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Case Studies | Buffalo Electric Supply


  • Location: Birmingham, AL
  • Industry: Electrical Distribution
  • Products & Services: Wholesale Distribution of Electrical Supplies
  • Patrick McCarroll

    Vice President, Buffalo Electric Supply

    • For the cost, you can't find a better software solution. The service and response time is top-notch. You're not just another client for a big tech firm.
    • Being able to pick up the phone and get an answer in a timely manner is something I very much appreciate when it comes to Savance Enterprise.
    • Importing the data from our old software to Savance was challenging, but Jason was there every step of the way to make sure it was done right and on time.
    • Pricing updates used to take the purchasing manager days to update, and now it's done in 15 minutes.
Key Benefits
  • Greater inventory and pricing accuracy
  • Increased flexibility and ease-of-use.
  • Enhanced staff efficiency.
  • Improved process controls.

Buffalo Electric Supply

Saving time & money with Savance

- A Savance Enterprise Client Case Study

We were looking for a future-proof, easy-to-use software package that offered great support from the software provider.

Background Since opening its doors in 1954, Birmingham-based Buffalo Electric Supply has grown to become Alabama’s leading independent, full-service distributor of wholesale electrical products and tools for contractors, industrial end users, and the general public. In addition, the company’s electrical supply store, which specializes in industrial, commercial, and residential wholesale electrical products, is known for its stocked inventory, flexible delivery schedule, and personalized service. Challenges Buffalo Electric Supply prides itself on flexibility and customer satisfaction, and in order to continue to meet these criteria in a changing market, the company started looking for a new ERP solution. The old Array solution had grown antiquated and did not meet Buffalo Electric’s requirements for flexibility and ease-of-use. The opportunities to keep up with the times, for example through e-commerce, were also not there. Vice President Patrick McCarroll explains: "The previous software was run on an older operating system that had no ability to tie into an e-commerce platform in the future."

[Epicor] only had two people dedicated to providing support, [and] it took eighteen months to perform a few minor fixes in their software.

The Search Knowing changes had to be made, Patrick McCarroll and Buffalo Electric Supply set out to find a replacement for its aging ERP system. “We knew we were looking for a future-proof, easy-to-use software package that offered great support from the software provider,” McCarroll says. Other criteria included affordability, copy/paste functionality, and the ability to mass-upload inventory changes. E-commerce, of course, was another important area. One of the solutions Buffalo Electric considered was the latest version of Eclipse from Epicor; however, the company quickly realized it wasn't a good fit. The solution came with high monthly service fees, and also did not come even close to meeting Buffalo Electric's high requirements for product support. "They only had two people dedicated to providing support," Patrick McCarroll says. "It took eighteen months to perform a few minor fixes in their software."
Implementation After searching at trade shows and on the Internet, as well as looking at the latest version from the previous software company, Buffalo Electric Supply came in contact with Savance. "Jason and Steve did an excellent job not only selling their software but also their support," Patrick McCarroll explains. "Being able to pick up the phone and get an answer in a timely manner is something I very much appreciate when it comes to Savance." As a matter of fact, Savance Enterprise’s claim to provide unsurpassed support – as well as Buffalo Electric’s requirements for the same – was immediately tested during product implementation. "Importing the data from our old software to Savance was challenging," McCarroll says, "but Jason was there every step of the way to make sure it was done right and on time." Results & Benefits Since implementing Savance Enterprise, Buffalo Electric Supply has seen improved process controls, as well as greater accuracy when it comes to inventory and pricing. The product’s ease-of-use has also lead to staff operating much more efficiently. Pricing updates can be mentioned as an example. "Pricing updates used to take the purchasing manager days to update, since every item had to be updated manually, and now it’s done in 15 minutes," Patrick McCarroll says.

The Savance software has improved process control, ease-of-use, and staff efficiency.

Reporting is another area where Buffalo Electric has seen major improvements. “Savance made the SPA process with manufacturers much more manageable,” McCarroll explains. “Instead of manually going through every ticket to create the rebate, we now have reports set to run automatically.” The ability to create custom reports is a benefit to both Accounting and Sales teams. When asked whether he would recommend Savance Enterprise to other companies, McCarroll says he absolutely would, and adds: "For the cost, you can’t find a better software solution. The service and response time is top-notch. You’re not just another client for a big tech firm."