No set locations
Items were stored ad hoc, and finding them relied on someone remembering where they went.
Acumatica Distribution Case Study
How Wayne Safety replaced a 30-year-old DOS-based ERP with Acumatica Distribution Edition and rebuilt its warehouse around bins and pick paths.
About Wayne Safety
Wayne Safety is a Canadian distributor of personal protective equipment (PPE), based in Toronto. It ran on the same DOS-based ERP system for 30 years. Jelica Greenwood joined as Director of Operations as part of a plan to diversify the business, and on her first day she saw that the company needed a new system.
The Challenge
Wayne Safety ran on Masterworks, a heavily customized DOS-based ERP that was being retired. It had no warehouse integration. It could record that an order had been placed and picked, and nothing more.
Greenwood found a lack of control and transparency, and margins that were not accurate. Users moved through inconsistent function keys and hard-to-use screens, so standard processes and training were close to impossible.
Wayne Safety needed an integrated system that would enforce process discipline and support future growth.
Items were stored ad hoc, and finding them relied on someone remembering where they went.
Customer service staff could change prices at will, which eroded margins.
Holds on customer accounts were not enforced, which put cash flow at risk.
The system had no reliable way to calculate what products really cost.
The Solution
Wayne Safety evaluated several ERP systems, including Microsoft and NetSuite, and chose Acumatica for its cost-effectiveness, its ease of use and its fit for a mid-sized distributor. Before go-live, the company cleaned up its data, mapped its processes and named a super trainer in each department. It went live one month ahead of the original schedule.
The warehouse now has lanes, bins and a pick-pack-path process for storing and retrieving items. Staff use scanners and follow defined procedures. Inventory errors fell 15 percent.
Order workflows were simplified and need less manual intervention. Order management improved by at least 35 percent.
Credit holds in the financial module run automatically. Orders from customers on hold cannot be released for picking, so the old workarounds are gone. Cash flow rose 15 percent.
Prices are locked, and any change goes through a formal approval. Costs are captured against each purchase order, which gives a much better estimate of overall product cost. Executives and the sales manager now trust the margin figures.
Real-time data lets executives run reports quickly and forecast with more confidence. The monthly books close at least five days faster.
Real-time dashboards show the sales team inventory and pricing, and mobile expense uploads save time once spent on manual data entry. New hires practice on a dedicated test site. New staff learn the system in minutes instead of weeks.
The Result
Wayne Safety now runs on real-time data and defined processes. Executives have the numbers to forecast with confidence as the company diversifies its product mix. It can now look at Acumatica features such as AI-driven purchasing and forecasting.
Bins, scanners and a pick-pack-path process.
Automated credit holds and a faster close.
Locked pricing, accurate margins and live inventory.
New hires learn the system on a test site in minutes.