Success Stories

Activant Trading Partner Connect Provides the Tools for Success

Indiana's largest independent distributor, Quality Mill Supply Company, Inc., was founded by Alva Gilbert in Columbus, IN, near the end of World War II. Today, with offices in six cities and a staff of more than 80 employees, the company fulfills its mission of being the leading industrial distributor in Indiana, and represents brand name suppliers of products ranging from abrasives and adhesives to power and hand tools and supplies, lubricants, cleaners, and more.

Still family-owned, Quality Mill relies on effective and dependable software solutions to assure exceptional customer service. Mike Baker, president, notes that in recent years, customers have begun demanding more of distributors. "In the early days, just having a product was all you needed to succeed," recalls Baker. "Today, you have to invest tremendous amounts of money and energy in information technology and focus on helping your customers become more profitable."

Quality Mill began its association with Activant in 1978, and has continued to take advantage of Activant's product offerings to maximize their efficiency and deliver ever-increasing levels of customer service, including on-site inventory management.

According to Jim Kimerling, director of operations, "Activant listens to their customers when they say what the industry's needs are, and then includes it in their next product release. We get an easy to use, turnkey solution that gives us everything we need so we can focus on running our business. We don't have to be technical experts since Activant takes care of the technical part of it."

Enhancing the Flow of Information

Recently, Quality Mill became a member of Activant Trading Partner Connect, an Internet trading network that streamlines the commerce process between distributors, their manufacturers/suppliers, and customers.

By taking advantage of B2B Alliance, a component of Trading Partner Connect, Quality Mill now has the ability to exchange critical inventory information with other distributors. The result is better service for customers and reduced operating costs.

"I believe that Trading Partner Connect, through B2B Alliance, will help independent distributors work with each other to provide better service to their local markets," says Baker. "That's critical in order for us to compete with the large, national distributors."

Asked what factors influenced their decision to incorporate Trading Partner Connect into their business plan, Baker replies: "We looked at this as an opportunity to be one of the first to try a new concept that we believe will revolutionize the distribution industry. I see B2B Alliance as an answer to the problem of how to deal with slow and dead inventory. If we can efficiently link to others throughout the country and have access to their inventory and inventory information, then everyone will benefit by lower costs and an improved bottom line. Trading Partner Connect can easily pay for itself just though selling dead stock."

Through B2B Buyer, another component of Trading Partner Connect, Quality Mill has also streamlined the procurement process with their manufacturers/suppliers. Henkel Loctite Corporation was so impressed with Quality Mill's use of the technology that they presented the company with the Henkel Loctite E-Nitiative Award.

"Trading Partner Connect's ability to access a broad base of industrial products to determine the best price, is a huge benefit to customers," continues Baker. "Customers want the product when they order it, and this process reduces channel time significantly. Distributors benefit as well since satisfied customers will likely call again knowing that their requests are handled in an efficient, cost-effective manner."

Kimerling agrees. "The ability to give customers product and service information almost instantly is extremely valuable," he says. "It's great to be able to immediately respond to the needs of a customer 15 minutes before closing on a Friday afternoon."

Continued Success through Training and Support

Quality Mill ensures that they get the greatest return on their investment by taking advantage of the training options provided through Activant Educational Services. In addition to traditional classroom courses, the company uses a number of computer-based training (CBT) courses to introduce new staff members to operations and procedures.

Of course, there are the occasional instances when training alone won't do. That's when Quality Mill logs onto Activant Customer Support, a Web-based support system. "I can't believe there are people who don't use Web-based support," says Kimerling. "It's fast and easy. You submit a problem in your own words and within 30 minutes, someone calls you back with a solution."

Looking toward the future, Quality Mill's Baker believes that distributors must take advantage of continuing advancements in technology in order to succeed.

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