Dear Fanciers:

As you know, the AKC registration department has undergone a major systems conversion in the last two months. Unfortunately, the new system was not adequately tested prior to the dismantling of the old system. As a result, a very significant backlog of registration applications developed.

I am pleased to report that the backlog has been essentially eliminated. However, we must make some major modifications to the new system in order to ensure that we do not encounter this problem again in the future. We eliminated the backlog through the work of our dedicated AKC staff, working 12-hour days, seven days a week. It was necessary to make a series of temporary fixes such as increased manpower and the renting of additional computer workstations. Now we must make modifications to ensure that we have permanently addressed the systems problems.

Concurrent with these changes we will develop an online registration system that will greatly reduce turn-around time of applications while providing a more user-friendly process. The online system will allow customers to quickly process registrations without error, reducing turnaround time, increasing customer satisfaction, and significantly reducing AKC registration labor costs.

While we regret that these problems occurred, we are confident that we have learned from our mistakes and they will not be repeated in the future. We thank you for your patience over the past few months and for the input that many of you provided during this difficult time. I am certain the end result will be a far better system, which will provide you with the timely and accurate service you expect and deserve.

Regards,

Ronald Menaker
Chairman