphabet]

Re: Use Viking Coders Vendor Manager in old MM4.24, are there similar MM5.5 solutions

Yes it is, Thank you for that!

I will now cause my drop shippers less confusion.

[William Davis]

Finally looks like we are due to launch soon, any updates with respects to Vendor solutions?

Brennan, does MIVA now have a Vendor solution?

One thing I failed to expand upon when I first created this thread, the Viking Coder Manager (4.34c) on our MM4.24c store is more than just an email a solution to send automated emails vendors. Otherwise I could use old man Weiland's "Mail Manager - HTML Email Templates" module. Which unless I missing something it might be even easier to implement (at least for for me) then your well intention-ed and greatly appreciated propose workaround. Though in all fairness I have not tried either solution yet, but would do so if no stock solution exists.

The module gives a merchants the ability to track the purchase of products assigned to vendors. The module logs all purchases and sends notification emails to the vendor assigned to the products. In addition, the module is capable of tracking payouts due to vendors and provides for a convenient interface to process payouts and generate "invoices".

The invoice showing the payout being made to the vendor can be configured with a default template or with a template specific to the particular vendor. Like the email, the invoice template uses tokens to represent information about the vendor (name, code, payout due, total payout paid, date paid, etc.) and the products purchased.

Payouts can be calculated and tracked as a percentage or flat rate (eg. $5/product sold). The percentage can be based on the product's cost, price paid (eg. prices affected by sales), or list price. In addition, the payout calculation can be configured "globally" for the vendor (applies by default to all assigned products) and individual products can also have a specific payout method associated with them (i.e. a vendor can be provided a different payout calculation method for a specific product).

The module's admin interface provides for a simple listing of all payouts due with a link to each vendor's specific payout screen. Payout periods can be specified for each vendor and can be configured in just about time span you would want and can be set to be paid on any particular day of the week, month, year, etc.

[VikingSupport]

Hello Everyone,

Bill, we definitely still support Vendor Manager, and furthermore, as much as it's possible to replace certain components of the Vendor Manager with some of the other tools, this is a massive system that's over 10,000 lines of code.
Please take a look into the cost vs benefit of using a system you are familiar with for as little as $14.99/mo vs building a custom solution which may require considerably more time and cost.

Please let us know if we can answer any questions or concerns with regards to this topic.

Thanks,