Client Story

Knowing they needed a newer, modern ERP system to automate and manage their growing high-end speaker enterprise, Pete Henricks, Director of Operations at KEF America, proactively set out to find a system that could match their sophisticated needs around automated shipping. After looking at a series of mid-market options from IBM and other software providers, Pete became concerned that nothing could fit the bill for their complex requirements without a ton of third-party add-ons and customization.

Pete and his team planned a very structured migration at the end of the year while running a newly selected system parallel to the legacy. But to add fuel to the fire, the current system had an unexpected, catastrophic hardware failure in August that made the requirement to get a new ERP working and in place not only imminent, but urgent.

When Clients First presented Microsoft Dynamics NAV to KEF, Pete said he knew he was picking the right solution and the right partner, “They sent their business team to work with us, not a sales team, and we knew we were dealing with experts.”
The Dynamics NAV solution Clients First recommended offered all the automated shipping KEF America required built directly into the system. The robust shipping integration has allowed KEF to reach a goal they weren’t sure was possible before by making the shipping and delivery process mistake-proof and unsusceptible to human error and manual mistakes.

After analyzing their specific requirements and situation, Clients First was able to put together an aggressive implementation plan that got KEF America up and running in a record 2-weeks.

Clients First delivered Microsoft Dynamics NAV on-budget, even despite the unexpected quick turnaround requirements to get KEF America live within a couple of weeks. Not only was KEF able to quickly overcome their legacy system hardware failure to continue operations, they now have complete visibility into product shipment and delivery on-demand.

Through integrated, native functionality inside the Dynamics NAV solution that was tailored to KEF’s specific needs, they can access all the advanced shipping functionality, from rate shopping to package tracking, in one place. In conjunction with barcode scanning and system safeguards, the ability to gain shipment visibility directly in the ERP system when on the phone with a customer has lowered UPS shipping claims and payment delays by over 64%, saving KEF thousands of dollars every year.

“The reduction in mis-shipments and false claims has cost justified the purchase of our new system, and the cost to maintain it is remarkably light on our budget.”