John Sample Group Improves Importing with MomentumPro

John Sample, Executive Chairman of JSG explains “There are two main companies under JSG: John Sample Automotive and JSG Industrial Systems. John Sample Automotive is the sole Australian importer of motorcycle brands Aprilia and Moto Guzzi. We import these brands directly from Italy and supply motorcycles and scooters to more than 30 dealers across Australia.

The John Sample Group, through its subsidiary JSG Industrial Systems, is regarded as the market leader in the field of Centralised Lubrication and Material Dispensing, offering the right solutions to what are often complex and unforeseen problem areas. The group has had a presence in South East Asia for 15 years having recognised the potential of this region.”

The Right Change

According to John Currao, Financial Controller, JSG, “We went live with MomentumPro in April 1999. We use MomentumPro for the bulk of our operations including production and servicing. It was a big change from our previous system and there were a lot of good things that came from that change.”

“We looked at eight products before deciding on MomentumPro. We went with MomentumPro for a couple of reasons: MomentumPro had a better drill-down facility and the Importing Module in MomentumPro was better than anything else we saw. Because we’re a big importer, this was extremely important.”

MomentumPro Handles Importing for JSG

“We import mainly from the United States and Germany on the industrial side and the motorcycles are Italian. The Importing Module in MomentumPro is very good. MomentumPro provides us with precise landed cost figures with different exchange rates and duty rates on all our shipments. It creates packing lists and automatically assigns all committed stock. The Importing Module also gives you the flexibility of changing exchange rates,” says Currao.

“MomentumPro manages back-orders well. We used to do a lot of back order processing manually with our previous system. Before MomentumPro, when a shipment arrived, we would have to allocate it all manually. Now stock stays committed to a customer from the time it is ordered. When it lands, the shipment gets receipted, a pick slip is produced, staff pick the product and it’s out the door. MomentumPro provided great improvements in this area and saved us hours and hours of work. Back-order fill rates have also improved,” says Currao.

“The inventory management of MomentumPro is also very good. We carry more than 10,000 product lines on the industrial side of the business alone. Our product lines are very diverse including everything from washers and huge pumps to motorcycles. To manage our inventory, we use bin boxes for smaller items and racking for our larger lines,” says Currao.

Designed for industry, MomentumPro contains comprehensive on-line multi-branch inventory management with advanced processing and reporting facilities and full incorporation of bar-coding technologies that provide businesses with the ability to manage their inventory intelligently and efficiently.

MomentumPro Provides Serial Tracking

“MomentumPro allows us to have full serial tracking of motorcycles which is excellent. This is especially important in relation to spare parts for the bikes relating to warranty and recalls if any. The relevant information is available to our staff in MomentumPro because it is all recorded. This includes service item information,” says Currao.

According to Currao, “We use the automatic reordering in MomentumPro.” MomentumPro has a powerful interactive reorder processing system that allows users to efficiently place orders without tedious reporting and re-entry methods. “In regard to reorder processing, we use the suggested re-order quantities. Most of the time what the system recommends is what we order; we only adjust our orders where necessary,” says Currao. MomentumPro suggests order quantities based on intelligent reorder strategies that include safety stock levels, sales forecasts, lead times, stock coverage, reorder point, demand & sales history and other trends.

“MomentumPro allows us to keep more information. The more information you have in the system, the more you can get out of it. Historical data is very important to the running of our business. We can look at a stock movement from three years ago and drill down into an invoice or receipt in no time at all. On our previous system, any more than one year of historical data would slow the system down reducing productivity. We already have three years of data in MomentumPro and it hasn’t slowed at all,” says Currao.

MomentumPro Supplies Information when it’s Needed

“Fast access to information is important especially on the customer service side. The way MomentumPro is designed is quite good in the sense of drilling into specific items,” says Currao. MomentumPro provides extensive inquiry facilities covering all aspects of inventory, pricing, catalogue, customers, suppliers and orders.

“You can get more information more quickly in MomentumPro, that’s the beauty of the system. It all comes down to efficiency of time. You can do more in less time. Our customer service staff are able to tell a customer straight away if a product is in stock or when it will be available,” says Currao.

Reliability a Major Benefit

Currao explains, “Another major benefit of MomentumPro is that it is very reliable.” MomentumPro is built on Progress Software. Progress gives MomentumPro the reliability and scalability to ensure it constantly meets the growing needs of businesses.

According to Currao, “MomentumPro provided us with many benefits over our previous system. It streamlined a lot of areas within our business and is flexible in the way you do things. Importing is a key part of the operation of our business and MomentumPro has helped us greatly in this area.”