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Genwest Marketing

Growing with technology

"Solid Innovation was the only provider we found that had both a good accounting system AND strong mobile order entry system. Overall, I think this is a very well thought-out program and I look forward to helping both our companies expand it into the future."

Bruce Nile, President
Genwest Marketing

The Company

Genwest Marketing of Sheridan, Wyoming is a distributor of general merchandise, beef jerky, novelties, and candy. Established in April 1993, they had grown to 10 routes covering 15 states, with over $2 million in sales in 2001.

The Challenge

Genwest started doing business in the traditional way. Their drivers would manually write invoices for their customers, based on prices they looked up in their price books. Cash-outs were also done manually, and only on a weekly basis.

It didn't take long for Genwest to realize that they needed to become more efficient. They experienced an unacceptable error rate in the invoices the salesmen created in the field. Not only did it take the salesmen 20 minutes or more to complete invoicing for each customer, but administrative staff were also spending too much time re-keying and, in some cases, correcting and re-issuing invoices.

To help alleviate the situation, they decided to move to pre-printed invoices, with the most popular items and their prices listed so that salesmen would only have to fill in the number purchased. While this new process helped somewhat, it became clear that Genwest needed a better solution. They decided to move toward sales force automation and started investigating various order entry software.

The Solution

Genwest’s research led them to Solid Innovation.

Throughout the years, Genwest had implemented 3 or 4 different computerized management programs. The system they installed before they moved to the Solid Route Accounting™ - Enterprise Edition solution took 4 months to fully implement. One of the reasons they chose the Si system was the promise of easy setup. They were extremely pleased when many of their main functions were up and running in days. For example:

• Their buyer was writing purchase orders and running reports by the third day.
• The Receiving Department was scanning stock transfers, entering and receiving PO's, customers, suppliers, and items by the fourth day.
• The Accounting Department was able to print checks on the first day, and had a total appreciation for the system by day four.
• The A/R Department had customer balances entered by the second day, and printed statements on the third day.
• The A/P Department had entered supplier balances the first day. Total inventory was entered by the third day and all stock transfers to cost centers were done by the fourth day.

The transition to Solid Sales Pro™ was equally well received by their sales force. While their sales team ranged in age and computer savvy, it didn't take long for the sales group to realize how this new mobile billing could make their tasks much easier.

Results with Solid Route Accounting™ - Enterprise Edition

Genwest's move toward sales force automation with the Solid Route Accounting™ - Enterprise Edition has made a significant impact on their operations. Some of the immediate benefits they've realized from installing the Si system include:

• Reduced sales time - In their DSD route accounting business, salesmen have mastered Solid Sales Pro™ and are now moving through customer sites much faster. In fact, the same routes are taking about 1½ hours less per day to complete using the mobile point-of-sale. Invoicing time has been cut in half.
• Increased image - Feedback from customers has revealed that Genwest has taken on a more professional image with the introduction of their new mobile billing system. Customers and accounting alike have more confidence in the accuracy of their invoices.
• Enhanced administration – Field information and invoice accuracy has eliminated administrative stress and increased productivity.
• Better cash flow - The speed of billing has greatly been increased. Invoices are now uploaded to the main accounts receivable system daily instead of weekly. Customers are billed immediately, and cash is received about a week earlier than with the previous system.

Genwest has also been very satisfied with the simplicity of the system. According to Bruce Nile, President of Genwest Marketing, "the calls for help have been far fewer than I expected. In fact, when I demonstrate how to enter a transaction, they can't believe it's so simple. The repetitive nature of the way the information is entered is a huge time-saver in terms of training."

The overall financial results Genwest experienced have been quite substantial.

• Gross profit margin has increased by about 1.5%.
• Route assessment resulted in a sizeable decrease in operating costs.

Conclusion

The quick and simple implementation of the Si software combined with it’s ease of use will directly contribute to Genwest’s future growth. Beef jerky anyone?