What is it?

Autofax is a creative solution for the complex problem of sending project schedules to project personnel. Autofax is not a fax program. It is designed to be used in conjunction with the most popular email and fax systems such as Microsoft Exchange, Outlook and WinFax. Project schedules from Primavera are transferred into AutoFax, which creates custom schedule reports and transmits them via your email and fax system to all vendors. Not only can Autofax send scheduling information from P3, but also general memos and messages to your contractors or other project personnel.

What are the benefits of having Autofax?

With Autofax you can –

· Eliminate the need to print and fax schedules manually saving valuable time, money and paper

· Create custom reports that can be faxed regularly

· Maintain your fax numbers and e-mail addresses in your personal address book in Outlook

· Send schedules via fax or email depending on the preference of each person receiving the schedule

· Send out a letter or important notice to one, a few, or all of your vendor contacts. This is a great way to quickly communicate important company information at the click of a button

How does it work?

After you complete your daily updates and reschedule your project for the next day in Primavera Project Planner, you will open Autofax and select the report you wish to send. Once you click send, Autofax will proceed to fax or e-mail the vendor specific schedule to each recipient. Each vendor only receives his or her scheduling activities. It is that simple. No printing of paper and manually stand in front of a fax machine.

How do we set you up?

TPG ensures a smooth implementation of Autofax with well-guided steps as follows:

· Ensure you meet all system requirements

TPG will ensure that you meet all system requirements for Autofax to run properly.

· Setup your Primavera Project for Autofax data share

TPG will set up a project routine to export data from your P3 project.

· Install Autofax

This software comes with detailed installation instructions and can be installed by either TPG or your internal I.T. representative. TPG will assist in the installation as requested or needed.

· Setup the report layout and vendor lists

TPG will guide you through the process of setting up report layouts. These are the reports/layouts that will be sent to your vendors. You determine which information you wish to send and organize the ordering of columns, grouping of information etc. You can setup additional reports as well if you wish to send them to your vendors or any other project personnel (managers, sales personnel etc.)

· Setup your email address book

Before running Autofax you will need to update your email address book with all your vendor fax or email address information.

· Provide training to your Data and Process Manager

TPG will provide specific Autofax training to both your Data and Process Manager. TPG will train them on how to setup reports/layouts, create and send letters and memos, maintain the system and send schedules.

Who really needs this? Do I really need it? What are the bottom line benefits for me?

A company that can satisfy any of the following can use this system and reap huge benefits:

· Any company using Primavera Project Planner and desires to communicate with 5 or more vendors on a daily or consistent basis

The enormous amount of time needed for faxing almost makes it impossible to fax the schedules to the vendors everyday, unless you hire a second shift person. Possible mediocre solutions to avoid the time consuming faxes will be to mail schedules to the vendors twice a week or to give printed schedules to them when they come into the office. This is not a streamlined process and therefore will not work efficiently. The data that the vendors receive in these methods will not be real-time data all the time. Therefore the vendors will not rely on the schedules completely, which defeats the purpose of centralized scheduling.

The benefits of using Autofax are not just cost savings but also a revolutionary improvement in the process of communication with existing technology. Although cost savings are substantial (see below), the real contributing factor to the bottom line of the business is the enhancement of communication between the company and subcontractors.

Cost Savings for Using Autofax

Time Savings =3 hours (approximate manual faxing time for 50 contractors)

Cost Savings =3 x $10

= $30 per day or $7800 per year.

There are several builders who think they do not need a system like this because of various reasons. Some of the reasons are quoted below with our explanations of why those reasons are misguided:

“I can purchase a less expensive off-the-shelf faxing program such as Winfax, etc. to send out my schedules from P3.”

Although it would be great if it worked, Winfax can only send out the same schedule to all the recipients. This would mean that each vendor would receive a 50+ page fax containing not only their information, but also every other vendor’s information. Autofax was specifically created with the intention of communicating specific scheduling information to each vendor every day. Autofax is completely integrated with P3 and faxing programs such as Winfax. Autofax itself is not a faxing program, but a bridge between Primavera and fax software. Autofax tells the fax software or email software what to transmit and does not transmit itself. In addition to this core functionality, Autofax has additional features to maintain your vendor contact list, group and organize your recipients etc.

“I can have someone in our office manually fax the schedules!”

Although this can be done, it is not very efficient or timely. You would need to have someone stand at the fax for hours faxing one schedule after another. Assuming this person does other work, there would be constant interruptions and schedules would not be faxed in a timely manner. To effectively communicate scheduling information, ideally the information should be sent daily. It is not only a waste of paper, but also a valuable human resource.

How can we get it?

Please contact Totally Productive Group, Inc. through email at info@totallyproductivegroup.com or by telephone at . You will be on your way to more effective communication with your vendors before you know it!