Study Case

“The ASP service enables me to be connected online with all the branches and have reliable stock data no matter where I am." Hugo Saidon, Managing Partner.

Company’s Profile
An industrial provider, Segufer offers, through comprehensive logistics, products such as hardware, security, instruments, equipment, consumables, and related items all over the country.
The Operations Center is composed of three management areas: Administration and Quality, Sales and Marketing, and Logistics and Delivery. This organization services large companies using flexible logistics according to the needs of each sector.
Segufer is the channel used by local and international companies and brands in the sector to distribute products which are standardized and certified under ISO, CE, UL, NIOSH, OSHA, and IRAM standards.
Reinforcing its commitment to provide the best services, Segufer has branches distributed in San Juan, Buenos Aires, Santa Cruz, Catamarca, and Jujuy, with approximately 100 employees.
Case Analysis
For 12 years Segufer has been working to reach the highest standards of service and meet the needs of its customers.
The challenge to offer the best possible solutions, led this company to focus on the optimization of processes and practices.
Segufer needed to have accurate information about the products in stock in its warehouses.
To manage the warehouses effectively was challenging because they did not have exact knowledge about the product amount and in which warehouses and branches they were located. These shortcomings affected negatively the efficiency of its services and delivery. On the other hand, not having an integrated system made it difficult to access accurate data regarding delivery status, follow up and control.
Some of the problems were caused by the fact that stock control required a thorough knowledge of the products and experience using the tool. The lack of specific processes hindered daily operations. As a result, Segufer had to optimize administrative tasks and organize orders manually.
Solution / Implementation
In 1997, Segufer hired NeuralSoft solutions: ERP, Production, Business Intelligence, Workflow, CRM, and Human Resources. The company hired more employees and the business grew which led them to migrate to the ASP model. They thought it would be advantageous to outsource the Systems Department to a single provider: NeuralSoft.
Segufer bought 82 licenses, NeuralSoft Technology Platform, and the ASP model in the beginning of 2003. Lucas Lhitte, project leader, recalls that “the implementation of the new model brought about a conceptual change in the work systems: from the way to access the information up to how it to organize and analyze it. A policy to promote inter-disciplinary work and NeuralSoft’s system helped the staff learn the new tool within weeks and request new functionalities.”
Benefits
The company could integrate all the information helping manage and trace all the processes. For four years now, management has had access to information about the company in real time, learning about delivery status and doing the follow up. With just one click, Segufer can access all the data, delivery notes, and listings, from any location with an Internet connection.
NeuralSoft Business Intelligence, offers Segufer a wide set of management indicators to enhance online consultation by management. The Automation Engine makes it possible to define the creation and frequency of the reports so users do not have to request information manually.  Just as any other employee, the Automation Engine works 24 hours a day issuing alerts for collections, claims, orders, and authorizations for approval. The queries provide reports "tailored" to the specific needs of the business.
The information about the actual stock in the warehouses includes not only the total number of products but also precisely the number of a specific product, the warehouse, and the place. In this way, it is possible to access in real time the integrated information of the whole company stock. This allows them to place orders and respond effectively based on predefined parameters, avoiding excess stock volume and registering the operations inside and outside the warehouse.
As a result of defining and systemizing processes, the best ways to use the tools are identified making it unnecessary for each employee to waste time setting-up his own process. The project leader explained that to perform a picking they used to need an expert who knew the tools and was also familiar with the products and their location in the warehouse. Now, in less than a week, an employee who is not familiar with the system may work in an equally efficient manner as an experienced employee.
The system also offered administrative advantages: in Segufer, both internal and external documents, as well as the products and boxes have barcodes and the workstations are equipped with barcode readers. This code helps optimize administrative and logistic processes, avoiding typos, eliminating rework and speeding up data readings, in addition to effectively monitoring the information.
Why NeuralSoft?
This company confirmed that NeuralSoft’s robust, secure and reliable system helped it develop and anticipate growth and new requirements. Segufer has over 5,500 employees. Therefore, they were looking for a system according to the size of their warehouses. NeuralSoft technology solution helps identify which products are on each shelf, how many and in which warehouse.
“We know it’s a mix: we delegate some tasks to the best provider and focus on our segment,” stated Lucas Lahitte, and added: "We don’t have to worry about the software, maintenance and security because we know NeuralSoft will take care of it."