Drywall Supplier, CF Supply, Uses Activant Solutions to Increase Revenue
Executive Summary
CF Supply, a three location drywall supplier asserts that its business
has tripled since moving to Activant in 2003. Customer service has
improved, inventory is more accurate and the company’s management
team makes decisions based on current, accurate data.
Noticeable Improvements Soon After Implementation
CF Supply is a commercial interior supply company selling drywall, metal studs, joint
compound, insulation, and other products required for interior construction. The present
owner bought the business in 1998 and after several years, he realized that in order for the business to succeed, he needed to invest in technology to improve business processes and
increase bottom-line results. “We were competing against corporate owned business and needed to have the same level of
professionalism and ability to closely monitor the business,” reflects Kevin Taylor, sales and
IT manager. “We knew that our old system wasn’t helping us succeed. We saw Activant
Eagle® and immediately knew that it was the solution to meet our business objectives.
Activant is the industry-leader, delivering the product and services required to make our
business succeed.”
CF Supply implemented Activant in 2003 and watched its business improve. “We don’t have
an IT department and our employees aren’t technical. Activant is very easy to use and we
easily run it on our own,” explains Kevin. “In just the first 90 days, we saw benefits. Our
internal processes were more efficient and we had consistency across our three locations.”
Improved Special Order Process
CF Supply has a considerable special order business. With its previous system, special orders
were entered into the POS system and then retyped into purchase orders, one purchase order
for each vendor. Today with Activant, the order is entered once and POs are automatically
generated. “We have special orders that might have four POs attached to one order. We love
that POs are instantly complete and ready to fax to our suppliers. In addition to the time
savings, we have dramatically reduced errors,” describes Kevin. “We also get those orders
delivered to our customers faster because it’s so easy to identify special orders when they are
received. It’s now a much better process.”
Quote to Order Process Delivers Customer Satisfaction
Many of CF Supply’s smaller contractors want a quote for their projects. “With
Activant, once the quote is in the system, any of our employees can help a
customer by pulling up the quote, answering questions, or turning it into an order
with just a click. We aren’t dependent on one person to be at their computer and
we can instantly help customers when they call or come in,” explains Kevin. “Our
customers have noticed how much our order process has improved. They know
they are dealing with a professional, top-notch company.”
Accurate Inventory and Pricing Increases Confidence
CF Supply credits its Activant system with improving inventory management, especially
managing stock across three locations. Access to detailed inventory information makes it easy
to trace an error and have it quickly corrected. “Perhaps the greatest benefit of our Eagle
system is that we have confidence in our inventory. If the system says we have three in stock,
we know we do. That is particularly helpful when looking up inventory at our other
locations. We can meet customer needs by quickly sending product from another location if
one location is out. Before we would have had to call our other locations, which lengthens
the process and ties up staff,” states Kevin.
Pricing, and corresponding margins, have improved with Activant. It’s now easy for Kevin to
make across-the-board price changes as costs change. “Many of our items are commodities
with costs that frequently fluctuate. With Eagle, I can make blanket retail price changes as
our costs increase or decrease. We now use replacement cost as the basis for pricing, which is
much more accurate than average cost, because it factors in price trends. Another improvement is that contractors have consistent pricing at all three locations,” continues Kevin.
Empowering Contractors with Internet Access toTheir Accounts
Many of CF Supply’s drywall contractors use Activant iNet® to look up their account status
from the convenience of their offices. “Our goal is to go completely electronic and with easy-to-use iNet, it’s possible. Customers can see their orders, signed delivery receipts, invoices, and
statements. It helps them find missing paperwork or see how much they spent on a particular
job, without needing to call us. We save time and postage. It’s a win-win solution,” says Kevin.
Easy Access to Information Improves Decisions
CF Supply’s owner and managers rely on Activant Business Advisor™ to highlight
performance. “Our owner uses Business Advisor almost hourly to monitor sales, receivables
and inventory. Through better monitoring, we’re more profitable, giving us more money
to invest back in the business and improve service,” explains Kevin.
“Our business has tripled since we implemented Activant. It takes a strong economy, good
people and a solid system to achieve that success. Activant helps us monitor the business,
improve productivity and keep our overhead low. We now have more people working with
customers, which is the best long term strategy,” asserts Kevin.
