Success Stories

Activant Prophet 21, Trading Partner Connect, and ASP Lends Strength and Flexibility

To thrive in the ever-changing and competitive market of independent distributors, Care Safety, LLC, focuses on business - and staying at the leading edge of technology.

So, to accomplish goals, Bill Thorne, president of the Nashville, TN-based supplier of workplace safety supplies and services, has invested in several of Activant's latest solutions for the distribution industry, including Prophet 21 and Trading Partner Connect.

Prophet 21, Thorne contends, allows Care Safety staff quick and easy access to information that was once difficult to retrieve. "It's a great thing. If I can provide the information quicker than my competitor, a customer is more likely to buy that product from me."

For Care Safety, Prophet 21 has proven to be strong enough to handle every aspect of business - from accounting to inventory to purchasing - yet flexible enough to allow the company to meet the individual needs of each and every customer. "We need to offer customers more services, but must also tailor those services to individual customer's needs," he says.

Something else that has helped Care Safety stay competitive is the emergence of e-commerce and the company's utilization of Trading Partner Connect. "I think that a need for having a physical presence is reduced by the Internet," Thorne charges. "Customers no longer require you to be in their backyard. If you can reach out to them with the Internet, it's like having someone next door even if you're really halfway across the country."

Care Safety has also taken advantage of Activant's application service provider (ASP) option. "I don't have to have a computer guy, because I don't have to worry about maintaining the servers and the software," says Thorne, who uses the ASP option to gain all the benefits of Prophet 21 without the staff to run the technology infrastructure. With ASP, Activant manages the hardware and software for an enterprise solution, allowing a company to focus on business.

Care Safety's marketing manager, Joel Anderson, agrees with Thorne. "As a small distributor, it's not always feasible to take the time to deal with the daily challenges of maintaining our systems," he says. "We found that the total package offered by the ASP option was the best solution for us when comparing costs and benefits of outsourcing. We focus on our core competency, distribution, and Activant focuses on theirs: technology."

ASP and Prophet 21 together, Anderson says, has offered Care Safety a way to effectively manage their software solution while allowing them to focus more time and energy on what they do best: "Sell safety equipment and provide superior customer service."

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