Managing Director of Webro, Peter Edginton, reveals how investing in Exel’s EFACS E/8 has increased efficiency within the firm.
Formed in 1981, Webro is a £14m turnover company supplying high quality cables and connectors to a wide range of sectors including broadband; satellite; TV, automotive; telecoms; security, and renewables.
Managing director Peter Edginton explains some of the main challenges the company faces.
“In short we source cable from a number of different suppliers in order to supply the right cabling solutions to our customers.
“However, each of our approximately 800-strong core customer base expects next-day access to over 1,500 lines from 3.5mm to 25mm outer diameter, in lengths from 50m to 1000m.”
Stock and order visibility are also paramount because each time someone has to go and check something and call the customer back, it adds to the possibility of losing a sale.
Another key challenge lies in the fact the company can only buy mixed container loads which contain hundreds of kilometres of cable and has to deal with lead times that are four to six weeks from Europe, and up to 12 weeks from the Far East.
Prior to investing in EFACS E/8, these challenges were tackled by a rudimentary DOS-based CRM/management system supplemented by a number of spreadsheets.
Shortfalls included high levels of data entry duplication, repeated manual checking-in of goods, a cumbersome paper trail, as well as very little visibility throughout the company.
A search for a modern, integrated replacement began in 2010 and lasted three to four months where, as Edginton puts it, “we had our minds blown in a positive way”.
He continues, “EFACS stood out light years by having all your standard functionality such as Stock Management, CRM, etc., but also including other elements such as Document Management and Container Bookings as part of the integrated solution.
“We also liked the fact that the system was designed to be customisable to the way we wanted and needed it to work.”
EFACS E/8 went live in 2013 with the resulting benefits being felt from the outset in the form of centralized information that provided increased visibility and access, automation of simple tasks and the eradication of duplicated processes.
For example, now when a customer rings for a price, there is no need for someone to physically have to go and find the relevant paperwork and call the customer back.
Edginton adds, “If a customer asks for a 400m length cable we can now see immediately if this is available and avoid unnecessary re-cutting.”
EFACS E/8, especially the Document Management module, has also helped standardise product data and provide instant access to past customer records.
The increased efficiency has enabled Webro to operate more effectively at an overall business level.
For example, EFACS E/8 allows technology to be integrated throughout the warehouse, which means that stock management can now be done within the warehouse where it is most effective.
Looking to the future, Webro has plans to implement non-conformance reporting, as well as making increased use of the Container Booking module for pricing and EFACS E/8’s powerful mobile workforce capabilities.
