Midland Scientific, Inc.

Midland Scientific, Inc. is a full-line distributor of laboratory products such as chemicals, instrumentation, general lab supplies, glassware, lab consumables, media, measurement equipment, plastic ware, reagents, solutions, and much more. The company primarily serves the agricultural, educational, food, industrial, and research markets with a sales force that covers the entire United States. Midland Scientific has achieved uninterrupted growth by offering quality products, extensive product options, same-day shipment, helpful and friendly sales and customer service representatives, and competitive prices.

Midland Scientific has been using Epicor Prophet 21 as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution for over a decade. According to Vivian Pappel, president of Midland Scientific, “We selected Prophet 21 because of its ability to be user-friendly. We have increased in staff dramatically since we purchased Prophet 21, and we continue to find that it’s very easy for people to be trained on it and to understand the system. We have multiple locations nationwide, and it’s a great asset for us to have a software system that can be used throughout the company.”

Providing a superior customer experience

“Midland Scientific stands out from the competition, and one of the main reasons is our superior customer service,” said Lindsey Ramos, sales representative, Midland Scientific. “Behind that customer service is Epicor—our technology—which enhances our customer service and allows us to have all the information that we need.”

“We provide a superior value to our customer over our competitors, and I think Prophet 21 is the key to that, things—like inventory accuracy, shipping accuracy, and the ability to answer customers’ questions and meet their needs—those are all driven from the Prophet 21 system. That’s the heart of our business. We also have the B2B seller—which is our eCommerce platform, and through that we drive the customer experience as well by providing the customers a great deal of information," said Sterling Greni, vice president of operations, Midland Scientific.

Identifying fast- and slow-moving inventory

Midland Scientific can now determine which products in their inventory are fast movers and slow movers and can more accurately forecast customer demand. “We have recognized a lot of cost savings using Prophet 21 as our software system,” said Pappel. “It has helped us to set minimums and maximums in our ordering so we don’t have stock that doesn’t sell. We don’t run low on stock for our customers when they need it.”

“The tools that Epicor provides within their system in terms of managing inventory have been very helpful,” said Diane Lechner, product manager, Midland Scientific. “Prophet 21 has given us the ability to pull data quickly in terms of the turns on products. It has been able to help us to identify the products that we should be stocking or ones that we might need to look to moving into an overstock program. Prophet 21 has given us the tools necessary to make our purchasing department most impactful.”

The backbone of growth

Prophet 21 has allowed Midland Scientific to cut costs and become more efficient with their time and money. “The Prophet 21 system has enabled cost saving for us in numerous ways, probably the most visible way is through improvements and efficiency in all of our work practice within procedure,” said Greni.

“Basically, with Prophet 21, it has allowed us to stream-line all of our efforts and has decreased the amount of human capital work needed to grow our business. It has allowed us to focus on our strategic plan and our long-term vision,” added Pappel. “Our Prophet 21 system has really been the backbone of our entire operation, whether it’s from ordering product to put on our shelves, processing orders, shipping, invoicing, order confirmation. Prophet 21 is there every step of the way.”

Pappel continued, “Midland Scientific has been very happy with Epicor for over a decade now. Epicor continues to improve and continues to develop products and third-party relationships that help small businesses be more successful.”

“The Prophet 21 system has just really enabled our business to blossom and grow,” concluded Greni.