Success Stories

Activant System Audit Helps Distributor Streamline Processes

In the fall of 1999, SCR, Inc., a St. Louis-based distributor of information processing supplies and accessories, replaced their out-of-date custom-written software package with an Activant solution. In addition to giving the family-owned company the ability to react quickly to the specific needs of their customers, the Activant solution saved SCR from a possible systems failure as a result of Y2K.

Nearly a year after going live with Activant, Greg Schoen, SCR partner, was introduced to an Activant Application Consultant. The two began exchanging e-mails regarding SCR's needs and eventually Schoen invited the Application Consultant to SCR to conduct an Activant System Audit.

System Audits provide companies with an overview of their existing technology utilization and business processes - and make recommendations on how to maximize their use of the solution. In addition, Activant guarantees that the value provided by each System Audit will meet or exceed the investment in the audit or a full refund will be made.

"Before the Application Consultant arrived for a two-day review of our processes, I asked our employees for input on what areas they felt we needed to improve in and forwarded their responses to the Application Consultant," says Schoen. "When the Application Consultant arrived, he had a better idea what areas we needed help in. He looked at all our business processes and then sat with employees from several different departments and watched how they used our solution."

The Review

The Application Consultant observed processes in system administration, sales and customer service, warehouse, invoicing, purchasing and inventory management, accounting, and more, and then compiled a 15-page report outlining his findings and recommendations.

"There are many opportunities for SCR to take advantage of technology as a weapon to remain competitive," wrote the application consultant in the report. "Currently SCR does well with the software tools they have implemented. In terms of utilization, I estimate SCR currently at a usage rate of 25 to 30 percent. SCR needs to increase utilization in the area of sales and increase productivity. Through the process of additional training and through implementing the (included) suggestions, SCR has the opportunity to further increase their utilization rate." Also included in the report was a cost-benefit breakdown estimating the tangible annual savings from the recommendations.

When SCR received the results of the System Audit, Schoen and the rest of the SCR staff reviewed the Application Consultant's recommendations and set some priorities. The leadership at SCR chose to implement the suggestions for training first. "What we found was that there were several areas that we just weren't maximizing our use of the solution," says Schoen. "We invited the Application Consultant back for a few days each month over the next few months to help us better utilize the solution to meet our needs. This along with some further training has helped us tremendously.

The Results

"The results have been amazing," continues Schoen. "We are processing all of our business transactions more efficiently thanks to what we have learned. In addition, our warehouse is running much more cost-effectively," says Schoen. "By implementing cycle count procedures and using material receive lists to put material away after receiving the purchase order, we've improved our inventory turns and customer service."

Schoen points out that the System Audit alone did not improve SCR's processes. "they System Audit helped us identify areas that we needed to work on," says Schoen. "But the benefits came when we implemented the recommendations. As far as the guarantee, our investment in the System Audit has paid for itself many times over."

Schoen does not rule out the possibility of having another System Audit in a few years. "The great thing about System Audits is that they can help distributors at any stage of their solution usage," he says. "Distributors new to the system benefit from learning how the solution can specifically help their businesses, while long-time users can benefit from seeing how they can update processes that might have grown outdated.

"We thought we were doing things the right way," concludes Schoen. "For a small investment, we found out we could run our business more efficiently and that definitely helps our bottom line."

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