Sage 100

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

I have someone with a TRUCK field - but they are not a huge company.  (Unrelated - we export out all bill lines on a SO with a particular TRUCK (this bill line has options) and import it into Bill Production Entry with the options.)

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

When / who populates the TRUCK field in the sales order?  How does the person decide what truck gets assigned to an order.  This seems promising.  I am thinking step 1 is to divide the orders between trucks in a logical fashion.  Step 2 run a program to direct the truck to the next most logical address based on the ship to addresses in the orders assigned to that truck.

I have someone with a TRUCK field - but they are not a huge company.  (Unrelated - we export out all bill lines on a SO with a particular TRUCK (this bill line has options) and import it into Bill Production Entry with the options.)

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

Perhaps need a ROUTE NUMBER field assigned to each customer/shipto?

When / who populates the TRUCK field in the sales order?  How does the person decide what truck gets assigned to an order.  This seems promising.  I am thinking step 1 is to divide the orders between trucks in a logical fashion.  Step 2 run a program to direct the truck to the next most logical address based on the ship to addresses in the orders assigned to that truck.

I have someone with a TRUCK field - but they are not a huge company.  (Unrelated - we export out all bill lines on a SO with a particular TRUCK (this bill line has options) and import it into Bill Production Entry with the options.)

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

Thank you @Beth Bowers.  That's a great idea.  They can create delivery areas and assign a route number to each area. 

Perhaps need a ROUTE NUMBER field assigned to each customer/shipto?

When / who populates the TRUCK field in the sales order?  How does the person decide what truck gets assigned to an order.  This seems promising.  I am thinking step 1 is to divide the orders between trucks in a logical fashion.  Step 2 run a program to direct the truck to the next most logical address based on the ship to addresses in the orders assigned to that truck.

I have someone with a TRUCK field - but they are not a huge company.  (Unrelated - we export out all bill lines on a SO with a particular TRUCK (this bill line has options) and import it into Bill Production Entry with the options.)

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

What Xkzero?  They are in your 'hood and they have route management.  @Alnoor Cassim used to work there.  Strangely, when you click on a solution, you are redirected to a different site.  Was the company sold?

Thank you @Beth Bowers.  That's a great idea.  They can create delivery areas and assign a route number to each area. 

Perhaps need a ROUTE NUMBER field assigned to each customer/shipto?

When / who populates the TRUCK field in the sales order?  How does the person decide what truck gets assigned to an order.  This seems promising.  I am thinking step 1 is to divide the orders between trucks in a logical fashion.  Step 2 run a program to direct the truck to the next most logical address based on the ship to addresses in the orders assigned to that truck.

I have someone with a TRUCK field - but they are not a huge company.  (Unrelated - we export out all bill lines on a SO with a particular TRUCK (this bill line has options) and import it into Bill Production Entry with the options.)

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

@Jeff Schwenk  Look at my original post " I have looked at Xkzero in the past and it is $15-$20K a year subscription.  Although there may be a model for a reasonable payback period, this customer isn't going to spend that much.  Any compromises or alternatives? "

Yes.  I know Paul the co-founder.  Haven't seen much about them lately so interesting that the web site re-directs. Could be they are concentrating on Acumatica, X3 or other products that have customers with deeper pockets than Sage 100.

What Xkzero?  They are in your 'hood and they have route management.  @Alnoor Cassim used to work there.  Strangely, when you click on a solution, you are redirected to a different site.  Was the company sold?

Thank you @Beth Bowers.  That's a great idea.  They can create delivery areas and assign a route number to each area. 

Perhaps need a ROUTE NUMBER field assigned to each customer/shipto?

When / who populates the TRUCK field in the sales order?  How does the person decide what truck gets assigned to an order.  This seems promising.  I am thinking step 1 is to divide the orders between trucks in a logical fashion.  Step 2 run a program to direct the truck to the next most logical address based on the ship to addresses in the orders assigned to that truck.

I have someone with a TRUCK field - but they are not a huge company.  (Unrelated - we export out all bill lines on a SO with a particular TRUCK (this bill line has options) and import it into Bill Production Entry with the options.)

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

Oops, I lose focus after a few lines.  I had a client with a similar issue back in the day.  I created a Route UDF for the sales order, then created a "load sheet" for that route.  Additionally, the picking sheet was modified into a delivery sheet (for signature and COD amount).  I don't recall if I put the Route UDF in the customer/ship to master to populate the SO, but I probably did.  Order entry (or the route manager) can change the route if necessary for load management.

@Jeff Schwenk  Look at my original post " I have looked at Xkzero in the past and it is $15-$20K a year subscription.  Although there may be a model for a reasonable payback period, this customer isn't going to spend that much.  Any compromises or alternatives? "

Yes.  I know Paul the co-founder.  Haven't seen much about them lately so interesting that the web site re-directs. Could be they are concentrating on Acumatica, X3 or other products that have customers with deeper pockets than Sage 100.

What Xkzero?  They are in your 'hood and they have route management.  @Alnoor Cassim used to work there.  Strangely, when you click on a solution, you are redirected to a different site.  Was the company sold?

Thank you @Beth Bowers.  That's a great idea.  They can create delivery areas and assign a route number to each area. 

Perhaps need a ROUTE NUMBER field assigned to each customer/shipto?

When / who populates the TRUCK field in the sales order?  How does the person decide what truck gets assigned to an order.  This seems promising.  I am thinking step 1 is to divide the orders between trucks in a logical fashion.  Step 2 run a program to direct the truck to the next most logical address based on the ship to addresses in the orders assigned to that truck.

I have someone with a TRUCK field - but they are not a huge company.  (Unrelated - we export out all bill lines on a SO with a particular TRUCK (this bill line has options) and import it into Bill Production Entry with the options.)

I don't know.  I am open to advice from the Op Mgmt experts.

So, at a very least, the Op Mgr doesn't have a ROUTE field to fill in on the sales orders?

If a manual visual aid might help, it looks like Google maps can take a string like this:

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/760+W+Genesee+St+Syracuse+NY+13204/314+Avery+Ave+Syracuse+NY+13204/9090+Destiny+USA+Dr+Syracuse+NY+13204

And turn it into a trip, that you can change the order, remove locations... so you'd just need a query to string together the address fields...

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

Emphasizing Wayne's question a bit differently -- has the customer realistically identified the business benefits of route management, in other words how much their current methods is costing them?? What if they can generate $30k in growth and saved costs annually -- $2500/month?

We all know that the customizations (even though it is not "coding") will not meet the customer's expectations 3 months in and will require bitching and changes. 

If they can't afford $15k/yr why are they complaining?

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

@Wayne Schulz  You're preaching to the choir.  They have money.  They've been my customer for 25 years.  We re-visit the same subject every 2-3 years.  We dicuss value, payback period, roi etc etc etc etc!  Still stuck in 1953.

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

Doug Higgs
Senior VP
Unpaid Complaint Department

PS .. I have the same title with my customers. One of mine I was after for five years to implement credit cards. Every meeting we'd talk about this. Finally one of the people they hire gets the ok to investigate all the payment providers and they move forward. All that time I put into providing feedback and recommending providers to them was for nothing when eBizCharge just flat out ghosted me and refused to pay anything.  The moral of the story is that we are frequently in effect the unpaid complaint department because we wind up listening and recommending "for free" and then the client suddenly gets enough pain that they go out and "do it themself" and we're likely not compensated for our efforts leading up to their ultimate decision. (Spoiler: Most ISVS don't pay anything unless they think you actively and currently - like within 30 days - referred the customer).

@Wayne Schulz  You're preaching to the choir.  They have money.  They've been my customer for 25 years.  We re-visit the same subject every 2-3 years.  We dicuss value, payback period, roi etc etc etc etc!  Still stuck in 1953.

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

Doug Higgs
Senior VP
Unpaid Complaint Department

PS .. I have the same title with my customers. One of mine I was after for five years to implement credit cards. Every meeting we'd talk about this. Finally one of the people they hire gets the ok to investigate all the payment providers and they move forward. All that time I put into providing feedback and recommending providers to them was for nothing when eBizCharge just flat out ghosted me and refused to pay anything.  The moral of the story is that we are frequently in effect the unpaid complaint department because we wind up listening and recommending "for free" and then the client suddenly gets enough pain that they go out and "do it themself" and we're likely not compensated for our efforts leading up to their ultimate decision. (Spoiler: Most ISVS don't pay anything unless they think you actively and currently - like within 30 days - referred the customer).

@Wayne Schulz  You're preaching to the choir.  They have money.  They've been my customer for 25 years.  We re-visit the same subject every 2-3 years.  We dicuss value, payback period, roi etc etc etc etc!  Still stuck in 1953.

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

One other thing I've noticed about these customers: they won't do what's needed until there is a personnel change somewhere between the Controller and the CEO. Until then, generally the Devil they know is better than the Devil they don't. Fear of change/losing/being wrong/embarrassment/employee complaings about change should never be underestimated.

Doug Higgs
Senior VP
Unpaid Complaint Department

PS .. I have the same title with my customers. One of mine I was after for five years to implement credit cards. Every meeting we'd talk about this. Finally one of the people they hire gets the ok to investigate all the payment providers and they move forward. All that time I put into providing feedback and recommending providers to them was for nothing when eBizCharge just flat out ghosted me and refused to pay anything.  The moral of the story is that we are frequently in effect the unpaid complaint department because we wind up listening and recommending "for free" and then the client suddenly gets enough pain that they go out and "do it themself" and we're likely not compensated for our efforts leading up to their ultimate decision. (Spoiler: Most ISVS don't pay anything unless they think you actively and currently - like within 30 days - referred the customer).

@Wayne Schulz  You're preaching to the choir.  They have money.  They've been my customer for 25 years.  We re-visit the same subject every 2-3 years.  We dicuss value, payback period, roi etc etc etc etc!  Still stuck in 1953.

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

Another observation - sometimes these customers make SO much money that the initiative for a potential change isn't a financial pain. Until there is some event - whether it's an audit or a key person leaves or a key person joins or they start thinking of retirement - things with these types of customers can roll along unchanged for quite a while.

 had one Sage 100 user call me in and pay me to tell them what would happen if their operations manager got hit by a bus because they weren't going to upgrade their Sage 100 past something like version 4.1. I think they were making enough money and their main goal was not to introduce any problems with Sage until they were able to sell within the next five years.

One other thing I've noticed about these customers: they won't do what's needed until there is a personnel change somewhere between the Controller and the CEO. Until then, generally the Devil they know is better than the Devil they don't. Fear of change/losing/being wrong/embarrassment/employee complaings about change should never be underestimated.

Doug Higgs
Senior VP
Unpaid Complaint Department

PS .. I have the same title with my customers. One of mine I was after for five years to implement credit cards. Every meeting we'd talk about this. Finally one of the people they hire gets the ok to investigate all the payment providers and they move forward. All that time I put into providing feedback and recommending providers to them was for nothing when eBizCharge just flat out ghosted me and refused to pay anything.  The moral of the story is that we are frequently in effect the unpaid complaint department because we wind up listening and recommending "for free" and then the client suddenly gets enough pain that they go out and "do it themself" and we're likely not compensated for our efforts leading up to their ultimate decision. (Spoiler: Most ISVS don't pay anything unless they think you actively and currently - like within 30 days - referred the customer).

@Wayne Schulz  You're preaching to the choir.  They have money.  They've been my customer for 25 years.  We re-visit the same subject every 2-3 years.  We dicuss value, payback period, roi etc etc etc etc!  Still stuck in 1953.

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

Good point @Wayne Schulz.  I am continually amazed at how clients don't understand value.  As soon as you start talking about cost savings and efficiency gains, which ultimately increase their bottom line, all they hear is blah blah blah and think change - not happening!  Very sad.  Think about where Amazon would be if they thought that way.

------------------------------
Jeff Schwenk
Owner
Bottomline Software, Inc.
Waynesboro VA
(540) 221-4444

Improving bottom lines for over 25 years!
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2026 09:30
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Route Management for Sage 100 (or stand alone)

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz
wayne@s-consult.com
Schulz Consulting
(860) 516-8990
Connecticut

Sometimes a change in management is dangerous to the reseller because the new kid comes in only to get the impression Sage is antiquated (why sure, they are running 3.x, 4.x or pre 2023).  They immediately spend money on a new product without even trying to modernize Sage or take advantage of the 80% capabilities they are using.  Frustrating.

Also, does the owner have a new Porsche in the parking lot every year??

------------------------------
Jeff Schwenk
Owner
Bottomline Software, Inc.
Waynesboro VA
(540) 221-4444

Improving bottom lines for over 25 years!
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2026 10:46
From: Jeff Schwenk
Subject: Route Management for Sage 100 (or stand alone)

Good point @Wayne Schulz.  I am continually amazed at how clients don't understand value.  As soon as you start talking about cost savings and efficiency gains, which ultimately increase their bottom line, all they hear is blah blah blah and think change - not happening!  Very sad.  Think about where Amazon would be if they thought that way.

------------------------------
Jeff Schwenk
Owner
Bottomline Software, Inc.
Waynesboro VA
(540) 221-4444

Improving bottom lines for over 25 years!


Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2026 09:30
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Route Management for Sage 100 (or stand alone)

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz
wayne@s-consult.com
Schulz Consulting
(860) 516-8990
Connecticut

Good point @Wayne Schulz.  I am continually amazed at how clients don't understand value.  As soon as you start talking about cost savings and efficiency gains, which ultimately increase their bottom line, all they hear is blah blah blah and think change - not happening!  Very sad.  Think about where Amazon would be if they thought that way.

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

There is another fact of life around the cost-value business. 

ISVs aren't stupid about the value their customers see in their solutions. They are priced to deliver reasonable value for the type of customers they sell to. This is why I always press the ISV reps to tell me about their "typical" customers. How large are they? What are the typical reasons their customers buy and renew? Also, what portion of their customers use Sage 100?

If the bulk of xkzero's customers are, say, 10-30 drivers, that tells you that the price they charge, even though it seems high, consistently proves "worth it" to that size customer. Now, if most of their customers are 50-100 drivers, that suggests the 15-driver customer is probably not a fit. 

If that's true, then it might be worth crafting a custom solution for the customer. I would NOT go cheap. If the alternative is a $15k annual solution with another $15k to implement, your pricing should be under that but NOT under $2k.

The customer now knows what the alternate pricing is. Use it to get a back-pocket commitment. "The industry offering is $60k over 3 years. That's roughly $160/mo/driver. If I can work with you to create a custom solution, what would be my budget?"  If give price that is anywhere near reasonable, then "Great. I will work up a proposal to do this. However, for custom work we require a $750 design fee. If you decide to go forward, we apply it the price. OK?"

That design fee will not be enough to cover all your work in crafting the 3 proposal options. However, by paying you for this you significantly increased the chance they will proceed. The price of the good/better/best options should start just under the budget he gave you.  

Good point @Wayne Schulz.  I am continually amazed at how clients don't understand value.  As soon as you start talking about cost savings and efficiency gains, which ultimately increase their bottom line, all they hear is blah blah blah and think change - not happening!  Very sad.  Think about where Amazon would be if they thought that way.

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

Good better best.  Never let it rest.  Until the good is better and the better is best.  Bears on three.  1-2-3 Bears!

------------------------------
Doug Higgs
Midwest Commerce Solutions, Inc
(312) 315-0960
Chauffeur, Chef, and Personal Assistant to Sprinkles
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2026 18:29
From: Jerry Norman
Subject: Route Management for Sage 100 (or stand alone)

There is another fact of life around the cost-value business. 

ISVs aren't stupid about the value their customers see in their solutions. They are priced to deliver reasonable value for the type of customers they sell to. This is why I always press the ISV reps to tell me about their "typical" customers. How large are they? What are the typical reasons their customers buy and renew? Also, what portion of their customers use Sage 100?

If the bulk of xkzero's customers are, say, 10-30 drivers, that tells you that the price they charge, even though it seems high, consistently proves "worth it" to that size customer. Now, if most of their customers are 50-100 drivers, that suggests the 15-driver customer is probably not a fit. 

If that's true, then it might be worth crafting a custom solution for the customer. I would NOT go cheap. If the alternative is a $15k annual solution with another $15k to implement, your pricing should be under that but NOT under $2k.

The customer now knows what the alternate pricing is. Use it to get a back-pocket commitment. "The industry offering is $60k over 3 years. That's roughly $160/mo/driver. If I can work with you to create a custom solution, what would be my budget?"  If give price that is anywhere near reasonable, then "Great. I will work up a proposal to do this. However, for custom work we require a $750 design fee. If you decide to go forward, we apply it the price. OK?"

That design fee will not be enough to cover all your work in crafting the 3 proposal options. However, by paying you for this you significantly increased the chance they will proceed. The price of the good/better/best options should start just under the budget he gave you.  

------------------------------
Jerry Norman
Smartbridge Partners
(512) 653-7498


Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2026 10:46
From: Jeff Schwenk
Subject: Route Management for Sage 100 (or stand alone)

Good point @Wayne Schulz.  I am continually amazed at how clients don't understand value.  As soon as you start talking about cost savings and efficiency gains, which ultimately increase their bottom line, all they hear is blah blah blah and think change - not happening!  Very sad.  Think about where Amazon would be if they thought that way.

------------------------------
Jeff Schwenk
Owner
Bottomline Software, Inc.
Waynesboro VA
(540) 221-4444

Improving bottom lines for over 25 years!


Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2026 09:30
From: Wayne Schulz
Subject: Route Management for Sage 100 (or stand alone)

15 delivery trucks and drivers.
And they don't have $15k a year to automate routing.

Think on that for a bit

------------------------------
Wayne Schulz
wayne@s-consult.com
Schulz Consulting
(860) 516-8990
Connecticut