Kellogg Supply Relies on Activant Eagle for Special Order Management and Tracking Inventory for Multiple Locations
Kellogg Supply Company has phased-in Activant Eagle™ for Windows at all five retail locations and now enjoy the business efficiencies inherent in Eagle's training browsers, Special Order, Business Advisor and Offline POS applications. Using Eagle, Kellogg Supply has been able to automate the ordering process with Do it Best, eliminating the confusion and errors common with mail and call-in orders.
Eagle Manages Weathervanes and Wood Putty for Kellogg Supply
It's about 120 miles from Duck to Buxton on the outer banks of North Carolina. And although the Nor'easters and hurricane-force winds might shift the dunes or damage the dwellings, there's one force that remains constant: the excellent service provided by Kellogg Supply Company and its chain of retail stores.
Kellogg Supply locations dot the barrier islands area—with three lumber and building materials sites, two retail gift shops, a corporate office and warehouse. Lumber and building materials account for about 85 percent of their annual revenue with the remaining 15percent from the gift business. Kellogg Supply maintains diverse businesses to address the needs of its year-round and seasonal residents who come here to fish, sail and soar where Orville and Wilbur made their first flight.
Training is Easy on Eagle for Windows
Business diversity has also meant self-defense in this era of big box retailers. To maintain such varied inventory, Kellogg Supply has implemented Eagle for Windows at all locations. "We've been with Activant since the mid-1980s," says Missy McMillan Rotchford, controller. "It was a no-brainer to go with Eagle for Windows. Most people today are used to working with Windows, so learning the Eagle applications comes naturally. We can train new employees much more quickly and get them working, helping customers and making sales. We then have more time available to train them on Kellogg Supply Company's policies and procedures."
Missy also credits Eagle's AP and GL training materials with helping employees expand their knowledge if they have some downtime to learn something new. "Our employees who are already well-versed in Eagle look to the training browsers for answers. When they learn something new, they share it with their co-workers. Everyone learns what one person has taken the time to learn."
Eagle Closes the Loop on Special Orders
Many businesses offer special order services, then struggle to connect the dots between ordering, receiving and delivering to the customer. But filling special orders reliably is one of the best ways to build customer loyalty. Eagle's Special Order application has made that difference for Kellogg Supply. "We often had a disconnect between the purchase order and receiving," says Missy. "When the order came in, it wasn't easy to match the customer to the merchandise. With Eagle, you input the special order information and it downloads right to the purchase order. There's little chance for errors because we aren't double-keying anything. We've set up Special Order to automatically print labels at night. Receiving attaches the label to the purchase order the next morning and when the merchandise comes in, they label it. We know immediately where it needs to go. It's just expedited things tremendously."
Customers Move Through at the Normal Rate With Offline POS
To make sure they don't lose sales or the ability to serve customers during a storm or other disruption in electrical service, Kellogg Supply uses Offline Point-of-Sale (POS). "With Offline POS, the applications look just like they do in online mode. Sales associates process transactions and upload them at the end of the day. Customers are happy because they can get in and out at the normal rate. It makes our associates happy, too, because they don't have to handwrite tickets or look up prices. Because we use bin labels in our stores, each item isn't labeled separately. We don't want to hunt for prices, and with Offline POS, we don't have to."
"It's mind-blowing, how much information you can get."
With five retail locations to manage, it's imperative that Kellogg Supply's management stay abreast of inventory levels, sales and expenses. "In the past, if we wanted to analyze something," begins Missy, "we had to print three reports and spread them across our desks just to look at a few figures. With Business Advisor—and all the modules, really—you click and the information is right at your fingertips. You don't have to exit and go to another screen. It's amazing what Eagle for Windows can do for you. It's mind-blowing, how much information you can get."
As controller, Missy is responsible for balancing cash flow—a critical role for any inventory-heavy business. "With the AP module," says Missy, "I can check the screen for cash requirements for the day, or in the future. I don't have to wait for data or print reports. When I'm doing cash flow projections and checking payables for the day, I instantly have the information I need with just a few clicks."
Missy says that the best part of Eagle is the ability to get real-time data to make meaningful business decisions. "With Eagle, we see how the company's doing and evaluate whether to make changes. We review what's actually going on throughout the day in each of our remote stores. If the customer count is down, for example, we can ask questions like, ‘Should we even stay open during those hours?' As a management team, we make more informed and timely decisions because we have the information right at our fingertips."
