Database Monitoring Tools: Extracting, formatting and distributing operational information
Gaskell Mackay, a manufacturer and distributor of branded flooring products, is always searching for new ways to drive efficiency and safeguard against potential problems. In this specific instance, it required database monitoring tools that could dynamically monitor and report on critical failure points within its ERP and CRM systems as well as automate costly administration activities. BPA Platform provided this by integrating and monitoring Saleslogix and Sage Line 500.
Primary Applications Used: Saleslogix (Infor CRM), Sage Line 500
Platform and Capabilities Used:
- BPA Platform
- Notifications and Alerts
- Data Integration
- Automate key processes and eradicate costly administration tasks
- Monitor systems and deliver real-time notifications
- Automate order book reports and invoices
- Maintain customer service levels through period of business change
- Automate key processes
- Eradicate costly administration tasks
- Provide information in real-time
- Sales performance statistics accessed remotely by Salesforce
- Customer service levels improved
- Data anomalies eradicated
“Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform is a very powerful and extremely valuable 3rd party add-on to our Sage Line 500 and Saleslogix (Infor CRM) applications.”
Gary Moorhouse, Group IT Manager, Gaskell Mackay
Database Monitoring Tools: Extracting, formatting and distributing critical data
The Company
Gaskell Mackay Mackay Flooring boasts over 100 years of manufacturing history and heritage and is proud of its Royal Warrant to supply Her Majesty’s household with traditional felt.
The Challenge
The Solution
The Results
The Challenge: Monitoring business critical processes
Having implemented a fully integrated ERP solution, Gaskell Mackay saw Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform as the perfect mechanism for policing some of their potentially critical failure points. Indeed, due to a long period of sustained change within the Group, Gaskell Mackay did not want to take the risk of customers feeling any sense of deterioration in its high service levels whilst new procedures were put in place.
“Strategic change by its very nature brings with it a degree of re-engineering of how we physically conduct day-to-day business. Yet, during this period we have to ensure that all business critical processes, such as internal and external customer service activities are not adversely affected,” said Gary Moorhouse, Group IT Manager, Gaskell Mackay.
“Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform was perfect for this because customer services encompasses many people and applications and therefore we needed a solution that could monitor both our ERP and CRM applications and deliver real-time notifications.”
“We needed a solution that could monitor both our ERP and CRM applications and deliver real-time notifications.”
Gary Moorhouse, Group IT Manager, Gaskell Mackay.
The Solution: Automating order book reports
Gaskell Mackay is renowned for its efficiency, speed and professionalism when dealing with customer invoices. As a company it understands the financial and commercial benefits of getting this right first time, every time.
To achieve this ‘first time, every time’ invoicing process, Gaskell Mackay uses Codeless Platforms’ powerful automation tools and capabilities to ensure that employees use value book information that is current and correct.
“If our order books harbour incorrect values, invoices are sent out which will then require further administration such as supplementary invoices being raised, credit notes or loss of revenue/delay in cash receipts,” explained Moorhouse. “Through Codeless Platforms’ automation tools and capabilities this does not occur and we’ve effectively eradicated our costly administration whilst optimising cash receipts.”
Dispatch and vehicle tracking processes streamlined
Unlike the majority of companies, Gaskell Mackay actually provides a service to both its clients and competitors in the form of logistical services. Yet, as one would imagine, this means that its service provisions must be excellent at all times.
“As we provide logistical support to both clients and competitors, visibility of real-time dispatch and vehicle load information is crucial. Traditionally, this was delivered through enquires to our transport office which was costly in terms of employee time commitments,” explained Moorhouse. “Now, through the deployment of the Notifications and Alerts capability, all our customers receive real-time notification on the status of their package. This one automated activity has saved thousands in lost working hours. More importantly, it’s freed our staff up to carry on with what they do best.”
“This one automated activity has saved thousands in lost working hours. More importantly, it’s freed our staff up to carry on with what they do best.”
Gary Moorhouse, Group IT Manager, Gaskell Mackay.
The Result: Real-time visibility of data
Carrying on with the real-time visibility of business information theme, Gaskell Mackay has used the BPA Platform to provide its 20+ strong sales force with information that historically was resource intensive and costly to maintain.
“Through the Platform’s ability to extract, format and publish information from our Sage Line 500 application to an extranet, we’ve been able to publish sales performance statistics for our representatives to access remotely,” said Moorhouse. “Not only does this mean that representatives can now access this information without a huge amount of training and support, but it has also eradicated the amount of paper and associated materials that was historically produced to achieve this.”
Additional benefits from business process automation
Given the BPA Platform’s ability to connect to any ODBC compliant data source , Gaskell Mackay has also streamlined a number of other employee activities for commercial gain. For instance, Gaskell Mackay is using the BPA Platform to automatically check key metrics and analysis fields on inventory and master records to ensure that errors do not bubble through the entire system. This means that it can assign a high degree of credibility around this data when it is used for financial postings, MIS reports and other enquires of this type.
Gaskell Mackay has automated its supply chain due date amendments so that sales staff (and customers) are provided with real-time notifications informing them that procurement/production timescales have changed. Furthermore, a number of credit control notifications have been established to ensure that company credit control procedures have been performed and that any issues are dealt with well before the dispatch stage.
“Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform is a very powerful and extremely valuable 3rd party add-on to our Sage Line 500 and Saleslogix applications,” said Moorhouse. “In short, our ERP and CRM solutions harbour all the information we require to conduct business effectively, but Codeless Platforms’ BPA Platform represents the fundamental ‘event driven architecture’ or ‘engine’ that delivers their potential.”
