Stainless Steel Fasteners latches on to massive savings

So says Matthew Tongue, SSF's resource manager, and he adds that the organisation, which implemented an Exel Efacs ERP system, has also increased visibility, connectivity and control. The company's previous combination of disparate accounting and CRM systems, plus a range of spreadsheets didn't provide the control and flexibility, he says. . Success lay in accurately mapping the company's business processes with Efacs' capabilities and especially its product configurator, which, in effect, reduced a process that could take half a day to an eight question, nine mouse click exercise that takes 20 seconds. Says Tongue: "From the outset we found all the material control data to be totally accurate and providing the variable route flexibility we needed in order to deliver the quality and flexibility required by our customers." Managing director Stephen Wilkinson also acknowledges that additional benefits came as the system accumulated historic data – in particular, to general efficiency gains in both sales and purchasing. He says that integrated CRM brought to light previously invisible buying patterns and trends, which further assist strategic purchasing.