CRP Industries Streamlines Inventory With Sage

CRP Industries is an importer and distributor of automotive and industrial products. Its extensive product line spans markets covering automotive replacement parts, high-speed motors, and industrial hoses. The automotive replacement segment services customers such as BMW of North America and Volkswagen of America.

Challenge
The company’s 20-year-old legacy software wasn’t allowing it to keep inventory and service rates in balance, particularly as part numbers and sales volumes increased over the years. The business drivers for change centered on the company’s desire to improve inventory fill rates while reducing inventory levels, ship orders faster and with greater accuracy, and reduce costs and streamline operations by automating more processes, particularly in its finished goods warehouses.

Solution 
Sage X3 was selected for its robust order fulfillment capabilities across sales, picking, shipping, invoicing, and procurement. It offers comprehensive warehouse location management features and automated data collection capabilities that support key transactions such as physical counts and inventory receipts right out of the box. In addition, Sage X3 provides production capabilities that are readily scalable to CRP’s light assembly operations.

Results
Order cycle times are significantly improved with most orders going out the same day. Visibility into real-time information allows the company to manage exceptions and adjust quickly to changing customer needs. New labor-tracking capabilities provide visibility into labor costs for each warehouse, enabling CRP to determine actual profit per order. Better forecasting helps the company reduce stock levels and optimize its inventory holdings.

“With improved visibility into real-time information comes the ability to manage exceptions better and adjust quickly to changing customer needs.” Daniel Schildge Vice President CRP Industries

 To learn more, visit the Sage Newsroom.

For the 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

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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Berkshire Blanket & Home Streamlines Tax Compliance With Avalara

In 1993, one man made a blanket. Almost thirty years later, Berkshire Blanket & Home Co. is the biggest company in its category, supplying more than 130 million premium-quality products - blankets, throws, soft home goods - to top retailers around the world.

For as long as Berkshire sold primarily to tax-exempt retailers, its sales tax obligations could be managed manually with a home-grown matrix. But when the company got serious about consumer ecommerce, it quickly found that its home-grown approach was a risky and inefficient way to manage sales tax.

Berkshire’s finance team was accustomed to dealing with wholesale transactions but the introduction of an online retail business a number of years ago, brought with it a new set of tax headaches.

Tax challenges:

• Rapid growth, increasing complexity
• Manual, time-consuming processes
• Increasing compliance risk

Emily Pfeiffer, Vice President of Marketing and Digital, who was brought in specifically to build the company’s online retail business. When the company switched to a new ecommerce platform, Emily knew the old sales tax matrix had reached the end of its useful life. “We had to find a new system to manage the tax,” she says.

It didn’t take Emily long to land on Avalara’s suite of products as the right solution. “AvaTax, in particular, is the Cadillac of its category, and has been for years,” she says. “It’s what you should be using if you just want tax handled.”

And what of the integration with the company’s ecommerce and order management systems? “It’s absolutely seamless. In fact, we recently changed our ecommerce platform system to Shopify Plus. A key factor in that decision was that it features built-in integration with Avalara’s software. We just set it up once and forget it. And Avalara was more of a partner than we expected during the transition, offering us the support we needed.”

Results

• Simplifying business complexity
• Confident tax compliance
• Enabling bold growth plans

“Having Avalara means I don’t have to hire someone just to monitor and adjust our tax settings,” Emily says. “None of us wants to be in that business, and we love being able to trust it to Avalara.”

To learn more, visit the Avalara Newsroom.

For the 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

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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Seacore Seafood Experiences Unmatched Growth With VAI

Established in 1987, Seacore Seafood is Canada’s leading importer, distributor and custom processor of fresh and frozen fish, seafood and live lobsters. Recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies, Seacore capitalized on its inward and outbound logistics to make its consumer brand, OceanPrime, widely available across North America while managing more than 5,000 fresh and frozen items in inventory.

To keep up with the growing demand for its products from three distinct businesses and channels, Seacore had to automate core business functions including inventory management, accounting, route management, order entry, logistics and retail point-of-sale. Seacore staff was overwhelmed by the time-consuming manual processes which inhibited the company’s enormous growth prospects. Moreover, Seacore executives grew concerned about the potential negative impact that the tedious and labor-intensive manual processes could have on the company’s customer service, order delivery times and inventory control.

With the installation of VAI’s S2K for Food software and S2K e-Commerce, Seacore automated and integrated key business processes across the organization. The company has dramatically improved its customer delivery times, order accuracy and overall customer service. After implementing VAI S2K Route Manager and S2K for Food, Seacore has realized tremendous business benefits that have allowed them to drive an impressive growth trajectory.

Those key results include:

• Rapid implementation 
• More accurate and up-to-the-minute inventory management 
• Real-time consolidated financials 
• Automation of core business functions yielded more time to spend on sales and customer service, allowing for faster growth 
• Timely account receivables management 
•  Faster customer delivery rates and reduced order picking time 
•  Faster, more accurate order entry 
• Greater inventory accuracy 
• Faster route management processing 
• Full traceability of products 

“VAI’s S2K software allowed us to reach phenomenal efficiencies across the organization. The S2K installation dramatically improved nearly every part of our business – from accounting and logistics to inventory and warehouse management. By automating many of these key functions, our team can focus on critical aspects of our business such as sales and customer service. And we feel confident that we can continue our impressive growth trajectory knowing that our business is running as smoothly and efficiently as possible.” ~ Sal Battaglia, Director of Operations, Seacore Seafood

To learn more about the Seacore Seafood implementation visit the VAI Newsroom.

For the 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

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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Conveyer & Caster Improves Communication With Tour de Force

Conveyer & Caster, is a distributor of material handling solutions with locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The company is known for its expertise in providing casters, wheels and conveyer systems solutions, as well as a full-line of general material handling products, to a full range of manufacturing, warehousing, and distribution companies.

Conveyer & Caster realized they were outgrowing their current CRM system, which they had been using since the early 1990s. The system was limited in its ability to set permissions and user based rules and didn’t offer any integration with the Infor TakeStock ERP system. These limitations meant that customer information was being duplicated between the two systems.

Conveyer & Caster main criteria for a new CRM solution was that it offered integration to their Infor TakeStock ERP system, integration to Active Directory, and mobile and desktop functionality that would be easy and convenient for their sales team to use.  After researching multiple CRM solutions, Tour de Force was the only solution that was able to meet all of their requirements.

Tour de Force integrates with Infor TakeStock ERP system through the use of the Business System Integration (BSI) Connector, which allowed them to eliminate the disconnect between the CRM and ERP systems. This integration provides quick and easy access to a wide range of business intelligence, reporting, and analysis, allowing an organization to analyze sales performance and trends that occur at multiple levels across the organization. A salesperson can easily view their customer’s sales history and open and closed orders, giving them the key information they need to approach every customer interaction.

Brian Harrington, IT Manager at Conveyer & Caster, recalled that “The implementation process was solid and we had a great team. They were on the ball and kept us in the loop at all times. The great thing about Tour de Force was that they understood our business model as a distributor, which really contributed to a smooth implementation.”


To learn more about the Conveyer & Caster implementation, visit the Tour de Force Newsroom.


For the 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

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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Sustainable Manufacturer BioPak Unpacks Success with NetSuite

Founded in 2006, BioPak produces sustainable alternatives to conventional single-use packaging for the foodservice industry, offering carbon neutral compostable packaging solutions made from rapidly renewable, plant-based raw materials.

With NetSuite, BioPak has been able to take advantage of an integrated business platform to drive efficiencies across its core operations while expanding both its range of products and services and the number of markets it serves. As it has added new products and services and expanded its operations domestically and internationally, BioPak has taken advantage of NetSuite to manage its entire business. “We’re focussed on reducing fossil fuel-based plastic used in foodservice and are always looking at how we can offer our customers more sustainable alternatives,” said Gary Smith, CEO, BioPak. “As we have grown our business, NetSuite has allowed us to stay focused on our mission by providing us with accurate data across all products at all locations throughout Australia, Singapore, the U.K. and New Zealand. We run everything through NetSuite — from custom ordering portals, to procurement, we least cost freight, and automated analysis and monitoring — so we always have a complete view into our business and can ensure our customers never run out of product.”

With NetSuite, BioPak has been able to take advantage of a single business platform to streamline sales, warehouse, freight and marketing processes, create new products and services for its customers, and scale its business internationally. Using NetSuite, BioPak created a custom Carbon Calculator that pulls data to give its customers — such as Woolworths, Bunnings Warehouse, many Councils across Australia and New Zealand, Deliveroo, The Star, Mad Mex and many more — a complete picture of their environmental footprint. These impact statements put a tangible value on switching from regular packaging to BioPak through information such as carbon savings, amount of compost created, reduction in landfill waste and plastic avoided.

With an integrated and flexible platform for all core business processes, BioPak has been able to focus on expanding its operations and recently launched in Singapore. “We all know the damage packaging can have on the environment and that’s why it’s so important that organisations like BioPak provide eco-friendly alternatives,” said Jason Toshack, General Manager, Oracle NetSuite ANZ. “BioPak has championed innovative solutions for many years and a big part of that has been taking advantage of data to streamline operations and help its customers think about packaging in new ways. BioPak’s journey with us over the last nine years demonstrates how an organisation can focus on its core mission and deliver value directly to its customers by continually driving operational efficiencies.”

To learn more, visit the NetSuite Newsroom.

For the 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

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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Oklahoma Flower Market Ramps Up Business With Floral Computer Systems

Oklahoma Flower Market is Oklahoma’s largest and oldest wholesale flower market in the state.Their customers that purchase in wholesale quantities include retail florists, interior designers, caterers, event planners, venues, wedding coordinators, restaurants, schools, church organizations, special events, charities, and mass markets.

"Changing to the SMARTSystem is kind of like getting off a horse and into a sports car..." said Mike Hurley, President Oklahoma Flower Market. "At first we were a little timid but now we could never imagine returning to our old ways of doing business. Our old software just couldn’t keep up. The SMARTSystem has helped give us the tools and information necessary to move forward in this rapidly changing industry. John, Rob and the entire SMARTSystem Team provide continuing support that far exceeds my expectations. John is one of the most honorable people I know and his company’s integrity and customer service are second to none in any industry. It’s great to have the SMARTSystem staff on our team; I believe it gives us an advantage when every advantage counts."

To learn more, visit the Floral Computer Systems Newsroom.

For the 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

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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Walker Zanger Refines Decision-making with Phocas

For more than 60 years, Walker Zanger, the world’s most comprehensive luxury stone and tile company, has combined traditional tile making techniques with modern sophistication, creating a brand that transcends any singular style. Walker Zanger has 13 showrooms and 175 authorized dealers in US, and also supplies tile and stone to significant projects across the globe.

The company wanted to deploy robust analytics capabilities to help sales representatives and managers make better decisions. Previously, decision making was cumbersome and time consuming. Users had to either settle for canned reports or wait one to two weeks for IT to build custom queries for them. After a report was run, users who needed to see the data from a different perspective had to rerun the report.

Walker Zanger’s Prophet 21 ERP solution from Epicor manages accounting, purchasing, order entry, and inventory for more than 3,000 stock keeping units (SKUs). Managers in operations, sales, and finance use Phocas to create reports and queries on the data within Prophet 21 ERP to easily analyze sales data about these products. Now they look at a summary report and simply click on an item to drill down to more detailed information; for example, by drilling down from total YTD sales to YTD sales by location.

 As a result, staff use Phocas in a fluid manner, asking follow-up questions at the speed of thought to improve decision making. Sales reps now use Phocas to help dealers find ways to increase sales. Reps show dealers exactly what products have and haven’t sold and compare that information with what the majority of dealers are selling. Using this information, dealers prioritize their efforts to improve sales results.

Before implementing Phocas, reps often used multiple reports and combined information for presentation in a time consuming process that did not allow changes to reports on the fly. Managers use Phocas dashboards to set employees’ performance expectations and track their progress in meeting those goals.

To learn more, visit the Phocas Newsroom.

For the 2019 Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guide:

http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2019_Distribution_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2019Guide

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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