Sunex Tools – IT's the secret to Sunex success
Since 1994, U.S.-based Sunex Tools Inc. has added half-a-dozen sister companies, watched annual sales grow to more than 100 million U.S. dollars – and experienced only one software upgrade. How did Sunex do IT?
Business issues
Keeping track of seven separate companies, seven databases, three warehouses, several offices in the United States and Asia, a manufacturing plant in China, and hundreds of customers and suppliers around the world can be a challenge for anyone. So, imagine running the entire IT operation with a staff of three.
That's the challenge for Mike Wimbrow, Laura Dann and Dan Sloan. They are the IT department: Wimbrow is department director, Dann, the ERP administrator, and Sloan is IT systems administrator.
Solution and capabilities
"Sometimes at the end of the day, I am just amazed at how we do it," says Wimbrow. "But we get it done and, obviously, the IBS software is a big part of it. We trust it. We rely on it."
Five years ago we had roughly $6 million excess inventory across all our companies but with IBS software in place this has been reduced to $1.8 million.
Laura Dann
ERP Administrator
Sunex Tools
Increased sales
About 12 years ago, Sunex had about 65 employees and $19 million in annual sales. That was when the decision was made to move to an AS/400 platform with IBS ERP software.
Fast-forward to 2006-2007 and the company has seen a tenfold increase in sales but with minimal staff additions to run the company's day-to-day business as this is where IBS software comes in to its own. Business has expanded in other ways, too. Six strategically aligned companies were also added to the corporate family.
Together with Sunex, which also serves as the warranty and repair center for many of the companies, they comprise a formidable presence in the after-market automotive tool industry, working with major players such as Mac Tools, Balkamp, Cornwell, Snap-On, and Matco Tools.
Empowering users
And at the heart of it all is yet another company – VIS LLC. It includes Wimbrow's IT department, which handles all the data processing, accounting and administrative work. "VIS is kind of interesting," he says, "because they didn't use the whole word… it stands for 'vision.'"
Part of that vision includes empowering users – through training and re-training, and encouraging a hands-on approach to queries, reports and other user-friendly IT system features and functions.
Electronic solutions
Purchasing and Inventory Management are also a big part of getting the job done. Because of that, heavy emphasis is placed on EDI. Instead of customer service keying in sales orders, invoices and shipping notices, documents like these are sent and received electronically.
Hand-held, wireless terminals are also part of the solution. Plenty of them are used in the three warehouses that are part of the company's wide area network, or WAN. "They scan, but they are actual terminals. They are live and they update the database," says Dann.
As users key in transactions on the warehouse floor – picking, confirming or receiving orders, relocating inventory or doing cycle counts – the information transmitted and received is real-time.
Flexible ERP system
Wimbrow says the move to hand-held PCs was one of the main reasons the company upgraded to IBS Enterprise about two years ago. "We're constantly evolving our processes – our physical processes – how we purchase, how we receive, how we pick, how we ship, how we do all of it," he explains, stressing that they didn't want a software package to dictate or limit the process.
"We want the managers to say 'okay, this is how I want it to work." He says the software is a huge part of the equation, because it is table-driven, flexible, can be customized, and, perhaps most importantly, lends itself to users' creativity.
Reduced inventory
With lead times varying from 65 to 90 days, Sunex purchasing staff need to plan well in advance. Any excess stock is tracked on a monthly basis. "Five years ago we had roughly $6 million excess inventory across all our companies but with IBS software in place this has been reduced to $1.8 million," explains Dann.
As part of the upgrade, Sunex has purchased additional software from IBS. The landed cost module is able to schedule, track and hold all costs associated with imports from overseas. "In the past we had to work out the true cost of purchase manually but now with the help of IBS software, we can see much more accurate gross profit figures," explains Dann.
The service management module is used in the company's warranty and repair center and is dedicated to tracking all costs and the parts involved to make repairs providing Sunex with a total cost-of-quality picture.
Constantly evolving
"Our whole philosophy is to streamline and get better whenever and wherever possible," he points out. "There's not that much of a lull. We're constantly evolving." Wimbrow and his team are confident that when any situation arises, they can add new features, solve problems or get something going that will keep the company moving forward and staying competitive.
So in the case of Sunex, the software has kept pace with a company that, over the years, has proven to be very dynamic. How dynamic? When one of the aligned companies was created, it happened over a three-day holiday weekend. "It's not like turning a battleship," says Wimbrow, adding that the system is very agile – and his IT team pretty quick.
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