Find out how E.C. Barton & Company realized quick turnaround benefits with Epicor BisTrack.
E.C. Barton & Company is a lumber and building materials (LBM) supplier that initially opened as a grocery store in 1885. Today, the company has grown to 104 stores in 17 states with 5 divisions-Barton's, Surplus Warehouse, Grossman's Bargain Outlet, E.C.B. Brokerage and Surplus Purchasing, and Builders Material Company.
"Our long history in the industry is something that makes us very unique in the market," said Stephen Rush, director of inventory replenishment, E.C. Barton & Company. "We operate different business models in each division, so we have distinct experiences that we can share across each division, which helps us be a leader in the industry."
E.C. Barton & Company made the switch from the Epicor Falcon system to Epicor BisTrack software in 2015 and has relied on the solution to grow the business ever since. "One of the primary reasons we chose BisTrack software was because of the Windows-based interface. It really has shortened our training program when new employees come on board," said Rush. "Our old system was cumbersome to learn and wasn't as intuitive as BisTrack software. Its easy-to-use functionality has helped us attract new talent and keeps people on board. The BisTrack solution makes it very easy for us to train employees."
Our old system was cumbersome to learn and wasn't as intuitive as BisTrack software. Its easy-to-use functionality has helped us attract new talent and keeps people on board. The BisTrack solution makes it very easy for us to train employees.
"When we went live on BisTrack software, we were provided with a series of training videos and resources. This made it simple for our new employees to learn the software. We were able to go live in over 100 locations in one weekend. The BisTrack software training and resources made it possible for us to hit our go-live goals," said Rush.
E.C. Barton sees the BisTrack software dashboards as the foundation for each user's productivity and insight into the business. "The business intelligence functionality in BisTrack software really helps our company," said Rush. "We used to have a sequence of reports that we would run daily, weekly, or monthly. Now, with the BisTrack tool, we are able to put all of the reports in one dashboard that our managers can look at any time of the day. Our reports are updated in real time for us, so at any moment, they are accessible from a single dashboard."
"With our previous system, our managers would have to run each report, print it out, and then review the report," he continued. "If they needed to see it again, new sets of parameters had to be entered to re-run the report. Managers constantly had to go through the system to find reports. Now, they go into one dashboard, can review any date, and find those real-time reports. It really saves us a lot of time and frustration. The BisTrack business intelligence tools are very powerful and help us make proactive, educated decisions and operate more efficiently."
"Business intelligence also helps us manage things like margins on items and keep our inventory integrity in check. We use features like suggested orders to stay in stock with the right products at the right quantity so that we're not in overstock or understock situations," Rush added.
"Our goal is to keep managers out on the sales floor as much as possible-we don't want them to be tied up in the back, continually running reports," said Rush. "BisTrack software has given us the opportunity to spend less time in the office on paperwork and more time out on sales floor helping our customers. We've seen substantial sales growth from having our team on the floor."
"BisTrack software is a great fit for the lumber and building materials industry. It's extremely beneficial for us having so many different divisions that each have unique needs. Because BisTrack is customizable, it meets the needs of each separate division. Epicor has a strong history of working with lumber and building materials dealers, and they understand the needs of the industry," Rush concluded.