Propack Logistics
We built a custom system called P3PL (Propack 3rd Party Logistics) that has allowed Propack to more than quadruple their shipping capacity with their existing resources, reduce time to invoice from an average of 2 ½ weeks per invoice to only a few minutes and improved their customer service by providing their customers on-line access to orders, shipments, receipts and charges. When we started, Propack’s internal systems would not allow them to take on new customers without eroding their margins. They are now highly profitable and have been able to shed underperforming clients and replace them with many new clients who can submit their orders electronically over the Internet with no transcription or re-entry of consignee order information.
Barron Heating
Barron’s sales force creates fixed-price proposals for commercial and residential heating and air conditioning systems. We built a laptop-based system that allows their sales people to create a proposal, print it out and get a customer signature without returning to the office and having an administrative support person manually create a proposal. The net result of this effort has been to:
- Increase sales effectiveness
- Increase accuracy of proposal pricing
- Reduce or eliminate costs of administrative support in producing proposals
- Increase profitability of each quote
- Increase management visibility into sales pipeline
Bramble Berry
We have replaced Bramble Berry’s old web store software and shopping cart with a new site that automates credit card processing, allows them to update product pricing and availability on-line and interface directly with QuickBooks™.
Brooks Manufacturing
Brooks is a longstanding Bellingham company that has come to dominate a very specific market for engineered wood products, that of electrical distribution cross arms and transmission structures. We were originally engaged to assist them with software selection. That led to their selection of a package that is specific to the lumber industry (ISIS) that integrates to Great Plains. We have been retained to provide project management services for the implementation.
Martin's Feed
Martin's Feed in Everson needed a website overhaul to help them promote their business. Click here to see the results of our work.
Sicklesteel Cranes, Inc.
Sicklesteel rents cranes, both fully operated and customer-operated. Their quoting process for fully-operated cranes is extremely intricate and allows them to be very competitive; however, the process is driven by many spreadsheets and manual calculations. In addition, their crane scheduling software was inadequate and did not meet their business needs.
We interviewed Thom Sicklesteel extensively and developed a clear documentation of his existing processes and the problems with these processes, the requirements for an automated system to both replace the existing crane scheduling and quoting processes, and are now in the midst of developing this solution.
On completion, Sicklesteel will be able to rapidly generate accurate quotes, transfer these quotes to an upgraded scheduling system, record crane and operator time and produce invoices for their services much more rapidly and accurately than they can now. This will allow Sicklesteel to grow into new markets and compete even more effectively than they can now.
View Sicklesteel Crane's Web Site »
Redden Marine Supply
Redden had an ancient accounting, inventory and order processing system that was breaking daily and causing so much employee stress that they were in danger of losing critical employees. We met with the owners and interviewed virtually every key system user in their entire business and helped them develop a clear definition of their business and their requirements. We then identified many possible solutions and solution providers, whittled these down to a short list, arranged interviews with each and led key Redden personnel through the process of selecting a product and a VAR (Value Added Reseller) to work with them to implement an entire new solution. Once they selected a VAR, our work with them was completed.
The net impact of this effort was, although costly, a complete reengineering of Redden’s internal information systems that will allow them to substantially improve their internal margins and inventory control and should pay for itself in less than two years.
