Sage Case Studies Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA Gets More Than a Band-Aid

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	Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA Gets More Than a Band-Aid Sage

Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA Gets More Than a Band-Aid

Sage

Technology Category	Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
Applicable Industries	Healthcare & Hospitals
Applicable Functions	Logistics & Transportation Sales & Marketing
Use Cases	Inventory Management Supply Chain Visibility
Services	Software Design & Engineering Services System Integration
Challenge	Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA, a family-owned and operated company for over 25 years, was facing challenges with its outdated UNIX-based system. The system was not Y2K compliant and lacked forecasting data or insights on individual customer buying patterns. It was unable to sustain the company's growth and serve its needs for mobile order fulfillment or e-commerce. Each of Zee Medical’s 32 vans is a mobile warehouse. The better its inventory matches customers’ needs, the better its daily sales and the fewer back orders processed. The company needed a powerful, fully automated inventory management system that could handle the expanding demands of 32 “mobile warehouses” and a high volume of users. Read More
About Customer	Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA, describes itself as “America’s workplace safety expert.” It is the nation’s largest van-based distributor of first aid and safety solutions to industry. Local distributors send out trucks to 300,000 manufacturing plants, construction firms, restaurants, hotels, and offices across the continent, fully equipped with everything from first-aid kits to safety glasses. The company has been family-owned and operated for more than 25 years. Its vans visit up to 640 businesses every day. In addition to supplies, Zee Medical Service helps customers with specialty items like respiratory protection, machine guarding, and hearing protection, and it provides on-site training on 40 subjects, including blood-borne pathogens, confined-space procedures, and CPR. Read More
Solution	Zee Medical Service switched to a Microsoft Windows® platform and Sage 100 ERP and found everything it wanted and more. Sage 100 ERP provided the information needed for managing multiple warehouses, with the scalability to handle a higher volume of users on the system. The company was able to speed up backorders, eliminate downtime, and develop strategies to anticipate what customers would want in advance. Orders are now faxed in every night and entered into the Sage 100 ERP system. The company now knows exactly what was sold the day before and can prepare inventory in advance. Delivery times have been reduced, and there’s still room for further improvements in the future. A related benefit has been a widening of Zee’s inventory offerings, since less stock needs to be maintained on the premises at any given time. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage

Applicable Industries

Healthcare & Hospitals

Applicable Functions

Logistics & Transportation

Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Inventory Management

Supply Chain Visibility

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services

System Integration

Challenge

Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA, a family-owned and operated company for over 25 years, was facing challenges with its outdated UNIX-based system. The system was not Y2K compliant and lacked forecasting data or insights on individual customer buying patterns. It was unable to sustain the company's growth and serve its needs for mobile order fulfillment or e-commerce. Each of Zee Medical’s 32 vans is a mobile warehouse. The better its inventory matches customers’ needs, the better its daily sales and the fewer back orders processed. The company needed a powerful, fully automated inventory management system that could handle the expanding demands of 32 “mobile warehouses” and a high volume of users.

About Customer

Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA, describes itself as “America’s workplace safety expert.” It is the nation’s largest van-based distributor of first aid and safety solutions to industry. Local distributors send out trucks to 300,000 manufacturing plants, construction firms, restaurants, hotels, and offices across the continent, fully equipped with everything from first-aid kits to safety glasses. The company has been family-owned and operated for more than 25 years. Its vans visit up to 640 businesses every day. In addition to supplies, Zee Medical Service helps customers with specialty items like respiratory protection, machine guarding, and hearing protection, and it provides on-site training on 40 subjects, including blood-borne pathogens, confined-space procedures, and CPR.

Solution

Zee Medical Service switched to a Microsoft Windows® platform and Sage 100 ERP and found everything it wanted and more. Sage 100 ERP provided the information needed for managing multiple warehouses, with the scalability to handle a higher volume of users on the system. The company was able to speed up backorders, eliminate downtime, and develop strategies to anticipate what customers would want in advance. Orders are now faxed in every night and entered into the Sage 100 ERP system. The company now knows exactly what was sold the day before and can prepare inventory in advance. Delivery times have been reduced, and there’s still room for further improvements in the future. A related benefit has been a widening of Zee’s inventory offerings, since less stock needs to be maintained on the premises at any given time.

Impact #1	Strategic inventory management; timely delivery and backorders; eliminated down time; improved productivity; enhanced customer service.
Impact #2	Customer service has improved as well. When a client asks, the company can tell them the exact status of their order. Detailed notes are made in the system, recording updates from vendors, and comments from customer phone calls. Driving instructions are even put in the notes, so substitute drivers can easily take over a route.
Impact #3	The company maintains an Access® database with various types of customer lists, essential because bill-to addresses are often different than ship-to locations, and many different representatives may serve a single account. Its reseller used Sage tools to create a seamless interface with the Sage 100 ERP system, made possible by its flexibility and open database connectivity.

Impact #1

Strategic inventory management; timely delivery and backorders; eliminated down time; improved productivity; enhanced customer service.

Impact #2

Customer service has improved as well. When a client asks, the company can tell them the exact status of their order. Detailed notes are made in the system, recording updates from vendors, and comments from customer phone calls. Driving instructions are even put in the notes, so substitute drivers can easily take over a route.

Impact #3

The company maintains an Access® database with various types of customer lists, essential because bill-to addresses are often different than ship-to locations, and many different representatives may serve a single account. Its reseller used Sage tools to create a seamless interface with the Sage 100 ERP system, made possible by its flexibility and open database connectivity.

Benefit #1	Delivery times have been reduced.
Benefit #2	Less stock needs to be maintained on the premises at any given time.

Benefit #1

Delivery times have been reduced.

Benefit #2

Less stock needs to be maintained on the premises at any given time.

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Overview

Zee Medical Service of Reading, PA Gets More Than a Band-Aid

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit