Ecolab Healthcare is leader in providing medical devices, equipment, chemistry and service to the medical, dental, scientific and pharmaceutical industries. With a team of over 60 field engineers, they provide an array of field services ranging from project management to repairs and maintenance for healthcare facilities.

Before been acquired by Ecolab Healthcare Australia, Gallay Medical & Scientific operated using several systems to manage their business, resulting in a significant amount of double handling and duplicated data entry, along with delays in the processing of data and information.

“Our systems were quite manual and we had no service management capability beyond spreadsheets and manual processes. The decision to go with NetSuite and NextService was easy. We would have one system that gave us visibility over our entire business.”

Chris Vat, Operations Manager

Challenges faced before implementation

Klugo implemented NetSuite and NextService for Gallay in order to meet the following objectives:

• Digitise paper-based processes
• Reduce double handling and associated risks
• Improve the recording of and access to historical information on machines and their services
• Capture and process data in real-time
• Report on the financial costs and profitability of projects and services undertaken by the company.

Business Outcomes

One of the core company values of the business is quality and a “customer-first focus”. While trying to connect a number of disparate systems, this approach became secondary; time and resources were prioritised to ensure the business ran smoothly.

One of their main business requirements was a field service management solution. NextService, being in-built with NetSuite instead of having multiple disparate systems, was a key factor in the decision-making process. Operations Manager Chris Vat explained that with the implementation of NextService, systems were streamlined with vast improvements focusing in customer care.

“The biggest drawcard for us was their Field Service Management solution built inside the NetSuite platform, giving the business a 360-degree view of our customers across the entire business. With NetSuite and NextService, we not only have visibility over our entire business but has also allowed us to schedule our technicians with more efficiency.”

Chris Vat, Operations Manager

Since implementing NetSuite and NextService they have achieved a 100% reduction on paper usage and managed to centralise all their software needs in a single solution, completely stoping working with disparate systems. They have attained customer-service excellence with a real-time CRM that allows every stakeholder to service their customers with efficiency and have increased operations with a platform that streamlines the process from lead to cash. 

After the acquisition of Gallay, Ecolab decided that NetSuite was the best business platform to continue supporting their operations. Ecolab with Gallay is further enhancing their commercial offerings and service in the Healthcare and Life Science industries and they see Klugo as a key partner on their ERP management.

For more information on Ecolab, click here.

Aquatec has had 30 years’ experience providing water and wastewater solutions to local government and commercial enterprises through the Australasian region. With plans to expand the business and improve on efficiencies, Aquatec required an internal system that would grow with their business.

“When we were searching for a system, we found that NetSuite was the only system that was fully integrated, cloud-based and didn’t need to be fully customised from the beginning. It’s out of the box capability met most of our needs and the additional modules and customisations would cover the rest of our unique requirements.”

Tanya Caruana, Business Process Manager

Challenges faced before implementation

Operating with multiple disparate systems, Aquatec saw the need for more efficiency and visibility over the company. Business challenges Aquatec faced:

• Manual entry of data and duplication of work
• Manual quoting to work order processes
• Multiple, disparate systems
• Manual inventory issues, and challenges with stock management and allocation
• Challenging to analyse job costings
• Lack of visibility of company deliverables in the warehouse.
• Inventory tracking and allocation against sales orders were a manual process.
• Lack of real-time data
• Lack of easily visible data over entire business performance

Aquatec’s business requirements

Aquatec required a single platform to consolidate their multiple, disparate systems, and give them visibility over their entire business. From sales to finance, through to service delivery, they needed to see the areas of business that were costing and making them money. Business intelligence, financial transparency and inventory management were key business areas that needed to be evaluated as part of a new platform.

Aquatec’s key business requirements:

• Remove manual quoting to work order processes and replace with automated workflows
• Reduce double handling and the risk of errors in the quote to order process
• Consolidate systems into one unified platform
• Address manual inventory issues, stock allocation and ability to analyse job costings
• Improve productivity in the warehouse via bin allocation, inventory tracking and allocation against sales orders
• Implement a system that unifies Aquatec’s three entities for consolidated reporting, streamlined analysis and the ability to review financial data in real time
• Significantly improve management of projects and get visibility of tasks, resourcing and transparency across the business departments
• Address Aquatec’s multiple quote to supply against a single opportunity as part of the CRM management
• Improve marketing campaign analysis and planning
• Enable warranty and returns visibility through serial tracking, case management and quote to repair
• Enable visibility on item usage, stock on hand, demand replenishment, and supplier orders, pricing and performance.

Why the move to NetSuite?

A detailed and thorough assessment of various ERP solutions lead to the selection of NetSuite. “It appeared easy to use, fairly intuitive and would provide the visibility that our  businessrequired. The fact that other reputable companies were using it added to our confidence” said Tanya Caruana, Aquatec’s Business Proces Manager.

The biggest draw card for Aquatec was the systems business transparency. NetSuite offers Aquatec a platform where every aspect of the business can be monitored and managed – it enables the leaders of the business to see areas performing well as well as those needing improvement.

Centralised data was necessary. The company originally operated a number of disparate systems, making it difficult to instantly see current customer information and transactions. With NetSuite, this became feasible.

“All information is centralised within Netsuite and the soft links make it easy to find the detail we are looking for from any starting point – this is key to our business as we can pull up customer history or inventory levels in no time. The system helped us eliminate duplication and we can easily all aspects of our data. We still use outlook calendars however the NetSuite activities allow us to plan sales trips, record information and not lose sight of viable opportunities very easily”.

Tanya Caruana, Business Process Manager

As the company have a large warehouse, inventory management was a key issue prior to implementing NetSuite. Since implementing, Aquatec has seen a significant improvement in their warehouse management.

Since implementing NetSuite, as the previous system was manual, everyone in the company saw a big difference. Tanya said: “Keeping track of inventory on hand value and being able to manage our stock minimum and maximums quantities has been an enormous benefit, NetSuite gave us visibility of our deliverables and traceability of our despatches” The company is also now reporting on DIFOT (Delivery In Full On Time), which helps them to improve processes and efficiencies for their customers.

Just over twelve months after implementing the system, Aquatec saw significant productivity improvements in the business. Aquatec is now focused on phase three implementation and seeing the company’s continuing growth.

For more information on Aquatec, click here.

Australian sheet metal machinery importer and distribution company Headland Technology were looking for a service management software system that would ensure efficient field service management of  their remote workforce. Headland had tried and tested multiple service management systems, at one stage running three systems simultaneously in order to gain organisational efficiencies.

“We experienced a number of pain points such as the duplication work, additional administration functions, cost of systems management and IT support required, it was evident that the disparate systems and databases were not going to sustain our business as we were continuing to grow – and, finding a solution was priority.”

Richard Kloe, Headland’s Managing Director.

NetSuite, a game changer for operational efficiency.

Klugo supported Headland to deploy NetSuite, the world’s #1 cloud business management software, consolidating four separate systems. NetSuite’s combination of positive user experience in the single cloud-based business system was the solution that helped Headland achive a single view of their customers and real-time analytics & KPI reporting via dashboards.

They saw a huge reduction in administration costs due to elimination of duplicated data entry and automated workflows. Headland found that having one system eliminated multiple handling and data manipulation. As well, having a change in work practices such as invoicing in the field, rapidly sped up their process.

Initially Headland chose to deploy a third party service software and interfaced it with NetSuite, however, it found much of the same constraints previously experienced with disparate systems. Due to NetSuite’s open architecture, Headland with the help of Klugo decided to develop their own field service software system to provide the end-to-end solution and a 360-degree view of the customer.

With full control over customisation and working directly within the system to overcome issues of integration, management and maintenance – NextService was developed by Klugo.

NextService – The Next Step

The combined view of all sales, service, finance and marketing activity has been the key benefit of NetSuite’s adoption. Now, with NextService, Headland has the ability to effectively control and automate all service projects, end-to-end parts management, software and contract maintenance management and general reporting.

Since implementing NextService, Headland has seen improved customer satisfaction due to enhanced communication, including automated emails with job details, escalations and reporting.

“NextService has really helped us increase the  as they now have the ability to know where all resources are at any given time, we now have a complete visibility of our customers in real-time, enabling us to be better prepared and able to service customer requirements.”

Richard Kloe, Headland’s Managing Director.

NextService was the recipient of NetSuite’s YOUR SUITE award 2017 for best internal field service software development. “NextService delivers Headland’s scheduling of maintenance and repair work, project installations, breakdown support with increased speed and clarity, ultimately benefiting the customer with greater accuracy, faster response, and problem resolution,” Richard says. 

Furthermore, Headland saw a 98% reduction in lost stock and tools alongside the adherence to mandatory compliance requirements, with all paperwork eradicated.

Key Benefits of NextService:

• One customer view with drag-and-drop scheduling capability
• Mobile device integration
• Automated service reports and invoicing
• Parts ordering from the field
• Improved administration productivity and efficiency
• Improved customer communication and visibility
• Ability to capture knowledge base from job records
• Ability to report on in live time key performance indicators
• Increased customer service capability due to improved data capture
• No software installation, all upgrades are managed from the cloud 

Since implementing NetSuite and NextService they centralised all their software needs in a single solution, discarding old disparate systems and they have achieved a 100% reduction on paper usage. They have increased the utilisation and efficiency of their engineersexcellence with a real-time FSM platform that allows scheduling and dispatching with efficiency. They have increased operations with a platform that streamlines the process of installing, maintaing and repairing equipment in the field. 

For more information on Headland Technology, click here.

As a business that has seen significant growth, MiniFAB have moved to underpin their future growth by implementing a cloud-based, integrated, advanced manufacturing solution, NetSuite.

Established in 2002, MiniFAB is a privately-held contract engineering firm providing custom development and manufacturing of disposable polymer microfluidic and micro-engineered products. With diverse geographical locations, MiniFAB’s growth into the US and Europe has paved the way for expansion into the global market, having worked on over 900 projects world-wide. A cloud based business management platform was essential to their global footprint, minimising infrastructure costs and providing a nimble, accessible system anywhere in the world. Dean Maxwell, MiniFAB’s newly appointed CFO says the business has operated successfully on many manual processes, however future expansion requires an integrated system which provides timely information to assist decision making. “Rapid growth has really been the key driver in re-assessing our systems and  processes to ensure we can keep aligned with our information and maintain the flexibility to innovate as a business,” he says. ”Reducing our current financial reporting timeline and gaining real-time visibility over the business financials were also key in our evaluation of systems.” “We were looking for a solution that was cloud-based and was able to scale with our growing business.” MiniFAB currently uses a construction based solution with several siloed databases and fragmented processes. The business estimates the potential to increase productive capacity by up to 20% across the business with the introduction of NetSuite. The Minifab solution provided by Klugo is unique to the Manufacturing industry as it is a complete, end to end Advanced Manufacturing solution that caters to PLM engineering, machine automation, advanced manufacturing, right through to the back end core Financials, CRM and inventory management. NetSuite’s Advanced Manufacturing Suite, together with NetSuite’s SuiteApp Arena is helping manufacturers innovate, ensuring global compliance and reduce costs through a cloud based platform that enables full visibility over their business, with real time business intelligence. Arena PLM, provides highly regulated medical device companies with a superior enterprise-wide approach to quality. This holistic quality solution offers visibility, cross-functional team collaboration, and long-term tracking of quality resolutions. The system allows manufacturers to meet FDA and other regulations, by managing information to show compliance as well as streamlining management of BOMs, design history files, device master records and change orders. It was Arena PLM’s decade long industry experience that gave MiniFAB assurance that the solution was the right fit for their business. Due to NetSuite’s status as a global market leader in ERP solutions and significant continued investment in the product’s development, the business was comfortable investing in the technology, knowing they could be rid of unwieldy upgrades in the future and benefit from over 30,000 global businesses using the platform. MiniFAB have been a customer of Klugo’s parent company Headland Machinery, however,  it wasn’t this connection that made MiniFAB choose to work with Klugo. Dean says it was the “honesty and openness from the Klugo sales team” that played a big part in the decision. “Klugo supported MiniFABs approach, listened to what we wanted, and they are prepared to make it happen,” he says. Dean was also impressed with the implementation methodology of the Klugo team. Annaliese Kloé, Director of Klugo says helping local manufacturers transform their business is extremely rewarding. “As the Managing Director of Klugo’s parent company Headland Machinery, I have been in the manufacturing space for about 30 years and have seen the effects first hand of software that just gets you by. It’s great to see that Klugo can provide an advanced manufacturing solution that is tailored to MiniFAB’s needs and help them on their path to growth.”

About Allcon

Allcon Group have 25 years experience as a specialist supplier to the concrete construction industry, offering a range of products from concrete finishing, power tools, generators, formwork and more. Allcon’s company value proposition is “Saving customers time”, so to support this, Allcon needed an eCommerce platform that would be easy for customers to use and deliver them business efficiency. SuiteCommerce Advanced was an obvious choice for Allcon as they are already experienced NetSuite users. Having one system that is fully integrated will enable Allcon to maximise their business efficiency as well as create a better customer experience.

Challenges Faced Before Implementation

As a company that prides itself on superior customer service and delivery direct to customer work sites, their previous solution didn’t adequately support their business model or allow for growth. Harvey Weeks Marketing Manager at Allcon, said their B2B website lacked integration with their current business systems. “A significant challenge was the lack of integration between our existing website and SuiteCommerce Advanced. The website was the only business system that was ‘outside’ Netsuite,” says Harvey. Order processing was manual – with customers placing a request for quote online and then each order manually processed by an Allcon customer service team member. Customers were unable to complete their purchase via the site, making the order process longer and increasing Allcon’s cost to service customers. Allcon’s 3 FTE customer service staff would process up to 150 phone orders per day – they needed a solution to help divert customers online and free up these resources and allow the business to grow.

Business Requirements Allcon Needed to Implement

Allcon engaged Klugo to develop and implement a NetSuite SuiteCommerce solution that would meet the the purchasing needs of Allcon’s customers and Allcon’s business requirements via a secure B2B website. This new eCommerce site would need to achieve the following:

• Ensure it’s easy and fast for customers to order
• Reflect the Allcon premium delivery service with freight calculations
• Ability to save orders and come back within a set period
• Ability to review past orders and reorder
• Ability to order items on backorder
• Ability to lookup order status
• Purchases done with credit card payment – (EziPay payment gateway).

Due to the nature of their businesses, a high percentage of Allcon’s customers also access the website when on site at a job – with up to 40% of website views coming via mobile device. A key requirement was for the website to be fully responsive across any device and allow Allcon’s customers to find product information quickly and place orders no matter where they were.

Business Improvements

Since implementing the SuiteCommerce Advanced eCommerce solution, Allcon have found that their website has significantly improved business efficiency. Their customers have also responded very favourably, with more and more customers choosing to transact online rather than via phone. “Importantly, customers love our new website! Our efficiency has been improved in a number of ways – including management of products etc. on the website, and from the fact that existing customers are now purchasing online rather than by phone, which leaves us more time to do more important things such as selling to new customers,” says Harvey. “Now a customer can place an order online, and this goes straight to despatch. Previously, the customer had to phone in and we manually entered the order. “The website will continually grow and evolve with the business, as we take on new product ranges and geographical locations,” “The Klugo team have been excellent to work with.” he says.