Napoleon Products (Infor VISUAL)
“One of the greatest benefits that we’ve seen to date is the time-savings for each of our buyers. After streamlining the communication process between buyers and vendors…we’re seeing a savings of 1-2 hours per day.”
-Louise Mayer, ERP Improvement Manager
Ending the Game of Telephone Tag
Napoleon was struggling to maintain customer satisfaction and avoid product margin erosion in the midst of high growth. At the root of these business challenges were significant inefficiencies in the first mile of their supply chain, supplier collaboration. Managing supplier pricing, quantity, and lead-time data through email, spreadsheets and phone calls meant they lacked the visibility necessary to cost effectively deliver against growing demand for Napoleon products.
The constant, yet incomplete back and forth between Napoleon’s procurement, accounts payable teams and suppliers slowed down the materials purchasing process. These challenges were compounded because PO pricing, quantity, and delivery dates weren’t updated in the ERP. This meant planning, scheduling, production, and finance teams operated on bad data.
“One of the key things I would tell a colleague in recommending SourceDay would be the ease of implementation as well as how SourceDay partners with you to onboard the vendors and educate the users. ”
- Louise Mayer, ERP Improvement Manager
Benefits
Supplier Onboarding Support & Easy Adoption
Adopting a cloud-based SaaS solution like SourceDay allows Napoleon to simplify their supplier communication without having to maintain a supplier portal and support revisions.
Napoleon wanted to find a platform they could quickly implement without a complicated enablement and training process or a heavy burden for their suppliers. SourceDay delivered on that immediately by onboarding more than 200 of Napoleon’s suppliers in 90 days.
SourceDay takes away the time-consuming task of training new end users. “SourceDay trained our buyers and participating vendors,” said Mayer. “SourceDay will also train any new buyers and vendors that we bring in. It takes that load off us.” Typically, training to use SourceDay takes only a half hour to an hour session. “It’s that easy to use! Anyone can just jump in and start using it.”
SourceDay’s SaaS Solution Streamlines Communication
Napoleon needed to transform their purchasing process and automate manual procedures in their supply chain. “For us, the critical issue was to streamline and error-proof the communications and acknowledgment process across our procurement, accounts payable and vendors,” said Mayer.
“SourceDay provides us a platform where communication is all orchestrated in one place. It facilitates a lot of the notification and communication processes by letting the users know when they have to take action on things. We see the ability for both users on the procurement side as well as the vendor side to get access to information very easily.”
With the ability to see PO updates and take action all in one dashboard, both Napoleon’s buyers and suppliers can be more efficient.
Results
Results That Speak for Themselves
Napoleon went live with SourceDay in April 2018 and saw a return on investment (ROI) in 3 months time. “SourceDay paid for itself in less than 3 months,” said Jean Louis Marin, VP of IT at Napoleon.
Napoleon noticed an improvement in buyer productivity, increased on time deliveries, and stopped overpaying suppliers. Production plans became more accurate thanks to SourceDay’s software and Napoleon discovered a drastic increase in their ability to deliver to customers on time. After implementing SourceDay’s AP product, Napoleon decreased incorrect invoices by 90% per week, reducing labor costs and improving productivity in their Accounts Payable department.
“We’ve become much more effective due to the time savings we’re seeing…by having extra time to review planning information on a regular basis, our buyers can make better decisions when suggested POs come up for review,” said Mayer.
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