January 2011
Interfaces Make Sense For Eastern Aluminum
As an independent distributor of building materials, Eastern Aluminum, of Goldsboro, North Carolina, is always looking to get the best deals, products and service for their customers.
As Eastern’s business began to change in the late 1990’s, it became apparent that they needed an ERP system that could support their diversification of product lines. “The software we were using was still valid, but we needed different things,” Jay Bundy, Eastern Aluminum’s general manager and vice president explained. “The first is that it would not track the costs of non-stocks and our method of dealing with that was getting more complex because they were a rapidly growing product line for us. The second was, we had a door and window department and we needed to have bill of materials so we could configure built-up units and track material costs. The third was better management of inventory.”
Specializing in siding, doors and windows, Eastern uses Agility’s window interfaces to cut down on order entry time and increase accuracy. “We discovered DMSi through our industry contacts and we were very interested in their Simonton EPOPS interface,” Bundy explained. “At the time, we were one of the largest independent Simonton distributors, so it was very important to us.”
The interface to Simonton’s Electronic Product Ordering & Pricing System (EPOPS) seamlessly transfers information directly from EPOPS to Agility, saving users’ time and making it easy to configure, quote and order. By transferring and retaining all of the job and window specifications in the primary business system, the EPOPS interface, and many others like it, cut down on order entry time, eliminate double entry and increase order accuracy; all of which translates into better efficiency, control, and customer service.
“The Simonton interface was one that we embraced early on and that has been a big saver for us because when we order in EPOPS it automatically creates the sales order in our system, populates cost and sales price, and signs up the customer - the whole nine yards,” Bundy said. “That is a slick product.”
By having the interfaces, Eastern Aluminum is able to stand out from their competition. “The whole process is a whole lot simpler and faster with the interface,” Bundy said. “It populates cost and sales price and is a lot simpler than having to manually create non-stock codes.“
Because of their success with the Simonton EPOPs interface, Eastern Aluminum has added other interfaces to support their products. “We now are using Ellison and Silver Line, too,” Bundy added. “We do a lot of windows and almost all of them are non-stocks and the programs do work well.”
Currently, Agility has millwork interfaces to Amsco, Andersen, Cascade, Eagle, Ellison, FeneVision, Kolbe, Marvin Windows, Milgard, Silver Line, Simonton and Windsor. “We are a proponent of the interfaces,” Bundy added. “If you move windows, they make a lot of sense for you.”
About DMSi Software
DMSi Software is a privately held company providing software to nearly 400 building materials companies in North America. Since 1976, DMSi Software has consistently empowered its users to become more productive, competitive and efficient. For more information on DMSi Software, please call 800-347-6720 or visit dmsi.com.
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