… our eBiz department
Monday morning – we need to setup a new b2b solution for a client.
As usual the CFS isn’t filled in by the SM but for client solutions we insist on it.
Then we start setting up the Shop, Creator and the DB.
The server configuration is done via SSH and after restarting the APACHE or NGINX the Shop is online. We activate the fonts in the FS and update the Linotype billing sheet.
Before the SMJF on Tuesday we inform the EM about the finished setup and that all the necessary data, including URL and SEO basics, have been passed to the client.
In the SM meeting a short status concerning COI, EDI as well as OCI, COS and XML is given.
After receiving a request for new requirements of the EOS TST the meeting is concluded with the question: “What does an eSolution cost?”
On Wednesday, we use PHP to implement the additional requirements for the client’s project and incorporate a JS slider into the homepage. This slider uses AJAX to load new photos onto the HTML page. The entire set-up can be easily implemented into the CMS platform in our eSolutions system. Over the course of the day, we discover that, as usual, IE has its own quirks and certain CSS settings do not work as they do in other browsers.
However, after we conduct a few tests in the VM with various versions of IE everything works fine after all. We then set up an order export so that the client can retrieve his orders in TXT files via FTP, allowing him to import orders into his ERP system.
On Thursday, the client decides to amend his prices (or at least some of them) and informs us that he wants to go live immediately. However, the shop can only be launched once the checklist is complete. So within five minutes, we’ve worked through an A4 page of 30 items, testing them online and ticking them off the list.
Unfortunately, despite its necessity being reiterated several times (it was included in the CFS), the CNAME entry needed for the live URL has not been set.
On Friday, the CNAME record for the domain is still missing. At the last second, an A record is set, pointing to our IP address, enabling the shop to lift off and go live in time for the weekend. Luckily, following a quick DNS refresh, the shop can also be accessed from the live URL. At five to twelve, the telephone rings and we’re told that the URL cannot be reached without entering WWW. We explain that this is another URL and the client needs to set up a redirect with his provider or set an A or CNAME record.
But that’s a job for next week...
Explanations of the abbreviations:
• CFS Client Fact Sheet (form for entering all the client data needed for a project)
• Commercial Fact Sheet (internal explanation outlining why a project is being undertaken)
• FS Feature Set (settings determining which features are displayed in the die plate design module [creator])
• SM Sales Manager
• SMJF Sales Manager Jour Fixe
• EM Export Manager
• COI Colop Order Import (tool used to import electronic client orders into our ERP system)
• COS Colop Order System (shop enabling our partners to order stamps)
• ICD Image Card Designer (online tool used to design the image cards for our various products)
• Generation 3
• TST EOS Type Setting Tool (software used to create the flash stamp production file)
(Further definitions can be found online! 😉