Decreases Processing Times By 300%

Depot America is a national leader in the printer repair industry, assisting thousands of customers with parts sales, repair and advance exchange services. For the past 15 years, some of the world’s top manufacturers (OEMs), self-maintainers, and service providers have put their trust in Depot America products. Depot America services and provides parts for the major printer manufacturers including: Hewlett Packard, Canon, Lexmark, Okidata, Epson, Xerox and many more.

The Business Challenge

Depot America was outgrowing their Macintosh Accounting system quickly. Each morning, an import would run for “hours” that sent information from their custom service and repair system to their Macintosh based accounting system. Reports (such as Accounts Receivable aging) would have to be run overnight.

“The process of posting would take us up to 3 hours to complete. This was extremely time consuming and stressful.”

In 1996, Depot America produced about 500 invoices per day and had about 1,100 active customers. Unsatisfied with the support they were receiving from a former Great Plains solutions partner, they conducted an extensive search and chose eIS Business Solutions.

Things are much different at Depot America today. They have nearly tripled in transaction volume, employees, and space. With 3 Collections Managers on staff, they needed a way to accurately track conversations and tasks associated with the collection effort. Previously they kept track of all collection efforts manually.

After examining and rejecting a number of options as incomplete or too complex, Straus turned to Microsoft Business Solutions – Great Plains and eIS Business Solutions, a Certified Microsoft Business Solutions Partner.

eIS Business Solutions recommended Depot America move to an all PC platform. This was a big change for them at the time and represented new thinking. But the new platform promised rock solid performance, greater efficiency and an increase in productivity.

“Posting was an arduous task and down right scary. We would literally hold our breath each time we hit the post button.”

“System crashes were so prevalent; we needed to backup all of our files before every post, just in case.”

— Gail Straus, CPA, Vice President Finance at Depot America

The Solution

“eIS Business Solutions transferred our data from the Macintosh platform to our new PC Platform, smoothly and quickly. And the gains we made in productivity and efficiency were staggering.”

The Results

“Because of the suggestions and guidance provided by eIS Business Solutions, we have added additional features and functionality to our system. I feel like they (eIS) are an extension of my team, a true partner, always looking out for ways to save money and increase our efficiency. They don’t sell me what I don’t need.”

“eIS Business Solutions has been there for us throughout our growth. They have been supportive and responsive when we needed them most. We know we can count on them in a crunch. When we see our Solutions Consultant walk through the door, it’s like the cavalry has arrived.”

Since the initial move to Microsoft Business Solutions – Great Plains 7 years ago, Depot America has upgraded several times including a move to Microsoft SQL Server.

With their new fully integrated system in place for many years now, Gail Straus has seen measurable improvements on multiple fronts.

• Printing reports and posting are now completed within minutes and the fear of the system crashing during a post has all but vanished. With the proper tools in place, Depot America can recover from a system failure (a rare occurrence) in minutes rather than hours.
• Daily, there is a large volume of data to be moved into the Microsoft Business Solutions – Great Plains system. “This process of moving data and updating information used to take us hours, now it takes minutes. This alone was worth the move to the Microsoft Business Solutions – Great Plains on Microsoft SQL.”
• Collections have also become extremely streamlined. With the addition of Collections Management from Microsoft Business Solutions, Depot America has seen a dramatic reduction in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) and a reduction in fraud.

Highlights

• Reduction in processing times: 300%
• Slashed 75% of time on import related tasks
• Reduction in Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) by 10 days, improving cash flow
• Reduction in fraudulent transactions
• Improved credit management

About eIS Business Solutions

Based in Red Bank, New Jersey, eIS Business Solutions is an established Microsoft Business Solutions Partner that helps businesses to leverage their existing business dollars to maximize productivity, efficiency, and increase revenues utilizing highly customizable business software and technology from leaders such as Best Software, IBM and Microsoft.

For more information on how eIS Business Solutions can help you enhance your business, contact Robert Smith at 732-708-0022.

Website: www.eisBusinessSolutions.com

Cuts Invoicing Time by 50% with Financial Management Solution

Located in Farmingdale, New Jersey, Ernst Flow Industries is one of the most respected names in the field of liquid level and fluid monitoring instruments. Ernst Flow Industries is dedicated to delivering the highest quality products available on the market, backed by the level of service that is synonymous with the Ernst® name.

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The Business Challenge

Ernst Flow Industries needed easier access to critical business information for daily decision making, increased order accuracy and to reduce the massive amounts of redundancy in their business processes. eIS Business Solutions together with Ernst Flow Industries re-engineered business processes and implemented Microsoft Business Solutions with an integrated shipping system to satisfy those needs.

With the previous accounting system consisting of standalone machines and a large paper trail of spreadsheets, handwritten invoices and manual logs, there was substantial room for error as well as a large duplication of efforts. Purchase Orders were typed on a typewriter with a matching process laborious and time consuming. Each Purchase Order was handled two and three times before it was closed.

Another time-consuming task needing improvement was the shipping process. The previous method required the shipping department to manually re-enter all the shipping information into a separate UPS system, often leading to confusion and potentially incorrect shipments. When a customer called to get the status of their order an employee would make a trip to the filing cabinet, a call to the shipping department and sometimes a call to the shipping carrier. This entire process took too much time.

“eIS Business Solutions is continually making suggestions on how we can benefit from the latest technology and improve our business processes. They’re response time and support has been impressive. Whenever we need help, they are there for us.”

— Barbara Dayton, Accounting Manager

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The Solution

“Microsoft Business Solutions helped our business to consolidate our ‘great profusion of information,’ enabling us to deliver a higher level of customer service and work more efficiently.”

Ernst Flow Industries migrated to Microsoft® Business Solutions–Great Plains® as a solution to these issues. The new solution took their business to the next level by saving both time and effort in information gathering and inventory control.

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Return on Investment

Ernst Flow Industries began seeing the benefits of the new solution immediately…

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The Results

Ernst Flow Industries began seeing the benefits of the new solution immediately. The company has eliminated nearly all of the spreadsheets and handwritten logs. They are able to find critical information in seconds compared to hours required to create just one report in the previous system. Ernst Flow Industries estimates that the inquiry capabilities of Microsoft Business Solutions with the integrated shipping system saves them 10–15 minutes per customer inquiry. This translates into increased customer satisfaction and greater productivity.

The new solution has completely changed the way Ernst Flow Industries creates purchase orders. Once a two-day effort, creating a purchase order is now a two-hour process. The new process has also eliminated nearly 100 percent of the opportunity for errors caused by data-entry mistakes. This can be a significant factor when each purchase order may contain a multitude of items. Fewer errors for Ernst Flow Industries means lower inventory carrying costs and improved cash flow.

The time saved by Ernst Flow Industries has also enhanced customer service. Customers are seeing a noticeable decrease in shipping time along with a favorable increase in accuracy.

Overall, Ernst Flow Industries has experienced increased customer satisfaction due to decreased shipping times, faster customer service inquiry resolution times & order accuracy. Internally, the ROI was measured by increased productivity, seamless integration of business processes saving Ernst Flow Industries significant time & money.

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The Highlights

• Increased inquiry capabilities by over 1,000%
• Reduction in processes, i.e. reducing a two-day PO effort into a two-hour process
• Elimination of virtually all opportunities for data-entry mistakes
• Seamless link between critical processes such as ordering, fulfillment & shipping
• Shorter order cycles means increased accuracy and increased productivity

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About eIS Business Solutions

Based in Red Bank, New Jersey, eIS Business Solutions is an established Microsoft Business Solutions Partner that helps businesses to leverage their existing business dollars to maximize productivity, efficiency, and increase revenues utilizing highly customizable business software and technology from leaders such as Best Software, IBM and Microsoft.

For more information on how eIS Business Solutions can help you enhance your business, contact Robert Smith 732-708-0022.

Website: www.eisBusinessSolutions.com

Retail Company Cuts Invoicing Time by 50 Percent with Financial Management Solution

“Microsoft Great Plains makes it much easier to capture information for detailed business reporting because [the data] all exists within the system.”

— Jim Halliday, Chief Financial Officer, Joan Rivers Worldwide

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Overview

• Country or Region: United States
• Industry: Specialty retail

Customer Profile

Joan Rivers Worldwide has been distributing skin care products, clothing, and jewelry through home shopping networks since 1980. The company is based in New York and employs 20 people.

Business Situation

An outdated accounting system was labor-intensive and slow, reducing productivity and negatively affecting customer and vendor relationships. In addition, the company’s database solution caused frequent downtime.

Solution

The company replaced its accounting system and database with Microsoft Business Solutions–Great Plains and Microsoft SQL Server 2000 for a more robust solution.

Benefits

• Reduced invoicing time by 50 percent
• Cut time to process vendor checks by 20 percent
• Decreased processing time for yearly financial reports by two months

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Executive Summary

Joan Rivers Worldwide offers jewelry and cosmetics to consumers through home shopping television networks. But its outdated accounting system was proving insufficient to manage customer and vendor accounts. Employees wasted time with a manual process that required extensive cross-referencing with Microsoft Excel 2000 spreadsheets. An older database solution failed often.

Payments and invoices took a long time to be processed and were often incorrect, leading to strained vendor and customer relationships. To solve these problems, the company deployed an accounting solution based on Microsoft Business Solutions–Great Plains and Microsoft SQL Server 2000.

As a result, the company decreased the amount of time it takes to process invoices by 50 percent, boosted cash flow, and improved the accuracy of payments to vendors.

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The Situation

New York–based Joan Rivers Worldwide sells jewelry and skin care products through shopping television networks such as QVC and The Shopping Channel. Founded in 1980, the company employs 20 people who are responsible for managing the production of goods from different vendors and then supplying those goods to the television networks.

Labor-Intensive Accounting

Joan Rivers Worldwide used the Macola accounting system for more than eight years to manage its vendor and customer accounts. However, the outdated solution was very labor-intensive because of a largely manual workflow process.

For example, when the company was ready to send an invoice, employees had to:

• Take financial data from Macola
• Enter it into an invoicing template
• Print and photocopy the invoice
• Mail one copy to the customer
• File the other copy in a filing cabinet

William Andersen, Accounting Assistant for Joan Rivers Worldwide, explained:

“Sending out invoices took a lot of time. I had to enter billing information into the template, make sure the numbers were right, and redo the whole thing if it was crooked in the copier.”

Chargeback Tracking Challenges

Macola could not track chargebacks. For Joan Rivers Worldwide, a chargeback occurs when QVC or The Shopping Channel identifies a shipped item as defective or broken and notifies the seller that it will not pay for the item.

As a result:

• Payment amounts could fall short of invoiced amounts
• Financial discrepancies became common
• Chargebacks had to be tracked manually in Microsoft Excel 2000
• Employees spent excessive time reviewing paper spreadsheets to verify invoice amounts

Vendor Payment Problems

Sending payments to vendors was equally complicated. Invoice chargebacks first had to be reconciled, requiring employees to reenter data into the system before writing and mailing checks.

This process:

• Delayed vendor payments
• Increased the likelihood of errors
• Damaged vendor relationships

Jim Halliday, Chief Financial Officer for Joan Rivers Worldwide, said:

“We were taking extra reductions in checks that we really shouldn’t have. A charge would look legitimate in Macola, but then the customer would notify us that the invoice was wrong. This adversely affected our vendor relationships.”

Financial Reporting Limitations

Generating monthly financial statements was also difficult. Halliday noted:

“We had to pull data from Macola and enter it into a spreadsheet just to make it look presentable. It wasted a lot of time.”

Outdated Database Issues

The Macola solution relied on an outdated Btrieve database. This flat-file database system:

• Corrupted easily
• Required rebuilding several times a week
• Caused frequent downtime
• Allowed only one person into the system at a time

The need for change became urgent when Macola announced that it would no longer support Btrieve. By August 2004, Joan Rivers Worldwide knew it needed a more robust accounting solution before year-end financial closing.

The company wanted a system that could:

• Accommodate chargebacks
• Automate workflow
• Support invoice delivery by e-mail
• Generate sophisticated business intelligence reports
• Provide sales breakdowns of product categories by customer

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The Solution

Although Joan Rivers Worldwide considered upgrading to the latest version of Macola, the company ultimately chose Microsoft Business Solutions–Great Plains.

Halliday had seen implementations of Microsoft Great Plains and was impressed by its integration with other Microsoft products already in use at the company.

Working with Microsoft Certified Partner eIS Business Solutions, Joan Rivers Worldwide deployed the new solution within a single month.

Implemented Components

The company implemented:

• Microsoft Great Plains
  • General Ledger
  • Payables Management
  • Receivables Management
• A chargeback module to integrate chargeback data into the system
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 to replace Btrieve
• Business Objects Crystal Reports for detailed reporting

Process Improvements

The new solution significantly streamlined accounting processes for both invoicing and vendor payments.

With Microsoft Great Plains:

• Chargebacks are entered directly into the system
• Chargebacks are automatically reflected in invoices and vendor payments
• Invoices can be sent to customers by e-mail
• There is no need to reenter data into invoice templates
• Monthly financial data can be viewed quickly and easily

Future Plans

Joan Rivers Worldwide also planned to:

• Replace its internally developed purchase order system with the Microsoft Great Plains Purchase Order Processing module
• Deploy Integrated Cash Management Solutions from Microsoft Business Solutions
• Enable electronic payments and receipts without writing or depositing checks

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The Benefits

By replacing Macola with Microsoft Great Plains, Joan Rivers Worldwide realized immediate and measurable benefits.

Jeanette Pena, Senior Accountant for Joan Rivers Worldwide, said:

“After we implemented Microsoft Great Plains, we saw immediate benefits. It was amazing how quickly our accounting processes were streamlined.”

Reduced Invoicing Time by 50 Percent

Joan Rivers Worldwide invoices its customers once a week. Under the old solution, the process took at least two days to complete. With Microsoft Great Plains, this time was cut in half.

William Andersen said:

“With Microsoft Great Plains, I can schedule a day for invoicing and be confident that I’ll get it done. With the old solution, there were so many variables that it took me longer, and I was never sure how long it would take.”

Streamlined the Invoicing Process

The invoicing workflow improved dramatically.

Previously, employees had to:

• Type invoicing data into a template
• Print and photocopy invoices
• Mail invoices manually

Now:

• Invoicing data already resides in Microsoft Great Plains
• Chargebacks are calculated automatically
• Invoices are sent by e-mail

Andersen summarized the impact:

“Microsoft Great Plains makes my job so much easier. I just enter the numbers, and it does everything else.”

Boosted Cash Flow

Joan Rivers Worldwide also reduced the amount of time it takes to get paid, improving cash flow.

Halliday attributed this improvement to the ability to e-mail invoices directly to the correct recipients:

“Previously, we had to mail invoices, and we weren’t sure they got to the right person. Using Microsoft Great Plains, we e-mail them directly to the right person and are notified if the e-mail message isn’t delivered.”

Invoicing issues could also be resolved more quickly because customers could respond immediately by e-mail instead of relying on letters or phone calls.

Cut Time to Process Vendor Payments by 20 Percent

The new system reduced vendor payment processing time by 20 percent.

As a result:

• Vendors received payments four days faster
• Vendor relationships improved
• Payment workflows became more predictable

Andersen noted:

“Vendors now receive payments four days more quickly than they did in the past.”

Eliminated Payment Errors

The company no longer needed to cross-check customer chargebacks against vendor payments using spreadsheets. It also stopped issuing checks for incorrect amounts.

Jeanette Pena explained:

“With Microsoft Great Plains, we know that the payments we send our vendors are correct. As a result, our vendors are happier, and we no longer have to go back over chargebacks to see if we paid too much or too little.”

Decreased Year-End Financial Processing by Two Months

Another major gain was the reduction in the time required to close the books at year-end.

Pena said:

“With Microsoft Great Plains, we have reduced the amount of time that it takes to close our books at the end of the year by two full months.”

Improved Record Keeping

Under the previous system, once an invoice was created and printed, it no longer existed in the system. Finding a past invoice required searching through paper files.

With Microsoft Great Plains:

• Invoices are stored within the system
• Employees can retrieve records by invoice number
• Hard-copy file searching is no longer necessary

Pena said:

“If I need to pull up an old invoice, I can just enter the invoice number. Microsoft Great Plains stores all the data so I no longer have to search through files.”

Halliday also emphasized improvements in financial statement preparation:

“I no longer need to enter information into a spreadsheet to generate financial statements. This is a huge boon for us at the end of the month, as well as at the end of the year.”

Increased Responsiveness to Customers

Joan Rivers Worldwide sells both cosmetics and jewelry, and customers wanted financial breakdowns by product type. The old solution could not provide this level of detail.

Using Microsoft Great Plains, the company could now deliver detailed customer information quickly and easily.

Bob Smith, Consultant for eIS Business Solutions, said:

“We put together a solution based on Microsoft Great Plains that helps Joan Rivers Worldwide be much more responsive to its customers.”

Improved Business Reporting

By using Crystal Reports with SQL Server 2000, Joan Rivers Worldwide improved its business reporting and its ability to make long-term business decisions.

Halliday said:

“Microsoft Great Plains makes it much easier to capture information for detailed business reporting because [the data] all exists within the system.”

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Results at a Glance

• 50% reduction in invoicing time
• 20% faster vendor payment processing
• Two months saved in year-end financial closing
• Improved accuracy in vendor payments
• Better record keeping and invoice retrieval
• Increased responsiveness to customers
• Stronger reporting and business intelligence capabilities
• Better cash flow through faster invoicing and payment cycles

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Technologies Used

Software and Services

• Microsoft Business Solutions
  • Microsoft Business Solutions–Great Plains
• Microsoft Windows Server System
  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000
• Business Objects Crystal Reports

Hardware

• Dell PowerEdge 2500 server computers

Partner

• eIS Business Solutions

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About Microsoft Business Solutions

Microsoft Business Solutions offer integrated business applications and services that allow small and midsize organizations and divisions of large enterprises to connect employees, customers, and suppliers for improved efficiency.

Its financial management, customer relationship management, supply chain management, and analytics applications work with other Microsoft software, including the Microsoft Office System and the Windows operating system, to streamline processes across an entire organization. This gives businesses insight to respond rapidly, plan strategically, and execute quickly.

Microsoft Business Solutions are delivered through a worldwide network of channel partners that provide specialized services and local support tailored to a company’s needs

Improves Financials Processing by 50%

Gateways Hospital Mental Health Center, founded in 1953, is based in Los Angeles, California. Gateways is a licensed acute psychiatric hospital, including outpatient clinics related to mental health. It is a state-of-the-art facility catering to persons suffering from mental ailments. It is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. They discovered their Lotus-based accounting system was inadequate to meet the needs of the company’s growth and turned to Microsoft Dynamics for a more robust solution.

Situation

Gateways had outgrown the ability of their Lotus-based accounting software to handle their increasingly complex reporting needs. It could take days to generate financials, which were not always accurate.

Board of Directors members often had to wait to get their information. The system was unable to quickly create customized reports, which had become more and more important as the company evolved.

Solution

Gateways decided to move up to Dynamics GP, based on its scalability and pricing. Gateways had already had their Dynamics GP solution installed for some time when the Microsoft partner they had been working with moved out of the area. Jeff Emery, Gateways’ CFO, in search of a replacement, called Microsoft and asked for a recommendation for a certified partner. Microsoft suggested eIS Business Solutions because of their long-time experience with the type of business solution Gateways had deployed. Gateways enjoyed a seamless transition to eIS Business Solutions, which then provided all subsequent software upgrades and support.

Benefits

• Simplified Accounts Payable Process: With Microsoft Dynamics GP, processing checks throught their accounts payable system is fast and uncomplicated.
• Faster Financials Generation: Financials can be generated 50% faster than with their original outdated software solution.
• Quick Custom Reporting: Since all of their financial processes are integrated with Dynamics GP, they can easily run a small report on a specific account number
• Fast and Reliable Payroll Processing: Payroll data is processed at least 30% faster and interfaces with Paychex, Gateways’ contracted payroll company.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems your company already has implemented.

By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.

eIS Business Solutions

eIS Business Solutions provides realistic, integrated business software solutions and services to help clients improve their business success. Products and services include: business software selection / installation / implementation, outsourced accounting services, IT services and network maintenance, and technical support and training. eIS Business Solutions also offers financing for all of its solutions.

eIS Business Solutions has been consistently rated a 9 out of a perfect 10 in the "Quality of Partner" category by Microsoft Business Solutions. Their client base includes companies like Joan Rivers Worldwide, Chubb Insurance, New Jersey Transit, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation as well as hundreds of small and medium sized businesses in industries such as distribution, heath care, and staffing.

For more information about Microsoft Dynamics and eIS Business Solutions products and services, call (800) 585-5160 or visit our web site at: www.eisBusinessSolutions.com.

Accelerates Internal Business Processes by 50%

Fore-Kast Sales Company, Inc has been a distributor of plumbing parts to plumbing and heating wholesalers for 40 years. The Forekast family started the company in 1967. In an industry where substitutions and knock-off hardware are common, Fore-Kast Sales Company takes pride in their guarantee to provide only brand name, quality parts. They have 7000-8000 items in stock, as well as approximately 40,000 items available by order. They promise a one-to-two day turnaround, and over the years, have become known within the industry for their reliability as well as their integrity.

Situation

As the business has grown, an unstable operating system and outdated accounting software have impacted their ability to deliver on their promise to their customers. Payment to vendors and management of their accounts was slow and occasionally inaccurate, affecting their relationships with their vendors. Fore-Kast’s existing DOS-based operating system was very old, slow and incompatible with new software. The operating system was also unstable. Computer crashes were time-consuming, difficult to diagnose and resulted in significant downtime. This downtime had a negative impact on all departments of the company. Fore-Kast’s accounting needs had grown considerably beyond the abilities of their existing software. Invoicing and other business procedures were being done manually. There was no back-up system in place, and the ongoing growth of the business increased the threat of data loss during a disaster.

Solution

Fore-Kast had spent a year researching a business solution that would best serve the particular requirements of their business. They had investigated several different software options. Most of the alternatives were either not sophisticated enough, or offered much more functionality than they needed. Forecast had been using an early version of Great Plains accounting software. They decided to implement Microsoft Dynamics GP, because of its flexibility, but also because they expected the transition to be easier. Microsoft Dynamics GP was more sophisticated than the solution they had been using, but “not too sophisticated”. Fore-Kast liked how easily Dynamics GP could be customized to suit their current requirements, while allowing room for growth in the future. And it didn’t include a host of irrelevant features – or a high price tag.

Benefits

Seamless Integration -Real-time accounting created seamless integration between billing and general ledger processes. This integration eliminated manual input, creating detailed audit trails. Financial analyses provided for greater reporting flexibility and extensibility, and the ability to analyze transactions efficiently. The time required for reconciliation between accounts receivable and general ledger was cut by more than 50%.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.

For more information about Microsoft Dynamics and eIS Business Solutions products and services, call (800) 585-5160 or visit our web site at: www.eisBusinessSolutions.com.

Building a Trusted Partnership With Real Results

The Challenge

An undisputed leader in the industry, Leucos USA has made tremendous impact as America’s most influential Italian lighting manufacturer.

Leucos’ prominence is confirmed by its many acknowledgements, including:

• Best Booth Award at Light Fair 2002
• Best of Category Award at Light Fair 2003
• Good Design Awards in 2003 and 2004 from The Chicago Athenaeum
• Best Booth Award and Award of Excellence at HD Expo 2005

Yet, like all fast-growing companies, there have been challenges.

Leucos’ business model relies on a vast network of dealers to sell the company’s product. As such, success is dependent on Leucos’ ability to ship products accurately and efficiently to these dealers. The company’s software plays a leading role in making this happen and in providing insight into inventory needs.

When they came to eIS Business Solutions, Leucos was facing issues with its Microsoft-based system that supported all shipping efforts. Eva Iuliano, controller for Leucos USA, explains:

“We had a lot of data in the system but we couldn’t get it out. Furthermore, we couldn’t provide our clients with an accurate estimate of when they would receive products. Without pulling manual files, we didn’t know what was in transit or in the warehouse. Not only was this inefficient, it was not customer-focused.”

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The Solution

With the help of eIS Business Solutions, Leucos soon discovered that existing processes, not technology, were hindering efforts.

“Within one hour of meeting with an eIS Business Solutions representative, we had questions answered
and a few viable solutions to our immediate problems,” affirms Iuliano.

Iuliano emphasizes that eIS Business Solutions brings a skilled, proven approach at understanding clients’ challenges and current situations, with the goal of providing a practical, cost-effective and customer-focused solution:

“I know that if I bring eIS Business Solutions a problem, they will ask me insightful questions that help to expand the understanding of the problem. More important, they consider everything, including how our current challenges and potential solutions could affect our customers, employees, and other trading partners. They aren’t just interested in providing a solution but in providing the right solution whether it requires software or a change in our business process.”

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The Benefits

Significant Time Savings

With the guidance of eIS Business Solutions, Leucos linked its UPS system to the accounting system, drastically reducing the time it takes to answer customers’ shipping-related questions. The time to resolve questions decreased from 20 minutes to less than one minute. Iuliano notes:

“Multiply that by 10 inquiries a day and it’s an astronomical time savings. We also can now send out tracking numbers with each invoice, which reduces the number of calls we get, allowing us to use our time more efficiently.”

Major Reporting Improvements

Leucos strives to continue improving its reporting capabilities, particularly to support its parent office and sales staff. To that end, eIS Business Solutions added additional fields to its Microsoft-based solution to help Leucos track additional information that enhanced reporting. Key improvements include:

• One-click reporting, saving hours of manual work
• Reports that are integral to providing sales incentives to dealers
• Timely feedback resulting in increased sales for dealers and Leucos alike

Considerable Process Enhancements

In the past, Leucos’ processes were extremely manual — for example, employees printed extra invoice copies to file for customer requests. With the help of eIS Business Solutions, Leucos moved toward a more efficient solution that:

• Automatically faxes or emails statements with backup invoice copies
• Requires no manual intervention
• Saves both time and money related to collection efforts

Iuliano reflects on the lasting value of the partnership:

“When we met eIS Business Solutions, it was obvious that we had found a company that excelled at diagnosing problems. That was eight years ago. We continue to run most of our technical challenges by them as our trusted resource. It is one of the smartest relationships we ever entered into.”

Improves Overall Sales and Inventory Processes 75%.


TC Petroleum, founded in 1980, is based in Lakewood, New Jersey. TC Petroleum is a motor oil distributor serving northern New Jersey and the metropolitan New York areas. Its small staff – nine employees makes it imperative to ensure that each individual is able to work as efficiently as possible. The company’s growth and local competition highlighted the inadequacy of their current software solution.

Situation

TC Petroleum had been getting by with manual bookkeeping and computers running DOS to manage their inventory. Their business processes were being outstripped by the growth in their sales. There was a lot of paperwork involved in the operations of receiving oil and pumping it into tanks and pails based on customer orders. The inefficiency of their systems created a backlog of paperwork. Inventory processes were time consuming and the reports could be inaccurate. The staff wasn’t knowledgeable about newer business software solutions and its ability to improve these problems. Their accountant recommended that TC Petroleum start looking for a software package that would integrate their business processes.

Solution

TC Petroleum’s accountant referred them to eIS Business Solutions. After a much discussion and a business needs assessment, eIS team member Robert Smith suggested moving up to Microsoft Dynamics GP, based on its pricing and easy learning curve. Some new computers were purchased and the solution was implemented. Learning the new system was the main challenge. Three employees were chosen to train on the new solution. The transition from the old system was uneventful, and the new trainees were able to deploy the business operations with a minimum of disruption to operations of the company.

Benefits

• Computerized Bookkeeping: With Microsoft Dynamics GP, the bookkeeping functions are uncomplicated and more accurate.
• Faster Order Processing: Orders can be generated 50% faster than with TC Petroleum’s original outdated software solution.
• Reduced Paperwork: Since all of their financial and inventory processes are integrated with Dynamics GP, paperwork has been reduced by 30%.
• Reliable and Accurate Inventory: The new inventory system is simpler than the original, yet provides greater detail. Accuracy has improved by 25%.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems your company already has implemented.

By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.

eIS Business Solutions

eIS Business Solutions provides realistic, integrated business software solutions and services to help clients improve their business success. Products and services include: business software selection / installation / implementation, outsourced accounting services, IT services and network maintenance, and technical support and training. eIS Business Solutions also offers financing for all of its solutions.

eIS Business Solutions has been consistently rated a 9 out of a perfect 10 in the “Quality of Partner” category by Microsoft Business Solutions. Their client base includes companies like Joan Rivers Worldwide, Chubb Insurance, New Jersey Transit, and the Andrew Mellon Foundation as well as hundreds of small and medium sized businesses in industries such as distribution, heath care, and staffing.

For more information about Microsoft Dynamics and eIS Business Solutions products
and services, call (800) 585-5160 or visit our web site at: www.eisBusinessSolutions.com.