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NAED Technology Informer, July 2006

When asked to define the relationship between a distributor and his technology, Bill Jett and Wink Benbow, founding partners and co-owners of Mustang Electric Supply, have a hard time separating Mustang's vision from their enterprise technology solution, Activant Prophet 21™.

Drawing on a combined 55 years spent with a national electrical distribution company, when Jett and Benbow set out to establish Mustang Electric in 1998, they understood that early success meant committing their resources to a familiar geographic region and customer base.

They also knew they needed to find a software solution powerful enough to cement the fledgling distributor's position as an industry leader.

"We came from a company using an in-house computer system with strong inventory and financial management capabilities," Benbow recalls. "While it was not practical to emulate a large distributor, we knew we needed a system that would allow us to serve our customers, operate internally, and link PCs to the solution, without the extravagant costs of an in-house system."

Mustang Electric chose Prophet 21 because it offered the advanced features and integration they needed to grow and adapt to industry changes. "We were looking for the most advanced system to serve the modern electrical wholesaler, and we found that in Prophet 21," Jett says.

A Valuable Tool

With their warehouse stocked and ready to open, Jett and Benbow knew lost time meant lost money, so they took advantage of Activant's QuickStart implementation program to get Mustang Electric live on Prophet 21 in five weeks. "We could not wait the normal implementation period, we were out of business otherwise," Jett recalls. "We worked day and night during implementation to get our controls in place, it was a lot of work, but it paid off when we opened."

Upon opening, Mustang immediately used Prophet 21 to make the critical decisions necessary to guide Mustang Electric through its infancy. "Prophet 21 was a valuable tool right out of the box," Benbow says. "We were a brand new company, so being able to examine our general ledger on a daily basis to view costs, organize purchasing, and determine profitability by account, customer, or salesman made an immediate impact."

Adds Jett: "Tracking inventory and financial activity is as important now as it was then. We've grown, but we have not changed how we've done things since the beginning."

Managing the Market

As Mustang's position in the market solidified, and their product lines expanded, keeping the pricing of copper and zinc-based commodity items on pace with the world markets became a daily task. Jett and Benbow use Prophet 21's integrated inventory, pricing, and purchasing modules to crosscheck their copper and zinc-based items with market trends, and adjust pricing and inventory replenishment schedules accordingly. "Since we have the most updated pricing information, we seldom have issues determining pricing for customers," Benbow says.

Prophet 21's lot billing functionality helps Mustang serve a growing base of customers who routinely order items not located in Mustang's warehouse. As a non-stock process, lot billing coordinates manufacturer-to-customer shipping with Mustang's accounts payable and receivable to ensure a steady and reliable cash flow. "Lot billing lets us use manufacturer receipts to ship material to our lighting and switchgear customers," Jett explains. "We place an order with the manufacturer, they send us an invoice, we bill the customer, and the material goes directly from the factory to the customer location.

"The solution automatically bills in a direct percentage of the actual purchase order, so we don't need to worry about whether or not we billed the customer for everything," Jett continues. "This puts payables and receivables in a fast cycle, which keeps our vendors quite happy."

Reaping the Rewards

With Prophet 21 powering their operations, Mustang Electric's product lines, customer base, and profits have grown at a steady pace. Then, last year, the company experienced a dramatic growth spurt. "We're up seventy percent over the last year. It's the culmination of customer relationships, sales organization, an experienced staff, and strong market presence building over time," Benbow recalls.

As co-owners of Mustang, both Benbow and Jett have gained an interesting perspective into Activant's role in the journey of Mustang Electric: "The oddity of our situation is that we don't know any other way," Jett says. "We've been with Prophet 21 since the beginning - as we have grown so have our expectations of the solution, and it has performed admirably every step of the way.

"When we opened our doors, there were only three of us - we didn't have furniture, we didn't have computers, and we sure didn't have customers - it was an exciting time," Jett concludes. "Today, we are able to compete in a strong and varied marketplace. It's been a very rewarding journey."

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