Success Stories

Activant Acclaim, Trading Partner Connect Increase Efficiencies, Improve Customer Service

Hub Supply, based in Wichita, KS, serves customers in mid-America with a wide range of products and supplies including abrasives, cutting, hand and power tools, coolants and lubrication products, janitorial items, paint adhesives, and more.

Founded in 1941 as a non-stocking broker to the aircraft industry, and purchased in 1969 by current president, Thomas Martin, Hub Supply eventually evolved into a leading provider of products and services and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company.

An Early Move to Technology

Hub Supply is on the leading edge of companies who maximize technology to better serve their customers. As posted on their Web site (www.hubsupplyonline.com) "[In the 1980s,] we began investing in systems technology to help our customers achieve significant overall cost reductions through improved inventory management, lower financing and freight charges, improved management information, and reduced facility space requirements."

The company's first investment in computers to help manage the business began with the purchase of an IBM system 34. Hub Supply even created and developed its own software (CribPro) to meet specific company requirements. Eventually, as the company continued to grow and daily business demands increased, further automation was required to ensure continued efficiency and reliable customer service.

A visit to another industrial distributor who had recently moved from an in-house computer system to an Activant solution convinced Martin to go outside Hub Supply for enterprise software. "I wanted to be in the distribution business and not in the computer business," he recalls. Activant Acclaim was chosen as the best product to meet Hubs increasing needs.

Referring to Hub Supply's long-term relationship with Activant, Martin believes it's important to be aligned with partners who enjoy top leadership roles, are "good" to work with, and have the strength to weather challenging economic times.

Training Opportunities for Employees

Hub Supply also acknowledges the value of Activant's commitment to customer support, consulting, and training. Hub Supply employs a "full compliment of computer based training" CDs, and takes advantage of virtually every opportunity to learn more about Acclaim through Activant University. To encourage employees to learn all they can, pay raises are linked to completing training courses.

On-Site Customer Inventory Management

In addition to managing their own inventory, Hub Supply carries customer service to the next level by providing inventory management services at 15 different customer sites. For more than 10 years, Hub Supply customers have enjoyed the efficiency, flexibility, and reliability of on-site-based inventory control and management without the need to assign their own staff to this time consuming and document intensive activity.

Martin also notes a continuing pressure by customers for increased service, faster responses, and lower costs. "They're looking for more and more cost reductions," he says. "Today there is a squeeze on distributors to show customers that they're productive or save them money in some fashion."

New Efficiencies

James Simmerman, director of Hub Supply's technology group, believes the Internet has also impacted customer relations. "Customers are more educated in terms of what to expect from us," says Simmerman. "They want us to justify the margin that we have on our products. They're also evaluating us, as a company, our efficiency and capabilities."

Simmerman goes on to say, "Thankfully, we're gaining tools like the Internet and enhancements in electronic commerce - like Trading Partner Connect - and more efficient software - like Acclaim - from our partners like Activant. That helps us accomplish more with less effort so that we become more efficient." Martin and Simmerman believe these enhancements make it possible to increase sales, market share, and profitability without increasing staffing.

Hub Supply Enters the Online Market

Recognizing the impact of the Internet on both his existing and potential customers, Simmerman enlisted the help of Activant to create a Web site for Hub Supply. According to Simmerman, B2B Seller, Activant's Internet storefront solution, has made an impressive impact not only on his existing customers, but also on new customers who do business with Hub Supply for the first time via the Web. "Consistent description nomenclature, the application of UPC information for items, and intelligent categorization via item look-up have made our online catalog easy to navigate and our parts easy to find," says Simmerman. "Even the manufacturing or sales novice can locate required items in our online catalog."

Simmerman believes that the return on Hub Supply's investment in B2B Seller reached 100 percent in months. "Never before has Hub Supply had such a dynamic, complete, and consistent product catalog to represent our product offerings...for a logistics guys like myself, this is cool stuff," enthuses Simmerman.

Better Service and Lower Costs

Martin is pleased that Trading Partner Connect enables distributors to work together to provide customers with a broader range of products and a better pricing structure. Hub Supply enjoys increased visibility of their own products as well as a method to view and access the inventories of trading partners. Customers prefer one-call order fulfillment. By improving access, Trading Partner Connect enables distributors to grow their business without investing in larger facilities or staffs.

Martin notes a growing trend for both customers and manufacturers to limit the amount of staff time spent in sourcing products and services. Customers would rather make a single phone call to a single source to meet their purchase requirements. Again, Trading Partner Connect allows distributors to increase the "virtual" size of their warehouse through an arrangement in which trading partners have visual access to each other's inventories, increasing both the variety and quantity of products available to a customer.

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

Back to Top