Notifier est, sur le marché italien, l'un des principaux fournisseurs de produits électroniques de sécurité et de détection d'incendie, tels les détecteurs de fumée, les capteurs de gaz et les tableaux de contrôle. La société avait besoin d'un logiciel de gestion en mesure d'optimiser les processus de la chaîne logistique. IBS lui est venu en aide.
Notifier processes 50% more orders since implementing IBS supply chain management software.
Italian market leader
Notifier Italia is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American-based Notifier Group, which in turn is part of the tech giant Honeywell International.
Sales are directed towards civil and industrial applications, serviced by 10 regional offices situated throughout Italy. The central distribution warehouse is located alongside the head office in Milan. Notifier holds a leading position in the Italian market, with more than 40 percent of market share.
Notifier employs 75 people in Italy with a turnover of EUR 30m.
Burning issues
Notifier faces strong competition in Italy with some 30 companies operating in the same sector. These competitors consist of 10 multi-national organisations, while the remaining 20 are resellers who buy from Italian or foreign manufacturers. With this fierce competition in place, Notifier needed to reorganise and become better, faster and more responsive to its customers demands.
The majority of Notifier’s 2,000 clients are small installers with almost no need for stock. Reliable distribution support and fast restocking is therefore a major concern. Notifier found that its previous system was causing too many headaches in this area.
Acquiring orders from the installers was also problematic, as orders were being captured on a regional basis with no central control. These old ways of working meant that Notifier’s distribution performance was below par and that the company had virtually no supply chain visibility.
Notifier needed new software that would ensure more reliability, speed and operational efficiency, and extend coverage to the company’s outlying offices.
As a subsidiary of a US company, Notifier required that any new system must function internationally – especially regarding accounting – and that it would be compatible with the existing system at headquarters. Furthermore, the new system would need to be web-enabled and include a user-friendly, intuitive interface.
Designed for distribution
After eliminating two other solutions on its short list, Notifier chose IBS’ integrated supply chain management software. IBS won the pick because its software is specifically designed for distribution companies like Notifier and IBS would work directly with Notifier during the implementation.
IBS’ financial solution provides full support for automating and streamlining the entire company’s financial operations and reporting. This software is well suited to Notifier’s requirement for managing high volumes of receipts. The unique double calendar approach provides administrative clarity regarding warehouse movements and accounting transactions.
IBS’ integrated warehouse management module is designed to cover any warehousing scenario for mid-sized distribution companies. The system is built with scalability in mind. This flexibility gives Notifier the opportunity to fulfill orders in bulk, control stock and automatically generate the minimum amount needed. IBS software also provides Notifier with dynamic warehouse control, calculating the price and median value of the merchandise entering and exiting on a daily basis.
Each morning, IBS’ integrated software allows Notifier to verify all of the preceding day’s activities – such as quantity of merchandise shipped, profits generated, relative costs and all financial information – in a single flow of data.
Fast delivery and ROI
Notifier is delighted with its decision to purchase IBS software and is now able to deliver 95 percent of its orders within 24 hours from the warehouse in Milan. In terms of speed and security of order fulfilment, the most conspicuous advantage obtained so far is the speed of order replenishment, which has increased by a massive 50 percent. Moreover, the precision and reliability of the data has resulted in a considerable increase in customer satisfaction.
Notifier has been particularly impressed by the IBS Warehouse Management module. The software ensures significantly more efficient service by supplying customers with merchandise when and how they want it.
The seamless integration between accounting and the warehouse has provided complete transparency of warehouse operations, which in turn has led to an increase in turnover and the all-important increase in profit. Return on investment in IBS software has been paid back.
The old bottlenecks have disappeared and stock at each customer site is at a minimum. Thanks to IBS, Notifier’s information flow makes it possible to handle the rigorous and timely control of supply chain flow, as specified by the company’s headquarters. Supply chain visibility is now a fact and no longer a burning desire.
Notifier’s management can now concentrate on other areas of the business with the knowledge that IBS software can handle any possible expansion or diversification.
Name: Notifier Italia Region: Worldwide Operation: Distribution Products: Smoke detectors, gas sensors, control boards Employees: 68 Revenue: EUR 26.5 million Website: Notifier Italia
Issues
Unreliable distribution support
Slow to restock customers requirements
Lack of visibility
Order capture too cumbersome
No integration between accounts and the warehouse
Need to improve distribution performance
Need to improve service levels.
Solution
Integrated software solution for electrical product distribution
Sales order management
Distribution
Procurement
Warehouse management
Business intelligence
Financials.
Capabilities
Bulk order fulfilment
Enhanced replenishment of stock
Seamless integration between accounts and the warehouse
