In response to customer requests, Western Carriers will be enhancing the place orders system to add new functionality and make the order processing system easier to use. The place order screen will be more intuitive, changing the size of the fields to better reflect their maximum sizes, and modifing the order validation to be more intuitive and easier to use. Now all the error messages will be displayed at the top of the screen and shown together, instead of being displayed one at a time. Going forward, order numbers will be limited to letters, numbers, hyphens and forward slashes. Also, we will be implementing a new calendar box for the requested ship date field. You will see a calendar to choose a day as well as type directly into the box if you know the date you want. To use the actual calendar display, simply click on the arrow at the right side of the box. This will display the calendar control where you can choose the month and day you want.

Secondly, we will be implementing a new “Save for Later” feature. This feature will allow our users to save partially entered orders to be completed at a future time. All you need in order to save an order is an order number! It can be saved at any point along the ordering process, whether entering shipping information, adding items to the order, or even at the order preview page.

To save an order, simply click on the button on the bottom of the screen in the shipping information page, or the items entry page. The Order preview page has a button at the top of the screen that you will click to save the order. Once you click “save for later” in any of these locations, a dialog box will display indicating that the order was saved successfully, and you will be returned to the selected customer screen so you can navigate to another section of the website.

Once you have saved one or more orders, a new section will be displayed on the place orders page that will allow you to continue placing an order that you have previously saved. It will be titled “Resume Order” and will be displayed in the upper right hand corner of the place orders screen.

Each saved order is displayed with the order number, as well as the date it was saved, so you can easily find the order you are looking for. Remember that orders are only saved for 7 days, so please finish any orders before they are removed from the system. Simply select the order you want to continue, and click “Load”. A confirmation box will be displayed, indicating that if you are working on an order, it will be replaced by the order you have just selected. Simply click “ok” to continue loading the order. Once the order is loaded, continue placing the order as usual.

To remove a saved order, simply select the order you want to remove in the drop down list and click “remove”. It will prompt you if you are sure you want to remove the saved order, and click “ok” to delete the saved order. NOTE: this will not affect any orders that have been placed in the system. It will only affect your saved orders.

We hope this makes your customer experience with Western Carriers a truly productive and pleasant one. Please let us know if you have any ideas on how to improve your experience with us in the future.