Ben Cook

Something I've been pondering for a number of years and finally got irritated enough to post... How have IT suppliers, especially SAAS providers, managed to remove the concept of a resolution time from their service contracts? Clients pay them to deliver a service and yet, retain all the risk for the supplier not delivering, even when suffering significant service impact. The only material element that is offered is what they pass off directly down to the Cloud suppliers, Availability, retaining no risk themselves for the pain that they can inflict through bad management of services delivered by them. Surely it is within the supplier's gift to restore services to the last known working configuration within a decent timeframe so clients can manage the expectations of their customers? I get, with shared code bases, that actual fixes can be difficult to estimate and guarantee, but restoration should be manageable and actually represent a supplier's confidence in the ability to deliver its services to its clients. Time to push back against this?

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It says a lot about the intellect of people who bought into the story about EV's being cheaper to repair. How could anything that is loaded with tech and has ZERO aftermarket source of spares be cheaper. The reason ICE cars are actually very cheap to repair is that you aren't tied to the dealer for spares or repairs. EV's are a captive market. I love this quote "It is hard not to conclude that it is a very brave person who buys a used five-year-old Renault Zoe." I have never bought myself a car newer than 10 years old and generally run them beyond 200,000miles. If 5 years is considered non economical then what does that say about the green agenda?? https://lnkd.in/eYks4xRe

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📢BREAKING NEWS📢  We're delighted to announce that MOTORS has acquired the Cazoo brand. Commenting on the acquisition, MOTORS’ CEO Barry Judge said: “We have the expertise and inventory to immediately establish Cazoo as a modern marketplace for used cars. We will build on the excitement and engagement that the Cazoo brand has already created with consumers to deliver more sales enquiries for our dealer partners.” Highlights include: Cazoo to join MOTORS’ network of sites, alongside MOTORS, Gumtree and eBay, helping dealers access more car buyers Cazoo to become a marketplace with 250,000+ listings to help buyers find their next used cars New Cazoo app to feature innovative, mobile-first strategy to enhance the car search experience Free Cazoo listings for MOTORS’ dealer partners with MultiSite packages For more details see the full press release 👉 https://lnkd.in/ez_HyiAU ___ #MOTORS #usedcars #carsearch #carlovers #motorsandcazoo

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You may not frequently think about the impact high outside temperatures can have on the operation of your car or truck, but at Openbay we think about this stuff all the time so you don’t have to. Read more... https://lnkd.in/epwMnT2y #autocare #automotive #carcare #marketplace

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This week's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) Transport News Brief lead comment, ZEV transition is a marathon, but we must pick up the pace SMMT’s latest registration figures for the new light commercial vehicle market shows almost 24,700 new vans, taxis, 4x4s and pickups joined UK roads in July – a dip in demand, but that’s unsurprising given it’s a comparison with July 2023, the month’s best performance in three years, and came in the middle of a record-equalling 17 consecutive months of market growth. Robust demand over the year so far has been supported by manufacturers launching new models, which include very attractive zero emission ones, with 28 now available to UK buyers – treble what was available this time last year. However, it’s concerning that electric uptake continues to decline, down -7.0% to represent 5.1% of the market. Some 10% of each marque’s sales must be zero emission across 2024. While the Vehicle Emissions Trading Scheme provides some flexibility, manufacturer investment in more cutting-edge, competitive EVs cannot single-handedly drive market transition at the pace required. The new government can accelerate the market shift through easy wins – for example, by bringing forward legislation planned by the previous government to amend driver derogations for electric vehicles weighing more than 4.25 tonnes, unleashing fleet investment and decarbonisation in LCVs and minibuses. Continuing the Plug-in Van Grant beyond its current end date in April 2025 is also a necessary feature of the LCV transition, alongside greater rollout of van-suitable public charging infrastructure – be it LCV-dedicated chargers or shared hubs. The technology is here – the challenge is to ensure accessible, affordable zero emission mobility for all.

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The situation with Birmingham City Council’s Oracle ERP system bears similarities to the infamous Horizon software scandal with the UK Post Office. In both cases, flawed IT systems led to significant financial discrepancies and hardship. The Horizon system wrongly accused Post Office workers of theft, leading to wrongful prosecutions and ruined lives. Similarly, the Oracle ERP’s failure has caused severe financial mismanagement at the council, requiring manual corrections and leading to a loss of trust in the system. Both scenarios highlight the catastrophic impact of deploying inadequate IT solutions without robust testing and validation. Furthermore for a system to be able to assign transactions to the wrong year highlights another important factor, this system does not reconcile, if it did then this problem would have been raised the very first month when reconciling the period end would not reconcile :-( I find this worrying. The steps to bookkeeping and accounting must be achieved to provide 100% CoA. Shuddering actually.

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I have low expectations of the car sales process... This is from 50 odd years of experience in and around the motor trade. Yet, somehow I still manage to be constantly amazed at how shoddy the experience is - especially with the larger dealer groups. Ive already written about the poor sale process when buying my 50k+ used BMW from a branch of a large US owned dealer group. Yesterday was handover day. The car I bought was at one of the dealerships on the south coast butI was in London this weekend and needed to take a car to a member of my team in London as well. So handover was arranged at 3.30pm yesterday at their North London BMW dealership. I hate being late. So I arrived early at 2.30pm. Silly me! Firstly, until I told them the dealership had no idea there was a handover taking place! By 3.30pm.the car hadn't arrived on site. So.,i asked the sales receptionist to see how long it would be. She rang the south coast dealership to be told that the sales exec with the car had left there but they didn't know when he might arrive but would try and ring to find out. No call back.. So the receptionist rang back - it was 4pm now. She finally got a message from the other dealership that the sales exec didn't expect to arrive until 5.30pm. At no time did the sales exec (who was driving the car himself to hand it over) make any attempt to contact me or the dealership to say he was running late - I had to do all the running to find this out Meanwhile I checked my email. I had received at set of 4 emails from the sales exec one after the other at about 1pm (presumably just before he left to come to hand over the car) . These were. 1. A distance sale declaration. 2. A demands and needs statement which 3. A finance disclaimer for turning down insurance products 4. A duty of care finamce document. Ill point out that this was a b2b sale in the name of the company so the distance sale regulations don't apply I believe. The finance documents are all ones that should have been completed before I signed the finance agreement! The sale exec finally turned up I the car at 5.30pm. He noted that I had only digitally signed the first document. So, he brought each document up on screen and asked if he minded if he just used my signature from the first document on the others. Now..i dont mind, but in reality he could have done that without asking me - so the signatures were useless! Then came the fun bit. We went to see the car. See the video.. But it's 6pm on a Friday night. The car I drove down in was taken away by my colleague at 3.30... So I accepted the car on the basis that he agreed to cover the cost of me getting the cosmetic work done that he should have done during prep! He said he couldn't authorise that but would have to refer to his sales manager on Monday.. Overall, whilst I consider myself in-the trade this was just an appalling experience. I can't believe that I just got unlucky!

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Hello. I am new on this post (D365 F&O) and apologies in advance if this has been asked/answered. What do most organisations with F&O do to get Finance reporting? Is there a solution that does most ground work and needs some work to get reports ready? Or Do organisations see Microsoft MDP / PowerBI as a way to deliver Reports? I am not surprised if Microsoft expects it to be the latter. Any steer will be great. I am looking for a solution (Not Atlas Reporting, nor Jet Reporting) if one exists.

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A surprising statistic concerning distracted driving is that it's not predominantly young motorists who have the worst mobile device habits at the wheel. According to recent research, 35-54 year olds are the worst offenders in checking and using their phones while driving https://lnkd.in/ep-yGjyg Drivecommander can help manage your risk quickly, easily and cost-effectively, keeping your staff, pedestrians and other road users safe. See our website for more information or contact us directly to discuss your requirements or to arrange a free demonstration. #roadsafety #safety #safetyfirst #drivesafe #road #car #drive #driving #cars #safedriving #accident #staysafe #traffic #safetytips #dashcams #roadsafetyzeroaccident #roadtrip #roadsafetyweek #roadsafetyawareness #roadsafetycampaign #camera #parceldelivery #courier #deliveryservice

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Did you know that IBMs Watson provides us with AI generated insights at Wimbledon? ➡ By combining the power of hybrid cloud and enterprise-grade AI, IBM transform over 2.7 million Wimbledon data points into insights, automates key business processes and secures Wimbledon's digital operations. ➡ This year, some of the most compelling stories of the tournament will be told with the help of IBM watsonx, the enterprise-ready generative AI platform. ➡ AI-powered fact sheets are used to generate meaningful insights – including a player’s likelihood to win their upcoming match-up. 😲 #ai #wimbledon #ibmwatson #watsonx

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Here we go... European Microsoft Fabric Community Conference kicks off with an Tutorial day. For me that means a dive in to the unicorn #microsoftfabric with the aim to see if it can replace our DWH that.is killing my budget.. #FabConEurope #microsoft #dwh #data #BC #businesscentral

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It’s no secret that the best IT talent brings the best ideas to problem solve, find solutions, deliver improvements and help organisations evolve. If you’re thinking of recruiting for your IT team and think you just drop the job spec into an advert with a list of what you want… then think again. Does it look exciting to you? What is in it for the candidate? The best IT talent has ambitions and your advert has to show those ambitions can be realised, if you want to attract the best to apply. Rather than a list of responsibilities and a list of what you want, an advert must quickly grab attention with the opportunity to make a difference, so moving it from a job spec to a career opportunity. You’ve got to create a picture and set the scene for why your career opportunity is better than where that person works now AND the other adverts they could apply for too. It needs to compete. Asks yourself - is it interesting, exciting, desirable and meet aspirations……would you apply to the advert? Just think about it……do you go out to buy a car looking for a car that hat has 4 doors and engine that gets you from A to B? OR do you look for one that meets your needs and aspirations whether that is comfort, the drive, aesthetics, the way it makes you feel?   I’ve successfully drawn out and recruited the best IT talent for clients by creating adverts that are career opportunities to appeal to the right candidates’ aspirations, from IT graduate to IT Director and many vacancies in between. I understand what motivates IT talent for different job functions and write adverts that appeals to them. If you’d like to save yourself the hassle and time of advert writing then sifting through CVs and prefer a well-qualified shortlist of the best IT talent available for your vacancy, then let’s chat. #ITtalent #ITrecruitment #jobadvert #talentacquisition #ITvacancies #ITrecruiter

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HOW AN IT MANAGED SERVICES PROVIDER FOUND UK COMMISSION BASED SALE SAGENTS Accrue Tek wanted UK sales agents to sell their managed IT services and cloud based Warehouse Management Solution. They chose the Premium Service to find agents from Salesagents.uk and received 11 applications from agents in the first 19 days. THE PREMIUM SERVICE TO FIND AGENTS INCLUDES: ·      A full page advert of the sales opportunity written by our copywriters. ·      Head-Hunters making searches and calls to find suitable agents. ·      A paid, targeted online advertising campaign. ·      The sales opportunity shared to 1,000s of followers via our online presence. ·      The campaign team discuss the opportunity with agents in closed groups. ·      The opportunity is included in the sales agent newsletter. Plus, many other features and resources inside the client’s personal account area. WHAT MAKES A GOOD SALES OPPORTUNITY FOR AGENTS The Accrue Tek sales opportunity clearly presented their opportunity so agents know exactly what they will be selling and who the target market is. They are offering an attractive commission rate of 30% and recurring commission. The service offered by Accrue Tek has many unique sales points and innovative options for sales agents to present to potential customers and that customer will want. You can see the advert we created for Accrue Tek which was at the heart of the search and promotion campaign at: https://lnkd.in/eH632cUH THE RESULT When you combine a good sales opportunity an attractive reward package with the search and promotion features of the Premium service, you get applications from sales agents that fit the required profile. #salesrecuitment #salesgrowth #salesagents ARE YOU LOOKING FOR SALES AGENTS FOR YOUR BUSINESS? If you’re looking for field or telesales agents, appointment setters or introducers, or considering selling your products or services through agents, see our services at: https://lnkd.in/e99M7Bd Or feel free to message me to arrange a chat. ‘There are currently over 800 companies using our services to find sales agents.’ 

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A growing topic that's very close to my heart... Following on from the two previous salary sacrifice webinars brilliantly hosted by Ben & Seb, the next in the series will be around #UsedEVs! ⚡🚗 From experience, I can share that this area of the market is already proving very popular with employees already in the scheme, which empowers the benefit even further for the employer. 🙏 You absolutely do not need to be an expert on used cars, electric vehicles, or managing a scheme in order to join the session, that's exactly what we are here for. ❓ I bet you have questions, perfect. 💻 Register for the very free webinar with the link below and learn if your business would benefit, and by all means, bring those questions with you. https://lnkd.in/eFn_3v_K

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Some of my newer AUTOMOTIVE connections might not know this! ↴↴ We run a Video Skills Training programme online for car salespeople that helps them become more: ✅ Confident on camera ✅ Effective at building trust and rapport when using video ✅ Consistent in their vehicle walkaround presentation ✅ Motivated to use video within the dealership It's completely flexible, and your team can log in and out around the needs of the business. With learners able to complete their engaging modular content in a fun and engaging way! If you have a sales team that use video but you maybe feel they are as engaged as you'd like, or perhaps they don't convert as many enquiries into appointments as you'd hope, let's get them enrolled. Video skills are fast becoming a standard area of development in the industry, and nobody likes being left behind!

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The IMDA partner DSG Connected announces new partnership and AI technology with Auto.Social DSG Connected (formerly known as Connected Car Finance) are delivering new AI-powered social media tools and technology to its network of approved used car dealers throughout the UK for free. DSG Connected is a finance broker for independent used car dealers across the UK including Northern Ireland. They provide finance solutions to help cater to all types of customers from 18-21 years old on a provisional driver’s licenses to residents who have lived in the country for a minimum of 6 months. “At DSG Connected, we’re proud to say that our relationship with our dealer partners goes beyond simply providing financial solutions. We look at how we can support your dealership as a whole and look at ways in which we can support you. Whether it’s assisting you with your online presence or maximising your reputation with review platforms.” Laura Jones – Divisional Director, DSG Connected Powered by Auto.Social, the platform will allow automated daily content to be posted to dealer’s social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram. These posts include a DSG Connected approved dealer sticker. “This is the first series of an exciting roll-out which will include automated customer review posts, Facebook and Instagram story builder, social media ready templates and much more. It's great to be able to collaborate with DSG Connected and The Compliance Guys Ltd to deliver these tools to the market.” Jorge Moul – Director, Auto.Social Auto.Social is an all-in-one social media software for car dealers, creating personalised branded templates. Allowing dealers to effectively limit the amount of time posting on social media and more time selling cars. DSG Connected and Auto.Social have also teamed up with The Compliance Guys, working closely together in preparation for this exciting launch, to incorporate valuable information such as finance examples integrated into social posts. #theIMDA UMESH SAMANI Stuart Saunders Phil Buchan Malcolm Beattie Craig W. Tony Sciascia Allan Thompson Gareth Angove Luke McCarthy Becca Sartini

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Sage Line 500/1000 ENDS 30th September 2024 50% OFF SAGE SUBSCRIPTION WHEN MIGRATING TO SAGE X3                  Line 500/1000 ENDS 30th September 2024 Please note the terms and conditions for L1000 and L500 which can be found on the standard Sage terms and conditions

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