DBD Distribution Limited
DBD Distribution is the leading distributor of kitchen
appliances in the UK. Its core business is providing stock,
delivery and installation of white goods to major house builders.
DBD's strategic aims are carried out through a distribution and
warehousing operation, in conjunction with a contracting
arm.
Business growth was beginning to place a great strain on the
company's infrastructure. It could not process growing transaction
volumes, nor could it deliver management information. Feeling that
its ability to extract meaningful reports had been compromised, DBD
decided to source a new financial system.
The solution
With the aid of their accountant and a systems consultant, DBD
evaluated a number of enterprise applications and drew up a
detailed system specification. This included the ability to handle
high transaction volumes, excellent adaptability, reasonable cost
and easy modification. After further investigation and
demonstrations from each supplier, DBD selected Access and Access Dimensions.
Bob Barnard explains their decision. "Cost wise, Access was
somewhere in the middle, offering great value. But, what really won
us over was their experience as an implementer. Their confidence in
the product was tremendous. And knowing their skills, we were
confident in their ability to adapt the product to our
requirements."
Implementation
The implementation of Dimensions went according to plan and
budget. The system is used by Accounts, Buying, IT, Admin and
Transport giving company wide access to up-to-the-minute
information, including stock and customer records.
"We operate a very specific business and Access Dimensions has
been easily tailored and honed to match it. Access have delivered
superb service. Their knowledge and expertise came together with
the Access software to form something fantastic and very powerful,"
says Bob.
Managing the order bank and improving buying forecasts
The Access project costing module is used extensively to manage
DBD's projects. A project (customer order) consists of white goods
required to kit out an entire development of new build houses.
Within any given development there are a number of plots, different
house types and customer choices. Goods are supplied to the
customer at a fixed price.
"Access has proven to be adaptable and connectable. Our
business is growing rapidly and we know that our Access system will
grow with us." Bob Barnard
Managing Director
Supplying to new home builds means that a project can remain
open for a considerable period of time, pending sale of the
properties. The Access price matrix module is used to manage the
dynamics of delivering goods at a fixed price, up to two years
after the price is agreed. Bob Barnard comments, "In an industry
with fixed priced sub-contracts and tight margins, it is critical
to get your pricing right. The Access price matrix, used in
conjunction project
costing, enables us to do so."
At any time, the company can drill down into a project and see
what has yet to be supplied. As deliveries are made, orders are
called off and transferred from costing into sales order processing,
to become a live order.
Back-to-back orders - reducing stock holdings
DBD takes advantage of the back-to-back order facilities in the
purchase order processing module. As sales orders are raised, so
are corresponding purchase orders. This process eliminates the need
to hold any speculative stock, something that simply was not
possible with the previous system.
An order bank report enables the company to see at any time the
value or orders in hand. From this information, forecasts can be
produced as an aid to the buying process. Because orders can be
collated, the company can buy container loads direct from the
factory and benefit from lower prices.
Order planning and scheduling
Access have incorporated their graphical sheduling tool with
Access sales order processing, to control the scheduling of work
for over 30 external installers. The sales order for each job can
be seen within the service
management software, at the click of a button. All necessary
information is detailed on the sales order, including the job
schedule and the allocated engineer.
Bob Barnard explains the impact that this technology is having:
"This is the really exciting bit. We have moved away from manual
processes - clip boards and pegs on the wall - to a fully
computerised system. Now our whole operation is slick. There are
only three or four companies that can do what we do and we
definitely beat them on service.
Before, when we received a customer call, we had to ring back
with the details, after finding them in our paper files. Now, we
instantly know exactly where our engineers are, and we can see all
the details pertaining to an installation. This means we deal with
things immediately."
Dimensions goes business-wide
FD Bob Barnard and team discuss how a cross-operational view of
business activity has helped DBD Distribution cement its status as
the largest contract appliance distributor in England and
Wales.
Watch now »
Why CRM, and why now? Perhaps you’ve been thinking about investing for a while, but you’ve been waiting for the economic storm to subside. Perhaps you’ve been put off by horror stories of companies who spent heavily in CRM systems and have yet to see the benefits.
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