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Better
Production
Manufacturer
Embraces e-Business Technology
A manufacturer's
ability to implement e-business technology may have a profound impact
on its bottom line over the next few years. Even in industries that
until now have been immune to Internet fever, a comprehensive Internet
strategy has become an important competitive advantage. For one
Michigan-based cutting tool manufacturer, e-business wasn't just
about buying and selling on the Web. It was about providing better
service and convenience to its existing customers and distributors.
Quinco Tool
Products (Oak Park, Michigan) was founded in 1950 as a manufacturer
of HSS and premium cobalt end mills. Two hundred miles separate
the company's headquarters from the manufacturing facility, and
its distributors are spread throughout the country, so reliable
lines of communication are extremely important to the operation
of the business. "We saw a need to improve our ability to communicate
both internally and externally, and the Internet seemed to be a
good fit," says Charlie Warren, sales manager of Quinco Tool. "We
had a Web site, but it had become outdated, so we looked at ways
to improve it." In early 2000, Quinco decided to completely rebuild
its Web site, as well as its overall Internet strategy, with the
help of Interalab,
Inc. .
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| Accepting
orders over the Internet allows Don Harrington, Quinco Tool's
customer service manager, to pull and ship orders after the
sales staff has gone home for the day. |
Strategically,
Quinco had several challenges. There was an increasing need to give
its distributors easy access to up-to-date inventory, product and
production information. And, in what was becoming a more competitive
marketplace, the company also needed to squeeze more efficiency
out of the order fulfillment process—making Quinco a faster,
easier and more available alternative than its competitors. Whatever
solution the company decided on would also have to seamlessly interface
with its internal business system and its custom production information
system at the Rose City manufacturing plant.
In planning
the new Web site, it became clear that any meaningful Internet initiative
would be an integral part of its business system, not just an add-on.
The site needed to facilitate order entry, special quotes, real-time
inventory reporting from each warehouse and distributor information,
and it had to be flexible enough to add new features without requiring
a major re-build.
The resulting
Web site achieved those goals and more. One important feature came
through the automated update component. Not only did it improve
the timeliness of the data that were available on the Web site,
but it also eliminated double entry and manual uploads. Now, when
inventory or description information is updated in Quinco's internal
production and business systems, it is automatically updated on
the Web site.
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| A
Material Sales Company sales agent views available inventory
as he prepares to order end mills from the Quinco Tool Web site.
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The new site
was completed by the Fall of 2000, and it proved to be more useful
than expected. From time to time, computer-based business systems
go down for maintenance or repairs. When that happens, companies
can't stop answering the phone or taking orders—which can
quickly escalate to a crisis situation. During a recent outage of
the in-house order entry system at Quinco, the sales staff was able
to switch gears and quickly access inventory and production information
through the Web site even though the business system was down. "For
a short-term outage, it was a real life saver. Without it, we would
have been dead in the water," says Tom Spedding, vice president
and general manager at Quinco.
Another unexpected
use of production information was the ability of sales and production
staff to access production run quantities and expected delivery
dates from the road, anytime of the day or night. On a recent out-of-state
sales call, sales manager Charlie Warren needed production information
for a large quote. In the past, it would have meant that he had
to wait until the next day to get the information he needed. But
since Quinco had revamped its Web site, Mr. Warren was able to get
up-to-date delivery estimates and deliver a quote that evening from
the comfort of his hotel room.
Since its launch,
use of the site for online ordering and product information has
been steadily increasing. From the testing phase to the limited
initial roll out, through the current full-scale release, feedback
has been very positive. "We had an idea of what to expect, because
we had been talking to our customers about it throughout development,
but you never really know until they start to use it," says Mr.
Warren. "So far, we've heard nothing but good things about it. We're
certain that we have the most advanced e-business solution in our
industry."
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