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Friday, December 27, 2019

Embarq Logistics Enhances Pricing With SPA

Embarq Logistics is a $750 million distributor of telecommunications products and services.

Says Brad Clark, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing, of Embarq's utilization of SPA:
"Our division was in the process of soliciting buyers for divestiture and we needed to improve our EBITDA as much as possible. We employed SPA because our results had plateaued and we thought we might be leaving money on the table. And we were. SPA likes to talk about delivering 2-4 margin points but from our experience we were leaving 6-10 points on the table. We provide some degree of price flexibility to our inside sales reps and even with those modifications, we still see meaningful margin improvements. We expect these increases to continue, and we will continue to cash checks with each improvement!"

"We started working with SPA in early spring and we had new pricing for 140,000 SKUs analyzed, designed and implemented by September. Because we were nervous about potential customer backlash, we established a control group that didn't receive the SPA-determined price increases as a way to be sure that the SPA program would not negatively impact sales. This was tracked every week and not only did the SPA program not hurt sales, the margins for the SPA group improved over the control group."

To learn more, visit the SPA 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:


Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.

Also, read our 2019 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Supp.

Developed through a partnership with 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.

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Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Ceramic Tile Warehouse Boosts ROI With Kerridge

Established in 1994, Ceramic Tile Warehouse is one of the UK’s largest and most successful independent tile retailers. The family-run firm sells directly to the public from its 10,000 square foot warehouse with over a million tiles in stock. After several years in business, Ceramic Tile Warehouse had reached the point where it is predominantly manual sales and purchasing systems were completely inadequate.

With some professional help, the Kerridge Revision 7 solution was chosen and deployed on an ASP hosted server platform. A relatively small amount of customization was required to suit the company’s specific needs – this was easily accommodated.

Gains and benefits of the Kerridge implementation:
  • Internet-based deployment - staff focus on what they do best 
  • More time available to look after customers – a higher standard of service 
  • Warehouse processes easier, more efficient and fully controlled 
  • Seamless sales to warehouse interaction speeds up transaction processing 
  • Learning curve shallower than expected – system intuitive and easy to use 
  • Satisfied customers and satisfied staff – a better position for all 
  • Return on investment generated from the start 
  • Opportunities for the company to grow with the system

Learn more at the Kerridge 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.

Also, read our 2019 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Supp.

Developed through a partnership with 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.

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Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Kelsan Identifies Business Opportunities With Tour de Force

Kelsan, Inc. is a Janitorial and Sanitation Products Distributor who uses Infor SX.enterprise as their ERP system. They have been a customer since 2012 and have 75 users. Kelsan had made great use of the Build Your Own Reports (BYOR) Module to create a CRM Engagement Report to encourage user adoption and hold sales representatives accountable to using the CRM system.

Sales representatives use the Tour de Force platform to:
1) Create Activities with high-value targets and buying accounts
2) Add business contacts wide and deep: from Receptionist to CEO
3) Keep an up-to-date Opportunity pipeline with the customers and targets from point #1

Says Blaine Keller, Kelsan's CRM Manager: “The CRM Engagement Report is a rolling 7 day count of not only sales based activities, but also every time a rep modifies an Opportunity, creates an Appointment, or has a Task scheduled due."

Learn more at the Tour de Force 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.

Also, read our 2019 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Supp.

Developed through a partnership with 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.

Follow Us on Twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/BSWGroupSW4D/

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Tapco Uses MITS For Fast ROI

Tapco was founded in 1974 and has grown to stock the largest inventory of plastic elevator buckets and metal bolts in the world, some 900,000 buckets and 15 million bolts, out of a 95,000 square foot, on-site manufacturing facility in Missouri.

Prior to MITS, Tapco had struggled for years trying to get the right information to the individuals that needed it, as many of the company’s existing reporting tools would provide an answer but lacked drill-down capability as well as access to ancillary data. The IT department, managed by Brennan Radmer, found themselves frequently generating additional reports or manually exporting and manipulating the data in Excel, a time-consuming task that took his group away from other equally important responsibilities. “We needed a tool where anyone could easily drill down through the numbers and see the trends right away, without having to do a massive amount of data mining or report generation. This was a must for us.”

Tapco researched several solutions and one reason MITS stood out to Brennan was the breadth of information available through their easy to use UI. Brennan noted, “We needed a tool that had pre-made content like reports that we could put to use right away." Another feature that stood out to Brennan was MITS’ access to data. Brennan explains: “One of the issues we were having with our ERP was that it was reporting on territories, not sales reps. And so when an account would change territories, the historical data would stay locked in the old territory, making it extremely difficult to gauge how a territory was doing. MITS was able to provide the data in real time, going back upwards of 36 months. And if we made any changes, the MITS system reflected the changes without much assistance from IT."

Finally, all Tapco employees use iPads and Android phones to conduct business, and it was important for Brennan to find a tool that would not only run seamlessly across platforms, but also without install assistance from IT - or the cost of separate licenses for each device. Since MITS runs on a secure web-based platform, anyone with access to an internet browser could use the MITS system, anytime from anywhere. After consulting with the International Sales manager and ownership, Brennan was able to secure the decision to purchase MITS.

Tapco’s sales staff uses MITS daily to see who they are up with, as well as who they are down with, which is a critical point of focus for their company. “What is valuable with MITS is that they can show you exactly where the gains, or more importantly the losses, are happening in real time. Before MITS, we had ideas on where losses were occurring, but now we can pinpoint the downward trend with the account and take steps to mitigate or reverse it.”

To learn more, visit the MITS 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.

Also, read our 2019 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Supp.

Developed through a partnership with 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.

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Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Sheralven Enterprises Enhances Inventory Processing With VAI

Founded in 1977, Sheralven Enterprises Ltd. is a one-stop shop for fragrances. The Commack, N.Y.-based company sells, manufactures and distributes a wide variety of brand-name and private-label perfumes, colognes, body lotions and other fragrances, while providing warehousing and logistical services for its customers. Sheralven processes and directly ships items domestically and internationally for national retail chains and independents.

Sheralven encountered numerous problems with its previous ERP software package. First, the system was outdated and unreliable, and therefore hindered the company’s productivity and profitability. For Sheralven’s warehousing and sales personnel, the older system required tedious, time-consuming and manual order processing procedures. The company’s distribution operations were note-driven – slowing down the accounting process and preventing a timely order fulfillment process. This directly affected customer service. A solution that could handle large volumes of orders, while simultaneously managing an inventory of over 5,000 products was essential.

Sheralven needed a tool that could automate tasks, such as processing orders, tracking shipments and managing an extensive inventory. The distributor also required a solution that could handle greater volumes of orders, allowing the company to expand its customer base to include larger clients and more frequent orders. At the same time, Sheralven needed its ERP solution to be equipped with a reliable, user-friendly EDI interface to enhance communications between its sales and back-end personnel.

Sheralven had to look no further than VAI for an ERP package that fit its business requirements. VAI’s solution, S2K for Distribution, was both affordable and sophisticated, giving Sheralven the best value. The result is a unique solution for organizing and tracking orders, generating financial statements, improving customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities and automatically processing inventory.

Upon going live with the solution, Sheralven dramatically increased its turn-around time by automating its data management and order processing. Sheralven’s received orders are automatically entered from Excel spreadsheets into the system, eliminating time-consuming, manual entry and reducing the likelihood of errors. “From the moment we receive an order, the process flows seamlessly,” said Sandra Parmentier, Controller, Sheralven. “We can upload, transmit and track orders almost instantaneously without wasting valuable time manually entering data or faxing and emailing invoices.”

Read more on the VAI 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp.

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.

 
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Wednesday, November 20, 2019

eDist Deepens Customer Relationships With SMP

eDist is headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey with locations scattered throughout the US and Canada to provide business and security solutions to companies in the healthcare, legal, insurance, public safety, field reporting, and corporate sales markets.

eDist uses SMP's Sales Management Plus and MarketPro2. Mike Whalen, executive vice president, is championing the use of SMP at eDist as the company implements new initiatives focused on a deeper customer relationship experience and targeted email marketing programs to deliver content relevant to their customers’ specific needs.

Before SMP, trying to pin the data down AND make it easy to compile and use was tedious at best. eDist tried different methods and software tools, but in the end, those weren’t handling their core needs, and created frustration all around. What their team really wanted was a single solution that allowed them to combine all the customer, contact and sales information so it was easy to analyze and act. Through SMP, the sales team began by profiling the customers they know best with a goal of really getting to know “who” their customers and contacts are on a deeper level so they can communicate about subject matter that’s most important to their customers’ business.

“The reps are using it so much more now that they’re able to see all the reporting capabilities and benefits based on the data they’ve entered into SMP.” says Mike Whalen, Executive Vice President.

Learn more at the SMP 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.
Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp.

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.

 
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Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Frank Adams Improves Inventory Control With Floral Computer Systems

Scott Isensee, General Manager of Frank Adams in Portland, Oregon, had this to say about his experience working with Floral Computer Systems and the SMARTSystem, "Our Floral Wholesale business was seeking an enterprise system to manage and control inventory, have an easy to use POS application, and be written in floral language. Floral Computer system met that challenge and surpassed our expectations."

He goes on to say, "What we appreciate most about working with Floral Computer Systems is their ability to make changes and adapt the program to fit exactly what we need to accomplish. I have access to a laundry list of reports from sales performance to sales by product to inventory gross profit reports. We manage over fifty thousand SKU’s and product codes allow us to deliver superior customer service, profitably."

"The SMARTSystem has helped us become more productive, have better accountability and be more profitable. The easy-to-obtain usable reports in inventory, purchasing and sales are the tools I need to keep our business on track."

To learn more about Floral Computer Systems, visit their 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.
Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp.

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.

 
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Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Annabelle Candy Company Enhances Business Processes With SYSPRO

Annabelle Candy Company began operations some 62 years ago when a Russian immigrant began making candy bars in his San Francisco kitchen and selling them outside local movie theatres. Today, the company, named for the immigrant’s daughter, Annabelle, operates in the San Francisco East Bay City of Hayward, California. It produces such brands as Rocky Road, Abba Zaba and Big Hunk and is set to expand its distribution activities from the West Coast to all of the US.

The Challenge
In order to facilitate growth and comply with FDA rules, the company needed to computerize and automate inventory tracking as well as accounting operations, which were being performed manually. After an extensive search, the company selected SYSPRO Enterprise Resource Planning software.

The Solution
SYSPRO’s Cash Book enables Annabelle to optimize cash management with system-wide bank reconciliation information on cash inflows and outflows. By providing complete enterprise-wide financial recording, analysis and reporting from all aspects of the business, the General Ledger module gives Annabelle a real-time view of corporate performance.

Annabelle controls inventories and optimizes stock levels via the Purchase Orders module, which also lets the company monitor quality, lead times and costs of purchases in addition to providing comprehensive supplier performance analysis.

With sales activity data from the Sales Analysis module, Annabelle gains a total picture of sales performance as well as sales profitability and sales forecasting.

The Bill of Materials module also facilitates an accurate expected cost against which to track actual production costs. The complete bill forms the basis for material and capacity planning, shop floor control and costing.

The Result
President and CEO Susan Karl and Vice President of Finance Shelly Craft have attributed much of the company’s rapid growth to their SYSPRO ERP implementation. In fact, the company’s rapid growth in the western United States is now encouraging the company to expand nationally. Karl and Craft are proud of their choice of SYSPRO and can relate the operational improvements the company has realized since the software’s implementation.

Learn more at the SYSPRO 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.
Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp.

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.

 
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Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Mid-State Lumber Improves Real-time Data With DMSi

Mid-State Lumber is a family-owned business in Branchburg, NJ that has grown significantly since its founding in 1976, adding multiple locations and expanding into new territories.

DMSi's Agility has proven to be a good fit for Mid-State Lumber. The industry-specific functionality is an asset for the company. “I have worked in every department in the company, and I find that Agility is helpful in every area,” said Maria Hall, Mid-State Lumber’s primary system manager. “Anything that you want to do from quoting, to automated processing, to reporting, to viewers…you name it. Agility does it all. I love the system.”

Agility allows Mid-State Lumber’s departments to coordinate effectively. Because Agility provides real-time data, everyone sees current information. There’s no need for departments to update each other over the phone or email. Real-time data makes it easier for the Mid-State Lumber team to provide excellent service. Employees in every area of operation know information in Agility is current and accurate. There’s no need to double-check that a product is available before placing an order or scheduling a delivery.

Agility also allows Mid-State Lumber to be extremely responsive to customers’ needs. Credit manager Anita Toupin appreciates that results are instant: “I love the way it’s real-time. As soon as a guy enters an order, I have receivables change. If a customer is past due and on credit hold, as soon as we get checks and apply them, it frees up their account.” Agility has also helped Anita reduce the paper trail common in many offices. Agility’s reports and queries pull up all the data she needs in one screen. For instance, she can run a report to find all invoices past due by a certain number of days. Or she can use the A/R Credit Details screen to view an account’s credit information across all branches.

The DMSi team has worked closely with Mid-State Lumber and developed solid relationships with their counterparts. As a veteran employee of a service-based company, Anita is keenly aware of the impact those relationships can have: “DMSi is like a family. It really is. They treat their customers the same way, and that’s a really positive thing.”

Learn more at the DMSi 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 sjay@bswllc.com for more information about these latest editions.

For 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

Visit our website to learn more about the Brown Smith Wallace Advisory Services at http://www.software4distributors.com and to use our Software Features Comparison Wizard, visit http://www.software4distributors.com/compare/default.aspx.
Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements at http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Mid_Year_Supplement_Blog.pdf?utm_source=DownloadPDF&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018Supp.

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.

 
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