An Activant Eclipse success story
What does it take to grow a business today? Expanding to new locations? Adding more employees? That might be the path for some distributors, but not for SG Supply Company in Calumet Park, Ill.
Ask Stan Dreyfuss, SG Supply’s purchasing director, what it took to grow his company’s revenue by 18% and he’ll tell you one thing: Activant Eclipse.
Here was the challenge SG Supply presented to Activant Eclipse: To help the plumbing, heating and piping supply distributor harness the technology necessary to take the next step. SG Supply found its solutions with Activant Eclipse and Eclipse rf Warehouse Management Solution.
Among the benefits SG has experienced include:
- Increased revenue by 18%
- Increased gross margins by 3%
- Reduced paper and filing costs
- Increased inventory turns by 26%
- Increased gmroi by 12%.
- Reclaimed 3,000 square feet of office.
SG Supply implemented its Eclipse solution in 1998, and four years later, the company’s annual revenues rose from $39 million to $46 million -- without adding branch locations or a single employee.
“We had 90 employees in 1998,” explained Dreyfuss. “We still had 90 employees in 2002.”
Do the math and you’ll see that in that four-year period, the company increased its per-employee sales by more than $77,000. What’s more, SG Supply increased its gross margins by 3%, inventory turns by 26%, and gross margin return on investment by 12%.
A more efficient way to do business
Founded in 1959, SG Supply is a plumbing, heating and piping supply distributor, occupying a 60,000-square-foot facility just outside of Chicago. The company serves contractors throughout the metropolitan Chicago area, from the Wisconsin border south to Kankakee, and from the Fox Valley east to Lake Michigan, as well as counties in Northwest Indiana.
“We started looking for a new enterprise software solution in 1996,” Dreyfuss recalled. “At first it seemed that there was something missing with every vendor we talked to -- until we looked at Activant, they had everything we were looking for, and more.”
A contract was signed in the spring of 1997 and the solution went live in January 1998. “The training process went so smoothly,” Dreyfuss noted. “By the time we were up and running, it was as if we’d been using Eclipse forever.”
After using the solution for more than six years, Dreyfuss echoes his initial sentiments: “It’s clear that we found a more efficient way to do business. Eclipse has simply become a part of our business.”
Boosting warehouse accuracy
It’s often been said that successful inventory management is critical to succeeding in the distribution industry. That certainly seems to be the case at SG Supply.
“We really wanted to get a better handle on our inventory,” Dreyfuss explained. “Knowing what we had, where it was, and how much it cost was absolutely key.”
Thanks to the Eclipse rf Warehouse Management Solution, Dreyfuss and his team got what they wanted. “When it comes to inventory control, I think Eclipse is the greatest solution out there,” he said. “The solution tells us exactly where to put things and where to find them. The accuracy we get with Eclipse in the warehouse makes a huge difference for us.”
A fully integrated, real-time solution that uses radio-frequency (RF) technology to automate warehouse operations, Eclipse rf Warehouse makes use of handheld RF data collection devices to eliminate typing errors and keep inventory variances to under 1%, resulting in higher fill rates and dramatically improved accuracy. At SG Supply, the day shift handles receiving and put-away, while the night shift does picking and gets the trucks loaded.
“The learning curve is really short,” said Dreyfuss. “A new warehouse worker can pull orders in a week and be totally proficient in a month.”
Eliminating paper and gaining space
Moving from the warehouse to the back office, Dreyfuss points to two new conference rooms and a new accounting office as tangible proof of the benefi ts SG Supply has realized with the Eclipse Document Imaging Solution.
Document Imaging lets SG Supply convert paper documents into digital files that can be indexed to any file in the company’s Eclipse solution -- from shipping tickets to packing slips, invoices, and more. Employees no longer waste time filing, copying or searching for documents.
According to Dreyfuss, there’s no real need for file cabinets anymore, either. “This is where we see the biggest bang for the buck,” he said.
In fact, once they began to reduce the amount of paper and filing cabinets in the office, Dreyfuss found they had freed up about 3,000 square feet of office space, which is where the new conference rooms and accounting office are now located. “We’re totally paperless,” noted Dreyfuss. “We don’t file anything anymore; it’s all scanned into the solution.”
And although he admits they still have a few file cabinets around, Dreyfuss estimates that they have eliminated at least 60% to 70% of the paper they were generating and storing.
Benefits beyond technology
But Dreyfuss has praise for more than just Activant technology. “One thing I like about Eclipse is the people behind the solution,” he explained. “They’re always responsive, always willing to talk and be a part of the process.”
SG Supply is also an active member of ufo, the Activant Eclipse User Group. “The ufo lets us mingle with both Activant employees and other Eclipse users,” Dreyfuss said. “Everyone helps one another -- I’m on the message boards at least two or three times a week. Sometimes I’m learning new things and sometimes I’m giving advice.”
What advice does Dreyfuss have for distributors considering a move to Activant Eclipse? “It’s really simple,” he said. “When you’re asking about the best technology for the job, there is no other answer.”
For details, visit www.activant.com.