Tool Centre, a well-established industrial supply company on theEast Rand, moved its ERP systems into the cloud with Sage ERP X3, in an effort to improve its service levels to its customers, combined with simplifying the ordering process.
In the early days, Tool Centre specialised in precision cutting tools, abrasives, measuring equipment and carbide tooling. Today the product range includes more than 20 000 products, with the added advantage of offering the customer the option to further customise and source any products to specifically meet its unique requirements.
The services and products that Tool Centre offer leads it to allowing customers the option to place orders throughout a 24-hour day. It was therefore important for the company to search for an e-commerce portal which could work in parallel with its ERP systems.
Initially, a team consisting of all the department heads within Tool Centre was put together to investigate the solutions currently available on the market, to assist it to achieve the end goal. After three months of intense investigation, the company's obvious choice was Sage ERP X3 and Vaimo. These products offer state-of-the-art features, including automatic customer account creation and tracking of goods shipped, either via a direct Web portal or via the courier company's Web site.
Further to this, the proposed solution was scalable, starting off from about five users to over 5 000, and the implementation time projected by the business partners was reasonable.
Company chief executive, Jonathan Wolf, says: "Nubian Business Gateway has supported us throughout the implementation process. The initial 'go-live' phase of the Sage ERP X3 project was challenging, as we encountered technical issues with the data being converted from the old system to Sage ERP X3, but between Sage ERP Africa and Nubian, they guided us through this effectively. We are now fully functional on Sage ERP X3 and look forward to the next phase of the project - the implementation of the integrated e-commerce portal on Vaimo."
"The Sage ERP X3 implementation went off well, and within the expected four-month timeframe the company made a full transition from their original legacy ERP system to Sage ERP X3 in the cloud," says Mikewin Martin, Executive director of Nubian Business Gateway.
"Sage ERP X3 provides an online business solution and is therefore the perfect answer for big businesses, such as Tool Centre, wanting to invest in cloud computing. This solution helps the enterprise to better manage its critical sales, distribution and customer service activities from anywhere, anytime and on devices such as Android or tablet. Cloud computing further allows for specialised resources to be shared, maximising efficiencies and economies of scale," says Keith Fenner, senior vice-president for sales at ERP Africa.
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