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Printable Version
The Company
A staple in the foodservice industry for over 80 years, the Edlund
Company designs, manufactures and services innovative, operator-oriented
stainless steel equipment for harsh foodservice environments. In 1925,
the Burlington, Vermont based company was first to patent a can opener
for the restaurant industry. Today, Edlund remains the market leader with
its quality product line including: can crushers; manual, electric and
air-powered can openers; high speed industrial can opening systems; mechanical
and digital portion control scales; mechanical and digital receiving scales;
knife sharpeners and knife racks; and tongs.
Return on Investment
- Total visibility and tighter control over operations and customer
satisfaction
- Improved efficiencies across the board
- Seamless transition to Web-enabled operations
- Reduced administration costs
- Improved customer service and communication
Software
EnterpriseIQ™ ERP software system with Customer Relationship
Management (CRM), Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA), Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI), and ShopData modules.
Hardware
Oracle database with windows-based PCs.
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Edlund Company Gains Visibility and
Control with EnterpriseIQ ERP and Manufacturing Software
For over 80 years, the Edlund Company has been a leading
supplier of stainless steel appliances and equipment to the foodservice
industry-a well-established, highly competitive industry where demand
for quality is priority, but operating margins are lean. Superior products
that hold up under the harshest conditions are one reason Edlund has stayed
on top of its market. The company's dedication to excellent customer service
is another. To uphold these quality standards and gain better visibility
and tighter control over its manufacturing process and customer service
functions, Edlund in 2003 sought to replace its outdated Material Requirement
Planning (MRP) software system. In doing so, the company wanted to facilitate
better customer relations and communication, and to improve data access
company-wide.
Edlund is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company, and many of
its products are also NSF certified and USDA approved. These certifications
mandate that Edlund adhere to sophisticated quality management and assurance
specifications, while continuously aiming to improve performance and customer
satisfaction. To fully support these initiatives, Edlund needed a Web-enabled
software operations system that included comprehensive Customer Relationship
Management (CRM) to support customer service and sales, and Electronic
Data Interchange (EDI) capabilities to comply with the requirements of
some of its larger customers. The company also needed to better track
product returns and repairs, and thus required Return Merchandise Authorization
(RMA) functionality to support its manufacturing repair business, which
is a growth area of the company's overall revenue stream.
"Our MRP system was not Web-enabled, so information
was slow flowing," explained Brian Cavanagh, director of operations
at Edlund. "The system also lacked customer service capabilities,
and upgrading it would have entailed multi-party software and platforms
that would not have worked as a cohesive unit. We were faced with spending
a lot of money to upgrade, and even that would not have been adequate
for our needs. We clearly needed to consider other options."
Edlund saw Web-enabled operations as a means to break down
barriers between departments, communicate more readily with customers,
and improve data access and integrity throughout the company. With EnterpriseIQ
from IQMS, Edlund's entire operations system functions as one unit. Modules
such as CRM and RMA work collaboratively with the overall system, giving
Edlund a number of advantages. For example, with Web-enabled CRM, Edlund
is now able to track all levels of customer interaction, from order status
and repairs, to available credit, recent payments, and overall customer
satisfaction-all using the same data. There is no double entry, and no
second guessing.
"Having readily available data has been the biggest
advantage of using EnterpriseIQ," said Cavanagh. "We can now
track customer information better and more accurately. The system also
makes it easy for each division within the company to customize reports.
Our managers now have total accessibility and control of relevant business
data, when and where they need it."
For its larger customers, such as the Sysco Corporation,
North America's leading foodservice marketer and distributor, Edlund's
move to Web-enabled operations has brought streamlined service capabilities
via EDI. Sysco operates approximately 20 warehouses nationwide, and Edlund
ships to Sysco daily. Whereas these orders were handled manually in the
past, they are now shipped, and invoiced electronically. Edlund is also
working with other key customers to expand its data services through EnterpriseIQ
EDI.
"The EnterpriseIQ EDI module saves us and our customers
time and administrative costs," said Cavanagh. "It is another
level of service we can now provide to customers that would not have been
possible without a Web-enabled, single-source system like IQMS."
While Edlund was initially impressed with the affordability,
benefits, and many built-in features of EnterpriseIQ, according to Cavanagh,
what really sold the company on EnterpriseIQ was IQMS' customer service,
flexibility, and willingness to adapt the product based on Edlund's specific
requirements. With Edlund's processes as a guideline, IQMS made program
enhancements on the RMA module specifically for the needs of businesses
like Edlund, helping the company to streamline its repair business.
Many companies that sell equipment to the foodservice industry
utilize contracted service providers; however, to maintain quality control,
Edlund performs all service repairs and maintenance at the factory. With
the RMA module in place, repairs and returns are immediately logged into
one database and categorized according to failure codes, allowing for
built-in failure analysis. The module automatically estimates the cost
to repair, generates a request for parts, and issues an invoice when the
work is complete. Like the CRM and EDI modules, the RMA module ties directly
to the overall EnterpriseIQ system, giving everyone at Edlund, from sales
representatives to the repair technicians, access to the same data throughout
the process.
"The IQMS RMA module is another way IQMS enables us
to provide value to our customers," said Cavanagh. "With proper
repairs and maintenance, our products can last 20 years. The RMA module
has helped us speed up turnaround time and ensure accuracy of the work
performed. With RMA, our customers have their equipment back in service
within a week's time from the initial order being received. We also have
greater visibility to track product quality."
Across-the-board, effective, efficient operations that support
continual improvements to quality and customer satisfaction are key tenets
of the Total Quality Management philosophy. Having a single-source, Web-enabled
ERP solution has allowed Edlund to centralize its business activity, and
improve its overall effectiveness and efficiency of operations. EnterpriseIQ
is a comprehensive solution that enables Edlund's separate business areas
to consistently achieve the rigorous quality standards set forth under
ISO certification.
"At Edlund we are bound by quality standards to exceed
our customers' expectations both in product performance and customer service,"
said Cavanagh. "EnterpriseIQ has been central to this effort. I have
never worked with a technology company that has been as responsive, flexible,
and easy to work with as IQMS. Most technology companies target markets,
but IQMS targets customers."
Though Edlund has already realized many returns on investment
using EnterpriseIQ, Cavanagh believes EnterpriseIQ positions Edlund to
reap even greater benefit in the future as the foodservice industry evolves
to rely more and more on Web-enabled technology.
"Our transition to EnterpriseIQ was seamless and transparent
to our customers," said Cavanagh. "In an industry where many
are still off-line and reluctant to change, that is a huge accomplishment.
Overall, however, the foodservice industry is shifting to Web-enabled
technology. Edlund wants to stay on the leading edge of that shift. Because
IQMS is dedicated to the long-term success of our business, I'm confident
our EnterpriseIQ technology will grow with us and help us do just that."
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