B2B Solution - White Paper
Abstract
Information Management Xpert Solutions have engineered flexibility into their EOS360 and ShopEOS360 solutions to do more than the typical order fulfillment/ecommerce package. The leading-edge functionality found in these applications has been used to resolve other issues created by the demands of today's business climate.
The Problem
The Connor Group, a large property management company with 11,500 apartment units in over 35 communities across 4 states required a solution to streamline the end-to-end process for remodeling apartments in their communities.
The previous process involved the labor intensive creation of extensive paper trails spread across 4 states. Apartment configurations, cabinet and counter top specifications, supplier checklists for each apartment type, manual inventory counts for remodel materials stored in various warehouses, and installation checklists were filed at each community, in the warehouses and at the corporate headquarters.
The dispersal of information for inventory and purchasing control was often redundant and inaccurate, caused delays in remodeling schedules, material shortages, installation of incorrect or mismatched materials, supplier payment delays and accounting inaccuracies.
The Product
EOS360 (Figure 1) was designed as an end-to-end order fulfillment application and provides tools to manage customers, orders, inventory, warehouses, and accounting while providing reports on each segment of the order fulfillment process.
Figure 1
ShopEOS360 (Figure 2), the ecommerce solution, displays the products designated in EOS360 as individual products or as products grouped by types or custom configurations on a web site. It provides user accounts so buyers can create profiles which track current and previous orders as well as recipients address information for gift giving.
Figure 2
The seamless integration and intuitive design of the two solutions allow a 'one click' option to display products on the internet while maintaining an up-to-the-minute status of inventory, orders and customers.
The Solution
By thinking outside the 'order fulfillment' box, IMX Solutions adapted the EOS360 and ShopEOS360 applications to handle the Connor Group's situation.
The remodeling and maintenance materials were added as 'products' to a Connor Group EOS360 so on-hand materials could easily be inventoried and out of stock materials identified. Apartment models(floor plans) were assigned as 'product types' and materials (products) were assigned to these types. Remodeling material packages assigned to each apartment were created as 'product groups' so complete lists of materials for specific remodeling tasks could easily be generated. These steps eliminated the need for over 95% of the paperwork required to handle the same tasks previously, and, being a web application, redundant documentation was eliminated while making information available to all staff.
A Connor Group branded ShopEOS360 (Figure 3) was implemented to give apartment community staff a web-based tool to order materials for remodeling tasks in their communities. The ecommerce type interface allowed staff to quickly locate their communities and navigate to the materials available for each floor plan. They simply had to order the material through the site for each of the floor plans they wanted to remodel. This could be done as individual material items or complete packages of materials for larger remodeling tasks. This was further simplified as community staff used the multi-recipient functionality of ShopEOS360 to specify individual apartments as a recipients and chose materials specifically for each apartment. The staff is able to choose all materials for each apartment on one order. Additionally, by setting up a profile, the staff can log in and view material order history and track status of requests currently in progress.
Figure 3
Warehouse staff utilize the EOS360 solution's picking ticket functionality to print picking tickets for the community. Each recipient (apartment) generates a ticket which could be picked, packed and delivered right to the community as a separate package labeled for the apartment it is destined to remodel. Warehouse staff have more accurate inventory counts and can coordinate deliveries with the communities so contractor's schedules can be arranged to minimize downtime.
Headquarters staff can monitor the progress of all communities and generate reports on material orders status, community spending for remodeling tasks and inventory throughout all Connor Group warehouses, ordering materials from third party vendors as necessary. HQ staff also has the ability to transfer materials between warehouses when vendors have delivery delays.
Conclusion
The forward-thinking flexibility programmed into IMX Solutions applications enabled The Connor Group to reduce the previous paper trails required to remodel 2,500 apartment units by over 95%. In addition, community material orders and contractor scheduling was more efficient as materials could be ordered from lists developed for specific floor plans, warehouse personnel picked and packed individual remodel orders and contractors could be scheduled knowing the materials were available and in route. Inventory management issues were eliminated when the the introduction of the EOS360 solution created a single point of control for all Connor Group warehouses.
IMX Solutions provides forward-thinking products that save you time, eliminate redundant tasks, eliminate the need for additional hardware and software and increase profitably. Contact us today to see what our solutions can do for you.
