The module enables sending alerts or messages to specific individuals or groups within an organization, as well as to other system components, based on predefined triggers or events.

Workflow

In-app notifications can be categorized as Tasks, To-dos, Tickets, or Announcements.

A Task is a specific action that one employee requests another employee to perform within the organization. It usually has a deadline and is often related to a particular document or component in CalMetro (e.g., a UUT or a Purchase Order). A To-Do is a self-assigned task. Tasks come with a chat function for follow-up and a completion status. Tasks that remain open are displayed in the Notifications System until they are closed. When the deadline is in the future, the task is considered to be pending. However, when the deadline passes, the task is marked as due or overdue. Users can postpone the deadline or complete the task at any time. Once the task is completed, the requestor receives a notification in their Notifications Center indicating that their request has been fulfilled. The user can choose to keep the notification in that state until dismissed.

A Ticket is similar to a Task, but it is initiated by a customer and can be entered directly into the system through the customer portal or by customer service or other team members within CalMetro. The key difference between a Ticket and a Task is that Tickets are issued by customers, while Tasks are assigned by internal team members. Customer Service may redirect the ticket to a responsible team or individual in the organization for resolution. In some cases, the Quality department may escalate the ticket to a Corrective Action Request (CAR). The system is built to remind the responsible resolver department, individual, and other applicable parties by mail every 24 hours until the ticket is completed. Tickets can also be configured with automatic escalation, such as copying the task successively to the supervisor, branch manager, and general manager if it is delayed. This special treatment for tickets is designed to improve accountability and ensure timely and effective customer response.

Finally, an Announcement is a communication sent to one or more groups within the organization that is designed to be kept upfront of any other window in CalMetro and requires acknowledgement by the recipient. It is commonly used to communicate maintenance windows and new features of the software.

It's worth noting that tasks can be generated by both the system and users. System-generated tasks are often triggered by specific conditions, such as a particular day of the week or month, reaching a certain threshold, or detecting anomalies in the system.

In addition to In-App messages, the notifications system has different channels of communication. Messages can be configured to reach individuals or other system components through email, ftp/sftp, and API calls (e.g., an API to send an SMS message or to sync certificates with a customer).

Calmetro provides a variety of notifications that can be set up, including:

• Recurrent reports such as Turnaround Time, Collection Follow-ups, Vehicle Maintenance, Due Standards Maintenance, Production Status Report (PSR), Daily Receiving, etc. These reports can be sent via email with files in PDF, Excel, tables or charts.
• Calendar messages like birthday congratulation emails, or reminders such as a commitment to capture environmental conditions every month.
• Status reminders such as notifications for purchase orders awaiting approval, overdue invoices or payments, inventory stock levels reaching a certain threshold, shippers awaiting admin release, etc.
• Follow-up tasks such as the follow-up for a quote (CRM) or technical support.
• System-triggered tasks such as a new employee created or deactivated in the system, errors or unusual activity in the system (e.g., several attempts of invalid user credentials).
• Background tasks such as automatic creation of quotation recalls (On-Site Services and Pickups) every first of the month.
• Synchronization with the customer database (some medical companies request synchronization of certificates or information on their equipment and calibrations using their APIs or through file transfers to their FTP or SFTP servers), sync employees check-in and check-outs to a payroll software.

Overall, the notifications system is an essential and robust component that helps organizations stay informed and responsive to various business events.