Chris Stone, Inc. Achieves a “Big Company” Solution ...



Overview

Country or Region: United States

Industry: Apparel and Textiles

Customer Profile

Headquarted in Vernon, California, Chris Stone, Inc. (CSI) is a vertical manufacturer for home furnishing fabrics. Along with their partner company, Pacific Fabric Finishing (PFF), they produce fabrics for many well-known companies. They have annual sales of $20 million and 200 employees.

Business Situation

Chris Stone, Inc. originally went looking for a new solution because their Unix system wasn’t Y2K compliant. They wanted a system that would be able to improve financial visibility and inventory accuracy for both CSI and PFF; they wanted a system that would integrate a wireless bar code scanner as part of the solution.

Solution

With assistance from Microsoft reselling partner, Columbus IT Partner, Chris Stone, Inc. implemented Microsoft® Business Solutions—Axapta® and added a wireless bar code system. Customizations were also added to automate sales commissions.

Benefits

■ Increased inventory accuracy

■ Increased customer satisfaction

■ Improved financial visibility of both CSI and PFF

■ Increased on-time shipping

■ Reduced labor for inter-company billing

| | |“Microsoft Business Solutions–Axapta allows us to do the same things as many of the bigger products–but without the big company price”.

Naomi Bongolan-Burchardt, IT Manager, Chris Stone, Inc.

Ed Simnick, Tech Support Manager, Allison Payment Systems, LLC

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| | | |Chris Stone, Incorporated (CSI) is a vertical manufacturer for home furnishing fabrics headquartered |

| | | |in Vernon, California. The company has been in business for over 25 years and has annual revenues of |

| | | |approximately $20 million (USD). Pacific Fabric Finishing (PFF) dyes and prints fabrics for CSI and |

| | | |is closely affiliated with them. Since implementation of Microsoft Business Solutions—Axapta (now |

| | | |part of Microsoft Dynamics™), management is now able to view timely and accurate financial |

| | | |information for both companies. On-time shipping of the correct products and quantities from CSI has |

| | | |increased to 85 percent. They have experienced a 75 percent increase in customer satisfaction due to |

| | | |improvements in inventory accuracy and visibility. Staff time for inter-company billing has been |

| | | |reduced by 50 percent. |

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Situation

Chris Stone, Inc. (CSI) is a vertical manufacturer for home furnishing fabrics located in Vernon, California. The company has 200 employees and 50 users and has been in business for over 25 years.

CSI is affiliated with Pacific Fabric Finishing (PFF); PFF dyes and prints the fabric that CSI markets for use in home furnishings, RVs, boats, and outdoor furniture. The fabric produced is soft enough to be used for quilting and apparel, including baby clothing.

The company operates markets in High Point, North Carolina and New York City where customers view and order fabric. Other than seasonal and fast moving patterns, most CSI fabrics are ‘made-to-order,' so their production schedule is determined by orders taken approximately four to six weeks prior to delivery. CSI also uses commissioned sales people to sell their fabric.

When greige (raw goods) come into CSI, they move to PFF for bleaching, cleaning, and to have the impurities removed in water reaching 180 to 200 degrees Farenheit. After this preparation, the fabric is stored in a warehouse until it is scheduled for printing. The fabric is printed with a rotary screen printer at a speed of 20 to 30 yards a minute, or with a slower, but more precise, flatbed printer (buser). As the fabric moves through various stages of production and as it moves between warehouses, it must be monitored so it can be located when needed for the next stage of production or marketing.

Prior to implementation, CSI was on their third computer system in about 20 years. As Y2K approached, they knew their Unix system was not compliant. CSI also wanted a system that would accommodate their other needs, as well as those of their partner company, PFF.

Naomi Bongolan-Burchardt, IT Manager, began her search by going through manufacturing industry magazines to identify computer solutions that would be able to meet the needs of CSI. She also developed a flow chart to explain the processes of CSI and PFF to potential vendors.

Solution

Ultimately, CSI selected Microsoft® Business Solutions–Axapta® for its solution and is operating it on a Compaq 8000. Implementation began with the Financial Management and the Supply Chain Management modules and they later added Production modules. Microsoft reselling partner, Columbus IT Partner, has added customizations enhancing the functionality with wireless bar code inventory tracking and automated commission adjustments.

The wireless bar code customization allows CSI to track in-transit product throughout the 56, 70 square feet of warehouse space–from the time it enters one of the four warehouses, until it is shipped to a customer. Previously, CSI conducted a semi-annual inventory. The warehouse had to be physically shut down for two days and employees were paid overtime costing the company in excess of $7000 each time the inventory was completed.

With the help of their new bar code solution, cycle counts are done daily, five to ten bins at a time. Employees are now able to view inventory quantities and locations on the computer. A worker with a pick list is directed to the appropriate warehouse bin to select fabric for shipping. The scanner indicates when they have selected the correct fabric and then asks them if they want to cut (if there is an excess amount) or ship the product.

The second customization added to Microsoft Axapta by Columbus IT Partner enables CSI to automatically make price, sales, and commission adjustments. CSI has independent salespeople (responsible for a specific territory) who receive commissions and company salespeople who receive both a salary and commissions.

The rotary printer at Chris Stone, Inc. prints fabric at the speed of 20 to 30 yards per minute.

These commissions vary based on tier pricing (dependent on the type of the customer) and contract letters (dependent on the size of the order). Microsoft Axapta differentiates between these factors and adjusts payments to sales people accordingly.

Another improvement since implementation is the ability to estimate production due dates more accurately. Employees can easily identify where fabric is in the production process. They can tell if the product is in the process of being dyed, printed, or ready for cutting and/or shipping.

Previously, two employees had to manually input information to do inter-company billing between CSI and PFF. With bar code facilitated bill of material (BOM) tracking and reporting, CSI has been able to consolidate these functions to one employee saving the company over $50,000 annually.

Benefits

Despite an economic downturn and major price increases for the natural gas used to run their fabric dryers, CSI has maintained profitability.

Inventory Accuracy

CSI and PFF combined have 56,700 square feet of warehouse space. Since a large part of CSI's fabric is made-to-order, they don't carry many assets. Inventory and the location of the inventory change frequently. Following implementation of Microsoft Axapta and the wireless bar code solution, CSI performs daily cycle counts. They can now easily locate fabric throughout the four warehouses; they can also identify the fabric to move it through the production process and to fill orders.

Increased Customer Satisfaction

Bongolan-Burchardt credits Microsoft Axapta with a 75 percent improvement in customer satisfaction. Employees now easily access information about customer orders and are able to provide accurate responses to questions.

Rolls of fabric in the finishing warehouse are ready for shipping from Chris Stone, Inc.

Improved Ability to View Both Companies

Management now has the ability to view financial information for both CSI and PFF. While the operations of CSI were computerized, PFF information had previously been manually entered.

Increased On-Time Shipments

Following implementation, CSI has improved their on-time shipping for the correct products and quantities to 85 percent. The remaining 15 percent are typically delayed due to reorders, lack of availability of greige goods, or delayed delivery of greige goods. Prior to automation, workers had to manually look through warehouses to locate rolls of fabric for dyeing and printing.

Increased Adjustability of Commissions

Sales people affiliated with CSI have varying rates of commissions based on their position, size of the company they are selling to, and the amount of fabric sold. Since implementing Microsoft Axapta, these rates are entered into the computer for automatic adjustments and calculations.

Time Savings

Inter-company billing between CSI and PFF required two full-time employees prior to implementation of the new solution. Since implementation, this billing is done by one employee for a 50 percent reduction in staff time. Implementation has also resulted in a 60 percent reduction in the amount of time employees spend looking through the warehouse for fabric.

Microsoft Dynamics

Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship

and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.

For more information about Microsoft Dynamics, go to:

dynamics

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| |Software and Services

■ Microsoft Dynamics

− Microsoft Business Solutions–Axapta | | |Software and Services

■ Products

− Microsoft SQL Server 7.0

− Microsoft Business Solutions—Axapta

− Microsoft Business Solutions Analytics

|Microsoft Business Solutions Financial Management

− Microsoft Business Solutions Supply Chain Management | |

© 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, Microsoft Dynamics, Axapta, Navision, BizTalk, and Windows Server System are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation or Microsoft Business Solutions ApS in the United States and/or other countries. Microsoft Business Solutions ApS is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Document published June 2005 | | |

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) 568-2495. Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234 in the United States or (905) 568-9641 in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to:

For more information Columbus IT Partner products and services, visit the Web site at:



For more information about Chris Stone, Inc. products and services, visit the Web site at:



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The rotary printer at Chris Stone, Inc. prints fabric at the speed of 20 to 30 yards per minute.

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