|
|
|
|
| Home : News & Events : PCS In The News : July 15, 2006 |
|
| Print This Page |
Data Solution Increases Efficiency, Decreases Head Count
 July 15, 2006
Catalog Success
Matt Griffin
View The Original Article
Data Solution Increases Efficiency, Decreases Head Count
Global Industrial Equipment implemented Profit Center Software's (PCS) Profitability Software Suite in 2003 to simplify its order entry and product inventory processes. Global previously relied on separate databases for its online and offline databases, which required time-intensive nightly synchronization, says Jeff Gregory, Vice President of the industrial division of the Port Washington, N.Y.-based material handling and industrial supply cataloger. Even with the regular integration of the databases, the company often shipped orders to incorrect addresses and had difficulty maintaining an accurate inventory of its more than 60,000 SKUs.
For example, if customers logged into their account profiles and changed a billing address, then called into the contact center later that day with orders, the new address wasn't reflected on the customer service rep's screen because each event took place on a separate database, Gregory notes. Similarly, if an inventory manager eliminated or modified a particular SKU, that updated information wouldn't appear on the e-commerce site until the following day, which resulted in customers viewing outdated information.
Although the problem primarily arose with the advent of the cataloger's e-commerce site in the mid-1990s, Global officials had been attempting to replace the legacy database system since 1992. In addition to seeking an outside replacement for the system, Global executives at one point attempted to develop an in-house solution --- but with little success.
After suffering through nightly data synchronization for more than a decade, Global finally decided on PCS' unified solution in 2003. Once the Profitability Suite was chosen, system implementation took about three months, Gregory says.
PCS' integrated solution requires each update to take place only once. Customer data, order data and product data, changed either online or offline, instantly are available to anyone with access to the system. The entire system is Web-based, says George Winter, executive vice president at PCS, and the e-commerce site is just an extension of the database.
On the technical side, Gregory explains that Global runs Oracle as its primary database on Linux servers on the back end. The front end of the system is Java-based, which is what allows the Web-based functionality.
As for results, because PCS updates the database in real time, the nightly synchronizations were eliminated, which cut back on the time the marketer spent maintaining the database by approximately 15 percent to 20 percent, Gregory says. With the time savings came increased efficiency: Global officials were able to reduce head count in both the customer service and marketing departments by about 15 percent. Additionally, while training on the legacy system often took up to a week, new users could be trained and be using the new system in about a day.
While PCS' solution costs $125 per user, per month --- including training, data conversion and report building --- Gregory notes that the system provided a return on investment within the first year of implementation.
For additional information, contact: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Your Whole Business. On Demand! |
|
ProfitCenter Software Inc. (PCS) is a leader in web-based on demand software for multichannel merchants and direct marketers. The company’s Profitability Software Suite™, delivered in a Software as a Service (SaaS) model, is the first integrated, scaleable suite of applications designed to directly enhance a company’s bottom line. The software solution scales to meet the demands of small, mid sized and large complex companies that sell products and services through multiple sales channels, without the costs a complexities of the traditional catalog software, order management solutions and mail order systems.
Through sales, order management, fulfillment, warehousing, shipping and accounting, ProfitCenter Software’s solutions empower companies with the ability to automate and manage their entire customer life cycle and run their whole business off a web browser. With its extensive and broad functionality, ProfitCenter Software provides a comprehensive suite of on demand applications to help multichannel direct marketing companies of every size, industry, and geography.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
