DXC Eclipse helps Award Concepts improve order fulfillment and customer satisfaction

Award Concepts, an import distribution company, sells through retail and hardware chains in a variety of categories, including bathroom wares, household products, chemicals and cleaning products, hardware, tools and Wagner spray painting equipment.

The company was previously using a heavily customized version of Microsoft Dynamics AX. The software was more than 10 years old and soon would be unsupported by Microsoft, leaving Award Concepts in the risky position of using software that could quickly become unstable and unsecured.

At the same time, Award Concepts was using a third-party solution to manage its radio frequency (RF) systems, which lets it pick and move stock using electronic scanners.

This had the potential to lead to errors, which would mean the company couldn’t fulfill orders on time for customers.

“Award Concepts couldn’t continue using the old technology,” said Annmaree Talbot, financial controller at Award Concepts. “Errors were starting to filter through and, if nothing had been done about it, the old software could have caused the business to come to a grinding halt. If we don’t meet customer deadlines, then we don’t get paid. So it was essential to upgrade our systems.”

Solution

While the Award Concepts project team knew it would be possible to upgrade to the latest version of Dynamics AX, it was important to take the opportunity to ensure that the company had the best possible solution. The company went to market and requested proposals and demonstrations from three different organizations, including DXC Eclipse, a practice within DXC Technology.

“We had already been working with DXC Eclipse for about 8 years, as they had supported our existing Dynamics AX environment,” said Talbot. “We wanted to make sure the solution we chose would be absolutely right, so we decided to go to market.”

Following an extensive selection process, Award Concepts chose DXC Eclipse to implement Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.

“A big factor in the decision to choose DXC Eclipse was the fact that the team already knew our business inside out,” Talbot explained. “The solution itself had a 95 percent fit with what we needed, and overall, the Award Concepts team had confidence in the team from DXC Eclipse.”

The Dynamics AX solution incorporates out of the box much of the functionality that Award Concepts had to customize previously, making it a cost-effective solution. The integrated RF-SMART, a Certified for Microsoft Dynamics (CfMD) RF solution, was also ideal for the company’s needs.

Outcome and benefits

Fulfilling orders on time is exceptionally important to Award Concepts, so much of the business is dedicated to understanding what orders are in the pipeline and how to fulfill them.

Talbot said the way RF-SMART integrates into Dynamics AX is “incredible” and has made picking orders simpler and refilling shelves much easier.

“The guys in the warehouse used to wander around, refilling shelves when they saw empty ones,” she explained. “It was an ad hoc process that wasn’t very efficient. Now, they have laptops in the forklifts, and they are able to check a screen regularly to replenish shelves according to priorities. It’s much more efficient.”

At the same time, it’s now possible to report daily to relevant members of the team by using the business intelligence functions of Dynamics AX.

“This has meant that our sales reps, managers and the owner of the company know how we’re tracking against our budget on a daily basis, and this helps us stay on track,” said Talbot. “Because we can see in plenty of time when orders need to leave the warehouse, we can plan more effectively, so we are no longer missing delivery requirements. We’re able to fulfill orders correctly and on time. As a result, customer delivery metrics are better than they’ve ever been.

The company has also seen a cost benefit in the office — inputting orders is easier because staff can use EDI to import them directly into Dynamics AX. “Thanks to this system, we’ve saved the equivalent of half a person’s workload,” said Talbot.

Working with DXC Eclipse

Because DXC Eclipse knew Award Concepts’ business so well, the implementation was relatively smooth. Award Concepts took a relaxed approach to the implementation deadline to ensure that the solution could go live without issues.

“I knew from experience that if you rush something, you are bound to encounter issues,” said Talbot. “We were supposed to go live on April 1 to coincide with our financial year, but I delayed the go-live date for 3 months to make sure we had everything right. That meant we had to do 3 months of the financial year using the old system, then switch over to the new system. But the delay let us do more work with end user testing, which resulted in a smoother changeover.

“It’s hard to even quantify the value of having support provided by DXC Eclipse. The last thing you want to hear as an end user is that your support provider can’t support a particular product. That doesn’t happen with DXC Eclipse. They are exceptionally good at either solving problems immediately or at getting back to you very quickly with an answer. It’s extremely valuable to us.”