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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Rockwell Automation Increases Value With SPA

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), is dedicated to industrial automation and information. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 22,000 people serving customers in more than 80 countries.


Strategic Pricing Associates (SPA) provided Rockwell’s US, European, Asian, and Latin American businesses with their Product Sensitivity Profiling to build list prices using a market-sensitive approach focused on limiting discounting to products where discounting is demonstrated to produce results. Using SPA’s proprietary Price Indexing methodology, they helped Rockwell improve its contract renewal process by identifying leakage points.


SPA also developed a Distributor Strategic Pricing program for the Rockwell channel prices based on market value, not cost, resulting in increased profitability. Leading distributors, including OneSource, Van Meter, Codale, Reynolds Company, Fromm and Revere Electric have completed this program.


Said Tim McCarthy, Global Director of Contracts & Pricing, "Because a significant amount of our business is under agreements, we were going from year to year realizing little to no price yield, year over year. Within a 3-4 month period of starting the analysis with SPA, we saw significant gains. Now we are applying what we’ve learned to Latin America, Asia Pacific and are working through the process a second time for U.S. pricing. And we expect to see more improvements in our business."


To read more, visit the SPA Newsroom.


New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software?
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Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.
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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Rhee Bros. Drives Growth With Blue Ridge

Rhee Bros, a leading Pan-Asian food-service distributor, has selected Blue Ridge technology to improve demand planning, forecasting and inventory allocation to solve supply chain challenges associated with global food-service distribution. From food-service to retail, Rhee Bros. carries thousands of Asian products. Based outside of Baltimore, MD, they serve over 800 customers from independent Asian retailers to U.S. food distributors.


Said Kevin Rhee, director of operations at Rhee Bros. “To effectively manage the global sourcing and distribution challenges associated with short shelf life products, long lead times and seasonality, we felt Blue Ridge was uniquely qualified to provide supply chain planning technology that improves forecast accuracy and reduces overstocks, enabling us to meet customer demand.”


Blue Ridge connects the supply chain to customer demand, enhancing customer experience by ensuring products are available at the right time and place without excessive investments in inventory and logistics. With advanced technology and predictive analytics, organizations define specific business goals and receive a calculated, optimized plan with action-ready recommendations to improve financial performance and increase service levels. Food-service distributors benefit from a solution that automatically considers the effects of variable lead times, seasonality, perishables, deal management, promotions and other factors that impact today’s distributors.


Named a leader in the 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Supply Chain Planning Systems, Blue Ridge provides cloud-native supply chain planning technology specifically designed for retail and distribution. To learn more about the Rhee Bros. implementation and read additional case-studies and white papers, visit the Blue Ridge Newsroom.


New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software?
Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you?
Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.
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Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Brooks Forgings Makes Competitive Gains With ECi M1

Brooks Forgings, a leading manufacturer of forged, fabricated and machined components, is using M1 ERP from ECi Software Solutions to help its business evolve and succeed in a fiercely competitive marketplace.

Established in 1960, Brooks Forgings offers a diverse range of manufacturing processes from a new and dedicated 45,000 sq ft facility based in Stourbridge, West Midlands, UK. This is supported by a newly refurbished warehouse facility nearby housing over 2500 pallets of stock comprising standard items and specials for customer call-off orders. The company’s in-house manufacturing capacity not only ensures full traceability and quality of components, but also reduces reliance on subcontractors.

In 2003, Brooks replaced their existing ERP system with ECi M1. More than a decade later, M1 has become an integral part of operations at Brooks Forgings and, with the introduction of additional modules every year, is gradually automating greater parts of the company’s day-to-day business functions.

ECi M1 is an ERP software solution designed for growing manufacturers. It automates and integrates every business process from quoting through invoicing and point of sale (POS). The system is both flexible and easy to customize.


Competitive Gain

M1 has provided Brooks with the essential functions that help manufacturers achieve competitive gain. These include: scheduling production to efficiently make use of resources; managing production jobs through job costing; controlling inventory of raw materials, finished goods and sub-assemblies; analyzing pre- and post-sales activities; maintaining contact details for customers and suppliers; and ensuring quality and managing warranties.

Says Financial Director Adrian Brooks, “While it’s difficult to quantify the exact savings delivered by M1, there is no doubt in my mind that the software has helped this business achieve greater turnover in the past 10 years – during the worst recession in history – without vastly increasing our sales or clerical team. Furthermore, M1 will continue to be an asset moving forwards. We shall have more accurate data collection allowing us to move jobs around more quickly and plan for bottlenecks, while at the same time accounting for unforeseen costs.”


To learn more, visit ECi's Customer News page.


New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software?
Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you?
Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.
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Wednesday, April 5, 2017

King Plastic Protects Manufacturing Investments With Tribridge

Founded in 1968 and based in North Port, Florida, King Plastic is a leading manufacturer of polymer sheets, slabs, and massive shapes used in applications ranging from marine craft to food service products.


Seeking to centralize accounting and financial reporting, streamline its manufacturing operations, and improve customer service, King Plastic worked with Tribridge to implement Microsoft Dynamics® GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Founded in 1998, Tribridge is a technology services firm specializing in business applications and cloud solutions for mid-market and enterprise customers.


To maximize its return on investment, King Plastic also enrolled in the Business Ready Enhancement Plan and Software Assurance for Microsoft Dynamics. Through these offerings, the company gained access to CustomerSource, an online training and technical support resource. King Plastic uses the knowledge base and e-learning tools on the CustomerSource Web site to flatten IT support costs, increase productivity, and improve change management.

Additional Business Benefits Included:
•Predictable IT support costs
•Increased productivity
•Improved capacity for change management




To learn more about Tribridge's solutions for the manufacturing sector, visit the Tribridge Newsroom.


New Software Research Guides Available
Finding that you cannot keep up with all the changes in the latest software?
Want to know how the software's features and functions can assist you?
Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

Developed through a partnership with Industrial Distribution, Industrial Supply, Contractor Supply Magazine and Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services, these 12 page Supplement Guides provide valuable, independently researched information. Each Guide details software company information, identifies vertical markets, highlights functions and technology features, new developments to the software package, shows graphs of the user range, basic entry price point, sales channel (how and where the software is sold), along with company contact information. The Supplement Guides provide everything you need to know when beginning your software selection and evaluation process.

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard.
Follow Us on Twitter





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