Service Electric Supply
Capitalizing on inventory accuracy with a personal touch
- A Savance Enterprise Client Case Study
There is a lot of functionality for the dollar spent with this ERP software.
Background
Since 1990, Service Electric Supply, Inc. has been operating in Southeast Michigan as a full-service electrical wholesale distributor. They pride themselves on superior customer service, accommodating all business sizes from independent contractors and the general public, to large industrial end-users. With superior customer service in mind, Service Electric Supply sought to automate competitive pricing for their fully-stocked inventory from the best brands in the electrical business.
Challenges
Electrical distribution is a fast-paced, changing market. With superior customer service in mind, Service Electric Supply had to ensure that they could deliver utmost customer satisfaction, along with competitive pricing. Service Electrical Supply’s existing Array system lacked the functionality and flexibility needed to keep pace. President and CEO Eric Braidwood explains, “Our goal was to find a solution with an architecture that could be built on. Our old Cobalt system did not give us that flexibility, which hindered our future operations and growth.”
“Our goal was to find a solution with an architecture that could be built on. Our old system did not give us that flexibility, which hindered our future operations and growth.”
The Solution
Savance Enterprise’s ERP offered a user-friendly interface and options for customization the electrical distributor required. The all-inclusive platform conveniently tied together ordering, purchasing, and accounting alongside with a Critical Purchasing module backed by real-time inventory data. “Savance’s use of powerful formulas gave us visibility to details about our business we didn’t have before,” adds Braidwood.
Customer Service Stands Out
After several discussions with ownership, it was Savance’s commitment to customer service that persuaded Service Electric Supply to make the move. Braidwood explains “I think that’s why some bigger
software companies weren’t as attractive; we felt that there just wasn’t a personal touch.” Having that personal touch is something Service Electric learned to truly value, “We were a little naive at first. Because of the familiarity, we didn’t spend enough time on the internal day-to-day processes, but being able to pick up the phone and talk to someone real is something we really enjoy. I don’t know where else you would get that personal level of service. There is a lot of functionality for the dollar spent with this ERP software.”
Results & Benefits
Since implementing Savance Enterprise ERP, Service Electric Supply has improved overall efficiency and productivity. The product’s real-time data and reporting has helped streamline the company’s inventory management. “Reorder points and reorder quantities were static with Array. With Savance, I do like that as trends change, if you are selling more of something, the system is already factoring that in, which is very beneficial. We are able to get a better and more accurate standard fill rate,” says Braidwood.
Real-time connectivity to the business also allows Service Electric Supply to mine more of their own data, giving the company greater visibility and access to reporting that they simply did not have with the old Array system. Additionally, Savance’s ease-of-use has helped Service Electric Supply improve staff efficiency. Training new employees is just one example, Eric Braidwood explains. “We enjoy how user-friendly Savance Enterprise is. We just hired a new employee that’s been with us for only three weeks and she seems to have picked up the software very quickly.”
“Manufacturers are not just rating us on how much we buy from them, but also on how easy we are as a customer to do business with, and I think Savance Enterprise has really helped with that.”
Braidwood also mentions how Savance Enterprise has improved the professional relationships between Service Electric Supply and their vendors. “Connectivity between your customers and your vendors gets more important by the day,” he says. “Manufacturers are not just rating us on how much we buy from them, but also on how easy we are as a customer to do business with, and I think Savance Enterprise has really helped with that.”
Ultimately, Service Electric Supply has benefited from Savance’s powerful functionality, flexibility, and unsurpassed support, helping the company streamline day-to-day processes and become a more efficient electrical distributor.