The new site utilized SAP running Oracle® on an AS/400 to handle assembly processes, while the fulfillment side ran MACS (Mail Order and Catalog System) on a dedicated HP 3000. Combined, both systems created substantial overhead and complexity. SAP was very expensive and required too much support. MACS was inflexible and fell short of meeting the customers' reporting needs. Additionally, a hefty MIS staff was required to maintain and support the two systems.

Clearly some changes had to be made.

In mid November 1998, (remember this date) a decision was reached to change the fulfillment system. Guidelines were simple: Choose a qualified solution provider with the expertise and proven ability to select and fully implement a system to go live within an extremely limited timeframe. The application had to be easy to implement, customizable, and built on industry standard tools and open architecture.

With the HP-3000 lease expiring on January 4, the entire implementation and conversion had to be completed in a mere 6 weeks! Needless to say, it was a busy 6 weeks. Everyone worked around the clock through the Christmas and New Year's holiday. Hardware and software were ordered, customizations and new reports written, and users trained on the new system.

Everything had to be deployed in a well-tested environment that would not affect Q·Media's customers. Paul Fernandez put it this way: "We had no margin for error since we had to get off the existing systems by January and had to successfully implement the new system without impacting our daily operations in any way. The new system went in quite smoothly and we were very pleased with the support and technical expertise we received from Stevens Group"

Stevens Group organized individual and group training sessions on the Solomon, Aristo, Exchange, and NT packages. Training ranged from product functions, troubleshooting, and daily processes. One of the more immediate benefits of the implementation resulted from the setup of MS Exchange to handle Q·Media's electronic mail system. According to Jeff Dalton, the Project Manager, "The most exciting part of training for me, was setting up Exchange Server and providing real-time access to e-mail. Users loved it since they had been using an antiquated messaging system."

In addition to the base Solomon product, Stevens Group used Solomon's Visual Basic tools to develop a sophisticated error checking process that pre-qualified all orders for accuracy before they were accepted into the system. "This development work lowered the risk associated with the high transaction volumes Q·Media receives every day", said SG's President, Ed Pauley, Jr. "We significantly improved the previous process which was labor intensive and prone to error."

Prior to implementation, Q·Media and Stevens Group tested a variety of operating scenarios. Customers were asked to send orders through the system with the worst possible combination of problems. Despite their most devious efforts, the system performed flawlessly. Having successfully achieved the "go-live" target date of January 4, 1999, key personnel from Solomon and Stevens Group were on-hand to observe the process and make sure there were no problems.

Speed of Implementation - On January 4, 1999, (just 6 weeks after Stevens Group was given the nod), Q·Media went live with Solomon IV®. The package was installed on time and provided immediate estimated savings of approximately $17,000 per month over the MACS and HP-3000.

Cost Reductions - Paul Fernandez: "We realized an immediate benefit by eliminating the need for a large MIS support staff. With the new system we have been able to support our operation in Irvine with only 1 MIS member. This alone resulted in savings estimated at $200,000 per year."

Enhanced Productivity - "We replaced a system that had been in place for 4 years with a new system that has been in for 4 months, and we are producing the same output with the same number of people", said Fernandez. " We expect to improve productivity by 20% within the next three months, and are already taking on more business without increasing our headcount. In addition, the new system allows better reporting and controls than ever before." Specifically, new inventory reports have been generated which show shipments, RMA's, credits, and other pertinent information that allow Q·Media to bill customers more accurately.

In total, the new system processed approximately 45,000 orders over the first 45 days with very few errors. Q·Media is very enthusiastic and believes the investment has been well worth the price. Paul Fernandez summarized, "We finally have solutions to some of our old problems. Allowing our customers real-time access to their inventory and order information has never been easier. Our customers are happy and very excited about the direction in which we are headed. With the integration of Microsoft Site Server, we will offer on-line access to our customers, enabling them to place orders and inquire on order status and inventory levels. This is critical for many of our customers. For instance, as a just-in-time supplier to Toshiba, the ability to offer on-line access to data is very important."

"Our implementation experience was relatively painless. In all, the system was delivered on time and within the budget. We have spent the last few months perfecting our process and are now ready to take on new customers and expand our range of services."

Sometimes the nature of a client's business involves specific processes that even the most feature-rich and flexible software package cannot deliver out of the box. The challenge then becomes finding a systems consultant who is qualified to fully optimize the software to effectively address those needs and achieve maximum performance. It is a task that requires both a comprehensive understanding of the client's business process and a deep-seated knowledge of the system being applied. Q·Media found both qualifications at Stevens Group.

As part of the normal purchase cycle, Q·Media receives orders from their customers electronically. The following illustrates several key technical challenges that surfaced due to the nature of their operation, and describes the solution ("SG Processor") with which Stevens Group addressed those challenges:

Integration of Customer Order Files to the New System
Q·Media receives files from foreign systems, including other distribution packages that may not have information in the format required by Q·Media. The new system would therefore have to be flexible enough to adapt to any company's system. Using Microsoft IIS, Visual Basic, and Solomon's tools Stevens Group was able to attach to any output from Q·Media's customers.

Adherence to Company Business Rules
Prerequisites for the system included the ability to anticipate manual errors. The SG Processor catches errors made by customers, (E.g. shipping UPS to a PO BOX, or to a customer without a ZIP Code), and can set up an error log for any business rule Q·Media defines.

Communication with Remote Warehouses
Based on business rules in the SG Processor and contracts that Q·Media has with their customers, we direct orders to other warehouses based on geographical location and freight costs. Using the rules we've established the efficiency of the shipping process has greatly improved.

Accessing Historical Data (This is currently under development)
Q·Media periodically accesses historical order information. Their desire is to keep Solomon "lean & mean" with only 3 months of order information. Utilizing custom code and a data warehouse in Microsoft SQL 7.0, order information will roll over into the data warehouse after three months. Once in the data warehouse historical order information can be retrieved through Solomon.

To address these technical challenges, Stevens Group developed a custom solution ("SG Processor") consisting of a 4-Step Process which concludes with the customer's receipt of shipping confirmation files. The basic process can be summarized as follows:

The Order file is picked up from the FTP site on a timer. At this point, Stevens Group developed a custom process ("SG Processor") that effectively checks for errors (E.g. duplicate numbers and missing data) before creating a Sales Order in Solomon Order Management. Updated Inventory information can then be analyzed.

Each order is checked for errors in the order information. For instance, customer errors such as UPS shipments to PO Boxes are automatically checked and a log created. A remote warehouse is identified and orders are sent to this warehouse via the FTP site and Microsoft Internet Information Server.

Auto-checking procedures are required to ensure that all products shipped out of the warehouse are scanned correctly. Under the old system, a 2-stage scanning process was required. The new system now scans pallets once at the shipping area only, significantly improving workflow of the warehouse staff. Once products are verified, the next process begins.

Shipping information is updated in Solomon with tracking numbers from shippers such as FEDEX, UPS and other common carriers. Once orders are shipped and information updated, the last process begins.

The new system processed the normal daily flow of 1000 orders and -surprisingly-- caught 250 duplicate orders that had been erroneously transmitted. The customer was unaware of the problem, and --when Q·Media called to notify them-- were very appreciative that Q·Media had identified this error so quickly. "We were all impressed with the way our new system worked on its first day of operation", said Paul Fernandez, Q·Media's CFO and CIO. "It gave us a lot of confidence when it rejected those duplicate orders."