The Solution
OFM keeps a separate tally of inventory for the warehouse location; Everest helped Zalcberg integrate the accounting and inventory control for the warehouse, and the managing of bin
locations. They have a better handle on inventory control without having to oversupply or
overstock, and are able to improve their operating costs with real-time inventory control, “when our suppliers call, we are able to tell them exactly what we need.”
Now, with the help of Everest, it takes 80% less time to run OFM’s weekly reports, saving 24 man-hours a week and saving the company about $87,000 per year. “Everest gives us real-time inventory and real-time reports, which are very timely and very informative.”
Everest has not only made their business more efficient, it has nearly doubled Zalcberg’s productivity, too; he spends more time focusing on the big picture and not getting bogged
down with the details of day-to-day business. At OFM, Everest makes life easier for all employees. “We believe in the reliability of Everest,” said Zalcberg. “We are definitely running more smoothly and more efficiently. It takes a lot less time to run reports, less time to do payroll, and less time to do inventory than ever before.”
Everest creates a customer’s original sales quote faster and saves even more time converting sales orders into invoices.
With regard to business management, Everest has enabled OFM to handle double the volume with just one person added to the organization. According to Zalcberg, the same number of people without Everest would not have been able to handle the growth. Now they are able to keep their inventory at a minimum, without overheads growing as rapidly as their sales volume.
At a 25% annual growth rate, OFM’s sales have doubled while simultaneously increasing in efficiency. OFM has become 50% more efficient in the warehouse. Technically, it would have required four people to manage inventory. Now, with Everest in place and twice the volume, it takes only three. What also made a difference was being able to separately identify bin locations and not have to run around in a 30,000 sq. ft. building trying to manually search for items.
OFM, Inc. imports products, which implies long lead-times. Zalcberg found the opportunity in Everest to initiate just-in-time inventory. That was accomplished with the Excellize functionality in Everest that enables data integration with MS Excel spreadsheets, effectively allowing them to pull information from the database. It also works as a predictive analysis tool, allowing them to accurately estimate what they would need to order ten weeks ahead. “People in the distribution business are importing a lot these days, and when you’re importing it’s usually a long lead-time. Everest almost creates a little crystal ball for me, which allows me to see into the future,” explains Zalcberg.
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