Teknol used two separate software systems to handle its manufacturing and distribution business; one software system was for its accounting, and one for its production and formulation. The separate systems were outdated in functionality and unable to interact with front-end operations. Due to limitations of each system, the data was also inconsistent between systems and incomplete. Altogether, the utilization of different systems prevented Teknol from optimizing several areas of its business.
Salespeople were required to manually confirm order shipments with customers. Customers would place an order and contact their salesperson for order shipping information. Depending upon the order, salespeople would spend a few minutes to a few hours of their day tracking shipments and reporting the locations to the customer.
The formula management system made it necessary for chemists to manually update the formulation portion on each Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Every time a formula was modified, technical personnel had to adjust the original MSDS and re-save it to the server.
Inventory management was unable to wholly track inventory, particularly inventory stocked by salespeople at their individual locations. Data limitations such as these prevented the accurate reporting of on-hand inventory, and made MRP calculations extremely difficult and inaccurate.
Solution
To help maximize its productivity and profitability, Teknol selected the DEACOM accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software system in March of 2005 to manage its point-of-sale, accounting, sales, purchasing, production, inventory, formula and lab management, and regulatory reporting.
After six months of implementation, Teknol experienced several productivity gains. Now Teknol manages its shipping process more efficiently through a web link to United Parcel Service (UPS). Shipping staff may enter and send order shipping information to UPS directly from DEACOM. All subsequent confirmation numbers and shipping data is then available within the DEACOM ERP system and live on the Teknol website for both customer and employee accessibility.
Teknol has also eliminated its formula management issue with the DEACOM "on demand" MSDS. Once a formula is entered into the DEACOM ERP system, the corresponding MSDS form(s) is automatically updated. In addition, MSDS forms are re-formatted within DEACOM to accommodate changes in reporting requirements.
Inventory is recorded in DEACOM and controlled through lot tracking. Teknol has individual "facilities" for each sales location as well as "facility regions," so the inventory stocked by salespeople can be tracked individually or regionally. Lot tracking is also used to determine the optimal shipping location, and economically manage inventory. For complete inventory reports, Teknol management can view summary screens and drill down to transactional details for further information.
Result
Ray Florence, MIS director of Teknol, explains the changes that have occurred since the implementation of the DEACOM ERP system.
"With DEACOM, Teknol has become a much more efficient organization. Our technical personnel are able to better focus their efforts on top priorities, rather than administrative tasks. Customer satisfaction has increased with the advent of our shipping web link. Our inventory is much easier to track and manage at our main location and all of our satellite locations. Overall, the true integration and flexibility of DEACOM ERP has helped us achieve our project goals, even more than we originally expected," says Florence.
For more information, call 610/971.2278 ext. 15; fax 610/971.2279; e-mail marketing@deacom.net; or visit www.deacom.net.
