Success Stories

Activant Solutions Help Distributor Maintain Competitive Edge

Jamie Gahwiler has seen monumental changes in distribution during the 10 years he has worked at the helm of DCT Industrial Supply Co. Customers have closed shops to move overseas. Competitors have folded. Margins - tight to begin with - have continued to shrink. "It's a tough market," says Gahwiler.

Luckily, this president finds opportunities in adversity. Currently in acquisition mode, Gahwiler has purchased some of his smaller competitors, resulting in the ability to sell increased offerings to an expanding customer base.

It is a winning proposition for everyone involved, Gahwiler says. Companies that might have collapsed under crushing debt and escalating demands get a "second chance" under the DCT umbrella, while customers gain access to the product lines and top-notch service only a large distributor can provide.

Gahwiler admits that his strategy would be impossible without technology. "Because we can put our systems and solution in place relatively easily, we eliminate a lot of the redundancy - and the related costs - throughout the organization," he says.

For more than a decade, Gahwiler has used Activant solutions - first XL, then Acclaim, and now Prophet 21 - and integrated technology to develop and executive business strategies that ensure DCT thrives. "Using technology to maximize resources is the only way to do business," Gahwiler says. "You have to give the people you already have the tools to do their jobs better, faster, and more efficiently. Putting Activant technology in place in our company - and in the companies we've acquired - has positioned us for a great future."

Evolving to Meet Demands

In the fall of 2001, the company changed its name from Decatur Custom Tool to DCT Industrial Supply Co. to reflect its expanding product offering. Founded in 1966 in Decatur, IL as a cutting tool and abrasive supplier, DCT now employs more than 50 people at five locations. It has also expanded its product offerings; today, the company sells many general line industrial supplies, from fasteners to safety products to material handling equipment.

According to Gahwiler, DCT expanded its catalog to capitalize on a customer trend: The need to consolidate purchase orders. "If you can't do it for them, they'll go somewhere else," Gahwiler says. "Just like everyone else, they want to take costs out of their processes."

Customer service requirements have increased in other areas, too, Gahwiler says. "They want heavily detailed reports. They want vendor-managed inventory, and they want the ability to get information about any of our products at any time." Ignoring these demands is not an option: "Failing to meet customer demands will put you out of business," he says.

Activant Prophet 21, Trading Partner Connect, and B2B Seller give Gahwiler the tools he needs to meet - and exceed - customer expectations. "One of the main reasons we invested in Prophet 21 was because we needed a solution from which we could easily extract data. Customers ask for just about anything imaginable, and we have to be ready to give it to them - quickly."

Prophet 21 also helps DCT employees meet the needs of increasingly tech-savvy customers: "Sending quotes, invoices, and other documentation via e-mail is huge. A lot of the people we deal with want to get rid of their fax machines. We can see why - we're much more effective electronically."

In addition to using Trading Partner Connect to source items and sell inactive inventory, DCT uses it to "communicate" with automated dispensing machines at customer locations. End-users can send DCT restocking orders directly from their shop floors via the network - and those orders flow directly into Prophet 21. "It takes a lot of steps out of the process," Gahwiler says. B2B Seller, Activant's fully integrated, Web-based storefront, gives Decatur customers 'round-the-clock access to account and inventory information.

"We have to make it as easy as possible for our customers to do business with us," Gahwiler says. "Customers don't come back these days because they've been working with us for years. They only come back when they get something out of the relationship. Activant helps us cost-effectively offer that value-add component to make sure we retain our customer base."

For more information on Activant's enterprise software solutions, please fill out our Web Contact Form.

Back to Top