Success Stories

Activant Prophet 21 Helps PVF Distributor Increase Profit Margins

If the distribution business was not exciting, Pat Adams says that he certainly would not be involved in it. "We're all the things that people don't see," says Adams, who is president of Missouri-Kansas Supply Company. "We're the infrastructure and the support - the steam pipes and the chilled water tubes - of schools, houses, and office buildings."

In business since 1946, the pipe, valve, and fitting (PVF) supply house has thrived through good times and bad by remaining diverse. "We're not in a niche market," Adams says, though he does acknowledge that his staff specializes in valve automation and controls. "Since we've remained flexible and focused on our customers' needs, we've minimized the peaks and valleys."

Remaining sensitive to new and emerging technologies has also worked to Missouri-Kansas' advantage. "You have to be far ahead of where everyone else is going, instead of just traveling with the pack - or you'll unquestionably be left behind," Adams says.

Case in point: If Adams had never explored a Web-based storefront several years ago, he would not be receiving the dozens of inquiries and orders via the Internet he receives every day now. "It's all business we wouldn't see if we didn't have an Activant B2B Seller Web site," he says.

Evolving with the times - and technology - is also why Adams moved his company from Acclaim, Activant's UNIX-based enterprise software solution, to Prophet 21, Activant's Windows-based, SQL Server database enterprise software solution. "We want to grow our business, and maintain a competitive edge, and Prophet 21 will absolutely help us do this," he says.

According to Adams, Prophet 21's connectivity helps him keep sales staff productive and where they belong - in the field, at customer sites. Armed with personal digital assistants (PDAs), sales representatives can synch to Prophet 21 over a secure connection to the corporate office, and download customer order-related information or upload orders. With the PDA functionality, sales representatives don't have to keep track of stacks of paperwork - or carry heavy and expensive laptops. "I'd much rather spend a few hundred dollars on a PDA than thousands on a laptop," says Adams.

Additionally, because Prophet 21 allows users to drill down to intricate detail in almost any data field, Adams says that his staff has increased profits - by approximately 5 percent - simply by paying closer attention to costs. "We catch the low-profit items and other things we didn't see before - like missing freight charges - because we see everything in so much detail," Adams says.

Adams contends that he would "absolutely" recommend moving to Prophet 21 from Acclaim to another distributor. "The technology is tremendous, and the support we received was superior," he concludes.

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