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Key Benefits/Features of Summit Traffic for Cable

Nobody Schedules Like Summit Traffic

Having control of supply and demand is power in advertising sales.  Summit Traffic has changed the paradigm of traffic scheduling.  Traditionally, no matter when a Contract is sold, the scheduling takes place in a batch process with no feedback at order entry time.  As a result, it has been easy for operations to be oversold or undersold because inventory decisions are based on Contract totals, rather than actual schedules.  The Summit Traffic system is a dynamic system that continues to optimize the inventory with each new order, rescheduling the ads that can move – automatically – according to user-specified parameters.

The heart of Summit Traffic systems is the powerful scheduling module.  This module efficiently organizes the information that ad sales managers need to maximize revenue and to utilize the power of today's technology fully.  Even large multi channel Contracts schedule very quickly.  In fact, Summit Traffic has the only dynamic, real time, multi-channel scheduler that is available today.

Dynamic means that Summit Traffic continues to optimize the schedules as new orders are added, maximizing the ad sales revenue according to the priorities and parameters that are set.

Real time means that Summit Traffic instantly schedules the Contracts the moment that they are entered - not in a later batch process or with some kind of approximation - taking into account all separation and other criteria specified.  With Summit Traffic, you get immediate feedback on schedule clearance.  Knowing the exact inventory at any given time allows sales people to offer the desired inventory at higher prices, or to offer scheduling alternatives.

Multi-channel means that you can - on a single order - place ads in more than one channel or group of channels that are defined.  The combinations are infinite, limited only by your business practices.  This multidimensional power goes beyond order entry.  Sales reports reflect the multidimensional aspects of multiple profit centers.

Real-Time / Real-World Avails

Because Summit Traffic's advertising sales management systems are built around the Summit Traffic scheduling module and a sophisticated, fully-integrated, relational database, the avails reports represent the real schedules - up to the minute reality, not "hypothetical trial runs".  To analyze the inventory and schedule, you can view the database reports by day, program, hour, inventory, or type; you define it.  Available on screen or on paper, you can actually enter a Contract on one workstation and watch the avail report dynamically update on another workstation.

Flexible Reports

Summit Traffic's advertising sales management systems feature a complete suite of very flexible, customizable reports.  These reports are designed to provide you with the information needed to operate, manage, and grow your business.  You may then tailor these reports to accommodate your needs since you control the level of detail.  In addition, Summit Traffic "memorizes" the parameters of frequently used reports to prevent you from wasting time constantly reentering this information.  In addition, you can use the report customization module to build your own custom reports.

Electronic Verification and Automatic Reconciliation

Because the Summit Traffic advertising sales management system builds invoices from scheduled and verified ads and not from the orders, you can do the following:

Invoice what actually ran with 100% confidence.  If it didn't run, Summit Traffic won't bill it.

Electronically send logs and retrieve actual run times depending on the insertion hardware.

Automatically reconcile the schedules - across all channels and groups of channels - with the touch of a button.

This information is then available to the billing subsystem to report on invoices.  To ensure accuracy, Summit Traffic generates a "hit rate" report that describes how efficiently and accurately you are operating.  This report compiles a percentage of ads ordered vs. the ads that are verified as accurate.  Current users are reporting consistent "hit rates" of over 99%.

Integrated Data Entry

Because Summit Traffic's advertising sales management systems are fully integrated relational databases, you save time with no repetitive data entry.  With Summit Traffic, information that is entered in one module is used throughout the Summit Traffic system, providing you with unlimited flexibility in data entry.  In addition, Summit Traffic saves you time with the powerful search capacity of SummitScan^tm.  SummitScan^tm allows you to search for external data and then incorporate that data into the current document with a simple press of a button.  You enjoy easy, number-free data entry with this alphanumeric "type and choose" capacity.

Unlimited Copy Rotation

Since managing Copy and rotations is becoming increasingly complex, the Summit Traffic advertising sales management system provides you with unlimited Copy rotation.  Each Contract has an unlimited number of Copy pages assigned to it, which may be rotated evenly, by a schedule, or by percentage.  Summit Traffic keeps track of which Copy page ran last and will automatically start with the next page.  To save you time with data entry, the information entered to manage the Copy may also appear on the invoice.

Flexible Printing

With the Summit Traffic advertising sales management system, you may print previews to the monitor or you may print to any windows supported printer.

Multidimensional Orders

With Summit Traffic's multidimensional order capability, you can enter a Contract for multiple channels and/or zones on a single order and have it all show on a single invoice.

Customizable Invoices

With the Summit Traffic advertising sales management system's flexibility, you can tailor the format of all invoices to suit your needs.  You may use different formats for different Advertisers, etc.  EDI output is also available.

Some Additional Highlights

Easy to use Windows 10 32bit native application

Real time, dynamic spot scheduling means the inventory and sales reports are always current

Full horizontal/vertical spot and Copy rotation with integrated script and automatic media numbering

Long form paid programs scheduling and avails/breaks (E.g., paid programs, local origination, infomercials, etc.)

Simple non-spot billing for production charges, etc.

Client/Contact management including interactive proposals

Full suite of sales and management information reports.

Automatic Reconciliation from insertion equipment verification files

Regular, co-op, duplicate and EDI invoices

User customization of data entry and report defaults

User customization of formats for reports, confirmations, logs, invoices and statements

Multi-level user security settings

Modular design for ease of configuration and enhancement

Data entry forms and quick-ref reports for Contracts, programs, Advertisers, industries, separation codes, account execs, revenue categories, Dayparts, channels/zones, miscellaneous definitions, Agencies, Rep Firms, Copy rotations and scripts.

Utilities to assign Copy to logs, assign filler spots to logs, edit logs, re-schedule make goods, write insertion interface files, auto-verify from insertion interface files and purge old data.

Troubleshooting reports for Missing Copy, Make goods Pending, Schedule Discrepancy and Contract exceptions.

Utility reports for Programs To Run, Avails Defined, Skeleton Schedule, Spots To Run, Spots Scheduled, Copy To Be Assigned, Copy Assigned, Media IDs Running, Media IDs Starting, Mailing labels and Contracts Starting/Ending.

Analysis reports for inventory utilization, Log analysis, Revenue Distribution, Revenue by Daypart, revenue averages, Inventory Usage, inventory availability and Contract reconciliation.

Sales reports for Sales Summary, Earned Revenue Projection, Booked Contracts, Advertiser activity, Billing Projection and Sales Status/Pacing.

Pre-billing Analysis, Invoice Preview and user definable Invoices.

Reports for Billing recap, Billing History and Billing Distribution Analysis.

Data entry forms for payments, adjustments, hand invoices, pre-payments, etc.

Reports for quick account balance lookup, Aging, Collections, Adjustments, Credits and Past due Accounts.

...  And much, much more, of course