SMS – The last mile of Enterprise ERP

Businesses invest a lot of time, money and resource into automating their processes with the goals of cost efficiency, customer service excellence and operational effectiveness. 

It is surprising therefore that all too often the last mile of the ERP process, the communication to a person, is left to email, voicemail or an old fashioned phone call. This is where SMS adds value far beyond it’s cost. 

Let me explain! 

Your ERP system has recognised that stock is low of a specific product, and that deliveries of product to distribution points are at risk. The system auto-generates a new order, but sign off is required. How does the mobile authoriser learn about the need to perform this task? By Email? By logging onto the ERP system from their hotel room or while on the train? 

The better answer, and the answer that accelerates responses to ‘calls to action’, is SMS. 

SMS is delivered faster than email, is read in priority to email, and triggers people to respond, act, solve, confirm, or in short, get the job done. 

Integrating SMS into ERP is a relatively simple process. Most ERP systems, most CRM platforms and most portal technologies connect to XML based web services. From there, plumbing in a SMS connection is a simple process. 

2sms has worked with many customers who have made this discovery. The record in terms of a customer grabbing our API from our web site and sending their first SMS message from their test platform, was a major bank. And these days, their core product systems are monitored by software that connects to SMS when problems are detected.

Update on Indian SMS Regulations

As you may know, SMS regulations in India were changed in September 2011 to involve strict new laws on what types of messaging are allowed and at what times they are permitted to be sent (information on these regulations can be found here on the 2sms blog.)

We have since been updated that further to the original regulations, Indian networks are now rejecting any messages sent between 21:00 and 09:00 Indian Standard Time (16:30-04:30 British Summer Time.) Any messages sent to the networks between these times would fail rather than simply being delayed.

As a result 2sms has implemented a queuing system for our customers which will collect any traffic going to Indian mobile phones between these hours until the networks reopen at 9am IST. This means that your messages will not be delivered immediately if they are submitted during this time period, but will be sent later. While we understand this is less than ideal, unfortunately our hands are tied by the Indian government’s legal requirements.

If you have any questions about this or any other 2sms service please get in touch with our Sales and Support Team on 0800 65 222 77 or email support@2sms.com.

Fast Upload address book

If you struggle to download software to your machine but would like to upload your address book with contact details stored within Microsoft Excel this is solution just for you!

Fast upload allows you to upload contact details into your 2sms web address book straight from Excel spreadsheet without the need to download any software to your
machine.

Click here to access the Fast Upload spreadsheet now!

If you would like more information about this or any other 2sms service, please get in touch with our 24/7 Sales and Support team on 01234 757800 or email support@2sms.com.

Process improvement starts with the smallest message

All businesses seek to improve their use of people and resources to grow revenues, reduce costs, serve customers better and do more of the right stuff.

One 2sms customer implemented a simple but effective solution to reduce costs, improve operations and ensure accurate deployment of drivers. Each day the customer sends text messages to van and lorry drivers on their books with their assignments for the next day. The messages are sent from an Excel spreadsheet at 6pm each evening, so that the drivers have their jobs to hand for the early morning start.

Once spreadsheet issues 500 daily jobs on average, taking less than one minute to dispatch the data.

The cost savings are substantial. No more telephone calls from Operations Managers to their fleet drivers, with all the problems associated with leaving voice-mails and not knowing if the message was delivered.

But the benefits do not stop there. By using the 2sms 2way service, any drivers who had issues with their instructions could text back their concerns. This allowed the customer to deal with the issues the night before, resolving problems before the start of the next business day.

The resulting improvements in customer satisfaction from happy customers receiving on time deliveries was fed back to all involved in this project.

The cost of sending these messages? Less than £200 a week. The cost of one vehicle left idle, or wrongly assigned? Multiples of SMS costs.

Return on investment : Instant.

2sms offer white label SMS services to b2b Telcos

Are you a b2b Telco looking for mobile data products to add to your product portfolio? 2sms provides Telco partners with their own branded web site selling SMS services to business customers. 2sms brands the web site to your Corporate branding guidelines, and can provide the entire end to end solution to allow you to add SMS services to your offering.

SMS is used by business customers to send messages to staff, customers and suppliers who are not sitting at their desks. If your customer's business needs to get its people to re-deploy, sending a SMS message from their office to remote staff is the fastest way to get a response. SMS is now used by all the leading FTSE100 companies to manage internal operations and response to events. From major emergencies to everyday customer requests, SMS will allow businesses to respond faster.

If you are Telco wanting to offer SMS as a differentiator, 2sms can have you up and running with a SMS product in 6 weeks from enquiry to 'Go Live'. Better still, it won't cost you a penny, since our model is a revenue share model.

If you would like more information about this or any other 2sms service, please get in touch with our 24/7 Sales and Support team on 01234 757800 or email support@2sms.com.

We’re upgrading our security

At 2sms we pride ourselves on offering the highest level of data security and protection, which is why as part of our latest round of upgrades we are changing the way password protection works on your account.

From the 6th February 2012 all new accounts will have a password expiry of 90 days, after which the password will need to be changed or access to the account will be frozen. Notifications will be sent out as the renewal date approaches, and if you miss it then our Sales and Support Team will be able to reset this for you pending confirmation of your identity.

Existing accounts will not be affected until the first time the password is changed, after which the 90-day expiry will come into effect.

Password reminders can be requested from the log-in screen and can only be sent to the registered email address for your account. All new passwords must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least one upper case character, one lower case character, and one number.

If you would like to discuss our new policy or any of our products and services, please get in touch with the Sales and Support Team at any time on 0800 65 222 77 or email support@2sms.com.

New Indian SMS traffic regulations will affect 2sms customers

Customers looking to send messages internationally may be aware of the new regulations brought in by the Indian government to manage and limit SMS traffic being sent to Indian mobile phones.

India is the world’s second largest wireless market, with nearly 900 million subscribers, and as in every country with a mobile network, spam and marketing SMS messaging has become increasingly popular as a way to reach consumers quickly and cheaply. With the number of complaints rising and the exponential growth of this type of messaging in India, they have now introduced new laws to curb and prevent these communications. As a result, all messaging in India is now subject to these laws, including messages coming from international SMS providers such as 2sms.

These new regulations come in three parts:

• No messages will be delivered to any Indian mobile phone between the hours of 9pm and 9am (Indian Standard Time), and any messages sent overnight will be queued until 9am the following day.

• No Indian SIM card can send more than 200 messages per day, and no more than 6000 in a given month. (This does not apply to 2sms customers.)

• Users who register themselves on the National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) are opted out of receiving any messages which the regulations deem to be ‘promotional’, regardless of the content of the message. This includes any message not physically sent from a mobile phone handset, and all messages sent by 2sms. The user can then choose to opt in to one or more different categories of messages that they are interested in receiving, as follows:

1. Banking/Insurance/Financial products/credit cards

2. Real Estate

3. Education

4. Health

5. Consumer goods and automobiles

6. Communication/Broadcasting/Entertainment/IT

7. Tourism and Leisure.

What does this mean for 2sms customers?

As a company we are required to adhere to the rules and regulations of each country we send to. This means that we cannot send any messages to Indian customers who have opted out of receiving promotional messages, and we cannot send to Indian users between the hours of 9pm and 9am IST (GMT+5.5), regardless of the content of the message.

If your recipient is registered in the NCPR but would like to receive messages sent by 2sms, they can find instructions on how to do so here on the NCPR register website, or simply text STOP 0 to 1909, the NCPR’s toll-free number, to opt-in to receiving all categories. To opt in to a specific category, the user should text START [category number] to 1909.

If you have any questions about these regulations, or about sending messages internationally with 2sms, please get in touch with our Sales and Support team on +44 800 65 222 77.

Fly Ozone launch their iPhone app, developed by 2sms

The Fly Ozone App allows Ozone customers to experience the brand in a mobile environment. The App seeks to add to the healthy sporting lifestyle values of the brand while engaging with the customer.

The App allows the customer to

- Read the Fly Ozone news feeds, storing information offline within the App.
- Access and experience Ozone videos showing Ozone customers in action on with their Land, Snow and Surf Kites.
- Provide a feed of the Kitezone Twitter feed, allowing offline storage of Tweets.
- Provides contact information for Ozone customers.
- Explains the brand values of Ozone to customers.
The App will be introducing exciting new features in future versions to further enhance the user experience.
- Provide contact information

Bromham Scouts go mobile

The Bromham Scout Group has launched their own iPhone App to bring information relating to the Livingstone Scout Troop to the local community.

The App provides the following information :

- General Scout information.
- A feed of the BromhamScouts twitter feed, storable offline.
- A feed of the Bromham Scouts blog, storable offline.
- Child Safety information.
- Contact information.

The App will be used in Scout meetings to teach Scouts how to add additional services to the App. Future versions of the App will contain meeting schedules, photos of past camps and other events, maps of campsites and Scouting facilities used in the year, and guidance on how to join Scouts, Explorers, Cubs and Beavers.

The App was developed by 2sms.

2sms supplies b2b Eco with an iPhone App

Growing Eco business b2b Eco has launched an iPhone App, using the 2sms fixed price iPhone App development service.

The b2b Eco iPhone App brings to the mobile arena information relating to the business activities of b2b Eco Ltd.

The App provides the following information

- General information
- A feed of the b2b Eco twitter feed, storable offline.
- A feed of the b2b Eco blog, storable offline.
- Product information
- Contact information

Future versions of the App will contain a product catalogue.

2sms launches a mobile App development business

2sms has launched a mobile App development business. Business customers wanting to dip their toes into the world of mobile Apps can take advantage of the 2sms fixed price offer for either a iPhone or Android App.

"Your customers want to interact with you outside normal business hours." says Tim King, CEO of 2sms, "If you can't meet their needs in the mobile space, your competitors will"

"The launch of this business is customer led" he continues, "Our customers wanted more than SMS. They wanted both internal workflow and customer facing services bundled into Apps. Customers told us they wanted to choose from a fixed price offer and more bespoke offerings. We have been pleasantly surprised by the range of customers that we have worked with. Kitesurf manufacturers, DJ's, Eco businesses on the commercial side, and the local Scouts and Bedford Blues in the local community."

2sms launch v2 of the Bedford Blues iPhone App

2sms has publiashed version 2 of the official Bedford Blues Rugby Club iPhone App. It provides Blues fans with information about the club in a mobile environment.

The app provides :

- General club information including notices.
- Club news courtesy of Bedford Blues official media partner Bedford Today.
- A list of official fixtures and results for both the Blues and Academy teams.
- A stream of the official BedfordBluesRFC Twitter feed.
- Championship news from Sky Sports (Showing news for all teams in the RFU Championship competition.)
- Action photos from the Official Photography partner Nigel Rudgard.
- Official Bedford Blues Podcasts courtesy of Sam Roberts.
- Contact information for the ground including phone numbers, email addresses and the main club web site address.
- Listing of main Club sponsors.
- Listing of credits for those who have kindly provided permission to use data for the App, or assisted in making this App possible.

Much of the data is held within the App permitting offline reading of data. A refresh button allows new content to be pulled into the App.

This App is definitely the one and only place to catch everything Bedford Blues!

COYB!

2sms launch their Android App

2sms has launched an App for Android users. It is free of charge for 2sms customers and can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace. The application allows 2sms customers to send SMS messages from their Android device using their 2sms account. Send messages, view reports, watch videos on our YouTube channel, see our Twitter tweets and access help and support.

2sms QR code

2sms becomes a Race Online 2012 partner

The ambition of Race Online 2012 is to ensure that everyone in the UK can enjoy the benefits of being online.

There are nine million adults in the UK who’ve never used the Internet. Over a third of these people are socially excluded and over six million are 65 years old or over. These people are missing out on what is now, for most of us in the UK, the primary route to information, education, jobs and customer savings.

Championed by Martha Lane Fox, the UK Digital Champion, we are building a cross-sector network of partners spanning the public, private and charity sectors. Our partners work together to develop initiatives to inspire, encourage, and support everyone in the UK to get online by the end of the Olympic year.

We are also working to inspire thousands of Digital Champions across the UK to support friends and family who don’t know how to use the Internet, we call them ‘non-liners’, to get online.