SDD lifts customer service levels, productivity with Ability

SDD, South Africa`s leading broad-based IT distributor, has reported dramatic improvements in productivity and customer service levels following its implementation of the Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment solution.

SDD, the largest Ability Solutions site in South Africa with 372 users on the system, went live with the suite on 2 April. SDD, which has used the Ability - Inventory Optimization solution for around three years, replaced the Solomon IV application with the Ability solution.

Toni Gorlei, the newly appointed MD of SDD, says the high-tech distribution arena is characterised by tight margins and fierce competition, creating a demand for IT systems that allow cashflow and inventory to be managed in real-time.

The implementation of Ability eCommerce Fulfillment, combined with SDD`s older investment in the Ability - Inventory Optimization product, has provided an integrated solution that will help SDD meet this challenge.

Adds Gorlei: "Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment has given us more control over our business, access to sophisticated management reporting information, and the ability to streamline our processes."

In addition, says Gorlei, the Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment solution provides a solid platform on which SDD can build its eCommerce, customer relationship management and supply chain management initiatives.

The implementation of the Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment solution at SDD has been driven from the top level of the firm`s holding company, Siltek Limited, which has adopted the product as the standard back-office suite for most of its South African subsidiaries. SDD`s sister companies, Workgroup and Memtek-MMW are also live on Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment.

"User experience with the package throughout the group have been very positive, and we knew from the project at Workgroup that it would provide the functionality we needed," says Gorlei.

User buy-in critical

Members of the task team that oversaw the implementation of Ability at SDD, say that that the combination of executive sponsorship and user buy-in played a critical role in the success of the project.

Says Shaun Curnick, logistics manager at SDD: "The users were deeply involved in the implementation of the package at every point of the project.

"This, together with an extensive training programme, ensured that we experienced relatively few hitches when we went live with the suite."

Anne Connor, SDD`s national credit manager, says the Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment solution is a good fit for SDD`s business, and required little customisation. This allowed the group to roll the package out in an aggressive three-month timeframe.

Another factor that contributed to the success of the project was the direct involvement of the vendor that developed the software throughout the implementation cycle. Ability Solutions worked closely with SDD on aspects of the project such as end-user training, support, and implementation.

The software firm has developed a few new modules for SDD - such as overseas creditors. Many of these will be included as officially supported components in future releases of the Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment product.

"This project has proven to be a good learning experience for SDD and Ability Solutions. By developing new features to meet SDD`s requirements, Ability Solutions is also expanding the functionality of its product to meet the needs of other customers," says Connor.

Benefits across the business

Connor says that Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment has lifted productivity in her department by eliminating the need to capture data manually. The time needed to complete certain processes - such as foreign creditor`s accounts - has been slashed from hours down to minutes, she adds. In addition, up-to-date management reports can be called up within minutes. Anita Fuls, finance manager at SDD, says one of the most important benefits of the new system is that it has helped to lift staff morale by providing users with a tool that helps them to perform their jobs more efficiently.

"The new system is much easier to use than the package we had in place before, with an intuitive interface that provides access to all relevant information from one point-of-entry. Response times and performance are substantially better as well," says Fuls.

Eve Duron, internal sales manager at SDD, says Ability has helped SDD to lift its customer service levels by improving turnaround times for collections and deliveries.

"In the past, dealers spent an average of 20 to 30 minutes waiting for their orders to be processed when they arrived at the SDD depot. Now, most collections are processed in under ten minutes," she says.

The tight integration of Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment with Ability - Inventory Optimization has provided SDD with a powerful tool for the setting and management of inventory goals.

In the past, data in the financial systems was always a day behind the information in the inventory and logistics systems. SDD has integrated the databases of the financial, logistics and inventory management applications, so that it has a window into the real-time status of one of the most critical areas in its business.

Curnick notes that high-tech distribution is particularly vulnerable to obsolescence because of the rapid product development cycles that characterise the IT industry. This makes it critically important to strike the balance between having enough stock to meet customer demand and not getting caught with excess, outdated inventory.

The demand planning function in the Ability - Inventory Optimization solution allows SDD to make accurate demand forecasts based on factors such past sales, as well as lost sales and periods of exceptional demand, he says.

The system needs to cater for a heavy load of transactions: SDD processes around 1 500 invoices a day, picks 4 000 line items a day in its warehouses and receives more than 1 000 stock shipments a month. The company distributes more than 21 000 different stock items.

"The combination of the Ability - Inventory Optimization package with our logistics system has enabled us to reduce the amount of stock we hold in our inventory from R140 million to around R100 million, without any impact on customer service," says Curnick.

The system has also allowed SDD to streamline and automate its purchasing and costing processes, reducing opportunities for human error to creep in. John Gaydon, SDD`s IT manager, says the Ability - eCommerce Fulfillment solution was painless to implement and integrate into the distribution firm`s existing IT infrastructure.

"The new system is very stable, and requires the minimum level of ongoing support and management," adds Gaydon.

The new system has also allowed SDD to beef up information security by granting of access rights to users based on their job functions. This ensures that users are empowered with the information they need to do their jobs, while preventing sensitive data from landing in the wrong hands, says Gaydon.

The product includes an integrated eCommerce module that will form the basis of SDD`s B2B initiative, which will create an electronic platform for interaction between the distribution firm and its dealers. The eCommerce system - which is set to go live soon - will allow SDD`s customers to place orders and generate quotations online.

Dealers will also be able to view statements and proof-of-delivery forms as well as pricing and availability information online when this module goes live. SDD plans to integrate this e-commerce module with the systems of its logistics and delivery company, Imperitek, so that dealers will be able to track orders in real-time over the Internet.

Shoaib Patel, MD of Ability Solutions, says: "eCommerce and collaborative trading are re-shaping the way distributors do business with their customers. IT systems that allow distribution firms to maximise their operational efficiency and tightly manage their inventory are becoming a critical competitive-edge in this new and rapidly changing operating environment."