Anglo-Canadian Housewares created a new CRM and Logistics Solution and Save over $100,000 and significantly reduced customer response time

"We are pleased to be working with Magic's eDeveloper and Open Client. It has saved us a great deal of time and has made access to data easier than ever. Answering users' needs in hours as opposed to days or weeks has made it indispensable."

Gary Petro, Manager, Information Technology of Anglo-Canadian Housewares, L.P.

Anglo-Canadian Housewares Saves over $100,000 per Year using Magic Software's eDeveloper to Create New CRM and Logistics Data Solution

Challenge

Anglo-Canadian Housewares, LP, is the leading distributor of house-ware products in Canada. In 1991, with the sale of 50% of its holdings to Housewares International of Australia (HWI), the two companies now distribute an increased number of brands to the Canadian market including Arcosteel, Bella Cucina, Breville, Gourmet Edition, Heritage Collection, Le Creuset, Liddy, Metro, Pasabache and RCR.

Anglo-Canadian Housewares LP needed to improve their system of data access for their CRM and logistics requirements. This included customer information and purchase history, and data for the management and movement of inventory – and included all the basics of an ERP system such as entry, invoicing, inventory management, purchasing, forecasting, and receivables.

Their current legacy system did not permit users to access information in an informative manner. Anglo-Canadian employees were often forced to access several different screens or reports to get the information they needed. In addition, they had to re-key data into spreadsheets from reports to get the complete data picture.  Making the process even more difficult was that employees had to call customers back after they'd gathered all of the correct information together from different areas instead of responding to their needs directly.

Solution

Metro Marketing, a California-based company owned by Anglo-Canadian's partner Housewares International (HWI), had used Magic Software’s eDeveloper for several years and had created a system to meet their specific needs. At their suggestion, Anglo-Canadian tested and reviewed the system and deemed it to be a good fit for both their CRM and logistical needs. The fact that they could customize it themselves was a major asset.

Since the conversion, employees can now deliver changes quickly and more cost-effectively. They've also begun to utilize the application's ability to provide drill-down (Zoom) access to data, which enables them to respond immediately to customers. Since Anglo-Canadian is using an application created in version 7 initially, they are also currently making some use of events, particularly within the newer programs. In the future, Anglo-Canadian plans to take advantage of eDeveloper's XML and web integration capabilities as the need arises.

Benefits

The ability to maintain and update a system using only one person is a major advantage. The simplicity of the system allows anyone with Magic Software experience to learn it quickly.

Since the use of eDeveloper, customer response time has shrunk from days and weeks to hours. Productivity has increased and with the reduction in screens needed to use eDeveloper, employees who formerly used multiple screens have been able to make a 15-25% saving on the time it takes them to do their jobs. Though the ROI has not been fully quantified, it's estimated that so far, eDeveloper is saving Anglo-Canadian over $100,000 per year on average and the future is looking bright.

System Architecture:

• Magic Product: eDeveloper and Open Client 9.4
• Client OS: Windows 2000 and XP
• Server OS: Windows 2000
• Database: Pervasive 2000i