Routeco plc was formed in 1978, with its Head Office based in Milton Keynes, and is one of the UK's leading distributors of industrial automation and control products. The company supplies a broad range of products from simple electro-mechanical devices such as pushbuttons and switches, to highly sophisticated items such as programmable logic controllers, industrial PC's and software solutions. These products are used in a diverse range of industries including automotive, food processing, utilities and many others.

Traditionally, Routeco was focused around general wholesaling but has since developed into an established industrial automation distributor. Customers are now expecting more support and added value services, and Routeco has responded to this challenge very effectively. Part of the process was to make its MIS system more customer orientated and flexible for the future.

Initially, to establish which alternative systems were available, Routeco investigated the market place and reviewed a small number of software packages. KPMG was then employed by the Board to act as consultants during the discussions between Routeco's financial director, Ian Stewart, and the different departments of the company that would be affected by a change of system.

"KPMG was involved in my discussions with the various departments: purchasing, sales, logistics, quality and technical support to name a few, and formulated a formal specification for the system we would like to implement," says Ian. "The consultant then went into the market place and came back to us with a dozen companies whose marketing documentation seemed to match our requirements."

The invitation to tender was sent to each of the 12 companies listed and the responses were analysed and reviewed by KPMG. "Four of the respondents looked particularly strong and we had an in-depth two day demonstration of each system involving the necessary people from Routeco and using KPMG as an independent consultant," comments Ian.

After considering all the options, Routeco selected Strategix. "We were impressed with the product's inherent functionality and the amount of flexibility it offered that would allow our own MIS team to tailor it to our particular needs," explains Ian. "It was also very solid with regards to using multiple currencies including the Euro. Having subsidiaries in Austria, this was an important consideration.

"What's more, Strategix was the only company on the short list to offer a 'Big Bang' approach to implementation," he continues. "The others wanted to rollout the systems over a relatively long period of time, whilst we needed to be operational as fast as possible."

"The implementation and training took six months to complete," says Michael McGuinness, MIS manager. "The data conversion and set-up took place over the weekend prior to going live, and on day one all 12 branches went live on the Strategix system simultaneously. Everything seemed to be going well until half an hour later, when we began to have some hardware configuration problems.

The Strategix team, who had also been with us all weekend, pulled out all the stops to get it going again. After two hours we realised that it was due to the setting in the kernel of the HP9000 box which was only configured for 30 users, and not the 90 we required."

"Apart from that, the "Live Day" was very smooth considering we went live with all 12 UK branches. Another major benefit of using Strategix and the HP9000 box was the fact that we could utilise our existing network infrastructure and hardware, which reduced the overall cost and also saved us valuable time during implementation."

There are now 110 users typically on the system at any given time and it is implemented in 16 UK branches and 3 Austrian subsidiaries.

"There are numerous benefits which Strategix has brought to our business," says Ian. "With our old system, the stock ordering process was very convoluted and when another branch requested a product for a customer it had to be shipped first to that branch and then out to the customer. Now, with just one simple operation we can ship the product straight from the branch where the stock is held, saving everybody time and improving Routeco's customer service."

Another distinct advantage of Strategix is its order scheduling capability. Stock can be reserved for dates far into the future and not released until that time. As such, Routeco has better control of both present and future stock levels.

"We distribute components from a wide variety of leading manufacturers, and these products go together to make up complete systems for the customer," Ian explains. "Often, customers will have a variety of different machines on site requiring different components. With Strategix we can list each kit required by the customer with the relevant components, meaning that the order only has to mention a reference name or number and not detail each separate part. This feature has helped us to secure business with many key customers."

From an internal perspective, Strategix has the benefit of being a completely integrated software suite, which means that the separate modules feed into each other. As an example, the sales, purchase and general ledgers will share relevant information, reducing workload and improving the financial accuracy of the business. It is also possible to annotate entries in the general ledger with text giving further details on invoices. Previously, the invoice number had to be taken from the system and then that invoice looked up manually in paper archives.

Credit control is another area that has improved with the installation of Strategix. "Enhanced features for controlling a very busy sales environment have lead to an improved debtor day performance, and better customer service," says Ian.

"From an MIS point of view, I have no hesitation in saying that we would not have been able to integrate our Austrian subsidiaries so easily or so quickly had it not been for Strategix. We would have had to install a completely new computer system," comments Michael. "We have managed to consolidate the two countries in the Strategix system and it is possible for UK senior management to track the activity in Austria. In fact, we have used more of Strategix's functionality in Austria where customers have much higher expectations of their supplier."

As an example, consolidated invoicing is the norm for the top distributors in Austria. Products are shipped throughout the month but only one invoice is despatched, at the end of the month. To be successful in Austria, Routeco needed to adopt this strategy and Strategix was capable of delivering it. Seeing the advantages of consolidated invoicing, Routeco decided to offer it to UK customers, many of whom have taken it up.

Michael is actively involved with the Strategix User Group: "I have attended several meetings and find them useful for discussing any problems we have had with the software and recommending changes. We have realised several benefits from being part of a wider community of Strategix users, and the User Group provides a useful lever for guiding future Strategix software development."