Sweater styles change year to year, so Knit-Set needed an integrated IT system to provide management with real-time, accurate information about product SKU’s. As well, the company wanted to improve employee productivity within a secure environment, to prepare for anticipated growth. The company was running a number of disconnected software programs and paper-based processes to manage inventory, sales orders, purchasing, tracking of shipments, accounting information and financial statements. The outdated software in use for order entry and accounting applications was minimally supported and could no longer be upgraded. The system in place was not accessible by reporting and analysis tools. Inventory management and shipment tracking were performed using manually updated spreadsheets. Purchase orders were manually produced using Microsoft Word.
“We buy our goods in U.S. dollars, therefore, letters of credit must be checked and double-checked to ensure accuracy,” says Manfred Sandler, V.P. Finance, Knit-Set Canada Ltd. “We needed to track and manage data pertaining to letters of credit and provide real-time reports, to allow our employees to focus on key tasks that impact the business, instead of tedious manual exercises.”
Blue Link / Microsoft Results
The integrated IT solution developed by Blue Link Associates Limited, a Microsoft® Certified Partner, has helped Knit-Set improve productivity across the organization. Access to comprehensive, accurate and up-to-date information is enabling employees to focus on key tasks instead of tedious manual work. Duplicated data-entry has been eliminated, saving staff 10-15 days per month in time.
Better visibility into product status is also helping to improve customer service. Knit-Set has improved its bottom line by providing management with access to timely and accurate information needed to make sound business decisions. The result is better visibility into inventory status, which helps ensure that sales obligations are fulfilled, while also maximizing inventory turnover and reducing the costs associated with warehousing excess product. “Ensuring we don’t have overstock is important to our business because leftovers mean reduced revenue – typically we have surplus inventory at the end of the season,” says Sandler. “Having access to inventory information helps us identify and sell any surplus, and enables us to plan for the following season because we can clearly see what colors and styles sold well.”
With the help of the solution implemented by Blue Link Associates Limited, Knit-Set Canada Ltd. has accrued the following tangible benefits:
- Saved 10-15 working days a year
- Improved inventory management
- Reduced travel costs
- Improved security
- Eliminate manual processes
Learn more on the Blue Link website.
For the 2020 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 Vertical Markets Matrix, 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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