Case Study

Stateline Supply Replaces Facts Software

Master Plumbing Supply Selects DDI System to Power Business Operations

It always sounds great with the new technologies. They promise your distributorship will be handling orders faster, servicing customers better, even separating itself from the competition by the sheer force of being on the cutting edge. But can today's new solution be put into action quickly and smoothly enough to yield a reasonable R.O.I. before the next solution comes along?

There are things you can do to smooth the implementation process and give any new solution adequate time to pay off. It starts with the selection process. Don't be mesmerized by bells and whistles that do little to meet company goals. Unless it's consistent with your business's objectives, you'll find interest and enthusiasm waning at every obstacle as dollars go out the window. Be open when approached by salespeople representing new technologies.

But Ed Gaffney III, manager of Stateline Supply in Seabrook, N.H., recommends keeping your eyes open. "See what's working for other wholesalers," he says. "Take a look at the guys who're getting the job done and find out what they're doing." Gaffney speaks from experience. A few years ago he recognized the need for his family-owned Plumbing, HVAC and Waterworks supplies business to get customers in and out faster. His computer system was inefficient and actually delayed customer handling. That changed when Gaffney, a plumber himself, was working out of the area. "I needed to pick up a few things from another distributor and I noticed they were moving customers in and out quickly," Gaffney says. He asked the counterperson about the software being used. The query led Gaffney to his present vendor, DDI System.

"You have to keep your eyes open and see how other people are doing things," he says. "Really, any company you want to emulate can serve as your guide." Whether you've been approached by a sales representative or used Gaffney's "eyes open" approach, your next questions are, when do I dive in? and with whom? Answer: Get in as early as possible, but don't leap blindly. "I like to dive in right away," says Gaffney. "But if I've seen the product at work in another operation I'm at least confident it can do the job." The solution should be new enough to provide the benefits of being on the cutting edge but not open your business up to being part of an unproven vendor's "crash and burn" test flights.

This raises the question of vendor selection. Is the vendor you're considering a known and trusted resource? If not, did it come via a reliable referral? Does the company have a track record with this technology? Did it develop it or is there a third party involved? Is it familiar with your industry? Your specific business? "Your vendor is your link to seeing that things work right," says Gaffney. "You need to rely on them heavily." He says the ideal situation is where you actually know the support people. "Rather than nameless, faceless people on the phone, if the people who support the product were part of the original installation you can communicate much better," he says. "That personal connection is huge. Anyone can sell software, but the key is the people who support it."

Gaffney recently added his software vendor's Signature Capture module. He recounted how he happened to add a feature to his software package after visiting another distributor and seeing "signature capture" in use. He then inquired about his software vendor's Signature Capture module.

The module gives Stateline Supply paper-free, verifiable proof-of-delivery while reducing paperwork, forms and filing. Combining a signature tablet with a bar-coded, laser printed picking/delivery ticket or invoice, the module captures and stores the recipient's signature, making it a permanent part of the final mailed invoice and the archived invoice. Delivery trucks and sales counter people can use the technology to save time and improve efficiency.

"With the DDI Signature Capture module the signature is there electronically," Gaffney explains. "We don't have to pay a secretary to file sheets. We don't have to store copies and dig them up months later to prove delivery or pursue an account." Gaffney says the module is an example of new technology that'll pay off. The Human Factor is a commonly overlooked aspect of implementing new technologies. You may budget enough time for technical training, but what about the acceptance issues you may encounter with staffers who resist because they either can't see the benefit or they object to change of any kind? If the solution is clearly thought-out, well designed and implemented efficiently, this problem can be avoided. Ease of use goes a long way toward calming people's fear of change.

Technology can, in effect, multiply the number of qualified people you have available to service customers. "It used to be you were very dependent on a good counterperson who knew your line, where things were, knew the customers and discounts," says Gaffney. "And you had to work hard to keep that person happy so as not to lose him." Technology doesn't eliminate that person but it empowers other staffers to provide comparable customer service. "Now we can have a new person using the system the first day and up to speed in a few weeks," says Gaffney.

This use of technology to better serve Stateline's customers echoes Gaffney's grandfather's motto: "Everybody has price - service is where you keep your customers." Businesses should strive to live up to that motto in servicing customers, and they ought to demand the same from their technology solutions providers.

Dave Rector of Murphy/Rector Communications Inc., represents DDI Sys tems (www.DDIsys.com), a major developer and vendor of management software for Plumbing and HVAC wholesalers and distributors.