Why should I use OUDirect?
Loyal readers of these pages will not be shocked to learn that the Orthodox Union has invested large sums of money and some of its top talent in the OUdirect.org project. You know what OUdirect.org is: it’s the portal which allows your company immediate and 24-hour access to major parts of your relationship with the OU.
You’ve heard about some of the newest functions of OUDirect (our full-time staff is CONSTANTLY working on fine-tuning, improving and adding to OUDirect) and you may have even tried out OUDirect yourself. If you are already enamored of OUDirect, you are not alone! We receive compliments and encouragement on OUDirect from OU certified companies on a daily basis. (Don’t worry, it’s not going to our heads.)
For companies that are wondering how OUDirect can help them make money, save time and be organized, stay tuned!
Scenario #1: Searching for Suppliers
An OU certified guacamole company is looking for a new supplier of vinegar, but needs vinegar made in the United States. A European canned fish company is looking for alternate suppliers of canned sliced olives. A distributor of citric acid is looking for OU certified potato flake manufacturers who might be interested in buying his product. How does OUDirect help?
After logging on to http://www.oudirect.org. click on the UKD (Universal Kosher Database) tab at the top left comer. Choose “Company Search” and narrow your search to include the company type and country you are looking for. Realize as well that your company may be the one making the vinegar, canned olives or potato flakes and your potential business match can find YOU by searching the UKD at http://www.oudirect.org without taxing your already overburdened sales force!
Scenario #2: Kosher Letters
Your company has hundreds of kosher customers for your organic bulk canola oil and all of them need updated kosher letters when your current kosher letter expires next month. A new potential supplier of refined olive oil claims to be OU certified, but the certificate he sent you is somewhat faded and he seems somewhat dubious altogether. Is his product really kosher? Will you be wasting valuable time doing R&D on a product which might not even be kosher in the end?
All of your products (and your OU certified suppliers’ products) are now identified by a UKD identification number, which acts as a veritable Social Security number for that product. With it, anyone can verify the current OU status of your product. To supply your customers with updated letters the sweat-free way, simply give them the UKD number of your product and forward them a link to our public database site: htlp://www.oukosher.orgiindex.phplprofesslOna//ukd. You can also post your own kosher letters on your own company website. (For more information on this, contact OU Direct Help at 212-613-8322.)
Your customers can download your current kosher letter themselves rather than having your staff scrambling to email new letters to all of your customers! To check whether a potential supplier’s product is still OU certified, simply enter the UKD number into the Product Search engine and find out if it is OU certified before wasting valuable resources on bogus suppliers.
Scenario #3: Invoices
Your CFO is checking the status of unpaid bills and isn’t sure whether payment was sent to the OU for the special production of pareve Super Swirly Slippery Strawberry Sasquatches you made for the upcoming Bigfoot Admirer’s convention. How can you close out the records for 2009 unless you know if all the bills are paid? You sent a private label invoice to the label customer to pay directly, and you want to know if the OU received that payment, or if your company will be responsible for it down the line.
Good news, you checked the records and realized that the Super Swirly invoice was paid twice by mistake! Did the OU properly apply the overpayment to your account for use against the upcoming run of Greasy Green Grilled Grizzlies you plan on doing next month?
OUdirect.org offers an immediate breakdown of open invoices, payments and credits. Click on the Financial Overview tab and see which invoices are paid, which overpayments are sitting on your account as open credits and which invoices require additional attention. Print and email copies of open invoices and review memos for credits applied to open invoices.
Scenario #4: Users and Usage
Your company has ten plants, all of which make different products and use ingredients from different suppliers. The QA in each plant is the most qualified to manage Schedule A & B, but you don’t want to give each QA the main login to OUDirect.org. The bookkeeper needs access to invoices, but do you need him bothered by Schedules A & B?
OUDirect.org allows the primary user to assign additional users of your company’s OUDirect.org account, as well as to assign rights to each according to your company’s needs. The bookkeeper only sees the financials; your QA staff each controls its own plant’s schedules (including the ability to request new ingredients and soon to remove ingredients as well!).
If you are wondering how much extra use of OUDirect.org will cost your company, the answer is nothing. OUDirect.org is free to OU certified companies, including all of the aforementioned features and more. Your company already made the smartest decision possible in kosher supervision when you became a proud OU company. Make your OU account even more valuable to your company by logging into http://www.oudirect.org today!