New Acuity Distributor Center Coming Soon!

WHAT’S NEW

A New Website

The ADC website will have a new URL: www.acuitydistributorcenter.com.LDC.flywheelsites.com will continue to work but will re-route the users to the new site. No need to worry about popup blockers since the users have already enabled the new website with the last release.

Minimum Browser Requirement

It is important to note that the new Acuity Distributor Center website will no longer support users with IE7 or older. These users must upgrade to a more recent browser (IE8, IE9, IE10, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari) in order to use ADC.

To communicate this we will be incorporating a message into LDC on 9/10/13 to alert IE7 users of this upcoming change to give them plenty of time to upgrade before the requirement goes into effect. We will also provide download links to the various browser versions that are compatible. We feel confident that we have informed the user sufficiently; however, if they choose to ignore the requirement to upgrade their browser, they will no longer be able to use LDC/ADC when the new website goes live on September 24, 2013.

A New Menu

The Acuity Distributor Center has a new menu with an updated look. Navigation around the site is very similar to today’s LDC. The transition to this new menu should be a smooth one for your distributors. Please refer to the video or PowerPoint links in the Agency Training and Communication section for a quick review of the new menu.

New Product Search

The new Product Search tab in ADC will promote the LightQuick program and will have a very similar look to agile Product Search. Now that you have been using this new functionality, you will be able to guide your distributors should they have questions about the information presented. For Canadian Users, Product Search will be the same functionality that you the agents will soon be introduced to. Like the agency version, the distributor will see the primary location where products are available on the summary page. They will have the same capability to drill into the details of a product to see expanded availability information and standing quote pricing you have supplied.

New Product Configurator (U.S. Only)

The U.S. distributors will have access to the product configurator when a series is LightQuick configurable. The configurator works just like the one in agile. The distributor will be presented with option values that are valid and available to be made and shipped in 24-48 hours.

Request a Quick Quote

You may recall a feature in LDC for distributors to request a quick quote of your agency. The distributor must be set up to with this role in order to request quotes. This functionality is also available in the new ADC and becomes a very valuable feature since the new configurator allows a distributor to configure product that can be made in the RMDC! Obviously once they configure something, they will want a price. If your agency has a quick quote desk and your distributors are not enabled to perform this function, be sure to email kathy.smith@acuitybrands.com to get this set up. The quick quote requests come right into your agile quotes dashboard and are clearly marked as distributor quotes so that you can turn them around quickly. Not only that, a designated person at your agency will receive an email alert when a quote request is submitted! Don’t miss out of this valuable customer service functionality!

Mobile Version

We have expanded the mobile version to include the new Product Search and Request for Quote functionality. Users can run this version on any mobile device browser. Simply type the URL distributor.flywheelsites.com/mobile.aspx and log in! The Product Search and Order Status work just like agile Rep so it will be easy for you to help your distributors should they want to take advantage of the mobile capability. No setup is required other than the user having a valid LDC/ADC userid and password.

Non-ABL

The ability to opt in and show your distributors status of non-ABL orders is available in case you missed that with the changes announced back in February. If you wish to provide visibility of some or all of your Non-ABL Manufacturers to your customers, the setup is very easy. Simply go to Contact Management, click on options/preferences and click on Visibility. Select which manufacturers you want to show and save. All you have to do then is keep the status and shipping information updated in agile. This is a great way to at least provide visibility of Mark and Winona orders since those product groups are not inherently visible as part of ABL. Email kathy.smith@acuitybrands.com if you have questions about this.

 

Agency Training and Communication

The following training materials are available to you here:

• Training Video on the ADC Menu and Product Search
  • U.S. Agents
  • Canadian Agents
• Training PowerPoint
  • U.S. Agents
  • Canadian Agents
• Distributor FAQs
  • U.S. Agents
  • Canadian Agents

Agency Web Training is available at the following times:

• U.S. Agents
  • Monday 9/9/13
    • 1:00 PM EDT
    • 5:00 PM EDT
  • Tuesday 9/10/13
    • 8:00 AM EDT
    • 3:00PM EDT
  • Wednesday 9/11/13
    • 9:00 AM EDT
    • 2:00 PM EDT
  • Thursday 9/12/13
    • 11:00 AM EDT
• Canadian Agents
  • Tuesday 9/17/13
    • 4:00 PM EDT
  • Wednesday 9/18/13
    • 10:00 AM EDT

Click on the session to download and add it to your calendar. The meeting information is located in the calendar request.

 

Distributor Training and Communication

September 10, 2013: A message will be posted on the LDC home page about the changes coming. The video and PowerPoint training will be available to the distributor at this time on the LDC Help Tab.

September 19, 2013: An email blast will be sent to LDC users reminding them of the change coming on 9/24/13.

September 24, 2013: New website in place!

Distributor web training is available upon request. Email kathy.smith@acuitybrands.com to arrange web training for your customers.