On the EDGE, Winter 2009

Auburn Armature: A Growing Electrical Distributor and Service Provider

Initially an electrical motor and industrial equipment service organization, Auburn Armature, who remains a service provider, is touted as the fastest growing electrical supply distributor in New York State. A multi-million dollar company, AAI's main facility is appropriately located in Auburn, but AAI serves customers within the longitudinal bounds of Buffalo and Albany and the lateral bounds of the Pennsylvanian and Canadian borders.

As equipment replacement became impractical, AAI's repertoire developed to include electrical supply distribution, offering items like electrical motors, gearboxes, and controls to their largest clients-- electrical contractors and original equipment manufacturers. After the expansion in 1998, AAI, now an electrical products distributor, a panel shop, and a service organization, beamed into a one-stop shop. Living their motto, "From Power to Process," AAI provides electrical products from the power pole to process equipment.

While AAI stocks a diverse range of products, they specialize in three specific areas: electrical wiring, cabling and fittings, power distribution equipment (i.e. load centers, switchgear, and transformers), and project lighting. According to Operations Manager Joe Fantasia, a 27 year AAI vet, the company is currently installing lighting for some of their territory's largest projects, including Syracuse's Destiny USA, hailed as the next Mall of America, and the Turning Stone Casino in Vernon, NY. AAI's apparatus and engineering services are their second and third most valuable offerings, behind electrical product sales.

Auburn Armature Selects SX.enterprise
At the end of the nineties, AAI planned for substantial growth in the coming century, which required adopting a lasting solution. At the time, AAI utilized FACTS as their ERP solution. FACTS was a good system in the beginning, but as one VAR went belly up, another's customer service dimmed. Having just relocated into a new facility, AAI wanted to address some issues with the job shop software, so misfortune combined with projected sales growth led to the need for a package that could mature with them over the next decade or so.

During the two-year exhaustive search, AAI evaluated Prophet 21, NxTrend, and more, doing their homework, observing demos, and attending general software selection seminars. In the end, their decision boiled down to two SX.e VARS, as SX.e was the solution they selected. NSA ultimately won the bid due to the following:

    1. Their longevity in the industry
    2. Their ability to easily work with AAI employees
    3. Their attitude and aptitude demonstrated during
        demos
    4. Their diverse service offerings and mods

Led by NSA, AAI implemented SX.e on June 1, 2001, only six months after initiating their partnership. NSA fulfilled AAI's first expectation: Fast implementation in preparation of a busy summer. Because of that, Fantasia, who recently hosted some NSA employees for dinner at his home, says, "NSA is a great VAR to deal with. They are very responsive to issues and fantastic to work with."

Great Expectations
Fantasia, who self proclaims AAI as a difficult customer, praises NSA for rising to the occasion. Entering the partnership, AAI expected fast implementation, and they got it. However, their wishes did not end there. AAI rightfully demanded quality training and economical modifications, arguably two never-ending expectations.

Computers were installed in February and tested in March-- AAI simultaneously replaced their green screens with PCs since SX.e encouraged a more electronic business; NSA was there every step of the way to build AAI's confidence in using their new systems. AAI adopted a Train the Trainer philosophy, appointing several members of their team as future SX.e experts. The plan: NSA would educate a select few, and in turn, those selected would train subgroups of fellow users. Then, NSA would return to answer questions that arose during training and solidify AAI's confidence in using SX.e. Fantasia recalls AAI's Go Live as smooth because NSA assisted them with data migration issues like balancing and matching; as a result of AAI's hard work and dedication, they were comfortable using SX.e very quickly. To date, Fantasia says all expectations have been met and exceeded.

Instant Gratification
From a transactional perspective, AAI noticed SX.e's positive impact nearly immediately. Processes were more efficient, involving less paper and less interruption. In fact, SX.e, which allowed for easier contact tracking, simplified the entire sales cycle. Even in the absence of a salesman, other AAI personnel could easily assist customers, delivering better continuity to the customer base. SX.e produced new reports to encourage easy sales analysis, making profitability of various product sectors clearer.

With the installation of PCs, AAI employees garnered more connectivity via email, and users were more efficient from their desks as they did not need to hike to the warehouse to check inventory. For example, users could monitor backorders in the system, making the backorder process more efficient.

Generating Growth
AAI's business has grown nearly 571% since implementing SX.e with nominal personnel increases because SX.e has enabled AAI to extract stronger results from the same people. AAI's inventory has increased dramatically due to SX.e's Pricing Matrix and their position in the market. These cyclical increases permit AAI to sell more because they stock more and stock more because they sell more. The inventory turns rapidly as it consists of mostly A and B items. Plus, the profit margin for C and D items has increased due to the SX.e system. With more competitive pricing strategies, AAI's customer service has increased. The catalog allows AAI to verify prices and descriptions online. Plus, orders are more accurate so the purchase orders match the invoices. AAI is now seeing very positive results with improved margins.

Due to SX.enterprise, AAI's purchasing processes have noticeably improved. With just one click, AAI can review history, pricing, warehouse stocking, and more. Thus, they engage in better-informed, faster discussions. Inventory has improved from a purchasing process standpoint as well.

Moving forward, AAI plans to implement EDI and the Job Management module because they require strong job management capabilities for lighting and switchgear. With NSA's assistance, AAI updated their internal network this past summer, so now AAI plans to upgrade to a more powerful server and the latest version of SX.e. These upgrades coincide with AAI's newest branch, opening in Albany in winter 2009. AAI appreciates NSA's one-stop shop capabilities with SX.e, network software, and hardware. When an IT problem caused by a former AAI employee was discovered, NSA was able to solve the problem due to their expansive knowledge base. Since AAI's IT team consists of only one person, they rely heavily on NSA. As they move forward and continue to dominate the electric market, AAI looks forward to their continued relationship with NSA.

AAI and NSA
AAI believes in efficiency; they work at over 100% with good, quality people, and with technology's aid, they have been very successful. Fantasia says he expects problems when using technology, but he values NSA's ability to alleviate and fix problems, as they have in every opportunity. Fantasia considers AAI's relationship with NSA as "very positive, very open both ways." He says, "They are a pleasure to work with. They are very responsive, and they are good people." Further, he warns his peers who are in search of a new system, "If you don't call NSA and look at the benefit of using SX.e, you are doing yourself a grave injustice."

For more information on Auburn Armature, visit www.AAINY.com.