Milford Lumber installed the Activant Eagle™ system in the late 1980s on the recommendation of another Eagle user in the lumber industry. Since then, Milford has installed the latest Activant Eagle™ for Windows applications, including Inventory, Business Advisor, Activant iNet™, Point-of-Sale and Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Due in part to Eagle’s integrated solution, productivity at Milford has grown along with revenues. In the last four years, Milford has seen over 10 percent growth per year while at the same time saving hours—even days—per month using efficient Eagle applications to manage all aspects of their business.
Inventory control drives Milford’s profit and customer loyalty
Milford Lumber maintains a 64-year tradition of excellence in Milford, New Hampshire, by offering high-quality lumber for the building trades along with hardware products and cabinetry. Milford has a stable workforce of 35 employees, some with tenure as long as 25 years. “Our folks just do super, super work,” says Scott Rosenthal, controller. With that level of longevity, expertise and customer care, it’s no wonder Milford has consistently increased revenues in spite of recent competition from Home Depot.
“But how do we take a commodity like a 2x4, without much price differential, and add value to it?” asks Scott. By using their Inventory and Business Advisor applications to the fullest, Activant customers like Milford can maintain proper inventory stocking levels and negotiate the best price from their vendors. Milford uses inventory alerts and order point features to maintain optimal quantity-on-hand. Loyal customers rely on Milford’s ability to deliver highquality products in a short time, at the best price. “We add value to our customers by ensuring we have product in-stock, offering custom products and operating with a high-level of customer service. Our Eagle system enables us to deliver these critical value-added services. That’s the bottom line in this day and age.”
Growing their business—not their “days outstanding”
Activant’s Accounts Receivable Pro has helped Milford reduce the number of days outstanding on accounts receivable. Using Business Advisor, Scott sorts AR by days outstanding and dollar amount so he can go after the big-ticket invoices first.
“At over 30 days, I start calling,” says Scott. With the ability to have the Eagle system automatically fax or e-mail statements and invoices, Scott has found it easier to collect. In response to a recent survey, a number of Milford customers now receive e-mailed statements. “If I e-mail statements on a weekly basis, we get paid much better because customers can’t say, ‘I didn’t get the statement.’” In addition, e-mailed statements eliminate the printing, stuffing and mailing of paper statements.
If a customer calls to request a copy of an invoice, Scott is delighted to be able to fax or mail a copy within minutes. “Click. Click. Boom. Here,” says Scott. “Before, there was always a problem. Was the invoice misfiled? This is New Hampshire—did it go through the snow and mud?” Scott estimates that this feature alone saves them one day per month of administrative time and keeps collections on track.
Integrated applications and accurate reporting lead to confident decision-making
Scott appreciates the benefit of integration between the Eagle applications. “I’ve worked at places where you’ve had a package from Company A, Company B and Company C and you had to move data manually. The fact that Eagle is all integrated is a huge asset.” For Scott, integration means that he can quickly and easily generate up-to-the-minute, accurate reports through Business Advisor for his boss or members of the sales staff, based on just about any criteria or time period. From there, management can make meaningful decisions based on the most accurate data available.
Activant iNet and EDI bring convenient ordering to Milford Lumber
Activant iNet™ is playing a huge role in helping Milford’s busy contractors manage their building projects. A small contractor who is building four to five houses a year, for example, may not have the chance to place an order during his hectic day. Now he can place an order through iNet via www.milfordlumber.com and the order will be processed the next morning when the staff arrives. “The customers that use it, love it,” says Scott.
The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) application allows Milford to transmit and receive EDI documents between their Eagle system and their primary lumber supplier. These transmissions can be made via modem or high-speed Internet. “When I vouch an EDI invoice, the EDI application fills in every block on the AP Enter Transaction screen. And if we have a problem with receiving, we can retrieve the invoice from our own system,” says Scott. Considering that 70 percent of Milford’s invoices are for building materials, imagine the time savings when up to 80 percent of those invoices are processed via EDI. “It is probably three to four days a month that we’re saving,” says Scott. “It’s a huge amount of time. And we’re getting more accurate. EDI doesn’t make mistakes.”
