Executive Spotlight on Bill Soule, IT Director, Schefenacker Vision Systems

In any business, quality and reliability are vital to maintain a competitive advantage, a good reputation, and a loyal customer base.

Bill Soule, IT Director at Schefenacker Vision Systems, knows this firsthand. When service levels at his company suffered because of the complexities arising from an increasingly diverse customer base, he contacted PICS for help. “We needed help managing the technology we had in place,” he said.

The challenge: Tweaking customer ship-delivery schedules. Some customers wanted goods delivered on a requirement basis, others asked for parts to ship based on cumulative orders, and still others wanted different types of delivery schedules. Because Schefenacker had never before managed such a wide range of delivery models, the company often had trouble getting the right parts to customers at the right time.

PICS consultants helped Schefenacker employees analyze each EDI configuration in the company’s MFG/PRO system. “We looked at how the system generated schedules, and worked the parameters to meet each customer’s needs,” he says.

Because Schefenacker can now use its system to anticipate customer needs, it saves time and money (see sidebar), and customer ratings have skyrocketed.
“Our delivery ratings have improved by more than 30 percent,” he says. “We’re
now in the high 90s.”

Soule is now working with PICS on more ambitious projects to help his company get the most out of its business system. “We’re deploying technology to support world-class processes,” he says. “Data-based automation, coupled with technology that enables instant access to real-time information, will help us meet new challenges.”

One of those challenges is revamping material flow processes.
“We’ll reduce material costs by capturing tighter control of our inventory and cutting stock levels,” he says. Already, during the first phase of the project, Schefenacker has reduced stock levels so significantly that the company has been able to close one warehouse facility.

Soule knows the project will have a positive impact on employees: “Everyone’s excited. It’s bringing a lot of opportunities that weren’t in place before.” And, perhaps most importantly, Schefenacker customers are excited at the prospect of further technological improvements and enhancements: “Our customers know about our initiatives and have already begun offering opportunities based on successful implementation,” he says. “We’re excited about what we’ve done with PICS, and we know we can deliver.”