I occasionally ask members of my team if they miss our old system or if they are happy we made the switch. The answer is always the same: ‘We should have done this a long time ago!’” -Doug Jacobs, President of Restylers’ Choice
aACE Software offered a unique opportunity to integrate state-of-the-art ERP software with Restylers’ Choice’s in-house solutions. By teaming up with aACE, Restylers’ Choice was able to eliminate two days worth of accounting work per month, free up 2,000 square feet of warehouse space, eliminate two conveyor belts, and reduce overall labor requirements by the equivalent of four full-time staffers, among other benefits, in just the first six months.
CHALLENGES & aACE SOLUTIONS
Inventory Management
Restylers’ Choice has four lines of business: traditional warehouse distribution, custom digital printing production, a custom paint department, and graphics installation services. On any given order a customer may purchase products from all four lines of business, and the fulfillment logic may be subject to complex interdependencies. Restylers’ Choice needed a solution that would automatically distribute orders to the relevant work order solutions. aACE’s inventory management software for Mac and PC can be customized to do it all.
Shipping
The Restylers’ Choice team needed a solution that would manage the interdependencies of complex orders and automatically generate invoices when orders were shipped. They may not be able to ship the off-the-shelf graphics kit until the custom painted spoiler is complete, for example. aACE features robust and flexible solutions for managing the pick, pack, and ship process.
Credit Card Integration
Restylers’ Choice needed a solution that would seamlessly charge clients’ credit cards when an invoice was generated and notify the shipping department when a card was declined so that the package could be held until an alternative method of payment was supplied. aACE’s payment dialog supports payment at point-of-sale, including fully PCI-compliant credit card processing.
RESULTS
Increased Efficiency In Operations
Taken together, aACE’s integration with Restylers’ Choice’s own in-house solutions have eliminated two days’ worth of accounting each month, freed up 2,000 feet of warehouse space, eliminated a conveyor belt in each warehouse, and reduced labor requirements by the equivalent of four full-time staffers.
Streamlined Inventory Management
aACE automatically distributes orders to the relevant work order systems. Inventoried items are distributed to a solution that manages the pick and pack process via hand-held devices, while made-to-order items are distributed to the solutions that manage custom digital printing production, painting, and graphics installation services.
Customized Interdependency and Delivery Logic
aACE takes into account various complex interdependencies to ensure that every order flows smoothly. For example, orders with a delivery type of “Ship With MTO” will wait until the made-to-order items are complete before shipping the order.
Shipping and Invoicing Automation
aACE shipments are integrated with NRG software, which provides seamless integration with FedEx, UPS, and USPS. Once a package is marked as shipped in NRG (which corresponds to the package being placed in an area designated for the courier’s next pick-up), aACE generates the corresponding invoice with the necessary shipping charges.
Seamless Credit Card Integration
Credit cards are preauthorized for the entire amount at the time the order is taken, and automatically charged as soon as the invoice is generated. In the event that a credit card charge fails, aACE sends a notification to the shipping department so that the package can be held until an alternative method of payment is supplied.
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Here’s what Doug Jacobs, President of Restylers’ Choice, has to say about aACE:
“Looking back at our transition to aACE, I realize how smooth the process went. Having been on our past system for more than 10 years, you know there are going to be problems and pains in transition. I had trusted advisors warn me that it would require years to “get comfortable” with the new system. The reality is that we were up, running, and processing orders very easily the first day of business on aACE.
The biggest benefit I have personally noticed is our in-house ability to further integrate aACE with our own in-house systems and add new functionality as needed. The system is designed in a very intuitive and easy-to-understand way that allows us to push and pull data to and from aACE, providing the foundation for an even greater ROI throughout our organization as time goes on.”
Download Restylers’ Choice’s Case Study.
