Ocean Breeze Farms Improves Operations with Floral Computer Systems

"The SMARTSystem is the second thing that’s turned on at the start of every business day. The first thing we turn on are the lights." ~ Mike Furlong, Manager Ocean Breeze Farms, Carpinteria, California


"The SMARTSystem is the home of our customer database. It’s the home of our product database and our inventory. SMARTSystem processes our orders, cuts our waybills, runs our sales reports, and closes out our day; seamlessly transfers our sales transactions and data to our accounting system. The SMARTSystem is one of our most valuable assets."


"We knew we made the right choice when we had our first training session. A detail like training is usually overlooked or offered at an extra charge. How many companies do you purchase from that are as committed to your success with their products as Floral Computer Systems. John Henderson was patient, understanding and knowledgeable. The training was the key to our crew working with confidence and eagerness. Think how valuable it is when your crew is cooperative when learning a new system and are invested in the success of that system."


"Support is a very important part of a business software system and I can say without qualification that the customer support offered by Floral Computer Systems is unequaled. They are always willing to step in to address even the smallest of details with a response time that make you wonder if you’re their only customer."


"The SMARTSystem was the best choice our team made in many years and it not only fits with a desire to operate in a smarter, more efficient manner it actually makes our sales team smarter and more efficient. With Floral Computer Systems we found everything that we require to run our business."


To learn more, visit the Floral Computing website.


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

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements 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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Plunkett Distributing Enhances Custom Order Process With DMSi's Agility ERP

Plunkett Distributing provides laminate, solid surface, hardwood moldings, and cabinet supplies to markets in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. Founded in 1948 by J.F. Plunkett, the business is into the third generation of family ownership. The company handles hundreds of custom orders every month using a multi-step process that had become time-intensive and prone to data-entry errors. Plunkett Distributing knew it needed a more efficient way to handle custom orders.


The Solution
Plunkett Distributing implemented the Agility ERP system and took advantage of the branch transfer functionality. Agility makes it easy to coordinate remanufacturing processes across multiple locations. To make the process even more efficient, the DMSi team created a catalog of item blanks for every species and width of molding Plunkett Distributing produced. When reps create a custom order, they are able to pull up one of the product blanks instead of entering all the details from scratch. Order entry is now much easier and faster.


The Result
Agility ERP proved to be a very effective platform for Plunkett Distributing. “It has been an extremely positive experience for us,” says owner Don Plunkett. “The rep just has to enter the sales order, and then the bill of materials and the work order show up on the screen at our other facility across town. It’s been a huge help.”


Don also leverages Agility’s reporting tools. Sales dashboards make it easy to assess and monitor his team’s performance: “We have better visibility into things like market costs and gross margin violations. We can pull out data that we never could before. I’m able to see things as they are trending instead of hearing about it after something goes wrong. It’s been a huge impact on our bottom line.”


Plunkett Distributing has experienced significant growth, and Don is excited about the future. He sees more opportunities for improving operations and expanding the business: “There are things within Agility that are making us better than we ever were before, and we’re ready to take another step forward. It’s just time. We’re growing so much right now.”


To learn more, visit 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 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


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

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements 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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Cladtek Improves Business Operations With Epicor

Founded in 2003, Singapore-based Cladtek is the world's largest manufacturer of weld overlay corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) products, and a global leader in CRA mechanically lined pipe (MLP). Cladtek counts most of the world's leading oil and gas industry contractors and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) as its customers.


Cladtek originally utilized a number of home-grown systems to support financial, procurement, and production functions. With further growth targeted, the company recognized the need for a consolidated and integrated system and the benefits that better access to and use of data would bring.


Challenges:

• Existing data management systems were outdated and independently run
• Plans for international growth required access to more and better-quality data
• Needed to improve operational efficiency and be able to make decisions faster

The company knew its global expansion plan was not sustainable without a comprehensive enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that would provide the management team with insight into every aspect of the business. Cladtek selected Epicor ERP and the eight-month implementation period for the Epicor ERP solution allowed Cladtek and the Epicor team to ensure the ERP system was integrated across all its locations and departments.


As a result, information is now available in real time, online, and integrated across all departments-allowing staff to foresee potential problems and prevent them from occurring in the first place. In addition, they are able to respond quickly when changes are necessary, so they can be twice as responsive to ever-increasing customer demands, market changes, and 24/7 business pressures.


Financial information is more accurate and transparent, and allows the management team to have better visibility of the overall business operations. The latest support features for multiple data sources in Epicor ERP are expected to realize even further benefits for Cladtek. With the means to publish dashboards on mobile devices and Microsoft SharePoint sites for improved collaboration, different departments and locations are able to better work together to deliver first-class performance and standards across the business.




To learn more, visit the Epicor 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 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


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

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements 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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Rutherford Controls Prepares For Growth With Blue Link

Rutherford Controls Int’l Corp (“RCI”) provides architectural hardware, locksmith, and security markets with electric locks, door hardware, and access control products.


The Challenge:
RCI set out to develop an infrastructure that would position the company for projected rapid growth over the next few years. The first challenge was to implement a distribution and wholesale software management system flexible enough to adapt to many of their unique business processes, which had become their competitive advantages over the years. The solution also had to be scalable in order to handle their growth. RCI was managing several innovative business processes using separate systems and manual workarounds, as no single distribution or wholesale software was able to handle all these requirements.


In addition, as the business evolved, so did the business processes, rendering a static solution impractical. These disparate systems were functioning at an acceptable level, but management realized that if they were going to accomplish their significant growth targets, these systems had to be consolidated into one integrated application to reduce data duplication and human intervention.


The Solution:
RCI purchased Blue Link ERP as its business software management system. Together with a Blue Link consultant, RCI reviewed their business processes and how they mapped to Blue Link’s processes. Some minor custom changes were made to Blue Link to handle some of RCI’s unique business practices, and within two months RCI was live on their new business management software.


The Results:
Since the implementation of Blue Link ERP, RCI has been a success story and has achieved its growth targets, with Blue Link supporting them through the process. RCI has undergone several additional custom projects to map the system functionality to their changing business processes.


“Blue Link’s software and professional expertise have been major factors in the success of our company over the past three years. We have come to regard Blue Link as partners in our business.” – Andy McDougall, RCI


To learn more, visit the Blue Link 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 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


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

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements 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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Eastern Industrial Supplies Harnesses Big Data With Phocas

Eastern Industrial Supplies is an independently owned distributor of pipe, valves, fittings and commercial plumbing products. Based in Greenville, S.C., Eastern has 16 branches and 3 support locations across the southeastern United States generating more than $100 million in annual revenue.


Dennis Karpinski, director of e-commerce and business analysis at Eastern Industrial Supplies had this to say about the company utilizing Phocas, “Automating our financial statements was a major step for our company, and is already saving time and resources,” said Karpinski. “Branch managers, regional managers and executives now have access to dashboards that give them a snapshot of what is happening with the business, including one-day, month-to-date, year-to-date sales; gross profit percentages; and average sales per invoice, among other data points.”


The biggest impact of Phocas was the ability to recreate branch and corporate income statements and balance sheets. Phocas has automated a manual process, allowing managers to access the financial information that is relevant to them and their specific locations. Once the controller completes the financial statements, an email is sent with a link that gives everyone access to the reports.


Beyond the financial statements, Karpinski has created a variety of dashboards that make it quick and easy to access and analyze data for several areas of the business. Karpinski created inside and outside sales dashboards that allow sales reps to see what they are doing by month-to-date and year-to-date with variances. One of the company’s biggest costs is freight, so Karpinski created a dashboard that highlights month-to-date and year-to-date freight-based spending. The data tracks how branches are billing, collecting or allocating freight costs.


Procurement is also now using Phocas to track the number of months of inventory on hand and monitor particular price lines for how much is in stock, how much is committed, and how much is associated with a bid and not an open order. Recently, new international steel tariffs were announced, which could have enormous impacts on Eastern’s pipe, valves and fittings business. Procurement came to Karpinski looking for data on piping price lines, specifically how many are on hand, committed, sold and their average cost. The department is using the data to determine what they need to buy in light of the tariffs, what products they need to unload and where the company’s average product costs will be below the tariffs so they can protect their cost advantage.


“We can now take the data that has always been there, manipulate it and distribute it quicker than we have ever done in the past. This is already having a significant impact on our ability to make decisions about expenses that are coming up, reducing and moving inventory, identifying purchasing needs and what products are not moving. We could not get where we are today without Phocas. The data is finally usable and in the people’s hands that need it.”


To learn more, visit the Phocas 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 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


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

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements 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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Villa Park Electrical Supply Streamlines Processes With Savance

Founded in 1973, Villa Park Electrical Supply Company is a family owned and operated electrical supply and lighting distributor, serving the Greater Chicago area. The company's 3,200 square foot Electrician's Superstore, located in Addison just outside of Chicago, IL, was built with the electrical contractor in mind, and offers products geared toward residential, commercial, and industrial use.


Villa Park's previous business system was an old DOS-based system dating back over 30 years. "As our business grew over the years, and technology changed along with it, we knew we had to upgrade the system to streamline some of our day-to-day processes," explains Rose Ann Deadessis, Managing Partner at Villa Park Electrical Supply. "We also needed to meet the demands of our customers, in order to move forward."


When the Villa Park management team started to look for a new business system, they turned to NAED, the National Association of Electrical Distributors, for a suggestion. "We were searching for software that was compatible with our industry, and NAED referred Savance to us," says Rose Ann Deadessis about how Villa Park first got into contact with Savance.


By making the deployment a priority and approaching it with the right mindset, Villa Park Electrical Supply handled the transition to Savance Enterprise very well. "A lot of distributors think they can just commit to a new piece of software, and magically – overnight – all their problems go away," says Steve Bardocz at Savance. "That’s not how it works. Instead, you have to identify areas where your business has weaknesses and identify opportunities for improvement, and most importantly, be willing to change. When a team is as cooperative as Villa Park, the before and after is like night and day."


Villa Park Electrical Supply has seen improvements in all major areas of its business operations since implementing Savance Enterprise. Many procedures have been streamlined and simplified, and now function much more efficiently. Statement processing and order processing are two examples.


"Statement processing is phenomenal," says Rose Ann Deadessis. "What used to take us all day to do is completed in a matter of minutes. Order processing has become more streamlined as well." When it comes to quoting, team members can put together a quote for a customer in a matter of minutes, and the customer will instantly receive a copy of the quote to their email. Villa Park's receiving and shipping methods have been improved, and now handle backorders and order fulfillment much more efficiently. Another big time savings for the company is that the end-of-day cash drawer reconciliation process has been automated.


"It’s rewarding to be a part of such a major transformation, and help a company that’s eager to succeed take their business to the next level,” Steve Bardocz concludes. “It’s one of the reasons I get up and do what I do. The complete transformation is both motivating and rewarding, and we couldn’t be happier to have had the chance to win Villa Park’s business, and to partner with them long into the future."




To learn more, visit the Savance 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 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


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

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements 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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Wagner Machine Co. Grows Business With ECi's M1

Wagner Machine Company in Champaign, Illinois, was founded in 1982 as a precision machine shop. Today, Wagner operates out of a 30,000 square foot plant that houses more than 20 CNC mills and 20 CNC lathes. Over the past 30-plus years, it has seen steady growth, but sometimes, growth can also bring problems. As the company grew, management found the largely home-grown systems that were being used to run the business simply unable to keep up.


“Before we brought in ECi's M1, we were using six different software programs to run the company,” Wagner recalls. “None of them actually spoke to each other and one of our key programs was crashing frequently because the database could not handle the volume and complexity of the business we were processing.”


Fast forward to today—with the company now using M1 to steer the ship—and those six different programs have been replaced by a single system that seamlessly integrates all the company’s critical management and data functions, providing the kind of efficiency and productivity the Wagner team needs to maintain its solid growth pattern.


Wagner points to several features that made M1 the right choice for the company. “I really like the way M1 gives you the ability to have multiple modules open at the same time,” she says. “Switching back and forth from Estimating and Quoting to Purchasing, for example, is seamless with M1. You don’t need to close out one window before switching to another and you certainly don’t need to open up a second instance of the program and use up a second license,” she points out.


M1’s ability to provide quick and easy access to critical business information also earns high marks. “M1’s search functionality is incredibly robust,” says Wagner. “I can modify M1’s search grids however I want and then save my preferences in the system so they’re there when I need them again—that’s a huge plus for just about any aspect of our operations.”


But even with all that growth, the basic philosophy the Wagners put in place continues to drive the company, due, in no small part, to the power and flexibility M1 has provided. That’s good news by any measure. And what’s even better is that regardless of where future growth may take the company, M1 will be more than able to help keep it healthy and profitable.


To learn more, visit the ECi 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 2018 Distribution Software Guide: http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Distribution_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018DSG


For 2018 Manufacturing Software Guide:
http://www.software4distributors.com/downloads/2018_Manufacturing_Software_Guide.pdf?utm_source=DownloadElectronic&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=2018MFG


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

Also, read our 2018 Mid-Year Supplements 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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