Top Quality Audio Retailer Requires Fully Integrated point-of-sale
Migrating from QuickBooks to SAP Business One
Founded in 1938, Hastings HVAC, Inc. has emerged as a world leader in the manufacturing of commercial and industrial heating, ventilating, air conditioning and air moving equipment. Currently, the company conducts its manufacturing processes in a 70,000-sq.-ft. facility, in Hastings, Nebraska, USA.
“It’s so liberating to see your numbers balance every month. I have only positive things to say about Softengine. They have done everything imaginable to help us through the transition to SAP Business One and to optimize its capabilities. Not only did they design a wonderful enhancement to the core SAP Business One system, they went to great lengths to individually train our staff on the best uses of the software as it pertains to their jobs.”
– Shawn D. Hartmann, Vice President and COO
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Disconnected Systems Cause Disarray
For many years Hastings had relied upon an ineffective MRP (material requirements planning) software program, and an assortment of Excel spreadsheets, paper forms, and handwritten notes. Due to the limitations of the MRP software, which was used primarily for accounting functions, inventory, and production related tasks were performed outside the system. Only financial data was directly entered into the MRP system; all other data was entered onto paper or spreadsheets. This approach led to frequent errors and rampant inefficiencies.
According to Shawn D Hartmann, Hastings’ Vice President and COO,
“With our loose patchwork of input modalities we never felt as if we had control over our inventory and costs. Our inventory counts were often inaccurate, and the staff was constantly making manual adjustments to compensate.”
“Tracking our equipment was another challenge,” added Hartmann. Most of our items have their own unique bills of materials (BOM’s). Unfortunately, without the right MRP solution in place, we didn’t have one system in which to place our BOM’s with their associated drawings and diagrams. Instead, like other parts of our operations, we relied on spreadsheets for this information.”
Hartmann and his colleagues had a few other specific objectives with the new system, including:
- Accurate Tracking of All Labor Costs
- Improved Production Planning
- Inventory Control
- Enhanced Reporting Capabilities
Upper management eventually determined that the only way to gain control of their business processes was to upgrade to a much more robust MRP system, and the owner determined that SAP Business One offered the solution.
One System Connects All the Dots
The overarching mission of the new system was to unify the whole company so that all business processes could be effectively managed “under one roof.” SAP Business One fulfills this mission, offering instant access to real-time data so management can easily track their key performance indicators (KPI’s), and staff in every department can view the same information and stay in sync.
Softengine’s Production/Manufacturing Enhancement Completes the Picture
Softengine designed a Production/Manufacturing enhancement that could seamlessly integrate with SAP Business One. This tool ties together production and inventory data to facilitate a smarter, more efficient use of resources and better decisionmaking.
“These guys understand manufacturing and that point can’t be overemphasized.”
– Shawn D Hartmann, Hastings’ Vice President and COO
Softengine Implements and Provides Intensive Training to Optimize SAP Business One
“We were immediately impressed with Softengine,” said Hartmann. “Their project manager presented SAP Business One that took into account all of our business processes, and that won the day for us. Softengine has its own ecosystem where they can host SAP Business One, perform expert modifications, enhancements, and provide top-flight service to ensure that we maximize the potential of the software.”
With an Enhanced SAP Business One, All the Numbers Are Now in Balance
“The SAP implementation has dramatically improved our productivity. Ever since we first went live with this new system, we’ve had clear visibility into our daily operations. We also have a much better understanding of our costs and profitability. All information is unified since we’re all on one system and now our financial reporting is accurate.”
– Shawn D. Hartmann, Vice President and COO
Softengine’s invaluable contribution to the success of the SAP Business One implementation and to their bottom line, Hartmann is no less effusive in his praise. “I have only positive things to say about Softengine. They have done everything imaginable to help us through the transition to SAP Business One and to optimize its capabilities. “Not only did they design a wonderful enhancement to the core SAP Business One system,” added Hartmann, “they went to great lengths to individually train our staff on the best uses of the software as it pertains to their jobs. They’re really responsive any time we call, and they quickly resolve issues whenever they arise.”