Here is an update for newsagents from Gordon and Gotch on the transition from Network Services:
Thank you for your assistance and support in executing a successful transition and integration of the NSC business.
Calls to GGA
- As you can imagine, there has been an increase in the volume and length of calls to our National Contact Centre. We appreciate your patience as GGA staff work through the calls.
- As an alternative to calling, please email us at contactus@gordongotch.com.au
- Nexus and Connections Agents are reminded that there is a special queue for them in our Contact Centre, so be sure to select Option 3 from the menu at the outset.
Transition titles and returns
- The list of 92 transition titles are available at www.gordongotch.com.au/ggweb/XITChangeover.aspx
- The data to allow returns for these transition issues to GGA was generated over the last two weekends .
- If you have attempted to return one of these transition issues before Friday 4thMarch, you may have received a message on your returns acknowledgement stating “Title/Issue Code Is Not Valid For Any Product Invoiced To You”. If this is the case, please try again this week as your request would not have been processed.
- If you attempted to return one of these transition issues on or after Friday 4 March 2016 and received a message stating “Title/Issue Code Is Not Valid For Any Product Invoiced To You”, YOU WILL NOT NEED TO RE SUBMIT THAT RETURN ENTRYas your request would have been processed automatically on Monday after the second batch of data was loaded.
Physical returns
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Two weeks ago you were advised of changes to GGA’s physical returns process. We thank you for your compliance. If you have any questions related to physical returns, please go to http://www.gordongotch.com.au/ggweb/physicalreturnsFAQs.aspx
I would like to make a request, if anyone from GG is reading this blog.
I have a subagent that gets thats life, take 5 and english womens weekly every single thursday.
These are all part of the GG SAT invoices. I have seen up to 8 bundles for this invoice set. Each magazine seems to be in a different bundle 1/8, 4/8 and 7/8 for example. Would it be possible for all the major (popular) Australian weekly magazines to be all in bundle 1/8 so they are easier to find?
I haven’t done a monday under the new system, but with the above being the case, I expect the major australian magazines for SAM invoice set are probably in the same boat (new idea, womans day, nw, famous etc)?
Gotch is absolutely useless.
Magazine oversupply today, bundles missing (some part works so you can’t do them online aparently) and I’ve tried to ring their call centre and they obviously have so much phone traffic and not enough staff that their number either hangs up on you immediately or hangs up on you after giving you the message that hey are busy and not even queing you. Having worked in a major govt call centre these guys are nothing short of hopeless. So much for hoping things would get better.
Paul,
Same issue here. Ridiculous oversupply of magazines. Also magazines that we had previously cancelled with Network and magazines that we have never had before. One magazine last 3 issues supply 16 returned 16,supply 21 returned 15, supply 21 returned 12. Today we get 44 copies. This has been happening every magazine delivery day this month. It is out of control.
Was on hold for 50 minutes to Gotch call centre yesterday afternoon.
I am a newsagent who rarely does early returns. Our supply figures are excellent, and we have had barely any disruption in the last 4 weeks, if anything, a slight undersupply, which we can rectify ourselves by ordering extras online. My staff are thrilled that Gotch took over Network rather than the other way round!
overall I think I am happy with it all , if only they would put on extra staff to answer the phone that would be great !!!!!!
I’m with you h. We’ve had a few issues but no more than usual and while some quantities are a bit higher than we are used to receiving, GG have a much better system adjusting supply over the long term than Network ever did. A few months and I’m sure we’ll all be better off with the new distribution model. Now if IPS would get their act together…..
How many sales are we missing out on as a result of poor data quality to Gotch?
Nexus magazines – Sales of up to 6 per month for network
Haven’t recieved it under Gotch at all.
It was only because a customer asked why we didn’t have it, that I went looking.
Wonder what else is swept under the rug?
SUBARU, this might make for an interesting topic for Nexus mag….LOL!!!!
Are you sure the Nexus magazine is out yet ??
If it is I also have not received it yet
should be out this week some time is what my pos system tells me
Received network stock in week one,then nothing except ,product we haven’t seen for about 2 to 3 years. When made enquires was told our network a/c (8k a month) has now been place as a subagent by bauer,YET at the same time 7 bundles of mostly imported stock arrives as a full account.Gotch supplies about normal.No one from gotch so far has been available to fix up the mess.
NEWS FLASH.
Furthermore to my blog of March 28th ,downgraded to sub by bauer. I have received an email from connections and I quote “Congratulations on being one of the top 60 agents to register for this year’s connections conference! This means that you and your partner receive complimentary buffet breakfast for two at the Thyme2 restaurant!
WOW! Not only do I get a free feed for being in the top 60 but Gotch thinks I am a sub-agent.
my system is saying overdue for nexus. And when I checked GG’s allocations on their site, i was down to receive none at all.
Slightly off topic (sorry) can someone post Rural Press’s circulation email address? I can’t find any record for it anywhere and need to stop supply of one their magazine
Subaru , same here I just checked and I was down for 0 , which is odd because if you look it up on tittles you do not receive it don’t pop up but if you look at tittles you receive or enquire on future supply it shows up but with a nill allocation
My main concern is “what else are SHOULD we be getting that has a GOOD history and currently has an ZERO according to GG?”
It comes in tomorrow just as I thought and even though GG web site says I am down for zero I have 10 coming
I don’t know what’s going on with Nexus allocation’s, but what I do know is that whatever’s going on it’s no accident. I suspect it’s either Alien’s or Nazi’s who are responsible.
The G&G allocations are rediculous tomorrow. A title I sell 3 of monthly is suddenly being supplied at 22 and another we regularly sell 7 of we are getting 3 of ! I almost wouldn’t mind the short supplies as I largely consider magazines on their way out now but the rediculous oversupplies on the the last day of the month just take the cake.
More mess from GG this morning.
Magazines completely out of order from the printed labels (but only for one invoice)
Also in this particular invoice, bundle 1 containing magazines. Find labels put them on.
Get to bundle 2 (still out of order of printed labels) to find that, mixed in with the bundle is repetition of magazines from the previous bundle (in excess of what was supplied in the other bundle).
Not sure who is packing these bundles, but there are some serious quality control issues.
Maybe if they reduced the amount of excess crap they send us, their staff might not be overloaded and be able to concentrate on packing the bundles correctly.
Gotch obviously didn’t put in the resources necessary to manage a doubling of their workload. It’s impossible to get through on the phone so emails the only option, it was taking 4 days to get a response at the start of the month but I’ve been waiting a week now for response too an issue that needs sorting quickly. To be honest I thought all was going well apart from a few teething problems, I’m now convinced the whole thing is going to shit and getting worse.
As too allocations, the funny thing is that at least for me it’s the historical G&G titles that are all over the place, the allocations on Bauer titles are a lot better.
Yeah this transitions going a treat, 11 days without a reply to an email and if you try and ring them the phone lines are all engaged. Can even get on hold and waste 45 mins waiting to talk to customer service. Though you can blame the call centre staff who are no doubt in a living hell at the moment. If I could talk to the shiny ass f**kwits in the corner offices who obviously haven’t put in the resources they should have I’d quite willingly give them a piece of my mine.
That should be “can’t blame the call centre staff”
Yep, I agree Steve. Have had missing bundles in every delivery for the last two weeks. No New Idea today. Can’t get through on the phone line and I’m not even going to try emailing because I know there’s been no reponse before. Submitted a claim for a missing bundle of Cryptic Crosswords (22 of them) last week and now that doesn’t even appear in the previously submitted list. Was told once before by a G&G call centre staffer that large missed bundle claims were cancelled if a call wasn’t also made to claim them so I certainly hope this isn’t happening.
Mark , who was the joker who you blogged about here who stood up at one of your NewsXpress functions from Gotch and explained that everything was being looked after ? Hope he got the sack because everything obviously isn’t all right and someone obviously didn’t get eveything into place before the amalgamation of the two distribution networks.
Paul, yep it’s all gone too shit. Missing invoice on the 8th of March (8x Tmix), since then 2 shortage rejections, 2 email’s, 1 phonecall (lucky day got through and only 25 mins on hold). End result no magazines and no credit for them and its now been going on for 4 weeks.
I’ve actually now been on hold at G&G for a bit over 32 minutes and still holding.
Also check your statements for this month. I’ve just scanned mine but am pretty certain credits are missing or I’ve been mischarged for something (or maybe it’s just the oversupply ) because based on the previous two supplier bills combined my bill from Gotch is about 30% up on what I would have expected.
Paul, my statement is quite high too but I’ve checked off my returns and all seems OK. What you have to remember is your still sending returns to Network and they need to be subtracted from your G&G statement to get your true position.
Yep, already took that into account but when the cost of good sold is higher than the total sales for the month I know there’s a problem and when I finally got through this morning (an hour on the phone waiting !) the person who I spoke to admitted that there has apparently been problems with credits for items not sent
My account is double what it should be.
So this doesn’t get buried with the Tatts saga
Please watch for titles moving from GG to IPS.
Just received some ex-GG titles from IPS this morning. Upon checking sales history (GG) it’s either ZERO, or so close to zero that I don’t know why they even bothered.
Also these are 12 weeks until we can return them.
If I didn’t need Best Bets, Winning Post and a few other titles, I’d close my account altogeter.
Following is a copy of the email i sent them:
Please adjust the supplies of the following ex-GG titles
New Ceramics – EPNCR – haven’t sold a single one since 2009 – Please cancel
Travel Africa – EPTRA – have sold 4 in the last 5 years – Please cancel
Selvedge – EPSLV – have sales of NO MORE than 1 per issue since January February 2015 (mostly NONE though – Please reduce to 1, however I’m reserving my decision to Cancel altogether over the next 2 issues.
Do GG send sales data so you can decide if these were worth distributing?
Due to the long return dates, am I able to early return the cancelled titles?
Also, please respond so I know this has been completed.
Good to see IPS is sticking to its strategy of picking up titles no one wants to buy.
IPS’s response (effectively blaming me for not stopping it with GG) :
All titles have been cancelled out. Yes, we do usually get a supply list from G&G prior to us distributing a title and it all cases we match it and then communicate supply has been loaded. We then allow time prior to the onsale for newsagents to adjust their supply.It’s entirely your decision as to if you cancel out supply or increase it.
For our knowledge if you aren’t selling the copies under the G&G system why would you keep the order? Aren’t you allowed to cancel under their system?
Our system doesn’t allow for early returns so they’ll need to be returned in the normal timeframes.
Kind Regards
And my response to them:
You might get a supply list. But does it include the sales that we have been making on that particular magazine? If you saw the sales as Zero, why bother sending it to us in the first place?
How do you communicate that supply has been loaded?
I have around 2700 different titles that we have in store presently. I don’t have time to micromanage each magazine. Under network and GG we can early return – and usually did within the first month meaning we never had to pay for the supply
With IPS you do not allow early returns so now I have to stock this magazine that won’t sell for 3 months – which means i’ve paid for it at the end of this month and you have my money for at least 2 more months…
and the latest response from them:
IPS are only provided with a list of customers being distributed to, we are not provided any sales data from previous distributors. Either G&G provided us with incorrect old data or these publications were still in their data base as being provided to you. When we are providing supply to agents we assume they are already getting from the previous distributor we do not normally send out notices, our intention is a seamless changeover of deliveries.
Having a run in with Gotch myself, won’t supply Bauer magazines to me because I used to get them off another agent but I have an account with Gotch for the last 6.5 years so go figure. Previous owners of newsagency had a run in with Network so I’ve inherited it.