ArrowSQL Means Greater Efficiency For Frostbland
Frostbland is a leading Australian owned marketer and distributor of fragrance, beauty and allied brands such as Tabu, Panache, and Elizabeth Arden. With over 2,400 stocked items and an extensive customer network across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, the company has a strong focus on innovation, continuous improvement and customer service excellence.Frostbland’s move to ArrowSQL was based on the need for more robust reporting and to ensure real-time business intelligence across critical performance areas of the business.
As Australia’s largest distributor of fragrances (over two million units a year) and managing inventory in a seasonal and promotions driven market, reliable information is paramount. Alan Katzmann, Logistics Manager for Frostbland explains why accuracy of data, fast reporting and integrated systems are all mission critical to their success.“Before we had ArrowSQL, the data we were obtaining from the system was not live, and our reports contained up to two day old information. Our business is driven on managing our cost of goods so it is imperative we can track and react to any issues – and make decisions accordingly. 60-70 percent of the reports we run relate to accurately tracking cost of goods.
Benefits of ArrowSQL
“So ArrowSQL was all about providing us with greater visibility and also to ensure greater accountability and accuracy. We process over 5,000 orders a month, and our customers, who include major retailers such as Priceline and Big W, expect on time delivery without errors. Before we had ArrowSQL one report could take 60 minutes to run, now with Crystal Reports we can get this report in five minutes with live data.”
“This means everyone can be equipped with the right information, from our warehouse manager to our customer service centre, and our sales force who are out on the road. Eighty percent of our team interact with Arrow on a daily basis, and we have built a high degree of confidence in the system.”
As Logistics Manager, Alan also has the responsibility for inventory management – stock control, forecasting and fulfillment. Arrow has been integrated with Frostbland’s Materials Replenishment Planning (MRP) system, called IPT, to ensure data is shared instantaneously between the systems, while maintaining a high level of integrity.“This integration was critical for us as it eliminates any manual entries and ensures our stock control is to industry best practice… or even above this benchmark,” explains Alan.
Arrow also supports Frostbland’s mobile sales force via the ArrowLink software. Sales representatives take orders using their Palm Pilots and via ArrowLink these sales orders and customer requests are processed directly into the system. This level of automation ensures prompt customer service and data accuracy.
ArrowSQL means greater efficiency for Frostbland
A smooth transition…
Frostbland moved to ArrowSQL in July 2004, and Alan Katzmann credits the smooth transition to the high level of support and assistance provided by their Arrow Business Partner.
“We see our Arrow Business Partner as an extension of our team and we value their input. They are fast to react to any problems and are equally proactive in helping us identify how we can improve our processes because they know our business – they’ve been there for the entire journey. I am a firm believer that you should have the best experts around you and let them get on with delivering what they are good at – that leaves me free to focus on improving our business.”
Frostbland currently utilises 11 modules of Arrow Financials, supported by a high performance IT platform including SQL Server, Citrix Server, Exchange Server and a high speed remote dial-up capability.
“We recently started running the multi company module of Arrow after expanding our operations to New Zealand. While NZ runs on separate debtors and creditors modules, we wanted the stock modules to be integrated – so sales orders could be automated and seamless, and we could despatch orders from multiple sites to streamline our logistics.”
“By creating just one stock module our business process has been reduced from six steps to just one step – which means we are that much more efficient,” explains Alan.
“Our system has also been configured to automate currency exchanges every night so that accurate values are reflected in the system. This has helped the business manage the complexities of working across different geographic markets, while at the same time ensuring the highest level of efficiency.”
ArrowSQL has also provided a higher level of workplace flexibility. Alan can access Arrow via the SQL Server from home, and run reports as and when he needs to – even on weekends. “This new functionality has been fantastic.
I need everyone off the system to be able to run end of month procedures (rollovers and updates), now I can log in and do it from my home office… it takes me a few minutes and it’s done!,” highlights Alan.
Looking ahead, Frostbland is looking to maintain its market leadership through its commitment to leveraging state of the art technology and effectively managing every aspect of its operations to exceed customer expectations.
“With all of our systems it is essential that they are tailored to our specific business needs and flexible enough to give us the critical information we need as our business changes – which it does on a daily basis. We are all about continuous improvement, and we are constantly challenging the way we work, our processes, and our service delivery to ensure we stay ahead of the game…and so far ArrowSQL has delivered on these demands and given us much greater visibility across the business,” concludes Alan.
“Our system has also been configured to automate currency exchanges every night so that accurate values are reflected in the system. This has helped the business manage the complexities of working across different geographic markets, while at the same time ensuring the highest level of efficiency.”
ArrowSQL has also provided a higher level of workplace flexibility. Alan can access Arrow via the SQL Server from home, and run reports as and when he needs to – even on weekends. “This new functionality has been fantastic. I need everyone off the system to be able to run end of month procedures (rollovers and updates), now I can log in and do it from my home office… it takes me a few minutes and it’s done!,” highlights Alan.
Looking ahead, Frostbland is looking to maintain its market leadership through its commitment to leveraging state of the art technology and effectively managing every aspect of its operations to exceed customer expectations.
“With all of our systems it is essential that they are tailored to our specific business needs and flexible enough to give us the critical information we need as our business changes – which it does on a daily basis. We are all about continuous improvement, and we are constantly challenging the way we work, our processes, and our service delivery to ensure we stay ahead of the game…and so far ArrowSQL has delivered on these demands and given us much greater visibility across the business,” concludes Alan.
