Better Inventory Management & Job Costing Help Control Costs.
With more than 25 years in the abrasive blasting industry, IDS Blast has grown to become a major provider of sandblasting parts and equipment as well as services like thermal cleaning, powder coating, and equipment rental.
Company growth, facility upgrades, and new service offerings meant that IDS Blast would soon need better inventory tracking and greater visibility into distribution operations. As a longtime customer of Sage BusinessWorks, the company was happy with the software but realized they had outgrown the application and it was time for an upgrade.
Migrating from Sage BusinessWorks to Sage 100 Proves to be a “Blast”
“Earlier in my career, I had seen what the right ERP software could do for a company,” says Mike Archer, IDS Blast Operations Manager. “I knew we needed a system with deeper inventory tracking and job costing functionality to control costs, sustain the quality of our services, and continue to grow.”
He adds, “Given our positive experience with Sage BusinessWorks, upgrading to Sage 100 seemed like a natural choice.” What’s more, Archer found an ally in the CFO at IDS Blast who has used Sage 100 (formerly known as “MAS 90”) at another company and was very happy with the software.
System Profile
- Sage 100
- Sage CRM
- Sage Alerts
- Shipping & Web Order Integration
A Sage Software Partner for the Journey
“I started working with a Sage partner to upgrade our system four years ago, but plant upgrades began soon after and the software implementation was put on hold,” recalls Archer. When the time came to restart the project, the company decided to reach out to DWD Technology Group in addition to the previous Sage partner they had started with originally.
“We realized that choosing the right technology partner was just as important as choosing the right software.” – Mike Archer, IDS Blast
“We realized that choosing the right technology partner was just as important as choosing the right software,” Archer explains. “Our CFO worked with DWD at a previous company, and we knew they had extensive experience with migrations from BusinessWorks to Sage 100. After our initial meetings, we just felt like DWD was a better match for us.”
Blasting Forward with Automation
With Sage 100 up and running, IDS Blast has automated so many operations that were formerly tedious, manual processes.
Archer explains the faster and more efficient order-to-shipping cycle. “When orders came in from the website in the past, we’d have to print them out and manually re-enter all the details into Sage BusinessWorks,” he recalls. “But now those orders go straight into Sage 100 and when approved, directly over to shipping without any added data entry or manual intervention.”
Once the orders reach shipping, Sage 100 communicates with UPS and automatically pulls the tracking number and freight costs into the invoice. Archer adds, “Processing invoices for the previous day used to start in the morning and last until afternoon. Now it takes just two hours. Plus, a lot of customers now receive invoices that are automatically emailed out of the system as PDFs so everything is that much faster and easier.”
Improved inventory and shipping management is only part of the story, Archer says. “We also have more detailed labor and job cost tracking capabilities. Particularly with our sister company that assembles a lot of the blasting equipment, we were only able to track profitability at a high level before. But now we can dive into the details and get a better handle on what’s happening on the shop floor with Sage 100.”
Sales and Production Staying Connected
DWD Technology Group also implemented and customized Sage CRM for IDS Blast. “The fact that Sage CRM and Sage 100 talk to each other is huge,” Archer says. “We have sales people that are out on the road all the time and now they have visibility to inventory availability, product delivery dates, and other information they need to stay productive and connected when onsite with a customer.”
Archer says. “We have salespeople that are out on the road all the time and now they have visibility to inventory availability, product delivery dates, and other information they need to stay productive.”
Salespeople can also place orders and access everything they need on their customers and accounts in Sage CRM, whether in the office or on the road.
A Seamless Migration
Every part of IDS Blast’ business is now running on Sage 100, from accounting to the shop floor and from sales to the warehouse and shipping. Archer says, “We haven’t benchmarked anything yet, but we just know it’s saving lots of time and money. Everything across the board is faster and more efficient. We have less paper, fewer manual process, and more automation in every aspect of our business now.”
“Everything across the board is faster and more efficient. We have less paper, fewer manual process, and more automation in every aspect of our business now.”
Archer has no reservations in recommending DWD Technology Group. “They did a tremendous job and their guidance was crucial. In fact, our CFO said it was the most seamless data migration that he’s seen in all his years in business,” Archer proudly proclaims.