Pentland Wholesale and Acme Refrigeration have selected In2grate Business Solutions to provide a supply chain solution that will streamline both businesses and improve their profitability. Based on Microsoft Dynamics® NAV, with the added benefit of CALIDUS ePOD/eService electronic proof of delivery and proof of service functionality, the system will reduce administration and duplication, improve efficiency and enhance customer service.
"By choosing Dynamics NAV, we will have a system that will grow with us and will be supported well into the future. The functionality that In2grate provides for electronic proof of delivery and proof of service means we have a full audit trail and we can trigger billing from the point of delivery rather than having to wait until the drivers and engineers return to base," says Chris Hall, Financial Director, across both businesses.
The system will automate Pentland Wholesale's 30,000 sq ft warehouse, covering complete products and spares inventories. It will also recognise Acme's 45 service engineers vans as mobile spares warehouses and the system will identify stock levels on each vehicle. Customer service agents will use the system to gain instant access to customer records showing what they have bought and when, service histories and future service calls. This will enhance customer service, an area that both companies have strong reputations for excellence.
Chris Hall is very clear about why In2grate won this deal.
"The approach the In2grate team took was exemplary. The In2grate team worked extremely hard and put a lot of resources into the proposal, plus the pricing came in early and the company is sticking to them. As well as demonstrating that they could take all our data and put it into the new system, they could configure it to provide a full history of each piece of equipment. These histories cover the lifetime of the equipment - more than 10 years for some kinds of products," he says.
Pentland Wholesale stocks and sells more than 700 commercial refrigeration and catering equipment lines to the trade, while Acme Refrigeration supplies, delivers, installs and maintains refrigeration, air conditioning and catering equipment to customers in the private and public sectors. The companies are part of the Pentland Group, the £1.3 billion organisation that owns well known sportswear brands, including Berghaus, Speedo, Ellesse, Gio-Gio, Mitre and shoe brands Kickers and Ted Baker Footwear. Worldwide the Pentland Group employs over 12,000 people.