When warehouse distributor Completes Plus was ready for an enterprise management system upgrade, company president Jack Hubka looked for a system that could provide a Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI) with expanded functionality.

"We wanted to go that direction because of the ease of operation for our customer service people," says Hubka. "The learning curve is faster for the application that way."

Completes, a two-step operation with four warehouse locations in the Los Angeles area, replaced its existing management system with Activant's Vision solution, a Windows-based system that provided Hubka with the new functionality he was looking for.

Instant Delivery

Completes employs 35 drivers, and delivers thousands of items per week to its customers. "Our business model is based on instant delivery, which means we have the parts there in about 30 minutes," Hubka says. "We needed a system that would take us from phone call to driveway very efficiently."

Everything starts with the initial customer call. Vision's computer telephone interface (CTI) connects the telephone system with the customer service system using the TAPI cards in the phones. The Vision system uses caller ID information to automatically launch the customer order history information for the service representative.

Once the order is taken, the customer service reps can send the information into the Dispatch and Delivery system.

"When an order is complete, it is automatically loaded into the dispatch system," Hubka says. "The dispatcher will accumulate a batch of runs, flag them as in-transit or dispatched, and the driver gets a run sheet showing which order to drop off the parts. He does his route, and when he comes back they close out the run time."

Completes also takes orders online through a system put together by WebLink Solutions (using its WebWare Pro software) that integrates with the Vision product. Orders go straight to a pick ticket at the warehouse closest to the customer location.

In the warehouse, Completes has implemented Activant's bar code scanning solution to help better manage its inventory. The company had previously attempted to use bar codes with its old system, but was unsuccessful. Completes now does all receiving using the bar code system, as well as product moves and stock returns.

"We can download standard Excel files that give us the part numbers and bar codes," Hubka says. "We can import everything straight out of Excel."

The biggest benefit of using bar codes has been in replenishing the company's own branches. "It has stopped pulling errors in the branch replenishments," Hubka says. "We scan every single part coming in now."

Hubka says the implementation was challenging because Vision was a new product, but the system went live fairly quickly. Completes ran a test on a Sunday at one location, and went live the following day at all four warehouses.

"We were extremely busy fighting fires for the first 30 days," Hubka says. "Its' a double-edged sword. On one hand, there are a lot of things that have to be worked out with a new product. But on the upside, you can help them with the development and get the things you need put into the solution."

Increased Sales

The biggest benefit, Hubka says, has been the interface with the telephone system. As calls come in, the caller ID information is used to provide service reps with customer information already in the system, making it easier and faster to help customers with their orders. "We can have multiple phone numbers for accounts," Hubka says. "You can have a cell phone, the office phone or any other number, and that will launch sales for that account."

Average daily sales per customer service rep have gone up, "and that's primarily because the Vision product allows multiple tabs to be open at the same time," Hubka says. "The reps can open multiple sessions and multitask between customers more easily than in our old system."

If the phone system goes down, phone calls can be remotely forwarded to the closest warehouse based on caller ID information. "They can cut the orders there just like nothing has happened, because the system is launching orders," Hubka says. "We can fax back the invoice to the location and do our business as usual."

Using the Cover-to-Cover system, which allows Completes to publish product images, has also improved sales. Completes had been using Activant's catalog product, but were not previously able to include product photos in the listings.

"Customers like that," Hubka says. "Our customer service reps can even fax a picture so the customer can see if they're getting the right part. It helps keep us as a first-call supplier."

Next up, Hubka plans to install Activant's Document Imaging system so that customers can download copies of their own invoices and statements. Eventually, the company hopes to outfit its delivery drivers with mobile computers so they can capture digital signatures and proof of delivery in the field.