Process Batch Utility

The Process Batch utility is intended to be ran by the personnel responsible for printing and picking the letters and enclosures contained in a fulfillment batch.

To access the Process Batch Utility:

  • From the Application Function Bar, navigate to Utilities  Fulfillment Utilities Process Batch.

To run the Process Batch utility:

  1. Select the desired batch ID from the list. To load the Test Batch ID of 0, do not select a batch ID. Available batches are displayed in the following folders in the drop-down list based on their status:
  • Ready To Print - displays all batches created within the last month (30 days), that are currently in the "Ready To Print" status, which is the normal completion status of a batch with print documents. The Batch Description displays after the date and before the status.
  • In Process or Failed In Past Month - displays all batches that terminated in an error state that needs to be corrected, or just rerun if the system was shut down, and normally un-batched. It may also show Batches currently running, the log file must be viewed to tell the different.
  • Printed or Empty In Past Month - displays the batches within the last month that ran to completion but has no documents to print or items to pick. This could be due to the following batch step statuses: "Empty Batch" - after filters there were no letters or enclosure that needed to be sent; "Exceptions Only" - there were letters and/or enclosures, but they all had exceptions that need correction; "Email Only" - only emails were in the batch, either by using filters, or all non-email's had exceptions
  • Batches Within Past Year - displays all batches older than one month but created less than one year (approximately 365 days) ago.
  • Older Batches - displays all batches older than one year.

The user should only print the batch if it’s marked Ready To Print. For information, refer to Batch Statuses.

  1. Click the Run Utility button to load the batch processing results. (Changing the value in the Batch ID field does not load the batch). The details for the currently loaded batch are displayed and the other tabs are also populated with information from the batch. See the sections below for a description of each tab.
  2. Click the button to mark the current batch as done.

This view summarizes the contents of the batch. The following information is listed:

  • The Application Setup *Exceptions* row shows the total number of exceptions (included in the Letter / Enclosure counts) that can only be fixed by a user with Application Setup or System Administration (in case of file errors) permits. These exceptions appear in the Log file (Doc 000 in the Print Pick Lists view) and should all be fixed prior to the next running of Fulfillment since they may result in missing, partial, or incorrect results.
  • The Letter *Exceptions* row shows the total number of letters that could not be part of the batch due to issues with the letter.
  • The Email *Exceptions* row counts the letters with types indicating email that could not be part of the batch.
  • The Enclosure *Exceptions* shows the number of enclosures that could not be a part of the batch, including enclosures not included because of a problem with the associated letter
  • There is one row for each letter type code in the batch, with a count of the letters with that code.
  • There is one row for each enclosure code in the batch, with a count of the enclosures with that code.

Note: If you use a Letter row filter, enclosures linked to letters not in that batch do not generate exceptions. This allows you to run an email-only fulfillment process with non-email letters with enclosures on the same case. However, if you run your process this way on a regular basis, you will need to periodically run the Process Batch utility without the Letter filters to detect any linked enclosure exceptions.

This view contains a detailed list of each letter and a list of enclosures with that letter of those included in the batch. The list is sorted by the Doc column then the Rep column (or Case ID based on the configuration setting). The Groups/Page field indicates the number of Address blocks to appear on a page. This is not the number of lines. All Enclosures related to a fulfillment Address are shown. Email letters are not shown in this list.

This view contains a list of each letter and enclosure that is NOT part of the batch (sorted by the Rep column and then the Case column), and what must be corrected for it to be included in the next Create batch run. Links are provided to allow you to go directly to the indicated Case/Letter/Enclosure.

Note: Fulfillment produces an exception if the value of a variable value coupon/check or a fixed value check is null/zero. Since fixed value coupons may be used for items that do not add a value to the customer's goodwill total, they do not receive an exception.

The Groups/Page indicates the number of fulfillment blocks (typically 1 per case but could be more if there were multiple letters/addresses) to appear on a page. This is not the number of lines. All execptions for a group are displayed.

The number displayed under the Letter and Enclosure columns is either the letter_seq or case_enclosure_seq on the Case that tripped the exception.

The internal LCID (LC002388) of each exception is also shown for easier reference and support purposes.

To select a printer:

  1. Click the button.
  2. In the dialog box that displays, all printers already saved to Emplifi Agent are listed.
  3. Select the printer(s) you want to use.
  4. Click Save.

 

Each entry in the list is a document that needs to be printed to complete the fulfillment process for this batch. The URL displays the full path of the filename in case users not running Emplifi Agent need to be sent / linked to these documents. (For a description of the files and the file naming conventions, refer to Files in a Batch.)

If a document is too large, it may have been divided into multiple parts. Each part is printed by itself, in no particular order, and is assigned its own Doc number for reference on the Shipping Details lists. The Start Number for Checks / Coupons is based on the documents being printed in order, but it can be changed prior to printing.

The following information is displayed:

Column Description
Printed

This check box is display only and is selected when the Print button is clicked.

Note: Clicking the URL link and then printing does NOT select this check box.

Print button

Click the Print button prints the selected document and marks the document as Printed. For Checks/Coupons, the Case Enclosures are picked and registry entries added for validation, stopping at any error prior to printing. Also if you have the "FulfillmentProcessReprint" permit, then you can reprint the document with the same check/coupon numbers, this is logged in the batch_document_history table for audit purposes (a range of checks). Intended for use when the print failed with a paper jam, wrong paper, etc.

The Print button will not print/reprint checks or coupons if the Batch has been Marked Done (status: 7-Printed) or has been deleted or fully unbatched (Status: X-Unknown).
Doc Displays the document number.
Letter Type Displays the letter type for the document.
Default Page Displays the default printer location for the document.
Split Code Displays the split code for the document.
Start Number Displays the starting number for the document number to be assigned to the document (checks/coupons).
Quantity Displays the number of items included (not pages, but a count of letters, labels, checks, or coupons). The Quantity on the "Enclosure File" type document still indicates the number of copies that are needed for other groups.

Void button

Click this button to void the document. This button only displays for checks/coupons after they have been printed. If you have the "FulfillmentProcessVoid" permit, you can unpick all the related case enclosures and delete the check/coupon registry entries, reverting back to an un-printed state.

The Void is logged in the batch_document_history table for audit purposes. This function is intended for when the number was entered incorrectly, and needs to be reset (on the next Print). The Void button does not void checks or coupons if the Batch has been Marked Done (status: 7-Printed) or has been deleted or fully unbatched (Status: X-Unknown).

URL

Displays the URL file name which shows the batch, document number, and general type (Letter, Label, Check or Coupon). The other information displays in the Letter Type, Standard Letter File Name, and Account columns.

To print the documents:

  1. Click on the link for a file to open it using either Microsoft Word, or another browser window, depending on the file type.
  2. Make sure the printer is loaded with the correct paper type(s) in the correct tray(s) prior to printing.
  3. All extra print output on the browser should be turned off, such as title bars, page numbers, URL references.
  4. The Print command of Word or the browser is then selected, the correct Printer and Page Orientation chosen, then the document can be printed.

However, clicking the URL for a check/coupon displays a warning message indicating that clicking the URL will not print the check/coupon but will allow you to preview a draft version of the check/coupon. The assigned document numbers appear as VOID. To print checks/coupons, you must click the Print button which applies the actual check/coupon numbers and/or performs server-side printing, or open the final document locally.
Standard Letter File Name Displays the file name of the standard letter used to generate the document.
Account Displays the account name for check documents.
High Value Select this checkbox to determine if the FulfillmentProcessHighChecks security function is required. If it is required, the user is unable to print or void without it.

The Print Pick Lists view provides a link to a text file that contains a list of the enclosures to be printed. The document contains a variety of information for the enclosure, such as: Company ID, Case ID, Quantity, Enclosure Code and Description, Date Entered, Customer Name, and Customer Address.

To access the text file, click the Print button or the URL.

In addition to the text file, a formatted version which is created as a PDF is available as ID 002. To access this version, click the Print button or the URL in the ID 002 row.

Doc number 000 is the Utility Log file for the batch, appended for each operation performed by Manage Batches or Process Batch. It contains all application setup related exceptions, NULL Letter Prep errors, and general information. It is the same file that displays after running Manage Batches. This is not intended for printing, but administrator reference.

Doc number 001 is the optional NoLetter PickList HTM file. It shows a list of all fulfillment items that are not related to a printed letter. These also appear in the Shipping Details, both View and .PDF versions.

Doc NNN (final documents) is the Shipping Details .PDF file, containing all the non-email non-exception items in the fulfillment batch. It may be divided into multiple documents due to size, or the option to print one per Doc number.

The Check / Coupon Print History view displays the history of the printing, reprinting, and voiding of Check and Coupon documents for the batch. The Seq column displays the order in which each item happened per document number. The Total Value column displays the company currency total and will be negative for Voided documents.

 

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