Benchmark Auto Distribution Uncovers Customer Trends With Phocas

Benchmark Auto Parts is the largest independent automotive components distributor in the United Kingdom with a database of 10,000 customers and over 110,000 product lines, but was struggling to reveal active and dormant customers and their buying trends. Historically, Benchmark had utilized other business intelligence (BI) tools, but the training time that was required for most packages made them prohibitive to adopt.

However, Benchmark's decision to implement Phocas BI was not only speedy and easy to use, but the customer trends that were immediately uncovered allowed the company to achieve greater sales. Running the month–on–month analysis revealed that although Benchmark business was up by over 25% on the previous month, there were places where up to an additional £250,000 in sales could have been added and without any marketing costs normally associated with sales campaigns. Utilizing the Phocas for Campaign, Customer and Product Group Variance analysis programs, revealed dozens of easy–to–knock–over customer opportunities - which resulted in immediate sales and revenue.

In addition, the ease-of-use for the Phocas software made it ideal for a non-IT specialist sales force to adopt and the rental plan design of the licensing agreement allows for great flexibility and cost savings.

To learn more about business intelligence insights, and how Phocas can help your company's distribution or manufacturing team, visit the Phocas Newsroom.

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about the latest editions.

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Disaster Plans And Licensing Requirements

Did you know that only 26% of small businesses have a disaster recovery (DR) plan? And that 93% of those companies find themselves in a position of having to execute a DR plan at least once?

While many companies dedicate hundreds of hours to develop, build, and test a DR plan, a commonly overlooked point is ensuring that your plan is compliant with your software or hardware provider’s licensing requirements. In the worse case scenario, incomplete licensing could be enough to derail a company's DR plan at the moment it's needed most. A disaster recovery plan is every bit as important as the ERP data it protects.

When evaluating your company's DR plan, it’s important to consider two scenarios:

•You realize your primary server has crashed in the middle of a busy production day and problems crop up as soon as the transfer begins and you find out there are differences between the two servers that make it impossible to transfer systems until the back-up is licensed. By the time you’re back online, you’ve lost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in orders, and you may have lost one or more customers.

•Your primary server goes offline, and the transfer to an identical back-up unit goes smoothly. But the next time you need service or support, you find out you’ve violated your user license. You’ve set yourself up for an unpleasant surprise by failing to license your back-up server when you had the chance.

Getting a back-up license in place before you need it is the ultimate insurance policy. It costs far less than a primary license and it enables that secondary server that you hope you’ll never have to use.

To learn more about the Disaster Recovery Plan process, and how Infor distribution and manufacturing software can ensure license compliance, visit the Infor Newsroom.

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about the latest editions.

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You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

 

Panorama Gruppen Implements Blue Ridge Solutions To Boost Growth

Supply chain planning provider Blue Ridge recently announced that Panorama Gruppen, Norway’s dominating supplier within the jewelry industry, has selected the company’s demand forecasting, planning and replenishment technology to sustain measurable growth throughout the supply chain.

Panorama Gruppen wanted to increase cash flow and sought a Cloud-based solution that could provide highly accurate inventory replenishment projections and powerful analytics. The implementation of Blue Ridge Dynamic Demand Management technology ranges from the jewelry shelves in PG's 100+ stores to the central distribution center and back to the suppliers, creating an entirely synchronized supply chain.

PG's leadership expects the new technology to strengthen the company's bottom-line and have a profound effect on the future valuation of our firm and sees Blue Ridge's Cloud platform as a very effective way to generate cash flow relative to other alternatives. The flexibility and scalability of the Blue Ridge Cloud solution will allow the company to adjust to the challenges that come along with seasonal retailing.

To learn more about Blue Ridge, the Panorama Gruppen case study, and their supply chain planning and analytics solutions, visit the Blue Ridge Newsroom.

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about the latest editions.

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You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx

 

Port of Dover Integrates Business Applications With IFS

The Port of Dover, owned and operated by Dover Harbour Board which was established in 1606, handles over 13 million passengers, 2.6 million tourist vehicles, and 2.2 million freight vehicles each year. It is also an award-winning cruise port, the second busiest in the UK and hosting some of the world’s most prestigious cruise lines. Together with a range of other successful businesses including a cargo terminal, a top award-winning marina and several niche activities, the business mix is diverse. To improve efficiency and performance visibility, the Port decided to implement a business system that could integrate various business functions. IFS Applications was selected as the solution of choice.

IFS provides business software to companies that aspire to become more agile. IFS uses its deep industry-focused expertise to help companies in targeted sectors increase agility in three core areas: enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise asset management (EAM), and enterprise service management (ESM). Founded in 1983, IFS is a public company with over 2,600 employees.

When fully implemented, IFS Applications will be used by over 300 employees throughout the organization to help improve efficiency and control in key areas such as asset management. The solution includes functionality for asset and estate management, program and project management, finance, and HR. The ability for mobile workers to effectively access work order asset management and service management systems when on the move is also a key deliverable.

To read more about the IFS-Port of Dover implementation, visit the IFS Newsroom.

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about the latest editions.

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Johnstone Supply Distributors Benefit from Epicor Eclipse Wholesale Distribution ERP

Epicor Software Corporation, a leader in business software solutions for manufacturing, distribution, retail and services organizations, recently announced that Johnstone Supply distributors has selected the Epicor Eclipse wholesale distribution enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution.

Johnstone Supply is the top cooperative wholesale distributor in the United States and a leader in the HVACR industry. The company has 370+ independently owned stores throughout the US and Canada, totaling more than $1.3 billion in annual sales.

The Epicor and Johnstone collaboration, which has spanned 15 years, has resulted in features, functionality, and services designed exclusively for Johnstone distributors. With more than a third of Johnstone stores already running an Epicor-designed solution, the remainder of the locations will be able to quickly adopt and implement the Eclipse system. At Johnstone Supply - AM Parts, Epicor Eclipse will support 70 users throughout western Pennsylvania and Hoffman Supply Company will bring on 10 locations throughout Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas. Both distributors are experiencing growth and needed an ERP system that would support that, particularly in the areas of financials and inventory.

Epicor enterprise resource planning (ERP), retail management software, supply chain management (SCM), and human capital management (HCM) enable companies to drive increased efficiency and improve profitability. The Company's headquarters are located in Austin, Texas, with offices and affiliates worldwide. To read more about the Johnstone - Epicor collaboration, visit the Epicor Pressroom.

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about the latest editions.

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Cleaner's Supply Adopts NetSuite for B2B and B2C Expansion

NetSuite, a leading provider of cloud-based financials, ERP, and omnichannel software suites, recently announced that Cleaner's Supply, Inc., the largest distributor of dry cleaning supplies in North America has adopted NetSuite's SuiteCommerce to manage and streamline its core business processes and operations across multiple channels, including a call center of 46 sales representatives as well as B2B and B2C e-commerce sites.

Cleaner's Supply also plans to rely on NetSuite for sales force automation, customer support, customer service and marketing automation. This modernization effort will allow the company to gain a real-time, 360-degree customer view, deliver a seamless omnichannel customer experience globally, and improve sales effectiveness.

The Conklin, N.Y.-based company realized that its old commerce system couldn't support the company's growth. After evaluating several options during the software selection process, the company selected NetSuite SuiteCommerce for the following features and benefits:

•Mobile support: SuiteCommerce's built-in responsive web design capabilities automatically serve up content in the most appropriate layout for the customer's device. With its previous system, about half of customers clicking through on a Cleaner's Supply promotional email did so from a mobile device, but quickly bounced because the legacy site couldn't optimize the experience on smartphones and tablets.

•B2B-specific functionality: NetSuite SuiteCommerce supports B2B-specific functionality such as invoice billing, credit limits, ACH processing, bulk ordering, customer-specific and quantity-based pricing and purchase-to-pay to enable transactions among business buyers.

•An integrated platform to support B2B and B2C: Cleaner's Supply can meet growing B2B customer expectations for a rich, intuitive buying experience on par with leading B2C ecommerce sites—all from one, integrated commerce platform.

•New cross-sell and promotional opportunities: SuiteCommerce offers capabilities to target personalized offers to customers based on purchase history, interests and anticipated replenishment needs through both ecommerce and call center channels, and retarget shoppers abandoning shopping carts.

Today, more than 20,000 companies and subsidiaries depend on NetSuite to run complex, mission-critical business processes globally in the cloud. Since its inception in 1998, NetSuite has established itself as a leading provider of enterprise-class cloud financials/ERP suites for divisions of large enterprises and mid-sized organizations seeking to upgrade their antiquated client/server ERP systems. To learn more about SuiteCommerce and the Cleaner's Supply implementation, visit the NetSuite News Center.

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about the latest editions.

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Clorox Selects Epicor Informance for Chicago Manufacturing Facility

The Clorox Company is a global manufacturer of food, chemical, and consumer products. Best known for namesake bleach product, Clorox, the company’s manufacturing site in Chicago, Illinois is responsible for producing a large portfolio of its bleach products to serve the Midwestern United States. This high-speed, mixed-mode manufacturing plant operates 24/5, running two 8 to 10-hour production shifts per day, and on average produces nearly 15,000 cases per shift.

Clorox had several challenges that needed to be overcome. Those included:
• Replace manual processes with automated data capture and accurate, consistent efficiency metrics
• Boost overall equipment effectiveness (OEE)
• Build a culture of understanding and driving out losses on the plant floor
• Accurately benchmark against other plants across the Clorox cleaning products division

After reviewing several different vendors, Epicor Informance was selected and fully implemented within two months. Informance provides the ability to track all key production components of the site’s molding and packaging lines, including 15 individual machines.

Additional benefits of utilizing the Epicor Informance Enterprise Manufacturing Intelligence (EMI) system included:

• Real-time scorecards and scoreboards on the shop floor
• Easy-to-use, easy-to-understand visual solution to drive root cause analysis
• Out-of-the-box visibility, reporting, and analysis for fast time-to-value
• Pre-implementation project ensured successful startup at go-live

Epicor Software Corporation delivers business software solutions to the manufacturing, distribution, retail, and service industries. With more than 40 years of experience, Epicor has more than 20,000 customers in over 150 countries.

To read more about the Clorox Manufacturing case study, visit the Epicor Customer Success News blog.

The Brown Smith Wallace Distribution and Manufacturing Software Guides are currently available for download. Please contact snelson@bswllc.com for more information about the latest editions.

Distribution Software

Manufacturing Software

You can also request these guides, as well as all other materials, via our website: http://www.software4distributors.com/vendor/resources_index.aspx