Lane Packaging, one of the largest stockists of packaging material in the South East of England, has implemented ERP and Dashboard technology from Solarsoft Business Systems to completely overhaul and integrate its supply-chain management and IT infrastructure.
The introduction of this software combination to Lane Packagings warehousing operation has enabled the company to boost operational efficiency across its supply-chain, and increase visibility and access to business-critical data across the entire organisation.
Onwards and upwards...
Founded in 1986, Lane Packaging Ltd has been providing a choice of over 2000 standard and custom packaging products to both industrial and individual customers across the UK and has grown to process over 200,000 worth of orders per month. The comprehensive range of packaging products includes corrugated cartons, cushioning and protection home removal and postal mailing products. Products are delivered daily by Lanes own fleet to customers in the South of England and via a carrier service to Central London and the rest of the UK.
With a complex inbound supply chain and despatch process, it was fundamental that Lane Packaging could ensure reliability in its operational management. Michael Lane, Managing Director at Lane Packaging, comments, Our ERP systems prior to Solarsoft were fragmented, largely manual and time-consuming. Manufacturing our product range requires a wide variety of raw materials inbound to our premises, and, at the end of the production process, we deliver to a broad range of customers. Therefore, we needed real-time visibility of our supply chain to manage our business operations effectively and efficiently.
Improved access
Lane Packaging decided to overhaul its IT infrastructure, by implementing Solarsofts xVP ERP system which enables better financial management, tighter control of stock & warehouse operations and more effective sales order processing.
Commenting on the benefits of having a centralised business management platform, Lane says, Our old working practices required warehousing staff to navigate their way between a number of disparate systems that could only be opened and viewed separately. With Solarsofts xVP system, we now have a single, modern system that allows all information to be shared, viewed and acted upon in real-time across the business.
xVP is used on a day-to-day basis by Lane Packaging for sales and account management, controlling tickets for sales ordering, checking customer histories and stock levels. Lane continues, xVP has provided us with increased accuracy throughout the supply chain. Information is now consistent throughout the warehousing process as our sales tickets, picking and delivery processes are all run from one system a big improvement from before. Wide integration brings improved accuracy and consistency across the business and allows us to manage the sales and purchase ledgers more effectively.
Seeing everything
Following its excellent experience with xVP, Lane Packaging also chose to implement Solarsofts Dashboard technology. This software provides the company with key performance indicators (KPIs) which enable managers to analyse sales trends, identify stock shortages early and reduce wastage. Performance in every department is readily shown via a clear graphical representation with customisable status alerts.
For example, sales managers can easily see which products sell best on a regional basis, and which customers are most profitable, whilst warehousing staff have the ability to easily monitor stock movements and review outgoing and incoming delivery efficiency. All the while, board members can be shown a clear display of actual financial performance. Business-critical information on overall trends, previously obscured by the focus on daily detail, can be accessed easily and in real-time, and staff now have the unprecedented ability to extract, filter and sort that information with a few simple mouse clicks no programming required.
Lane explains, The implementation of Solarsofts Dashboard technology gives us greater insight into individual customers buying trends and allows us to monitor performance levels and sales over any time period. With this data, we can generate reports easily and track business trends more effectively than ever before. It allows us to manage our customers efficiently, maximising sales and helping to prevent customer churn.
The Solarsoft Dashboard has also removed the need for time-consuming tasks such as running weekly sales reports and updating ledgers, as the system displays all the information continuously and instantaneously. Lane adds, The Dashboard gives us real insight into the performance of each of our key product lines, giving us the ability to predict product trends with a greater level of accuracy. We can now look at customer data and see instantly what was bought in the past month and compare it to the data of the previous year or months and identify anomalies or up-sell opportunities. We are consistently on top of our customers movements and preferences, which enables us to ensure that we are always offering the best possible service.
Strong relationship
Lane concludes, We have developed a strong working relationship with Solarsoft and their IT systems now underpin our entire operation. Working with the Solarsoft team, we have an intelligent, adaptable and easy-to-use technology platform across our business which enables us to manage all of our core business activities with confidence.
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