Unconventional Business Fuels Growth with Cloud-Based Epicor Prophet 21
Despite its position in the traditionally conventional industrial supply market, Transco Supply Company stands out from the crowd. From its inception by a woman entrepreneur, Carolyn Harter, in 1977, to its soda-fountain-equipped 50s-diner-style breakroom, to the fact that not a single employee was let go during the COVID pandemic, the company takes pride in service excellence and creating an outstanding workplace.
Today, Transco Supply distributes more than 35,000 products from over 280 manufacturers to customers in industries as diverse as petrochemicals and construction to medical and aerospace. In another distinguishing characteristic, Transco Supply has grown each year, even during and throughout the pandemic.
Dave Harter, Vice President at Transco Supply—and son of the founder—explained a key ingredient of the company’s success: “We’re a small company so we all need to wear multiple hats. We are known for doing whatever it takes to get the job done right.”
To support employees in delivering on that promise, Transco Supply migrated to Epicor Prophet 21 more than a decade ago. Harter admitted, “We should have selected Epicor sooner.” Transco was previously enticed by a smaller company’s local support team and big promises which ended up being a costly mistake. “We moved to Epicor Prophet 21 because it’s a solution designed for our industry and supports our entire business from inventory management to accounting,” Harter pointed out. “We’ve been happy ever since.”
More recently, an aging on-premises server catalyzed the move to the cloud. Harter initially had some reservations. “There is a confidence in knowing your server is 100 yards away and you can see it. And that your data is there, in our hands only,” he shared.
However, the benefits of the cloud were too great to be ignored. The $15,000 - $20,000 cost of purchasing a new server, along with new licenses, and the promise of automatic updates convinced Harter to take the leap. “That was the best decision we made,” he revealed. “We don't have an on-site IT person, so the fact that all the updates and licenses are handled, that's been a huge benefit.”
We moved to Epicor Prophet 21 because it’s a solution designed for our industry and supports our entire business from inventory management to accounting. We’ve been happy ever since.
Harter added, “When a major update happens, we get to test everything through the play database first, before the final update in the live database. We must make sure the updates won’t keep my employes from conducting business.The best part about the updates through the cloud is it is done behind the scenes where I don’t have to manually handle the update installation internally.”
With a business that depends on getting products to customers quickly, Harter especially appreciates the lightening-fast speed of Epicor Prophet 21 deployed in the cloud. He detailed, “We handle 30 to 50 orders a day on average. Getting orders in and out and moving onto the next order in a timely manner, are big advantages in keeping our customers happy.”
Inventory management is a breeze, too. It’s easy to place and process even large orders swiftly, get them out to the warehouse, pulled and out the door. Harter’s team can access past customer orders and fulfill repeat orders with a click. In the next 12 months, his goal is to add the wireless warehouse feature and further accelerate efficiencies.
Another area of increased speed is month-end closing. Harter highlighted, “Closing is easy compared with our previous software, and it’s twice as fast with Epicor Prophet 21.”
He continued, “Epicor Prophet 21 allows us to do everything that it takes to run a business faster.”
In addition to speed, visibility and access to data are key advantages. “The accounting is much stronger than our last software,” Harter elaborated. “We don't lose track of anything in Epicor Prophet 21. We can drill down in the ledger on any item to track everything that has happened to that item from the moment it was purchased to the time it was delivered. Our accounting people think it’s fantastic.”
Harter emphasized Report Studio, an integrated reporting tool, as an asset with untapped potential for the business. With it, data is always at Harter’s fingertips. “I can provide customers with any information they want, for example how many times they’ve ordered a product, pricing, previous orders. Report Studio has been a huge benefit.”
Epicor Prophet 21 is vital to our business and has allowed us to grow year over year. If we didn’t have it, running the day-to-day volume of business would be difficult.
He acknowledged, “We've just scratched the surface on how much we use Report Studio versus how much we will exploit it going forward.” And, because Harter’s first priority is sales, reporting used to feel like a chore. Now, the intuitive tool streamlines time-to-insight quickly giving Harter the relevant information he needs.
One of Harter’s top concerns about moving off the previous solution was the fact that it was serviced by a local customer support team. Epicor has unquestionably laid that worry to rest. Harter disclosed, “Epicor support is actually faster than the local team. Questions are typically answered within a couple of hours, versus needing to make an appointment for a visit. And we no longer get nickeled-and-dimed for simple answers.”
Additionally, Epicor training resources help to enable self-service support. “Help screens, documentation, the training videos are all fantastic,” Harter noted. “They get new employees up and running fast and maximize veteran staff productivity.”
Transco Supply grows an average of 8% to 10% every year and Harter attributes much of that success to Epicor Prophet 21. “Epicor Prophet 21 is vital to our business and has allowed us to grow year over year. If we didn’t have it, running the day-to-day volume of business would be difficult,” he remarked.
Harter reiterated, “My only regret is I wish we'd made the decision to go with Epicor Prophet 21 first.”