NEWS LETTER September 05
Forward	Since 25th April 2005, the day we took control of the Intellectual Property Rights to Prodigy, Optimise Systems has moved forward in many areas. The most noticeable of these has been the publication of a ‘Road Map’ setting out our plans for the future for not only Prodigy itself, but also for the staff at Optimise Systems Ltd.
	On the 14th July we held our first Open Day/Seminar at the Bentley Hotel in Lincoln. The day was supported by various industry partners with whom we work closely to assist us in providing a varied and interesting day. Bearing in mind the time of year, it was well attended by our Customers and we thank them for giving us their time. For those who could not make the day, we will be running another Seminar along the similar lines but with different content. In addition, we will be able to update our Customers on the progress we will have made on our ‘Road Map’ strategy. Details of our Open Day have been sent to you as part of our intent to keep our Customers informed at all times. Although a firm date has not been confirmed for our next Open Day, we are looking at February as an ideal time, at the same venue.
New Customers	At the beginning of July, we gained our first new customer “North Norfolk Potato Growers Ltd. The system was installed in quick time due to the potato season having started, and training is now well underway. We at Optimise wish them well and every effort is being made to ensure that the transition from a Microsoft Spreadsheet system to the Prodigy full trading system for Ware and Seed runs smoothly.
New Staff	Joining us from the 22nd August is a past Prodigy developer, Tim Spate. Some of you may remember him from his days at Clarendon Park. He brings with him a wealth of experience on the Prodigy product and will greatly benefit Optimise Systems and its Customers and is yet another major step forward. Some of the staff call Tim ‘Mr Clean’. On walking weekends, he is the only person who can cross ploughed fields and moorland in winter and still look immaculate at the end while the rest look decidedly muddy and worse for wear!!
	Additionally, we need to bring in junior programmers to work along side the experienced Developers. To that end we have embarked on what we would call an ‘Apprenticeship’ program. We have made contact with a Government organisation called Connexions who advertised for school leavers on our behalf. The response has been overwhelming. Barrie Astbury and Arthur Field now have the unenviable task of interviewing all the candidates. However, the thought that we could unearth some talent to nurture makes it all worthwhile.
	For the future, we will be always keeping a close eye on the employment situation, but should the need arise we will not hesitate to act where appropriate.
Refresher Training	It has been apparent to us for some time now that although Initial training is fine in itself, we estimate that retention of what is taught at that stage is about 50%. If we apply ‘Barrie Astbury’s Law of Diminishing knowledge’ then the situation can deteriorate rapidly. In simple terms, if we take the above as an average, then the Customer administrator, who retains 50% of the original knowledge from the Initial training, would then train Staff who would then in theory retain 50% of the original 50% i.e. 25% of the whole system. If these Staff in turn, train others, then you can see where this is going. Now the problems for Management begin. The software is blamed for everything, and the Staff lose confidence in it. This leads to a perception that the information required is not available or simply ‘it doesn’t do this or that’. For reasons we find difficult to fathom, Customers seem reluctant to ask the very people who can help, and yet on some occasions prefer to talk to a new supplier and consider spending upwards £50k on a new system.
	However, we do not think that in our past guises we should absolve ourselves from some responsibility for this. The Directors and Staff at Optimise Systems have always recognised the need to visit and communicate with our Customers on a regular basis, to update and improve the knowledge of Prodigy so that we all benefit. Optimise Systems have a stable and happy Customer Base. Our Customers are maximising the investment they have made and continue to make in the Prodigy software:-
	We are therefore offering Refresher Training at our offices for a full day which includes lunch and notes. Similarly, on site training can be arranged.
	Or
	We can offer training for employees on Customer Sites at our standard daily rate of £600. (up to 4 people)
	The courses will be tailored into categories based on the following criteria:
	* Systems Management      * Sales & Purchase      * Nominal      * Sales Order Processing      * Procurement      * Stock      * Trading Systems      * EDI      * Contractors      * Down Loads (ODBC/FTP* )
	Details of all refresher courses will be forwarded to all in due course.
Location News	Our current location is not ideal and an influx of staff will exacerbate an already overcrowded situation. We have therefore taken the decision to move. It is not final as yet but we are hopefully moving to the Wheatcroft Business Park, situated on A52 on the South Eastern fringe of Nottingham. This will be more convenient for Customers visiting us for meetings or training.
	When contracts have been finalised our Customers will be informed with all the relevant contact details.
Sales News	We have already mentioned our success in winning the contract to supply North Norfolk Potato growers Ltd with a complete Integrated Solution. They are a Potato Marketing company who number Walkers Crisps amongst their customers.
	We are very pleased to have them on board and with training going well we expect to have the System ‘live’ in early September. Incidentally the Sales cycle from ‘Order signing to ‘go live’ will be in the order of 6/7 weeks, so hats off to everyone concerned both at Optimise Systems and our Customer site.
	In addition to the above, we are actively pursuing some 4 or 5 very promising Prospects and are hopeful of signing up 2 or these in the next 4 weeks or so.
	The process of obtaining new Business both in the Contracting and Fresh Produce worlds will continue in a very specifically targeted way .It will be complemented by our investigation of other markets, where Prodigy is equally well suited.