AcumatiCaresAcumatica’s cloud ERP solution is helping three SMBs ensure business continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can do the same for you.
For you and many other SMBs, watching the news during the COVID-19 crisis is like being subjected to fingernails on a chalkboard. The negative economic impact of the worldwide pandemic is your reality, and continually hearing about the struggles of other businesses intensifies your own concerns. So, in an effort to lighten the load and provide a bit of hope, I’m sharing how three Acumatica customers are successfully embracing a new way to work through our comprehensive cloud ERP solution.
Monahan Partners
Located in Arcola, Illinois, Monahan Partners is a family-run business that assembles and distributes wood, metal, and fiberglass mop sticks, as well as a variety of mop components, for both wet and dry mops. They opened their doors in 2010, though their parent company, The Thomas Monahan Company, dates back to the late 1800’s.
Their longevity in the janitorial supply industry attests to their business acumen, but their legacy ERP system was a hindrance. Remote access was practically nil, duplicate data entry was a requirement, and real-time data analysis was non-existent. In 2019, Monahan Partners realized they needed an upgrade.
After hours of demonstrations and conversations with their top two ERP options, Acumatica and Oracle NetSuite, the company chose Acumatica. They worked with Acumatica VAR Algorithm, and Vice President Matt Short says the implementation of Acumatica Manufacturing Edition was “seamless.”
“We said we wanted to do this in 90 days, and our partner developed a plan with milestones that needed to be achieved…our team and the team at Algorithm met all those objectives,” he explains.
In addition to their astounding 90-day timeline, Monahan Partners’ onsite go-live date of April 1, 2020 was challenged by the arrival of COVID-19. Not to be denied, the two teams put together a contingency plan and completed the go-live 100% remotely.
With Acumatica’s cloud ERP software, the company is enjoying business continuity during a pandemic as well as multiple ERP benefits, including automatic inventory replenishments, data visibility, customized dashboards, and remote access.
“We were extremely lucky to be in the process of implementing an ERP system like Acumatica that we can access anywhere,” Matt says. “This made it possible for our office staff to work remotely when our local area experienced a spike in cases, without causing any disruption in customer service.”
Hokuyo Automatic USA Corporation
Offering a full range of industrial sensor products for the factory automation, logistics automation, and process automation industries, Hokuyo Automatic USA Corporation began as an exclusive start-up reseller company. They transitioned into being the U.S. subsidiary of Hokuyo Automatic Co. Japan, and they now have several distribution companies across the U.S. and Canada.
Building a strong brand over the last 15+ years hasn’t come without a few challenges. For example, though they had a three-user license through Sage, they still endured complicated currency rate calculation and recording when ordering inventory as well as when the vendor accepted payment. Customer orders and invoices were paper-based and manually filed. And they were unable to check inventory when traveling and/or at tradeshows.
In 2016, the company began looking for a cloud-based ERP system.
“We are a small business, so looking for a new ERP system was intimidating. We knew we wanted to invest our money into a robust, cloud ERP solution that would give us the flexibility in or out of the office and just be able to handle our work at any time of the day,” says President Greg Watson.
He and his team reviewed Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Dynamics 365, and Acumatica (among others). They ultimately chose Acumatica cloud ERP, implementing Acumatica Distribution Edition with the help of Acumatica VAR Global Data Solutions (GDS21).
Greg considers Acumatica “the vital tool” for their day-to-day operations. Their many ERP benefits including saving Greg time doing monthly reconciliations, balance sheets, and reporting; providing access to custom reporting; checking customers’ order status in real time; utilizing personalized dashboards; and opening the door to future growth.
The company experienced another huge benefit when the pandemic hit: business continuity.
“We’ve been able to navigate these challenging times without any setbacks from an operational standpoint,” Greg says.
Park Pacific Inc.
Family-owned business Park Pacific Inc. supplies site furnishings, playground equipment, athletic field equipment, and cast iron, aluminum, and bronze products using materials made in America. They’re committed to offering quality products and service, and the eight-person team works directly with their clients (architects, owners, craftsman, contractors, municipalities, and more) from design and bid to construction and operations during their extensive projects.
Like many SMBs, they were using a system designed for small businesses, but co-owner and CFO Gordon Jurgenson says it “absolutely did not work” when they started to maintain data and manage servers within the company—not to mention the fact that the company’s remote workers had communication and tracking issues.
They transitioned to Acumatica because it is a cloud-based ERP solution. Gordon also says that Acumatica VAR CyberCore Business Automation helped clinch the deal with their candor, competence, and kindness.
Once the implementation was complete, the team realized Acumatica transformed their business. “We’re using the power of Acumatica because we can do online presentations and we can do quotes and orders,” Gordon says. “[We] have online, real-time information.”
Park Pacific implemented Acumatica Financial Management and Acumatica Distribution Edition, and the subsequent ERP benefits include having:
- Remote access to all company data
- A single source of truth
- Synchronized, detailed, and centralized inventory for efficient customer quoting
- Improved internal communications
- Checks and balances across the company
- An Acumatica partner that handles their IT needs
They also decided to add on Avalara, a sales tax integration application, which has reduced the time they spent configuring sales tax (and remaining compliant) from 25 hours a week to approximately 10-to-12 hours a month. The add on also helped them expand into other territories.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Gordon says they didn’t have any business continuity hiccups. “We had all been working from home for three years. It was a real blessing we were already in and installed. It was pretty fantastic.”
SMBs + Acumatica cloud ERP = COVID-19 success
The COVID-19 crisis has forced SMBs to drastically alter the way they do business, including turning into a virtual workplace. While many were unprepared, those who either were Acumatica customers or became one during this unprecedented time experienced business resiliency.
For those who are not yet part of the Acumatica family, it’s not too late. Contact our team today to learn how Acumatica cloud ERP can ensure COVID-19 success for you and your business.
