Emergent Safety Supply
Established in 1985, Emergent Safety Supply is a distributor of janitorial and safety products—ranging from earplugs and gloves to high-end equipment for confined space and fall protection. Emergent Safety Supply has developed a reputation as an innovator of safety solutions, bringing new products and services to its marketplace. Committed to remaining on the forefront of emerging technologies and products, deepening their customer relationships, and growing their partnership with Epicor, they have grown their business to become a national distributor.
A strong customer experience
“We believe at Emergent Safety Supply that you have to provide products, services, and information as fast as you can. While we believe in the products that we sell, and we know that they are going to provide value, we have to ensure that the customer experience is just as strong,” explained James Hardy, customer service representative, Emergent Safety Supply. “When I started here, we were operating on an Acclaim system. Once we moved from Acclaim over to Epicor Prophet 21 software, it was like switching from night to day. We were able to deliver faster results and faster interaction with customers.”
“One of the great features of Prophet 21 application is the release schedule,” Hardy continued. “The release schedule allows me to set various dates that will release certain orders and lines for a product. Last week, we had a customer that had come to us and said, ‘We’re out of this order that is expected to ship in two weeks. Can you release it now?’ All I had to do was open order entry, go into the release schedule, and move the release date up. We were able to get the product out the next day, and everybody’s taken care of.”
Greater visibility with data in one place
With Prophet 21 software, all of Emergent Safety Supply’s information is in one place and is easily accessible by employees in different areas of the company. “If we did not have Epicor Prophet 21 software in our company, it would be a mad house,” said Kimberly Graham, operations manager, Emergent Safety Supply. “When I first started with this company, we had papers everywhere. By us having this software, we are able to put all the data that we need into one location so that everyone is kept informed on what’s happening in real time.”
“As operations manager, I am able to go into the system and—at any given time—click and find the information that I need,” Graham added. “Everything is right there at the tip of my fingers.”
- “"Since we converted to Prophet 21 application, we have quadrupled sales, reduced shipping days from four to one, and vastly improved productivity. Prophet 21 has given us a foundation to thrive in this hyper-competitive environment."”
“Data visibility is a key factor in a distribution business, especially a mid-sized company like ours. Having the information at our fingertips is very helpful, especially in my position,” added Toni Martell, chief financial officer, Emergent Safety Supply.“ I think having this information so readily available helps us to make quicker decisions, but it also allows us to make better decisions, because we have such a variety of information available to us that we can look at several different aspects very quickly.”
Enhanced business operations
The increased data visibility that Prophet 21 application provides has greatly improved Emergent Safety Supply’s operations. In 2014, they acquired another company and doubled their volume with no increase in staff because of the productivity enhancements of Prophet 21 application. “Since we converted to Prophet 21 application, we have quadrupled sales, reduced shipping days from four to one, and vastly improved productivity. Prophet 21 application has given us a foundation to thrive in this hyper-competitive environment,” stated Porter.
Looking into the future
“Epicor continually strives to upgrade and evolve to accommodate new business and technology improvements,” Porter added. “Emergent Safety Supply’s partnership with Epicor has helped to turn our business around and advance our reputation in the marketplace.”
“While we are a company with a long past, we recognize that we can’t live in it. We have to live in the future, and we believe that Epicor technology is going to be the catalyst for our future,” concluded Hardy.
